$250 Budget for home recording.

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by kurth

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...cording-bundle

$209.....

My problem with "solo" style interfaces is the single XLR input. It rules out recording the guitar and vocal together with just microphones, unless you only want a single mic (with that scenario's positioning challenges), mono track, or recording you and your friend on another acoustic instrument that can't plug in, or recording any solo instrument with a pair of mics, etc. To me, it's something that will have a short life if someone decides to get into recording in any use case other than 1 mic + plugged in something.

I don't argue that you'll get a lot more discernible difference in tracks by spending 2+x, but what you get is more features that really might make it something you can use for a long time.

And, they still need a stand - and spend extra for a decent boom stand because it gives you so many more options when it comes to positioning the mic. And a decent cable and a pop filter. Just broke through the OP's $250 anyway.

[Horseflesh]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

I would recommend sticking with an interface + mic to start with. Mixers (like the Mackie) in your budget almost always limit the USB connection to a stereo out, i.e., you don't get a separate channel in the digital signal for each input.

At this price point that is certainly true, but it still might be OK depending on one's requirements.

The Mackie will let you do a L/R stereo pan on the mic/instrument inputs, so you could isolate guitar and voice into separate channels that way, too.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by kurth

Really? Go to soundcloud and tell me what compu and interface someone's using. Why is this forum always pushing more....when less is, either all someone wants, can afford, or needs. I've got an i5 with 16g of ram. Important that it's ddr4, but I regularly have between 10 and 15 tracks , and when I'm recording voice, I'll throw in another halfdozen to chose the best version. Maybe I should have said 'as good as the best here' ? Maybe there's a small exception, but when someone is such a good guitar player that a focusrite solo would need to be upgraded, they've probably earned that path. No need to block the path before it's ever walked on. The sweetwater deal has all he needs to get started, for less than $250.

I can't tell you what interface anyone is using but I can tell you what sounds good and what's sounds bad. And I don't see anyone "pushing more." I see people making recommendations in line with the OP's budget.

I take no issue with the bundle you recommended and said so in a previous post. If your wording was inaccurate and easily misconstrued, all you had to do was say you could have worded it better and explained what you meant to say. That would have been the end of it. People here try to be helpful. I've devoted a lot of hours on that stickied thread just to be helpful. There's no call for wide net accusations like, "Why is this forum always pushing more." You do enjoy an argument though ...or at least it seems that way.

[kurth]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

My problem with "solo" style interfaces is the single XLR input. It rules out recording the guitar and vocal together with just microphones, unless you only want a single mic (with that scenario's positioning challenges), mono track, or recording you and your friend on another acoustic instrument that can't plug in, or recording any solo instrument with a pair of mics, etc. To me, it's something that will have a short life if someone decides to get into recording in any use case other than 1 mic + plugged in something.

I don't argue that you'll get a lot more discernible difference in tracks by spending 2+x, but what you get is more features that really might make it something you can use for a long time.

And, they still need a stand - and spend extra for a decent boom stand because it gives you so many more options when it comes to positioning the mic. And a decent cable and a pop filter. Just broke through the OP's $250 anyway.

I believe the deal comes with a xlr cable. I made my first pop filter out of a crocheting hoop. People need to bump into those walls for themselves to see if they need more. Yeah the lack of inputs is limiting. But I use a behringer 404hd bought for about $100 on amazon.mx on sale. Truthfully it's great. And any interface will far outperform the compu's soundcard. The sw deal only brings those things together easily, but there's lots of choices and still fit into the $250. SW's got the 202hd for $100 and an audio technica at2020 for a hundred. Ten bucks for a mic cable. Ten bucks for a pop filter. It ain't so hard to spend less.

[Chas007]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

I would recommend sticking with an interface + mic to start with. Mixers (like the Mackie) in your budget almost always limit the USB connection to a stereo out, i.e., you don't get a separate channel in the digital signal for each input.

Your budget is probably over optimistic, but I think you could do something for $300. You have to accept that you are in the entry level pricing. In particular, the differences in brands is very, very small in this range, regardless of the brand name. They all have to put something together with essentially the same components, and probably in the same factories.

I would avoid used electronics unless you are buying them from somewhere like a local Guitar Center where you have a very easy and almost cost-free route to return items which do not work. There is simply no repair option for most of this stuff if you find you've just bought a clunker off of Craigslist or eBay.

