Suggestions for a nice little home recording setup?

[ataylor]

I'm sure this has been covered time and time again, but I did go through 5-10 pages to see what I could find.

Anyway, I'd like to slowly (but surely) put together a nice little home recording setup for singer/songwriter stuff. I will generally just be recording a guitar/vocal track and then layering additional tracks of harmonies and acoustic or electric guitar fills. I'm currently using a Blue Snowball and have liked the convenience and quality but would like to step up to a two-mic setup.

I use a pretty recent iMac (about a year old) with 3+ GHz i3 processor and 4GB RAM.

So here are some categories that I'm looking at and some ideas I've had (if any).

1 - Software. Have always used Garageband. Don't know if it's worth it to jump to something like Logic Studio although that may give me a lot more options in terms of amp modeling for electric stuff? I think I'd rather stick to Garageband or Logic as opposed to Pro Tools.

2 - Interface/preamp. I've heard good things about the Apogee Duet. Beautiful piece of equipment too. I also have a friend who uses the M-Audio DMP3 preamp right into the computer with nice results too. I like the idea of the Apogee Duet in terms of portability (especially if I get a MacBook down the road) and flexibility for electric guitar input.

3 - Microphones. I'd like to go with a couple nice condenser microphones for vocals and guitar that I can blend and adjust to get the best tone and balance. I've looked at the Audio Technica AT-2020 mics, and have even heard the Nady SCM-900 is a great bang-for-your-buck option. Or I have considered putting down a little more money and going with something like a pair of the lower-cost Blue microphones like the Bluebird and/or the Spark. This is an area I imagine to be more subjective than others but I'd be open for suggestions in the $50-$300 range.

4 - Headphones. Looking around, it seems the AKG K 240 Studio is a popular choice, I don't think I'd want to spend much more than this -- any good options for less?

5 - Accessories. Mic stands, cables, etc. No clue what to look for here.

6 - Anything I'm missing. I'm sure I'm overlooking something.

Thanks in advance for your advice and/or suggestions!

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by ataylor

...
Anyway, I'd like to slowly (but surely) put together a nice little home recording setup for singer/songwriter stuff. I will generally just be recording a guitar/vocal track and then layering additional tracks of harmonies and acoustic or electric guitar fills. ...

3 - Microphones. I'd like to go with a couple nice condenser microphones for vocals and guitar that I can blend and adjust to get the best tone and balance. I've looked at the Audio Technica AT-2020 mics, and have even heard the Nady SCM-900 is a great bang-for-your-buck option. Or I have considered putting down a little more money and going with something like a pair of the lower-cost Blue microphones like the Bluebird and/or the Spark. This is an area I imagine to be more subjective than others but I'd be open for suggestions in the $50-$300 range.

...

For a guitarist/vocalist who prefers to do vocal and guitar at the same time while maintaining enough separation to be able to balance volume and apply tweaking to each track separately, a pair of figure 8 (bidirectional) mics offer significant advantage. The bidirectional pattern has a deeper null, or area of minimum sensitivity, than other patterns, so you can arrange the mics with the null on the guitar mic pointing at the voice, the null on the vocal mic pointing at the guitar, and the result can be pretty remarkable.

Bidirectional mics come in three broad categories. Ribbon mics are naturally bidirectional, but come with issues of very low sensitivity and some high frequency rolloff. High end small diaphragm condensers can be found with bidirectional capsules, but these are rather expensive, from $1200 up to about $2400 for a single mic amp/capsule combination, double that for a pair. The usual choice for most of us is the large diaphragm condenser with pattern switching. These range from about $150 (CAD M179) through the vintage Neumanns and such in the 5 digit range. I've used the CAD, Rode NT2a, Audio Technica 4050, and Shure KSM44 and they all worked quite well.

With all that techie info I might add that audio quality comes at a remarkably low price point these days, and going up the price scale is far from a guarantee of added audio quality. Many of us have spent silly money on recording gear that essentially functions as a techie Dumbo's Feather. Or as a high tech pacifier - if my recording sucks it can't be because of the gear so I'd better keep practicing. If you can avoid neurotic pathways like these you can do amazing recordings with a very reasonable gear investment. It just takes study and practice, like any other skill.

