[Harp-L] Home recording

[Robert Ross <robertaross@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Gary,

I think you are shooting to high when you talk about Protools are
even Logic. For what you want to do, that is a huge overkill as well
as overly burdensome on your system resources. Even the Light Edition
Protools is a longer learning curver than you need, and more complex
to work with. Most computer interfaces or mixers actually come with
all the software you really need for basic recording and editing. I
started out with Logic, but too much work, switched to Ableton Live,
which I like alot, but still more than I really needed just for basic
recording and editing. So I ended up using the software that comes
with the mixer, Steinberg Cubase LE - simple, easy to learn and does
the job. When you buy your Imac or whatever, i strongly recommend
that you do not get the "latest" OS (10.5) - it will eat up all your
resources if it works at all. I use the latest version of OS 10.4
which is terific. 10.5 is only needed for Intel macs. Also, plan on
increasing the ram of whatever you buy to at least 2 GB (it will
probably come with one), which will make a huge performance
difference.

I have a 3-year old Powerbook as the base for my home recording
studio, which works fine as will your Imac if you use less ambitious
software. The first thing you need to do is determine a budget -
there is a huge range of what you can use for home recording, from
simple firewire interfaces to firewire mixers. Definitely go with
firewire, though it is a little more expensive, because it is more
likely to be able to support full 24-bit/96kHz which I believe USB
cannot.  The lowest cost entry is a simple interface, which you can
get for $200-300. M-Audio Firewire 410 is a nice on on sale a
zzounds.com. But I suspect you want something a little higher end and
better quality.

I started out with an Alesys MultiTrack 8 Fireware mixer myself
because it was not very expensive (about $400 when I got it 2 years
ago, now around $300) and I like to control the mix on the input end
rather than in the mac. You only need an 8 track because you are only
recording a couple of guys and instruments. If you want room to
expand go for a 16. 

A mixer gives a lot more control than a simple mic interface. I
highly recommend that personally for home recording. There are
several out there to choose from of varying degrees of budget and
quality, with decent ones under $500, and going up into the
thousands. Phonic offers the most bang for the buck, with 8 tracks at
under $300 and 16 tracks under $500. For a step up if you want I like
the new M-Audio NRV10 Firewire Mixer on paper, haven't seen it in
action though, at around $700. Mackie and Behringer make several.
Korg would be more high end at around $1500+ for an 8 track with
firewire.

The next major investment are your microphones. I started out with an
AudioTechnica AT3030 on sale, which is a large condenser mic, since I
wanted to record didgeridoo as well as harp and needed better low
freq sensitivity. but good vocal mics will work well. I bought a
small Groove Tubes instrument condenser mic to mic my amp when
recording since it really catches a lot more of the tone coming from
the amp. I opted at first for some expensive Senheisser headphones,
but got tired of wearing them, and my ears get hot, so bought some
inexpensive KRK RP5 near-field monitors which are more than adequate.
Remember to budget for all the accessories you will need, which gets
up into the hundreds, from mic stands to an assortment of cables. I
have a lot of cables for gigging but didn't want to be pulling stuff
on and off the studio equipment all the time, so bought all new
cables and stands. 

Finally, for much better advice than I can give, check out the
articles, and especially the BBS, at www.HomeRecording.com.

Good luck!
Robert
www.RawFoodLife.com




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