Honestly, the Behringer Uphoria interfaces and even mics get good marks and will work for a starter, leaving room for a mic stand (+ pop filter if you will be doing vocals) and decent set of headphones. Here's my quick picks.

Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD : $100
Behringer C-1 medium condenser: $50
Audio-Technica ATH-M20x Headphones: $50
Mic stand, cable + pop filter: ~75

First thanks to everyone for your help.
What I wound up with and the total cost tax and all included.
Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD $99 (new)
Audio-Technica AT2020 mic $75 (new)
A generic mic stand with a boom arm $26.25 (new)
10' xlr mic cable $9.00 (new)
Total tax and all $229.65
I already have the headphones and the laptop.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Chas007

First thanks to everyone for your help.
What I wound up with and the total cost tax and all included.
Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD $99 (new)
Audio-Technica AT2020 mic $75 (new)
A generic mic stand with a boom arm $26.25 (new)
10' xlr mic cable $9.00 (new)
Total tax and all $229.65
I already have the headphones and the laptop.

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

[kurth]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I can't tell you what interface anyone is using but I can tell you what sounds good and what's sounds bad. And I don't see anyone "pushing more." I see people making recommendations in line with the OP's budget.

I take no issue with the bundle you recommended and said so in a previous post. If your wording was inaccurate and easily misconstrued, all you had to do was say you could have worded it better and explained what you meant to say. That would have been the end of it. People here try to be helpful. I've devoted a lot of hours on that stickied thread just to be helpful. There's no call for wide net accusations like, "Why is this forum always pushing more." You do enjoy an argument though ...or at least it seems that way.

Well actually Jim...you were the one who said his compu wasn't up to it? I didn't take issue with anyone...I just made a statement, where I tried to give a positive path forward, which you apparently took issue with. I'll take a great guitarist with a solo anyday over an average guitarist with an apollo, so my wording wasn't inaccurate. And by the time it all comes out in the wash, as I said...no one can tell the difference, or even cares. Except people invested in other paths. It's only the finished work that's important. And yeah, there's a gear acquisition attitude that might be discouraging to some. The world's a big place and most people struggle to keep up economically. cheers

[MarkF_48]

Originally Posted by Chas007

First thanks to everyone for your help.
What I wound up with and the total cost tax and all included.
Behringer U-Phoria UMC202HD $99 (new)
Audio-Technica AT2020 mic $75 (new)
A generic mic stand with a boom arm $26.25 (new)
10' xlr mic cable $9.00 (new)
Total tax and all $229.65
I already have the headphones and the laptop.

I have a UMC404HD interface and it gives good bang for the buck. The UMC202HD should work well for you. Also have an AT2020 that has seen a good amount of use over the years.

One additional accessory you might consider that isn't all that expensive is a 'pop filter', particularly if you plan on doing vocals. It will help diminish plosive pops and and it helps protect the mic capsule from breath moisture.

This is one I found on Amazon. There may be better ones and maybe someone might suggest one that is reasonably priced, but this should work OK.
https://www.amazon.com/Samson-PS04-M...i%2C434&sr=1-1

[Horseflesh]

Originally Posted by MarkF_48

One additional accessory you might consider that isn't all that expensive is a 'pop filter', particularly if you plan on doing vocals.

How is a screen style pop filter different than a foam mic cover?

The only mic experience I have is with live vocals like karaoke, where you are pretty much swallowing the mic and there's no room for a screen.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by kurth

Well actually Jim...you were the one who said his compu wasn't up to it? I didn't take issue with anyone...I just made a statement, where I tried to give a positive path forward, which you apparently took issue with. I'll take a great guitarist with a solo anyday over an average guitarist with an apollo, so my wording wasn't inaccurate. And by the time it all comes out in the wash, as I said...no one can tell the difference, or even cares. Except people invested in other paths. It's only the finished work that's important. And yeah, there's a gear acquisition attitude that might be discouraging to some. The world's a big place and most people struggle to keep up economically. cheers

Now you're just lying. The only thing I said about his computer was "I don't think you're going to be able to push that computer too hard." I stand by that. He has an i5 with 8gb ram. That's no beast by any stretch. It will handle what a lot of guitarists/singers will need so long as they don't start adding a bunch of virtual instruments and so long as really cpu hungry plugins are kept to a minimum. Never, anywhere in the thread, did I say his computer "wasn't up to it."