Fran

[alohachris]

Aloha,

DIY room treatment will make an even larger, qualitative difference to your recordings than the signal chain, IMO. It can be dramatic. It doesn't have to be expensive.

Check out Fran's link here to get started on making your own portable, DIY absorbers:

http://www.homebrewedmusic.com/tag/broadband-absorber/

Check out Ethan Winer's site for more details about why you need room treatment. Do not save it for last as is the tendency. It's not as sexy as that mic upgrade. Just more necessary.

alohachris

[moon]

1. Software. Ardour and Reaper are cheaper alternatives worth checking out before deciding which DAW to use.

2. Interface. Duets have very good audio quality but limited connectivity. A Sound Devices Usbpre2 adds a few extra options, and is very tough and portable. Also works standalone. RME Babyface adds midi and ADAT if you might want to add extra channels one day. Everybody loves Totalmix and RME reliability. These three aren't the cheapest two-channel interfaces around but I think they are some of the best value buys in the audio world considering the quality they deliver.

They've all got pres built-in so you won't need a DMP3.

3. Mics. Pair of ADK A6. These are great on acoustic guitar. I also use mine on flute. It can do a good job on vocals too. It's a natural sounding mic which doesn't hype anything and has good transient response. These characteristics make it very versatile so it's an ideal first mic for a home studio. With a pair you can record vocals and guitar simultaneously or guitar separately in stereo (they used a spaced pair in that Dreamguitars clip).

ADK don't seem to be as well-known as some brands but they make some great mics at good prices.

4 - Headphones. I like Sony MDR 7506 (or V6 - essentially same model). Slightly cheaper, fold up nicely, easy to drive.

5 - Accessories. Yeah you'll need a couple of mic stands, cables etc. Shock mounts for the mics are very useful; it's very easy to tap a foot and ruin a take. Even a headphone cord rubbing against the mic stand can add some rumble. You'll need a pop-screen for the vocal mic, but these are easy to make.

6- As Alohachris (Aloha ) said, room treatment can be quite important. Broadband absorber panels are fairly easy and cheap to make with Owen's Corning 703, Knauf Acoustic Board, or similar.

Don't waste your time with mattresses and rugs. These can sometimes make a room worse by killing some of the high end but leaving all the low-end mud intact.

If you're stuck, you can take most of the room out with a close-in mic. With a good acoustic space you're free to experiment a bit more with different mic positions.

Room treatment is also important when you're monitoring. Your speakers will lie in a bad room - here's a test to try out.

PS: there seems to be an "angry" emoticon attached to this post. Wasn't meant - no idea how I did that.

[wcap]

I am not an expert in home recording, but have done a bit of this.

I started out with a Presonus Firebox, a large condenser mic, a small condenser mic, and a Mac laptop running GarageBand. We also have Logic Express, but I have not climbed the steep learning curve with Logic yet.

Recording using a computer has its issues. If I don't shut down other software first I can end up with gaps in a recording. And if you don't have everything set up to record, and leave it set up, then there is the hassle of getting hooked up to your computer each time you want to record something. With our laptop, which is normally used for other things, and which does not have a good battery life at the moment (meaning we have to plug it in) these little annoyances are enough to inhibit recording sometimes.

And worst of all - our laptop's fan kicks in and then we have fan noise in the recording. I think iMacs tend to be quieter, but this is something to consider.

For these reasons (in particular the noise problem), we are buying a stand-alone unit. I've decided to go with a Zoom R24 (because it accepts multiple microphones, providing phantom power to 6 of them - one of my objectives is also to record at least 4 tracks at once). If you don't need to record so many tracks at once, there are smaller, less expensive versions of this made by Zoom and other companies (see recent threads here in this subforum).

I don't have this unit yet, but supposedly it is easy to transfer files to your computer for editing in Garageband, or Logic, or whatever.

Anyway, a stand alone unit of some sort might be worth considering if you anticipate any sort of computer fan noise, or if you want more mobility (e.g. to be able to record in church or some other space where you won't have a computer to hook up to).

