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Old 10-08-2020, 08:00 PM
Tricky Fish Tricky Fish is offline
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Default Seeking advice re building a home recording setup

I have been recording some of my playing at home with a simple setup: a Shure MV88 plugged into my iPhone. Given the low cost and simplicity of this setup, I am very happy with the quality of the recordings:

https://youtu.be/mxiyAt9hqck

However, in addition to solo acoustic guitar, I also play improvised ambient music with loopers. I would like to record some of this playing and seek the advice of the forum re how to create a suitable setup.

I currently have:

Guitar with K&K
Pre-amp
Effects pedalboard with stereo out

PreSonus AudioBox iOne (https://www.presonus.com/products/audiobox-ione)
MacBook with Garageband

I would like to:
- Play live improvised ambient music with loopers / effects
- Record the playing (in stereo) on my MacBook (Garageband?)
- Listen to the output, ideally via headphones in real time

I don't think my AudioBox iOne can take stereo inputs. I think I need to buy a new DAW Interface that can take stereo inputs and has a headphone output.

Is this the right approach to achieve this? Any recommended products?
Do I also need to get a mixer?

I'm new at this and would appreciate any advice. I love the simplicity of my Shure MV88 and would like to keep this rig similarly simple if possible.
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  #2  
Old 10-08-2020, 09:05 PM
FrankHudson FrankHudson is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tricky Fish View Post

I would like to:
- Play live improvised ambient music with loopers / effects
- Record the playing (in stereo) on my MacBook (Garageband?)
- Listen to the output, ideally via headphones in real time

I don't think my AudioBox iOne can take stereo inputs. I think I need to buy a new DAW Interface that can take stereo inputs and has a headphone output.

Is this the right approach to achieve this? Any recommended products?
Do I also need to get a mixer?

I'm new at this and would appreciate any advice. I love the simplicity of my Shure MV88 and would like to keep this rig similarly simple if possible.
Software-wise the current Garageband is sort of Logic Pro Lite and should be fine to get you started. Apple Logic Pro would be you upgrade path if you want to get more into it. I have only looked at Garage Band briefly, but it and Logic Pro can do a lot of stuff with looping in the DAW. All DAWs require some learning. You can use them knowing just a few things (like how to create a track and arm it for recording and then how to mix the results down), but if looping is your thing, there is a tremendous amount of stuff you can do inside Logic (and I'd assume much you could do with just the Garage Band's subset of Logic) that might reward you learning a little more than just how to use it as a recorder.

From the looks of your current interface it's one mic input one instrument. So yes, you'd do well to get a interface that can record stereo. There are all kinds of choices at all kinds of price points, but the Focusrite Scarlett line is inexpensive and in my experience works well with Mac OS and Logic. The 2i2 model will record stereo with two mics. I don't know your budget, but recently in this section Jim1960 did a post on suggested stereo mic pairs for recording acoustic guitars, though he focused on the high quality/higher priced ones. Some effects are nicer in stereo, and even just a "natural" stereo recording can add some dimension to solo acoustic guitar. If Jim's list of mics is out of your price range, there are cheap and cheerful options that will do the job.

I can't imagine any reason you'd need a mixer for what you plan.

Since your say you are using an external looper and perhaps effects, you must be recording the pickup on your guitar. Many here will tell you not to do that, as no pickup sounds a much like a good acoustic guitar captured by a good mic or two. However, there are people who use pickups so that they can use external effects (such as your looper). You might want to step up to a four input interface, and run at least one mic into the interface along with the output from your effects/looper for live tracking. Your mics would give your "dry" sound and your loops and external effects would be your "wet" source. I could imagine a recording that would have a nice contrast when mixed with the somewhat more "artificial" sounding wet signal and the acoustic, mic'ed track(s). You can also of course overdub not in real time, even with just two inputs. There's really a lot of things you can do, and I don't know enough about you and your present desires or eventual desires to give you detailed advice. Also there are others here with more skill in the recording area who may chime in.

