Home Studio Newbie

>>Could someone list what I would probably need with basic costs not exceeding $1000?<<

Computer route: Not possible with any quality.

 

those mics are great for their price. if you do go the pc route, many sound cards come with some entry level sw to give you a feel for how they work. Check out sound card offerings from EMU, M-Audio, Edirol and others.

You might need to spring for a small mixer like a Mackie, Behringer, etc. with built in mic-pres.

Probably will want a compressor/limiter as well, check out the FMR RNC unit.

The portastudio way is not too bad either, lots of folks still enjoy them. Check out the tapeop.com and homerecording.com forums as well as here for a variety of budget based solutions.

 

Well, what you're talking about is still not high quality.

1. You can't find an "outstanding" audio interface for $125-250. You can find a cheap one. And chances are, you can't record a fully miked drum kit, a bass player, and a guitar player at the same time with it unless you add a mixer.

2. 24 bits does not assure high quality audio. The analog circuitry is important, and the quality of the converters is important, and mere number of bits is meaningless in terms of audio quality unless the rest of the circuit is comparable.

3. The software costs money, the 57 is a good choice in mics, but the MXL is not.

4. He wanted to include a keyboard for the $1000.

5. Most people don't have an extra monitor lounging around.

I suppose that "high quality" is a relative term, but since I've been recording with a DAW since 1991, and have produced and composed for my livelihood, I can say with some experience that "$1000 budget" and "high quality" are mutually exclusive concepts.

Forgotten in this $1000 equation are:

Cables
Headphones
Monitors
One compressor at least, even if just for vocals!
Mic stands
If recording live band, headphone distribution amp
Pop filter
Beer

 

Bruce Richardson's Pro Rec review of the Marshall MXL mic concept is right on the money, IMHO:

>>Hmmmm. Cold-soldered electronics in a machined-brass case flooding the market from every angle. Sold by a company whose primary line of business is security and spy cameras. What does that tell you about the intention and purpose of this product? What theories might it inspire as to its origin, given the bizarre juxtaposition of quantity, pricing and hand assembly?

Somebody say it's not so.

You will notice that as of late, the Marshall Electronics website now boasts quite the large collection of mic esoterica, each and every one reminiscent of a classic design, yet selling for a price that would belie such design.

I haven't heard the other mics yet. My mind remains open. Show me a quality microphone from Marshall Electronics, and I will sing its praises from the highest rooftops. I want someone to prove me wrong, desperately. I want to believe that these mics are not being foisted into the market full of empty promise, while taking money out of the hands of the very microphone manufacturers that we should thank our creator for each and every morning.

And that's what makes me angry. A dollar spent on an MXL2001P is a dollar that isn't spent on a Neumann, an AKG, or even a Sennheiser, Rode, Audio-Technica, or Shure<<

 

I'm with Brad here. It's true; he didn't say anything about it sounding good. He asked for cheap.

I say, go for it! And good luck finding that free keyboard.

 

What can I say? You asked for advice based on a specific shopping list and budget. You were given advice – succinctly but not unkindly – by a pro who really knows his sh*t. You didn't like it because it wasn't encouraging enough, so you turned up your nose and inferred it wasn't "meaningful."

All I can say is go for it and best of luck. If it sounds good, great! I really have nothing else to offer.

 

considering that the initial response from Les was "not possible..." I think the meaningless label was appropriate.

It appears that gear snobbery is alive and well in this section of the forum. BTW, I know how much fun semantics can be, but Brad asked for "budget" recommendations, not "cheap"...there is a difference.

Clark

 

The Marshall V67G is really happening, I regularly use it over a Rode Classic, TLM-103 and Soundelux U195 and a Gefell UM70, all of which are pretty decent mics. At $79, it's also less than 10% of the price. It's very good on female singers who may be strident on some of the brighter mics out there. It's pretty neutral, I haven't really heard it sound BAD on anything.

I've used 6 different ones and they're very consistent. Probably the only one of the Chinese mics which gets consistently good marks from people whose opinions I respect.

