Acoustic Recording Newbie

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by midwinter

That is an astonishingly good quality there! I may have to pick one of those up.

hi midwinter…

It was the older model, and I actually had the recorder about 2" too close to the neck/body joint (hence the slight over punch in the low mids).

Small digital recorders with built in mics produce very good quality recordings…and would meet the needs of most beginning recordists.

The Zoom line (H1, H2n, H4n, H5, H6) are the best bang for the buck, well supported, episodically updated, and ongoing developed hand-held field recorders 'out there'.

There are many other brands, but the thing which has brought me back to Zoom is an ongoing commitment to building better recorders, and supporting/upgrading the existing ones.

They have a great online customer support department.

[midwinter]

Or folks who don't want to drag around a backpack full of mics, preamps, a laptop, cables, and mic stands just to record a jam session.

Originally Posted by ljguitar

and would meet the needs of most beginning recordists.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by leehop71

I've gotten so much amazing advice and opinions on here, I thought I'd do the same in my next adventure, recording my acoustic and singing.

This is what I am after.

I want to know what I would need to be able to sit at my computer, record, and have it record onto my computer as a file, so I can post and send.

Keep in mind, I am not looking to do 'professional' recordings. What I mean by that is, I have no desire to do 'studio type' recording and publish CDs or MP3s to sell and such.

Just wanting to record clips I can post here and share.

Obviously I need a microphone and some sort of software for the PC?

I'd like to stay at or below $200.

Thanks in advance, you folk rock!!!!!

Ok it appears that you understand that for $200 your going to be in the "archival" category of recording as opposed to lets call it the pro-sumer or semi pro audio category.

Then basically the only real decision you need to make is, are sure you are really only looking to "sit at the computer" and record in which case a USB mic and then one of free DAW programs or something like "Reaper" would make the most sense.

If on the other hand you might want the flexibility of portability then one of the hand held digital recorders like the Zoom
and one of the free of less expensive DAWs makes sense.

[MikeBmusic]

The USB mic I have heard the most positive (and least negative) things about is the AT 2020USB.

[leehop71]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to weigh in. After getting everyone's input here, a couple hours of research, and input from Sweetwater's recording tech, I decided to go with the Blue Yeti and the PreSonus Studio One 3 Artist DAW.

It will be a good start and will give me plenty of room to grow and I stayed relatively close to my $200 mark.

Thanks again to all!

Lee

[Fran Guidry]

Just an aside to future readers of this thread ... no vendor will ever recommend REAPER digital audio workstation software because it is only sold direct by the maker.

Fran

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

Just an aside to future readers of this thread ... no vendor will ever recommend REAPER digital audio workstation software because it is only sold direct by the maker.

Fran

A HUGE +1 on that.

It's economics 101, so take a retailer's advice with a grain of salt. At one time I purchased an Ardvark interface on the advice of a retailer who suggested they would be supporting the product for a LONG time. Ardvark went belly up the following year, so I ate about $500.

Better to listen to folks that are actually users and have no financial interest. I love Reaper and I appreciate their business model.

[unimogbert]

............

[paulp1960]

If you've never encountered midi and drum machines and hardware sequencers. And if you don't know much about mixers and buses and gain structures then a modern DAW can certainly seem intimidating to learn.

The Tascam and Zoom standalone recorders do a good job and are generally quite easy to use.

[Andy Howell]

Originally Posted by paulp1960

The Tascam and Zoom standalone recorders do a good job and are generally quite easy to use.

That is right. I prefer to record into Logic X as I think this gives me the best sound. But using the same mics into a Zoom 6 gets pretty close. Using the built in mics of the Zoom is not bad either.

[MikeBmusic]

For someone who doesn't have much live sound or recording experience, a stand-alone recorder is a good first step - you can learn the basics (like getting the sound right when reocrding, instead of fixing it after).
For some, this solution is all they'll need. Many others will want to take it further and be able to process their recordings further - with automation of parameters, combining multiple takes (comping) and other things that easily accomplished with a full-featured DAW.

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by MikeBmusic

For someone who doesn't have much live sound or recording experience, a stand-alone recorder is a good first step - you can learn the basics (like getting the sound right when reocrding, instead of fixing it after).
For some, this solution is all they'll need. Many others will want to take it further and be able to process their recordings further - with automation of parameters, combining multiple takes (comping) and other things that easily accomplished with a full-featured DAW.

And of course it's quite possible to record on a portable recorder and edit on a DAW. The ability to start recording with minimal setup and the option of choosing the recording space for sound quality instead of proximity to the computer makes the portable recorder an excellent solution for those of us doing solo acoustic recording.

I've been recording myself for nearly 15 years now, I've spent thousands on interfaces, preamps, compressors, and mics, but in the last few years I've probably done more recording on a handheld than I have in my acoustically treated studio. And I invariably do post production on my recordings using a DAW.

Fran

[unimogbert]

............

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by unimogbert

down Reaper lane.

Ha a great song hook, about the ups and downs on learning a DAW ?

To be sure first learning to use a DAW can be a two edged sword. But just like learning to play the guitar, there is no "fast food" approach to recording that actually works well. It is a long (life long) learning process.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

And of course it's quite possible to record on a portable recorder and edit on a DAW. The ability to start recording with minimal setup and the option of choosing the recording space for sound quality instead of proximity to the computer makes the portable recorder an excellent solution for those of us doing solo acoustic recording.

I've been recording myself for nearly 15 years now, I've spent thousands on interfaces, preamps, compressors, and mics, but in the last few years I've probably done more recording on a handheld than I have in my acoustically treated studio. And I invariably do post production on my recordings using a DAW.

Fran

Totally aligned with that. I've advocated using a separate "audio capture device" and combining with DAW editing for a long time. It eliminates all the sticky points of recording for me, and if it isn't both easy and fun then I'm not interested.