If price is an issue, Logic (and I assume even Garage Band) will include a lot of software based effects. Some of them (delays, echoes, reverbs, phasing stuff and so on) will output stereo from a single microphone source.

Yes you'll need headphones to hear what you're recording and certainly any effects that are "in the box". Sennheiser HD 280 is a classic set of cans for recording.
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  #3  
Old 10-09-2020, 06:50 AM
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KevWind KevWind is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tricky Fish View Post
I have been recording some of my playing at home with a simple setup: a Shure MV88 plugged into my iPhone. Given the low cost and simplicity of this setup, I am very happy with the quality of the recordings:

https://youtu.be/mxiyAt9hqck

However, in addition to solo acoustic guitar, I also play improvised ambient music with loopers. I would like to record some of this playing and seek the advice of the forum re how to create a suitable setup.

I currently have:

Guitar with K&K
Pre-amp
Effects pedalboard with stereo out

PreSonus AudioBox iOne (https://www.presonus.com/products/audiobox-ione)
MacBook with Garageband

I would like to:
- Play live improvised ambient music with loopers / effects
- Record the playing (in stereo) on my MacBook (Garageband?)
- Listen to the output, ideally via headphones in real time

I don't think my AudioBox iOne can take stereo inputs. I think I need to buy a new DAW Interface that can take stereo inputs and has a headphone output.

Is this the right approach to achieve this? Any recommended products?
Do I also need to get a mixer?

I'm new at this and would appreciate any advice. I love the simplicity of my Shure MV88 and would like to keep this rig similarly simple if possible.
Assuming you when you say your pedalboard can output stereo you are meaning 2 TS (mono) connections ( not one TRS). then yes, I would simply upgrade the interface to a two channel model. If you like your Presonus they make several options depending on your Mac's USB connection.
Staring with a standard 2.0 at $99 or a USB-C at &159 all come with StudioOne Artist DAW software which personally I would use over Garage Band

you can compare them here
https://www.sweetwater.com/c682--PreSonus--Audio_Interfaces?sb=low2high
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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD

System :
Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1

Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Ventura 12.2.1
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Old 10-09-2020, 12:53 PM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tricky Fish View Post
I think I need to buy a new DAW Interface that can take stereo inputs and has a headphone output.
You can find options to explore on the interface list you find here:
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=594800
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along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

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Old 10-10-2020, 10:14 PM
Tricky Fish Tricky Fish is offline
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Thank you for all your feedback. Before I buy a stereo DAW interface per the advice above, i’ve a follow-up question:

For my current youtube videos i am plugging the Shure MV88 directly into my iphone. I press play on my phone and when i get a good take i trim the video and upload. It is very simple and easy; no processing involved.

Would it be possible for me to plug a DAW interface directly into my iPhone? That is, instead of the Shure MV88 being the iphone’s mic extension, i use the DAW as the phone mic extension.

This would enable me to press record and get completed vids without needing any processing.
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Old 10-11-2020, 07:20 AM
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KevWind KevWind is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tricky Fish View Post
Thank you for all your feedback. Before I buy a stereo DAW interface per the advice above, i’ve a follow-up question:

For my current youtube videos i am plugging the Shure MV88 directly into my iphone. I press play on my phone and when i get a good take i trim the video and upload. It is very simple and easy; no processing involved.

Would it be possible for me to plug a DAW interface directly into my iPhone? That is, instead of the Shure MV88 being the iphone’s mic extension, i use the DAW as the phone mic extension.

This would enable me to press record and get completed vids without needing any processing.
Your terminology is a bit vague Don't know what a "mic extension" is

However If I am understanding you correctly ? Then (No) I believe that there is usually only (one) USB connection on most interfaces, which is going to already be connected to your computer (Unless you can find an interface that would have a second USB connection that can be used as an input). ? .

So I think you are still going to have to import the file from the iPhone to the computer, then load that into either a video editor, or many DAWs also have video playback capability in the edit window.