[anton]

I dont have much additional to offer beyond what these other folks have said. Listen to Fran and Aloha Chris. Beyond a certain not overly high price point it aint the gear, and acoustic treatment matters more than a 300 vs 500 dollar mic.

I would definitely recommend checking out Reaper before dropping big bucks on a DAW. You may end up liking something else better, but reaper is super affordable and its trial version is full featured and does not expire. www.reaper.fm

I have the ADK A6's and like them alot. You can get them used on Ebay for a good price.

As far as interfaces I have the Presonus Firestudio Mobile. About half the price of the duet and more inputs. I cannot comment on the quality of pre's and converters vs the Duet, but it seems to sound good to me.

Best of luck

Anton

[Ty Ford]

I've been professionally recording in my home for over 20 years. I make my living at it. I've put money into gear and into the space itself. As has been covered here before, one of the things you'll have to deal with is making sense out of what you hear. We are not all created equally. Just being a guitar player doesn't guarantee you'll be a good recording engineer or mixer. Recording well takes time, thought and patience. I have many friends who are gifted players who seriously don't want to get involved with recording and mixing.

For several reasons, at some point, it will be helpful for you to go to a good recording studio and record something simple to use as a reference. You will be introduced to better mics and preamps, better audio hardware and better acoustics, and the experience of someone who knows how to get the most out them.

As you listen to what you recorded in this recording studio, compare it to your own efforts at home. We are not all created equally. If you can't tell a big difference, it could mean you've done really well with your own work, or that you're hearing brain just isn't up to it. Does that matter? Not if you're having fun. If you can tell a difference, then, just like when you hear a great guitar player, you know what there is left to learn.

On gear? The AT2020 is an entry level mic and as Anton notes, not even a Schoeps CMC641 will sound great positioned badly in a crappy acoustic environment. So until you have the space fixed up, you won't even be able to begin to appreciate how good or bad your gear is.

Moving a mic one inch can make all the difference in the world. Game on!

Regards,

Ty Ford

PS: I've been reviewing recoding gear for magazines since the 1980s. I have many of the reviews and some audio samples in my public folder. Check the Audio and Gear Reviews folders: http://db.tt/LHYCnQyi

[alexevans917]

I think some basic, good pieces of gear are a great place to start. Something like a two channel audio interface (unless you plan on recording groups or drums), a good condenser and a good dynamic. My vote would be an Apogee Duet, an Audio Technica large diaphragm condenser (as nice of one as your budget allows.... my recommendation would be an AT3035, AT4040, AT4033, or At4050), and a Shure SM57. Add two DR Pro Boom Stands, some good cables, and a nice pair of headphones (Sony MDR7506's or Sennheiser HD280's) and you're good to go. Garageband should do everything you want to do. When you feel like you're really pushing the limits of Garageband (lots of track automation and MIDI sequencing, a bunch of extra plugins, etc.), then I'd say throw down the extra $200 and get Logic Express. It should do everything you need ever.

Your room is very important, as everyone else has said, and a bad room will make bad recordings. But a good neutral room with make neutral recordings, which is good. So try and find a carpeted room with very few surfaces that will reflect sound. I don't think as a beginning home recordist that there is any reason to shell out a few hundred dollars or more on Acoustic Panelling.

So, basically, my advise is start small:

Ideal:

Duet: $500
AT4040: $300
SM57: $100
Headphones: $100
Stands (x2): $140
Cables: (x2): $50

Total: $1190

Even starting with very barebones, simple equipment can be quite expensive.
If you need to go cheaper:

Presonus Firestudio Mobile: $300
AT3035: $150 (used)
SM57: $100
Headphones: $100
Stands (x2): $140
Cables: (x2): $50

Total: $840

You can go even cheaper by getting cheaper cables, headphones, and stands, but you'll end up wanting better ones eventually. At minimum:

Presonus Audiobox: $150
AT2020: $100
Cable: $25
Stand: $70

Total: $345

This would get you started at least.



Hope that helps.

Thanks,

Alex