Is it a U-47? No, but with a V67 and the right voice, you can cut a vocal that would be way more than acceptable for any type of project. It's my first recommendation for anyone who needs a lot of bang for the buck.

The whole Chinese thing is disturbing, but it's happening across the board - look at the trade deficit. It's market-driven though, and the American public has spoken - it wants cheap, OK quality over prohibitively expensive, top quality. Neumann, AKG, etc. aren't going to go away anytime soon, IMHO. But to use the Fender/Gibson analogy, when was the last time any of them produced a "classic" mic? And why can't they still do it? There are LOTS of folks who would pay anything for a "new production" U-47, 251 or C-12, but they are either incapable, or don't care about, producing such a mic.

Just rambling now...

Loudboy

 

How is it on acoustic guitar?

 

I don't see the problem here. Sound quality is relative and anything you do on a DAW should be light years ahead of the old (or new) cassette four track portastudios. If you go the PC route (which is what I would do because you already have a PC = saving money) you should be able to get a pretty decent sounding set up going for $1000.00 no problem.

There's the Mackie Spike or the Lexicon. I've heard some negative feedback on the Lex but the Mackie seems like a good unit, only two tracks at a time though unless you sub mix on another mixer. And I've heard good things about the SW that comes with the Mackie. Also, I think the Mackie has a front end compressor and EQ. So for around $400.00 or less you have your interface, front end compressor and EQ, tracking and editing software and some basic FX plug-ins. You should easily be able to get an SM57, a vocal mic (the AT2020 looks interesting) and some monitors with the money left over. I'd look at the used market for this stuff in order to make your money stretch as far as possible. I'm not up to date on the keyboard thing but just look around.

So, it can be done, no problem. Will it sound like it was tracked at Electric Ladyland Studio?? .......... nope. Will it serve it's purposes and do what you need it to?? .... I say yes, easily. You'll probably be amazed at how good it sounds.

There are other units besides the Mackie and the Lex but these are just two that came to mind.


BC

 

In that price range, the Oktava MC-012 is your price/performance winner. It's a small diaphragm condenser, but works well on a variety of sources.

Loudboy

 

I have to side with Les regarding the MXL mics. I bought a pair of sc mxl's for $40. They work fine but the quality is very poor. I absolutely do not trust them to last. I'd rather pay a little more for one mic once than to risk the cheap stuff failing in the middle of a session, especially since you'll only be buying 1 or 2 mics anyway. Buy a Rode. They support their products. I know you want inexpensive, but do you really want disposable?

 

I like the 012's. I have a few and use them as drum over heads mostly. I don't know if I'd want it to be my only condenser.

I think there might be a few large diaphragm condenser mics in the low cost range that might be a better all around choice and would work better on vocals.

 

Brad, I'm sort of in the same boat. Head on over to the Home Recording Forum and ask around there. Great place for newbies.

http://homerecording.com/bbs/index.php

While I deeply respect the experts here who do recording for a living, and I'm gald they're here, I have to say that some of the responses to folks like Brad - or me - who are trying to do "decent sound on a budget" have been rather discouraging in this thread.

You're not wrong, guys. Great equipment in the right hands sounds great.

But there are a bunch of us out here who aren't trying to sound great. We're trying to sound decent, and to get a handle on what we sound like.

We're not running a recording studio or doing it for money. We're doing it for love and curiosity and we don't have the budget for the great stuff.

My own experience is: Using lower-end equipment very carefully, I've gotten very positive responses from civilians about the quality of my recordings.

It's possible to do "decent" on a budget. Now help the man.

Kiwi

Me? Standalone Korg D1600 recorder. Two Okatava mics (219 and 319) plus two SM57s; Behringer compressors; ART tube pre-amps; a pair of Alesis Monitor Ones and a 100w home stereo to run them. All lower-end stuff.

Oh, and I don't mic cabs. I use POD v1.2 and have done since 1999. Enormously easy to use vs. miking, no volume issues for home recording, and you get instant results that vary from "yuck" to "hot diggity."