Cheap and simple home studio

[RuneDK]

Yes, as the title says, i'm looking for a cheap and easy-to-use home studio for recording guitar, bass, drums and vocals. What do i need?

No huge expensive solutions, just the simplest and cheapest...

[SixAndChange]

Normally you'd need a bunch of stuff, but for your deal I would look for a digital 8 track recorder. TASCAM makes a lot of cheap stuff that will work. Of course if youre going to be recording multiple instruments at the same time a couple mics would be good. The best mic for a guitar and various other instruments woulnd be the SHURE SM57. Its like 75 bucks.


http://ec2.images-amazon.com/images/P/B0006HJ7Y2.01-A3RF2GFA785J37._SS500_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[Blood Red Eagle]

Boss BR series is heaps better than that shit, and if you are gunn bother with it, buy some decent mic's otherwise you're wasting time and (alot) of money

[flathead]

it usually happens, that only recording ain't all you want after all. if you are recording in same place where your computer is, you need program to your computer, you can use it as multitrack recorder but you can edit with that too, soundcard, small mixer and some microphones.

mixers and microphones you can find as used, programs ewww you necessary dont need to pay at all, and you just may have soundcard what can take atleast two channels in same time.

ok soundcards today anyway aint that expencive.

[Blood Red Eagle]

personally i think the best way to do it is using a standalone digital recorder that can hook into your computer so you can record on location and ease of use. then use a computer to mix down and edit the tracks, i havent got the computer stage yet but once you know your way around a digital recorder its very simple, high quality and serves the purpose it is solely built for. as it stands i am just paying someone else currently to do the computer mix and master but i will get there eventually.
the thing about not skimping on microphones however is planly obvious. a digital recorder records exactly what it hears/and what you tell it to hear in terms of inbuilt effects loops, therefore if you get a shit/cheap/damaged mic you will have a shit recording, period.
for vocals, violins, acoustics, etc i am currently using the Rode Nt2a. its very good for the money, but i think its not the best for acoustic guitar. as far as vocals go however you wont get a better mic for under $500 australian.

[Skones]

Get yourself a nice old Dictaphone.

http://lahosken.san-francisco.ca.us/departures/wash_dc/1/04_dictaphone.jpg

[SixAndChange]

personally i think the best way to do it is using a standalone digital recorder that can hook into your computer so you can record on location and ease of use. then use a computer to mix down and edit the tracks, i havent got the computer stage yet but once you know your way around a digital recorder its very simple, high quality and serves the purpose it is solely built for. as it stands i am just paying someone else currently to do the computer mix and master but i will get there eventually.
the thing about not skimping on microphones however is planly obvious. a digital recorder records exactly what it hears/and what you tell it to hear in terms of inbuilt effects loops, therefore if you get a shit/cheap/damaged mic you will have a shit recording, period.
for vocals, violins, acoustics, etc i am currently using the Rode Nt2a. its very good for the money, but i think its not the best for acoustic guitar. as far as vocals go however you wont get a better mic for under $500 australian.


Yeah, if you dont already have a lot of equipment the easiest and money savy thing to do is a s digital multi-track. Which one you get really depends on what you need. Personally I've used a lot of the consumer-prosumer type stuff and they all seem to basicly work the same. Which is why I wouldnt be so hasty as to say that the BOSS 8-tracks are any better.

The only real difference that is going to matter to someone is once they really start looking for quality pre-amps, A/D conversion, MICS, and a computer production program. You can download a working edition of CUBASE on most P2P programs. It should work well for your application if you feel like putting a little time into figuring it out.

[flathead]

i know what you need!

do whole shit in old fashion way,
buy telefunken M15a

http://home.wxs.nl/%7Ejdb.audio/jpgs/Telefunken.jpg

and i just happen to have one for sale.
weights a ton and i dont have any use for it.
very good for mastering...