However if your computer has at least two USB connections, some DAWs allow you to aggregate multiple source devices so you might be able set that up and use your iPhone directly into your DAW (but you would have to ask somebody who is doing that) as I only use my iPhone as a video source, and have my interface and mic/s as the source of my audio.
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Enjoy the Journey.... Kev...

KevWind at Soundcloud

KevWind at YouYube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...EZxkPKyieOTgRD

System :
Studio system Avid Carbon interface , PT Ultimate 2023.12 -Mid 2020 iMac 27" 3.8GHz 8-core i7 10th Gen ,, Ventura 13.2.1

Mobile MBP M1 Pro , PT Ultimate 2023.12 Ventura 12.2.1

Last edited by KevWind; 10-11-2020 at 08:01 AM.
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  #7  
Old 10-11-2020, 07:55 AM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tricky Fish View Post
Would it be possible for me to plug a DAW interface directly into my iPhone? That is, instead of the Shure MV88 being the iphone’s mic extension, i use the DAW as the phone mic extension.
A DAW is not a microphone. No matter how you set up, a microphone has to be part of the equation.

But as Kev said, your use of terms is confusing.
A DAW is software. It can be on your computer or in a stand-alone recording unit, but either way, when we talk about a DAW, we're not talking about something you can touch, it's simply software that allows you to manipulate audio.

An interface is a hardware device that allows you to take the analog signal from a microphone and convert it to digital so it can be manipulated in your DAW (the software). Then it takes the signal and converts it back to analog so you can listen to it.

The term "mic extension" really doesn't make any sense in the context of what you're exploring. There's no such thing.
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2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood
2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce
2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce
1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce

along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

YouTube
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  #8  
Old 10-11-2020, 10:20 AM
Chipotle Chipotle is online now
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Maybe this will clear up the terminology. To record music, you need basically three things (ignoring video for the moment):

1. A microphone, if capturing acoustic/vocals
2. An audio interface, to take inputs like the mic or instrument sources, and convert the analog sound into digital
3. Software to save and optionally edit the audio

The confusion comes in because often these three parts are packaged together.

In your current setup, the MV88 is both the microphone and the converter. The phone app is the software that saves the audio and lets you do a little editing (trimming).

In a computer setup, the three parts are separate. You get an analog microphone with XLR output, which goes into an "audio interface" box that captures and converts the audio to digital, and then into a computer with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) program, which saves the audio and allows you lots of editing capability.

This is why you can't "plug" a DAW into your phone--they are the same piece of the puzzle.

Are you recording with a looper live, you'll need an interface that has enough inputs to capture everything you are doing at once--2 channels looper/guitar output in stereo, microphones if you are using them at the moment. That means at least two appropriate inputs. The iOne has two inputs, but one is XLR and only useful for a mic, the other is 1/4" and useful for instruments.

What kind of output does your looper have? When you are playing this way, does everything go through and come out of the looper? I would assume your pedalboard has either two 1/4" outs, or one stereo TRS 1/4" out. If this is the case, and when looping you don't need a mic, you need an interface that has two 1/4" line inputs. Then you could go to your MacBook with Garageband as the DAW.

An interface like the Presonus Audiobox 96, Behringer U-Phoria UMC202 or Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 are all budget interfaces that would take two 1/4" instrument inputs.

It would be a bit more complicated than just pressing record on your phone, at first, but not rocket science. Once you get it configured, the basics of recording aren't that hard.

If you also want video, though, that's another can of worms.
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Old 10-11-2020, 11:28 AM
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Cocobolo Kid Cocobolo Kid is offline
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On the software side, if you haven't checked out Ableton Live yet, you really should. You can try it out for 10 days for free. For the type of music you like making, it seems like Live would be a perfect fit for you. For performing live with software like this, you would have to bring and use a laptop.

https://www.ableton.com/en/live/what-is-live/
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