Recording Your Music at Home

pedalbreak

I was looking into getting a mac book pro and a SM57, but a buddy of mine said it would be cheaper if I bought a laptop on newegg.com and just use Audacity. I checked other recording software to use intead of Audacity and Pro Tools seems the way to go (but it's expensive for a University student :( ). I was just wondering if anyone could give some feedback for either Garageband and Pro Tools. Also, Do I just need a SM57 running straight into my Laptop to start recording? I checked a bunch of forums online and they weren't really clear on what I need.

CJMST3K

Good question. I'm also interested to hear an answer. I just bought a Berhinger X2442USB mixing board, and have a Samson 8 microphone kit (small brand name) for my drumset and will eventually want to record.

...and I'm also looking at getting a 57 microphone to record my tube amp too.

markin ball

My two cents...Get a 58 instead of a 57. 57's are muddy and vocals are usually not complimented too well with a 57. I like the 58 vs. the 57 on 99% of guitars as well, just get it real close to the amp speaker most of the time . I'm not a ProTools type expert but If your on a budget, look into one of those little digital recorder/mixers, too. I have Fostex that is approaching 15 years old and I've made some pretty decent recordings with minimal equipment. In fact I had the top of the line Roland with all the bells and whistles and I went back to the dumpy little Fostex.

mccreadyisgod

A PC will pretty much always be cheaper than a Mac, but if you can swing it, Mac is the way to go.

Garageband is a great option due to its ease of use, so if you have no experience with home recording, that's a good route. A stand-alone 4-track or 8-track can also be fun to use, but if you're in the market for the computer anyways, might as well use it to record.

I'd look into a good preamp (wires in between your mic and computer) with a USB or Firewire interface. Get something with at least 2 channels, in case you ever want to mic in stereo (most USB interfaces have 2 channels, and any Firewire interface should have more than that).

As far as mics go, an SM57 is a great mic with lots of applications. With a cheap pop filter, they're good on vocals, and they're a very popular mic for electric guitar and many drums. I've always said that the SM57 is the first mic any musician (except, perhaps, a lead vocalist) should own. You'll find there are other mics out there that do different things better, but no mic is as versatile (or as bulletproof) as a 57.

If you're looking to record a drumset, or acoustic instruments, then a condenser mic might be a better option. That all depends on what you're looking to record, and what your budget is.

jessse-d

Macbook + Apogee One = success

Then you can plug a guitar straight in or use the Apogee's built in mic which is sweeeeeet.

I also use it in conjunction with a 58 sometimes.

FrankieG

Just bought a macbook pro.

You can get a $100 discount on all macbooks by ordering them through the education store linked on the bottom of the regular store on the apple website.

Havent tried out garageband to record anything yet...

mfc2006

i use my MacBook/Garageband for all of my recording. i use a Peavey Audition 110 as my preamp, then run my guitar/bass/vocals through that. the Peavey is connected to my MOTU 828mkII, which connects via firewire directly into my Mac. it may sound a little complex, but it isn't. if anyone has any questions, feel free to ask & i'll do my best to answer them!

inlet13

I use Audacity to record vocals and guitar. I have M-Audio interface.... (which came with ProTools, I just never learned how to use ProTools)... Audacity is simple. I'd actually recommend it, unless you are going to be the person mixing. Then, I'd say learn ProTools.

savman

Audacity is the one you just downlaoad off the internet for free is it?
Or is there a different version?

inlet13

savman wrote:

Audacity is the one you just downlaoad off the internet for free is it?
Or is there a different version?

Yea, you can get Audacity for free online. ProTools comes with a number of recording interfaces, like M-Audio products.

savman

I record bits and pieces straight into the computer with audacity but i find it skips heaps.
Maybe its my laptop running out of memory?

Gardenparty

I've got an mbox at home but no software. Is there any place to get free Pro Tools software? I think the LE version

pedalbreak

Thanks for the responses guys. Right now I'm looking into:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6834220746 for a laptop

A SM57 or 58 for recording

Using ProTools' free software

And I haven't really looked into getting a pre-amp right now. Down the road if I feel like recording in stereo I will. Or do I need one right off the hop.

I'm also entertaining the idea of getting
http://www.long-mcquade.com/products/60 ... itrack.htm

to record on and trasfer the files onto my laptop and edit with ProTools.

Please feel free to point out any epic flaws to my plan.

Thanks

CJMST3K

pedalbreak wrote:

A SM57 or 58 for recording

Beware of knock-off SM57's being sold on ebay. I just bought an SM57 on ebay, and looked at it for the characteristic knock-off tells, which are hard to spot. There's a number of websites and youtube videos on how to spot the knock-offs.

I just got the SM57 for micing the nice tube amp in my room, and I was looking at getting an SM58 which is supposed to be better for vocals, but I looked into Audix OM7 which is what EV uses, and there's an awesome youtube video by Dave Rat (rat sound) showing the positives of the OM7 vs SM58. But SM58 seems to be a top choice too.

ScrapeMySky

Just got my OM7 I ordered from Dave Rat a couple of days ago. While I haven't used it live yet, I can already tell you that it's got a waaay better feedback rejection than both the SM58 and the SM57 which are the mics that our other singers use. So if that's a factor, you can't go wrong with that. Plus it sounds great.

2-feign-reluctance

My friend Matt and I both use Mac's (Garageband) and have Shure mics. I have a SM58 and SM57 in my arsenal. Go listen to some of our tunes at www.myspace.com/presentlyfalling for an idea of how these sound with vocals and instruments. The acoustic in "Orwell's Warning" was recorded using a SM57 and one other instrument mic (EV cobalt). I used XLR cables and a Mackie mixer all running out to my Mac. Might give you an idea of what Shure's can do.

jgrossman

I had not heard that mics were being replicated, but I guess I'm not surprised. Luckily, my 58 isn't (I got it on eBay a few years ago and had to check as soon as I read that).

As for the question about preamps, I know plenty of people that do without, and I guess it works for them. For me, I like having my old Sunn 200 watt clunker, if for no other reason than I have more options. However, if you're limiting yourself to a laptop, you'll need something fancier and newer, because you can't just install an awesome sound card that takes RCA or 1/4", etc (I think). Can you justify the extra cost there? I don't know.

mccreadyisgod

A proper mic preamp is almost certainly necessary for a proper professional microphone. You can get USB adaptors, but I've never used one, so I don't know how well they work (see: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/pr ... sku=330275); you would be limited to one channel at a time. There are also several mics lately that are designed to plug directly into a USB port (most designed for spoken word Podcasts).

If your computer has a line input, you could use a stand-alone preamp between the mic and the computer, or a mixer board. A line input is typically stereo, so you have two channels (left and right). But honestly, a mixer or stand-alone preamp isn't any cheaper than a proper USB preamp for recording purposes. Some newer mixers are even coming with USB ports built in (Mackie Onyx even has Firewire for way more tracks).

But due to impedance and voltage, a computer's line input isn't designed for professional mics (those that feature XLR outputs). You can use a computer mic, or a "hi-Z" mic (with a 1/4" plug output) with a computer's "mic input", but you won't get great quality. Also, you won't be able to use condenser mics (really nice mics for acoustic instruments and vocals, once you're ready to upgrade) that require phantom voltage. So, I come back to buying a USB preamp.