"I'll take a great guitarist with a solo anyday over an average guitarist with an apollo, so my wording wasn't inaccurate" is a false dichotomy in this situation. We're not choosing between those two scenarios as we have only one guitarist who neither of us have heard play.

And you're back to the falsehood that someone was pushing some overtly expensive options at the OP. Again, that didn't happen. No one did that. The people who made recommendations appeared to consider the OP's desire to stay around $250. I'm less concerned with the inaccuracy of your words than I am with your argumentative tone and the mentioned misrepresentations of what people have said.

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by Horseflesh

How is a screen style pop filter different than a foam mic cover?

A good pop filter will simply cut down on the air blast, without changing the sound waves that reach the microphone. This is a big difference. The plosives are a response to quick changes in air pressure, and not soundwaves (alone).

Another important difference is that with a foam mic cover you are changing the design of the mic. Any "room" that you might hope to capture will also be impacted by its presence.

A side effect of having a gooseneck type of pop filter is that it allows you to set it so it controls the distance from the mic, and do a much better job of controlling proximity effect. For folks without a good mic technique, it gives them a target to sing to that is not "eating the mic" and (in doing so) adding proximity effect that has to be dealt with in the mix.

With all that, can you live without one, sure, but I don't recommend it [doing without] if it's not intrusive.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by Horseflesh

How is a screen style pop filter different than a foam mic cover?

The only mic experience I have is with live vocals like karaoke, where you are pretty much swallowing the mic and there's no room for a screen.

They all produce varying results. I'm not sure if calling any of them better than the others is entirely accurate though. There are some, like the foam, that I think muffle the sound slightly. I suspect how much of an issue that is depends on the singer and the distance to the filter. The mesh ones are easy enough to make at home to try out if you have a wire hanger and someone's old nylon stocking.

The primary reason to use a pop filter is to control plosives that can occur when singing a B or P sound. The secondary reason is it keeps your mic cleaner than if you weren't using a filter.

It's also helpful if you find you want to maintain a certain distance from the mic when just having space between you and the mic becomes difficult to judge and maintain accurately. If you set the filter to the distance you want to be from the mic, you just have to stay close to the filter to get the desired outcome.

The foam mic cover is a wind screen, not a pop filter. I never use them in the studio and I'm not sure how effective they are as pop filters. I suspect they must be of some benefit (if not just as helpful as an actual pop filter). If you have one, try it and see. Sing some lines with lots of B and P words with and without the wind screen. If the plosives are significantly reduced, it works.

[kurth]

Originally Posted by jim1960

Now you're just lying. The only thing I said about his computer was "I don't think you're going to be able to push that computer too hard." I stand by that. He has an i5 with 8gb ram. That's no beast by any stretch. It will handle what a lot of guitarists/singers will need so long as they don't start adding a bunch of virtual instruments and so long as really cpu hungry plugins are kept to a minimum. Never, anywhere in the thread, did I say his computer "wasn't up to it."

"I'll take a great guitarist with a solo anyday over an average guitarist with an apollo, so my wording wasn't inaccurate" is a false dichotomy in this situation. We're not choosing between those two scenarios as we have only one guitarist who neither of us have heard play.

And you're back to the falsehood that someone was pushing some overtly expensive options at the OP. Again, that didn't happen. No one did that. The people who made recommendations appeared to consider the OP's desire to stay around $250. I'm less concerned with the inaccuracy of your words than I am with your argumentative tone and the mentioned misrepresentations of what people have said.

Jim be cool. Read your post 7 and the op's post 8. Looks to me like the op was interpreting the same way I did.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by kurth

Jim be cool. Read your post 7 and the op's post 8. Looks to me like the op was interpreting the same way I did.

I'm not reading the OP's mind. I know what I said and you totally misrepresented what I said.

[DupleMeter]

Originally Posted by jim1960

I'm sure that would be fine for his stated purpose but to say he can achieve "as good as the best" might be overselling it a tad.

I have to agree. And will posit that just because you can't hear a difference doesn't mean there isn't a difference. Critical listening is a practiced skill. No one starts off with it & the more your practice it the better you get at hearing differences.