Just for fun...

[bassybill]

You get the idea... show some of your favourite stuff that you use at home. A bit like the "Post Your Studio" thread, only different. Go!

[theory028]

Interesting idea, bassybill! I'm excited to see what everyone is using.

Here is a rough depiction of the gear that I use for my recordings. I am going to eventually get some more microphones and an interface with more preamps. This setup, though fairly basic, works wonderfully for most of my needs.



Squier CV 60s Jazz / Atkinson Precision
Ibanez JEMs
Roland TD-20K
MXL 990
Carvin BX500 (for the DI)
Aphex Bass Xciter (for the DI)
Presonus Inspire GT (same as Inspire 1394)
Reaper 3.14
Dell XPS M1530, Vista Home Premium SP2 32 bit

[bassybill]

theory028, that's the idea - great post!

I'm going to have to get an e-drum kit at some stage.

[HermitProdigy]

Hey Bassybill,

How's the firebox working for you? I'm thinking of getting it.

[theory028]

Originally Posted by bassybill

theory028, that's the idea - great post!

I'm going to have to get an e-drum kit at some stage.

They are a lot of fun. I still need to learn how to get good recordings from the kit, though. Perhaps the best way to do it (and I'm a complete newbie so I'm not certain that this is even an option) would be to set up the kit as a MIDI controller and use software-based drum models. Both of the interfaces that I am looking at have MIDI inputs. I'm curious if doing that would still account for the velocity of the strike on the pad. It looks like I have some more stuff to research now.

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by HermitProdigy

Hey Bassybill,

How's the firebox working for you? I'm thinking of getting it.

The Firebox is a great interface, I think, although it's been superseded now by the Firestudio mobile, which has more gain on the mic pre-amps and better A-D converters.

The Firebox mic pre has enough oomph for a condenser mic like the Samson CO3 that I have, but with dynamic mics it needs more of a boost. I have a cheapo Behringer tube mic pre on the way that I think may work a little better than the pre-amps in the Firebox. As far as the converters go, the ones in the Firebox sound really good to me with all the audio sources I've tried, but I haven't tried the FS mobile to compare and people say it is way better in this regard.

The FS Mobile is about £270 over here, so I got the Firebox for about £120 when the FS Mobile came out and replaced it. You can still get the older version for very good prices (try Ebay), but if you don't mind the extra few $$$ I'd go for the newer unit. The Firebox will do nicely for me until I upgrade to something in the $400-500 range.

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by theory028

They are a lot of fun. I still need to learn how to get good recordings from the kit, though. Perhaps the best way to do it (and I'm a complete newbie so I'm not certain that this is even an option) would be to set up the kit as a MIDI controller and use software-based drum models. Both of the interfaces that I am looking at have MIDI inputs. I'm curious if doing that would still account for the velocity of the strike on the pad. It looks like I have some more stuff to research now.

You can use an electronic drum kit with something like Superior Dummer (pictured above) or other sample libraries and trigger samples at a WIDE range of velocities as you play. The results can be incredibly realistic. Check this out:

http://www.toontrack.com/tv.asp?chan...DESC&item=47#3

[theory028]

Originally Posted by bassybill

You can use an electronic drum kit with something like Superior Dummer (pictured above) or other sample libraries and trigger samples at a WIDE range of velocities as you play. The results can be incredibly realistic. Check this out:

http://www.toontrack.com/tv.asp?chan...DESC&item=47#3

Now that is cool. It definitely beats having to buy an acoustic set and mics.

I just watched a video on YouTube about triggering EZdrummer with e drums and that also sounded really good. Would I need one of those Alesis Trigger to MIDI devices? I'm pretty sure that the TD-20 drum brain has MIDI connectivity but I haven't found much about how it can be used. I just found the V Drum forums and there seems to be some helpful information there. I will be doing some reading there for a while.

Thanks for the inspiration, bassybill. I never thought that drums could be this exciting.

--

I have just come to the realization that if I get the MIDI situation for this drum kit figured out, I won't necessarily need to upgrade my interface. I will still need some sort of USB MIDI interface but that is a lot more affordable than an entire new Firewire interface. I am quite happy with the Inspire GT. The only time I ever record more than one track at a time is when I track acoustic guitars or my bass stuff twice (a blend of DI and miking). If the drums are being done over MIDI then I'll never have to record so many mics at one time. This little discovery will have saved me a lot more money than I was anticipating.