New to recording, need advice on current setup

[vincentguitar]

Hello all,

New to recording and this forum. Been playing fingerstyle for almost a year and would like to start sharing my work on social media.

Current setup:

Untreated Open living room with hard flooring for an ambience/reverb sound

Untreated Carpeted bedroom for a dryer sound.

Taylor 314 Non CE 2019 V-Class

I’m looking to record in stereo and be able to maintain some mobility with a laptop.

Desired gear:

Mic - AT 2021 x2
Interface- Motu M2 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...udio-interface

heard this was a the better entry level interface.

DAW - reaper or whatever works

Please let me know what you guys think. I’m new to recording and playing and not looking to break the bank just yet.

Thank you

[runamuck]

Your desired gear list looks fine.

As far as where to record, I'd suggest you experiment in different places. As a general rule, the less ambiance the better.

[Chipotle]

Agree that that equipment will do fine, and your recording location will be a factor. Remember that what you *think you hear* with your ears in a space isn't necessarily what a microphone picks up. Your brain is pretty good at filtering out the odd frequencies, reflections and echoes that the mic will hear.

Experiment with location (not being parallel to walls can help) and close micing and you should be able to get something decent.

[phcorrigan]

One thing to keep in mind -- the closer the mics, the less influence room acoustics will have, so experiment with placement.

On YouTube you will find many great recordings made in untreated rooms.

[vincentguitar]

Thank you for the advice guys

[TBman]

I record (just instrumental finger style guitar) usually with 2 AT 2035 mics into a Zoom H5 or my Scarlett 2i4. I also do a lot of recordings with just the built-in mics of the Zoom H5.

The advantage of recording with the Zoom H5 is that no DAW is required while recording. After I record a few things I'll import the stereo wav files to my PC to begin the eq'ing phase.

I do not record with any "settings" - no low cut filters, etc. Everything is done post recording.

When I record with the Scarlett I use Audacity as the DAW, but do not eq with it.

Most of my editing/eq'ing is done with iZotopes Rx 7 with Ozone 9 as a plug-in (and a few other plug- ins). I also use Adobe Audition and pay a small monthly fee. That tool is great, but more difficult to learn. The nice thing about it is that it's effects can be used in a non destructive fashion. They are "piped" through to a master track which sort of filters the original wav through the effects chosen.

Rx 7 is a great tool for editing music files. Initially I started with Rx 7 Elements, which I bought on sale for $29. Just recently I upgraded for only $99 to Rx 7 Standard. More to learn now, but I enjoy it.

One thing to remember, the room "noise" can be a pain to deal with. Just recently I was complaining about the noise in another thread, thinking it was noise from the Zoom's pre-amps. Well, it wasn't. The noise was really the "quiet" sound of my house. When I went into my garage and recorded, none of the noise was there. Our brains are able to filter out the background hum of the refrigerator and other appliances, but a microphone doesn't have a brain. It only hears and it hears everything. Keep that in mind when you choose a place to record.

I've always wanted to make a small "room" around me of heavy blankets as curtains hung on whatever I could figure out, but I'm afraid my wife would call the guys in the white coats to take me away

[DukeX]

I would do some research, spend a little more money, and buy better mics. For example, you can find the much better AT 4041 used for about $150 each. Or Oktava MC-012. Or Line Audio CM4. Or 3U Audio CM100.

[Mbroady]

There was a recent thread about good sounding rooms with cheep mics vs great equipment and a not so good sounding room. The consensus was a better sounding room is a priority.

Google “moving blankets for recording studio”. There is loads of good info, and it’s a cheap alternative in the quest to Improve your room sound.

[SteveR5]

Originally Posted by vincentguitar

Hello all,

New to recording and this forum. Been playing fingerstyle for almost a year and would like to start sharing my work on social media.
Desired gear:

Mic - AT 2021 x2
Interface- Motu M2 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...udio-interface
Thank you

I have also been recording recently and have always liked Audio Technica products for quality and sound for a reasonable price. I bought the AT2035 condenser because I also do vocals. I have been wowed by the accurate sound, the low noise and good suppression of unwanted noise (cardioid). Just might be worth checking that option out too? They include a proper suspension bracket which works very well. For my interface I went for a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 - had it for 3 years and that is also a good option. Wish you all the best with it.

[SteveR5]

Originally Posted by TBman

I record (just instrumental finger style guitar) usually with 2 AT 2035 mics into a Zoom H5 or my Scarlett 2i4. I also do a lot of recordings with just the built-in mics of the Zoom H5.

That's a great sound Barry, your Soundcloud clip was impressive!

[ethanay]

Originally Posted by runamuck

Your desired gear list looks fine.

As far as where to record, I'd suggest you experiment in different places. As a general rule, the less ambiance the better.

Agreed, with the caveat that if you aren't planning on doing any overdubbing or multi-track recording, acoustic ambience is fine as long as it sounds pleasing.

So, for solo acoustic performances or live tracking, it's not necessarily bad thing to record in an ambient place, and you can get some pretty pleasing effects. But just don't expect to do a lot in the way of overdubs and adding tracks later, as they will likely not mesh together well, and get muddy or lost in the mix.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by SteveR5

That's a great sound Barry, your Soundcloud clip was impressive!

Thanks Steve! I really appreciate that!

[islandguitar]

Just to add in:
I record in our dining room with higher ceilings, wood floors (older house). This makes a difference. Instrumentals.......mostly originals.
I've created a small little "booth" with broad band absorbers which are set out in front of me. There are 3 panels and they are portable and taken down when a project or song is completed.
Two Shure KMS 137 instrument mics, Rane DMS mic pre-amp, fed into a Zoom H4n. As with others, I load the raw file into my computer and use Audacity with a commercial reverb plug-in for processing.
One item folks haven't mentioned is the aspect of creating the recording and some of the things you need to learn and adjust to if you want good to high quality. The cardioid mics hear everything! Pretty amazing. So, your breathing has to be controlled or it will come through LOUD and clear, can't sniffle!....... Also, certain clothing when moving along an instrument can be picked up as unwanted sounds. Moving your chair or guitar while recording will also at times offer unwanted sounds. So, there's adjustment and practice that goes with this and makes it a whole new world. Of course it also depends on how "picky" you want to be ....or informal. I always go toward the picky side, as I'm never sure if I'll use a track for a bigger project or purpose so I try to get the details and as much quality as possible nailed down on the first pass.
Hope this helps!

[TBman]

Originally Posted by islandguitar

I've created a small little "booth" with broad band absorbers which are set out in front of me. There are 3 panels and they are portable and taken down when a project or song is completed!

Fred, can you provide a picture of your "recording booth?" Thanks!

[islandguitar]

Originally Posted by TBman

Fred, can you provide a picture of your "recording booth?" Thanks!

Hi Barry.....I only have one pic right now that doesn't show a lot....I have my stuff currently set up and I'll take a couple of pics tomorrow and post them.
Thanks!