Remedial Question

[BuddaBill]

What kind of simple and economic tools would I need to record in Audacity with my Laptop?

Looking to multi-track vocals and guitar.
I'm assuming I need some kind of interface and a decent mic.
Is that interface a "fire wire"? (told you I was a novice)
Basically asking for an understanding of entry level computer recording but specific product referrals would be helpful.

[rhancox]

For recording multiple tracks at the same time you will need an interface where you can plug in more than one source, i.e. mic or instrument.

Interfaces can be USB or Firewire. Some people will claim Firewire is the only way to go, but I have a USB interface and I do not experience any problems.

There are a number of decent quality interfaces in the "beginner's" price range. Check out M-Audio, Lexicon, PreSonus and Focusrite for starters, but there are many others. Some can be as minimal as just one input while most entry-level interfaces will have two. And they can be used for instrument or mic.

[Sombras]

Good advice above. My own experience with the Presonus Audiobox is that it is a very solid, easy-to-use, and relatively inexpensive interface that is perfect for someone getting into this sort of thing. Presonus appears to be very experienced at this business, and it plays nice with my computer and recording software.

[Ty Ford]

Some folks shrieked with wallet pain when I suggested using Schoeps mics. Well, here we go again. Sound Devices makes very good sounding gear. I think the MixPre D runs about $750. Not cheap, but a lot of good stuff going on in the box. Put it on your radar.

It has two very good preamps, switchable limiters, and a lot of flexibility. 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz, 24-bit. It has balanced stereo and a USB out. It works well with Soundtrack Pro. Even enough clean gain for my Sennheiser 421 dynamic. I have Adobe Audition but haven't tried that yet.

More here: http://www.sounddevices.com/products/mixpre-d.htm

Regards,

Ty Ford

[theotigno]

Originally Posted by Ty Ford

... Sound Devices makes very good sounding gear. I think the MixPre D runs about $750. Not cheap, but a lot of good stuff going on in the box. Put it on your radar ...

Hey Ty. I have the Sound Devices USBPre (the original one) and I was wondering if you had a chance to compare the MixPre D versus either the original or the USBPre2. Just curious as to what is the main difference between the sound quality of both.

In regards to the original poster's question ...

Most remedial option:

a USB microphone would be a good place to start without having to worry about mic preamps, interfaces, dynamic/condenser microphones, etc. It gets you started on recording right away. The only one I have experience with is the Blue Snowball (I got one of the original ones that were still made in Latvia). I've used it for recording voice overs (which it worked well for) and simple recordings (here's a recording I did for CD my friend was putting together ... it's all USB mic except the bass, which was direct in; yes, even the keyboard at the end was a mic'd keyboard amp). Now they have a better option in the Blue Yeti, but I haven't tried one.

Most people seem to look down on this option, but I think that it's a good option for someone who wants to start recording right away. Other options that seem like great options would field recorders such as the Zoom H2 which can also be used as a USB microphone. These can be great if you consider that it's dual purpose: you can record without having your computer there. I've heard some good recordings done on these.

Quick note: I have used the Blue Snowball with Audacity and it has worked solid for me

Remedial+:

If you were looking at getting started with learning the recording process, you can always look at getting a Shure SM57 + some type of USB or Firewire interface. There are a lot of them out there that work great and vary in price range. I currently use a Sound Devices USBPre and an Echo Audiofire 4. Both work solid with the computers I'm using. One thing to consider is if your computer has a Firewire input, which, if it doesn't, then USB would be your main option.

The reason I went with going with a Shure SM57 is because even when you start getting more microphones, you can always find a use for it (especially live). It's good to start learning the in's and out's of mic placement.

...

There you have it: two entry-level options that will get you started on getting your hands dirty

[moon]

Originally Posted by BuddaBill

Basically asking for an understanding of entry level computer recording but specific product referrals would be helpful.

A Zoom H2 can be a good place to start. Great value.

Next step up would be separate mics and interface. Apogee Duet (mac only), RME Babyface, and Sound Devices gear as mentioned by Ty (they also do a Usbpre2) are the ones to shoot for. These are probably some of the best value bits of audio gear you can buy considering the sound quality you get for the price. Good enough to produce a home-made CD if you've got decent mics.

After that, further upgrades start getting really expensive and bring smaller and smaller gains in audio quality as you move into the realm of $X,000 rack-mounted boxes as used in pro studios.

That's the basic upgrade path, I think. There are cheaper interfaces than the Duet etc mentioned above and they're all much better than the first audio gear I started out with (Fostex X15..!), but for just a little more you can get something really good. What you're paying for are good preamps, good analogue to digital conversion (AD) on the way in to the computer, and good digital to analogue conversion (DA) on the way out.

The standard recommendation here for budget mics are the Oktava Mk012 and ADK A6. A pair if you can. Both are great on acoustic guitar. Cheap but not at all nasty, unlike many of their competitors.

There's more to it than just gear though. First is performance, then instrument. If you don't have a good sound to record gear won't help.

Room acoustics can also be very important; it's not something only high-end studios have to worry about. If your room isn't good (and it probably isn't) you've got less freedom to experiment with mic techniques. You're pretty much forced to get in close at the neck-body join (louder signal = less room). That's not a total disaster: you might find it's your best position anyway.

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by theotigno

Hey Ty. I have the Sound Devices USBPre (the original one) and I was wondering if you had a chance to compare the MixPre D versus either the original or the USBPre2. Just curious as to what is the main difference between the sound quality of both.

Hey,

It's been too long since i had a USB Pre here.

I think the AES and USB outputs are the main difference, but I could be wrong.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[AtlJohn]

Another vote for the Blue Snowball. It doesn't get any simpler or more affordable than that. I like mine a lot, for recording just acoustic guitar or gtr and vox.

-js