Need help on a recording studio I'm making.

Flizank

Me and my Friend are turning his barn into a basic recording studio where we can record demos. We aren't quite sure how we want to go about recording, whether we want to have soundboard and connect the instruments/mics to the soundboard, and from the soundboard to a recorder, with monitors (or cabinets? Which to use?) to listen to what we're doing.

Anyway... we think we should be switching from Amps to Cabinets or Monitors, but we don't know the difference, or even what exactly a monitor is.

Um, I guess it comes down to help me and my friend build a recording studio. Are there any specific drum mics/cabinets/soundboards/etc that would be recommended?

We don't have too much to spend, so we're looking for a good equilibrium between moderately priced and great quality.

Pacomc79

well. You may not be able to get everything you need on a tight budget all at once I'd suggest maybe a used. 16 to 32 channel Mackie or Berhinger board if you're on a budget. Monitors are essential. There are various ways to record. You could buy a cheap computer with a big hard drive and record strait off your board to Pro Tools make sure you have monitors both from the board and the Computer so you can hear how it all sounds before and after the recording.

One way you can cut cost are to use Oktava Mics. Made in Russia. Decent Quality for dirt cheap. You'll find what you need, just don't expect them to sound like a Neumann or a Bayer.

mccreadyisgod

I'd be more than happy to help you out, but I need to know a few things first:

1) What kinda music? Drums, bass, two guitars, two vocals? Standard rock stuff?

2) What's the budget? We talkin' $200 or $2000?

3) You want multi-track recording, or just stereo?

Monitors in a recording setup are speakers you listen to the recording equipment with. Use them at the beginning to make sure the mics sound good on the instruments (or MAKE them sound good on the instruments). Use them during recording to make sure you're getting a good balance of sounds. Use them at the end of a recording to listen to what you recorded. Headphones are also necessary for this, and you can usually get by with home-stereo speakers and a home-stereo amp for a while, instead of studio-quality monitors.

You'll need mics, but what you need there is based on the questions above.

Soundboard or not? Probably yes. You can sometimes find used ones in pawn shops and used musical gear stores. If you want a new board, the Mackie 1402 (good) and Mackie 1604 (better) are great to start with.

Some recorders have built-in mic preamps, which would prevent the need for a soundboard, but the built-in preamps are almost always worthless. Get a Mackie.

There are lots of ways I can help you out (I'm not the smartest sound guy, but this is something I've spent years learning about) but I need to know more about what you want and what you have to spend. PM me, or post a reply, and I'd be glad to help.

My first band recorded demos with four cheap, crappy mics, an old mixer, and a cassette tape deck. Man, I remember being in your shoes. Good luck!

Flizank

Yeah, we're playing pretty standard rock. We're still growing as a band, so we might throw in keyboards or something later on, but as of now we're a bassist, two guitarists and a drummer (both guitarists do vocals).

Since I havn't posted a response, I'll bump this to the top, and also send out some PMs.

Thanks in advance.