#31
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It depends on what you want for sound. The 6-string banjos don't have the drone 5th string and open tuning, so the chord voicing will not be the same as a genuine 5 string banjo. Of course you can tune the 6 string to an open tuning, but it still won't have that 5th string drone. I recommend that you try 5-string, or if you want to do more Celtic-type stuff a 4 string tenor banjo would be good.
For me, I obtained a bass before I bought a banjo. The bass goes with just about everything I play, whereas the banjo I use for texture in only certain songs. It's all good and fun, so your mileage may vary!
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ShowcaseYourMusic (covers) ReverbNation (originals) SoundCloud (the Hobo Troubadour) |
#32
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Today, UPS brings the Tascam dp 004, so I get to play with the new toy and start on the fun and exciting new road of home recording. The sample recordings from this thread are professional sounding, so I have some great things to aim for.
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Martin 00-15M (gloss custom) Pono ATD 2 Tenor Ukulele Seagull Merlin |
#33
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ShowcaseYourMusic (covers) ReverbNation (originals) SoundCloud (the Hobo Troubadour) Last edited by Bob1131; 04-30-2012 at 07:05 AM. |
#34
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After reading here and some Amazon reviews, it seems the Tascam (4 or 8) can be pretty complicated to learn. Having been messing with PCs for 20 years I think I'm going to go the PC route. I did install Audacity as someone from my thread suggested, and I think you're right -- all the controls can be intimidating, but only a few are actually needed to get started. I had to switch from old-time toolmaking to modern PC-based CAD-CAM machining in the late '90s and the software (despite costing $10,000) was quite complex and intimidating. But it wasn't too bad to just get started on and I learned new functions as time went on -- and I'm still learning (mostly because new versions have new functions to learn.) Your comments about how just getting started shouldn't be difficult, and you expand your knowledge of the other buttons/functions as you get more familiar with the program, to be true of most software. Within the past year or so I have figured out how to record video from Youtube (or any other source), save it to hard drive, and burn it to a DVD disc which I can play on my TV or give away to friends, so I think I can get started with Audacity without too much frustration. (haha) My one question (at this point): On my thread someone mentioned needing an "interface" (which I didn't even know what it was, but they explained it) to convert the audio mike signal to digital. But you said above that all you need is a USB mike -- does the USB connection/port automatically convert the signal to digital? |
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mic -> preamp -> analog to digital converter -> computer interface. In my own setup, I have each of these as separate things, but there are lots of boxes that combine the last 3 into a single unit, (MBox, RME Fireface, many, many others). But lately, some people make USB mics that cram everything into the mic itself, like the BLUE Snowball. You just plug these into the USB port and it will appear as an input device on most recording systems, like Audacity. The results may not be quite the level of quality you can get with the component route - it's easy to spend thousands on each of the 4 elements I listed above, and you can get USB mics for under $100 that combine everything, but for home recording, the results can be just fine, and it makes getting started really simple. (There are also some high end USB mics that aren't cheap, and presumably compete with pro level signal chains)
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Music: Spotify, Bandcamp Videos: You Tube Channel Books: Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), Christmas Carols for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), A DADGAD Christmas, Alternate Tunings book Online Course: Alternate Tunings for Fingerstyle Guitar |
#36
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I'm not interested in anything fancy (or complicated) so the all-in-one mike sounds like what I'm looking for. |
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One thing to be aware of - I'm not sure you can use 2 USB mics at the same time. There's no way to sync the digital converters, as far as I know. So this is a quick way to get started with 1 mic, but if you eventually want to record in stereo, or do guitar+vocal mic, you'll need something else. But even that, mic(s) + all-in-one interface box is quite simple. You plug the mic into the box, and the box into your USB or firewire port, and you're set.
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Music: Spotify, Bandcamp Videos: You Tube Channel Books: Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), Christmas Carols for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), A DADGAD Christmas, Alternate Tunings book Online Course: Alternate Tunings for Fingerstyle Guitar |
#38
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I will want to record with my 30 year old Casio keyboard which has a standard RCA output. Will this interface work? From what I've read it seems that it will, it has RCA ins and outs, but otherwise I'm assuming I can use this to record the keyboard onto my PC. Again, I don't care about high quality studio sounds or anything even close. Simple, inexpensive, but functional is all I care about. Here is the link to it at Sweetwater: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/UCA202/ |
#39
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If you've got a free PCI slot, get an M-Audio 2496 instead. Much better all round: good drivers for Mac, Windows and Linux and decent audio quality. You can pick them up on ebay for $50 or so.
If you're trying to figure out how to interpret the figures in the link, the correlation score is the important one. Anything around 10 is going to sound very good. Anything higher you won't even be able to hear the difference without forensic listening in a top quality monitoring environment. You'll need a mic and preamp as well as the interface. Also decent headphones and studio monitors to hear what you're doing. And then there's room treatment... A Zoom H4N might be another way to go. Decent mics built-in, line inputs for the keyboard, and overall great value for money. |
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This thread has been a great help, so I'll take the next step in learning:
What's the entry level multi track recorder with drum machine? It seems that alot feel that reverb is important. What about a drum machine? thanks!
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Martin 00-15M (gloss custom) Pono ATD 2 Tenor Ukulele Seagull Merlin |
#41
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FWIW, I'm using my 80s era Casio keyboard on one track for accompaniment cuz it has drums, bass, arpeggio, various rhythms, etc. I may drop $100 and get a new keyboard after a while, I'm sure the new ones have a zillion more combinations than my old clunker does.
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#42
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I am playing with some steady strum and some lead. I sound so much better not recorded! It is surprising to me how many mistakes I make as I listen back on the recording.
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Martin 00-15M (gloss custom) Pono ATD 2 Tenor Ukulele Seagull Merlin |
#43
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You've hit on one of the big benefits of recording...I never realized how bad I sounded until I started recording. Over the years I have corrected a lot of bad habits in my singing and playing, all because I could hear them in recordings. It's challenging and fun, so it has renewed my enthusiasm and the joy of playing my guitars!
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ShowcaseYourMusic (covers) ReverbNation (originals) SoundCloud (the Hobo Troubadour) |
#44
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Do others have suggestions as to what I could do - or have I come up with the cheapest way to get a decent sound recorded that I can multi-track? |
#45
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