[Harp-L] Re: Computer mics, nidis, rhytmn tracks

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ed Kliman wrote:
"
1.  A Shure SM-57 is generally regarded as the best "if you can only have one mic" tool for your mic collection.  You can find these workhorses in the mic cabinets of every high $ recording studio in the world.  They're bright, punchy mics that do exceptionally well for vocals, guitars, amps, etc.  They tend to be a bit bright and tinny for harp, but you can fix that by rolling off the high end of your EQ.  They can be had for under $90USD new and between $50 and $75 used.  You'll need to find the adapter(s) to "step down" the size of the mic cable plug to the 1/8" plug commonly used for computer sound card inputs.

2.  Do a Google search for Audacity, a wonderful *free* recording and audio editing software package.  I have Sound Forge and other pro-quality audio software tools but still find myself using Audacity for some tasks.  It's easy to use, sounds great, records at up to 24/96 bit depth and did I mention it's free? An alternative package would be n-Track available through fasoft.com's website.  The demo version is free but has some limitations on what you can do with it.  The package is selling for around $70USD and is worth your consideration.  Amazon.com is also blowing copies of Cakewalk HomeStudio 2004 out the door for $60 apiece.  HomeStudio 2004 has great sound, a lot of MIDI capabilities and is also very much worth your consideration.

Feel free to ask more questions if you've got 'em.  This is a GREAT time to be a recording musician with all the tools available to us.
"

Everything Ed says above is great advice.  I will add only one or two things:
1)  An advantage of going with Cakewalk Home Studio is that there's an upgrade path to Cakewalk's SONAR if you ever outgrow Home Studio.  The projects you've done in Home Studio will migrate to SONAR easily; just open the file in SONAR.  Home Studio also includes a number of frequently used effects, such as reverb, delay, flange, chorus, etc. that are useful for putting gloss and depth on your recordings.
2)  Ed assumes that you're going to use the preamp in your computer soundcard.  That will certainly work, but you might want to consider buying an inexpensive mixer, like one of the low-end Behringer models, which will contain much better preamps than the ones in most computer soundcards.  A 5-input behringer misxer runs about $50 new.

Good luck and regards, Richard Hunter