...:biggrin:

[SixAndChange]

i know what you need!

do whole shit in old fashion way,
buy telefunken M15a

http://home.wxs.nl/%7Ejdb.audio/jpgs/Telefunken.jpg

and i just happen to have one for sale.
weights a ton and i dont have any use for it.
very good for mastering...


...:biggrin:


Damn man, where did you get that bad boy? I've had the pleasure of working on multiple tape decks and 2" machines, like Studor and others, but never one of them beasts.

Are you an engineer? And how much you want for that thing.

[Blood Red Eagle]

Yeah, if you dont already have a lot of equipment the easiest and money savy thing to do is a s digital multi-track. Which one you get really depends on what you need. Personally I've used a lot of the consumer-prosumer type stuff and they all seem to basicly work the same. Which is why I wouldnt be so hasty as to say that the BOSS 8-tracks are any better.

The only real difference that is going to matter to someone is once they really start looking for quality pre-amps, A/D conversion, MICS, and a computer production program. You can download a working edition of CUBASE on most P2P programs. It should work well for your application if you feel like putting a little time into figuring it out.

except i've owned tascam products before and they were never that great, the old cassette four trackers were shocking.
i know about the downloads but my problem is a PC powerful enough to run it, that is at my house and not at work ;)
not that i have machines to compare them to, but for the reviews i read and on the opinions of others who do have the experience, for the money the BOSS BR is top shelf gear. however the only downside of the boss is that there is only 2 xlr imputs for simultaneous recording on all machines up to the 10 track, (which i am using). shortly i'll upgrade to a 16 track, which has 8 imputs. other than this, i am 100% happy with the boss.

[SixAndChange]

except i've owned tascam products before and they were never that great, the old cassette four trackers were shocking.
i know about the downloads but my problem is a PC powerful enough to run it, that is at my house and not at work ;)
not that i have machines to compare them to, but for the reviews i read and on the opinions of others who do have the experience, for the money the BOSS BR is top shelf gear. however the only downside of the boss is that there is only 2 xlr imputs for simultaneous recording on all machines up to the 10 track, (which i am using). shortly i'll upgrade to a 16 track, which has 8 imputs. other than this, i am 100% happy with the boss.

Good deal. Yeah unless you want to constantly overdub stuff an 8 input would be great. The computer problem is bitch. I just shelled out 3000 on a computer for the studio I work at. They got a 96 track hahahah.

[Blood Red Eagle]

Good deal. Yeah unless you want to constantly overdub stuff an 8 input would be great. The computer problem is bitch. I just shelled out 3000 on a computer for the studio I work at. They got a 96 track hahahah.
i overdub everything to make it the best it can be, but with only the 2 imputs its impossible to mix the drums after you record them, since to get atleast the 6 imputs you need to record them you need to rig it up to a mixing desk and mix it before it goes onto a track, so you cant add to it afterwards really and i'm in no way talented enough to get the drum sound in perfect mix straight off the bat. i'm sure you know what i mean. the other bonus of the boss is the use of inbuilt phantom power. tascam have probably upgraded to it aswell by now, since they are a leading brand in home recording, but i just had ordinary experiences with their equipment and i use Boss multi effects pedals and so on and they are sturdy and easy to use so i'm pretty much sold on the brand i guess.
whatever you do, avoid zoom at all costs :rolleyes:

EDIT: another good rival to the boss in my opinion is the roland ones. the 24 track is really somethin for a home kit.

[Blood Red Eagle]

Damn man, where did you get that bad boy? I've had the pleasure of working on multiple tape decks and 2" machines, like Studor and others, but never one of them beasts.

Are you an engineer? And how much you want for that thing.
the postage from finland may hurt a bit!!

[RuneDK]

So i'm thinking something like this...

http://www.roland.com/products/en/BR-600/index.html

Does that look very wrong? Cause it's pretty cheap and from what I can read it looks pretty decent...

EDIT: I hope the built-in mics can be turned off...

[Blood Red Eagle]

So i'm thinking something like this...

http://www.roland.com/products/en/BR-600/index.html

Does that look very wrong? Cause it's pretty cheap and from what I can read it looks pretty decent...

EDIT: I hope the built-in mics can be turned off...
yes its ok but like i said with the boss, look at the back it only has two xlr imputs. its near impossible to do real drums. its do-able but its not ideal and you'll find yourself a faulse economy spending up on it to realise you needed something bigger. go check out ebay. heres one right here for example:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-BOSS-BR1600-16-TRACK-Multi-Track-Digital-Recorder_W0QQitemZ290081261471QQihZ019QQcategoryZ1 5199QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

the other thing to look out for is the inbuilt cd burner. trust me it just makes things so much fucking easier to do a quick demo so you can play back on a normal stereo and hear what it will really sound like...

and trust me, no inbuilt mic is ever going to be almost as good as a decent condensor or a d112 or sm57's etc etc. spending some money is the only way to do it, even though you dont wanna hear that. buy it piece by piece. you can always plug your guitar straight into the machine for over dubs in the meantime to save a few bucks until you can afford a good mic for guitars. etc etc

[Blood Red Eagle]

the other thing you may find is that the 6 track is really a 4 track, as tracks 5 and 6 will be 'bounce' tracks to record in stereo. so by the time you record drums (that should take 6 tracks give or take a few) you bounce that to one track, you are left with 3, do bass, left with 2, do guitar, 1, do a lead break, your tracks are full. bounce them to 5-6 tracks, then do vocals up to 2 tracks, because you will need 3-4 to bounce 5-6 back to mix with vocals. by this time you better hope you had it all mixed how you wanted it!!
get what i'm saying man? sometimes spending a bit more saves you alot more.

EDIT: however saying all the above, it is a good machine to learn on.

[RuneDK]

That Boss BR1600 looks pretty good, but goddamn its a bit more expensive than what i had hoped for. But i guess i'm gonna have to hold back on the drinking a bit then...:frown:

[flathead]

That Boss BR1600 looks pretty good, but goddamn its a bit more expensive than what i had hoped for. But i guess i'm gonna have to hold back on the drinking a bit then...:frown:

believe on this BRE, you never have enough inputs, tracks and channels and if you start to save on those, you just end up cursing like "why the fuck i did not..."

[flathead]

Damn man, where did you get that bad boy? I've had the pleasure of working on multiple tape decks and 2" machines, like Studor and others, but never one of them beasts.

Are you an engineer? And how much you want for that thing.

no, i'm not engineer (well, combat engineer in the army but that doesn't count:rolleyes:), just been involved with music long time, i have small home studio. i got that from local national broadcasting company (YLE finland/http://www.yle.fi/) few years ago. it is made for mastering but i bet you knew that.

i am selling it at the moment, in germany they sell those in 1500-2000 euros (1950-2600 dollars) but i would be just happy to get rid of it (i got harley to build). i have got some offers about that, PM me yours if you are really interested about it. no, i'm not askin any germany prices, but i'm not givin it for free.

it has built in rack, rolling with wheels and you really need two guys to carry it. great sound tho...

[SWIFTY]

a small mixer [old studio master or soundcraft analogue mixer would be my choice and they are cheap on ebay
some good mics 3 for the drums minimum - you should use drum mics but some sm-58s could do the job
a decent vocal mike [sm-58]
a tape player or leads for a link up to the computer to record with [there is free software which will do the job]
mic stands might be useful unless you can bodge a decent shock mount replacement [can be done ;)]

there are other options - a second 8 track - whats the budget you have ?
Its worth spending money on mics - sm-58 are a good versatile one
Leads for the links can be bought or made [if you have a friend who can]

[Roosterbread]

There's tons of good info on this site:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

I got a Eurorack 8-channel mixer(for about $80 used) I'm running through my Soundblaster card. My bass player has an 8 track digital we used on location which solved most problems.
Yeah, getting the drums mixed is a bitch once they're on one track. I duplicate the tracks on my software and tweak the EQ to enhance certain aspects for a quick fix.