what do i need ??

[.-.LeX.-.]

i been thinking of starting to work on a " mini studio " in my house... not anything complex, simple, basic stuff to have fun with and record songs.

bassicly i need to know what i need.. ( rember, the BASIC stuff to get the job done fairly well )

i know ill need a new sound card.. i was looking at the SOUND BLASTER EXTIGY how is it? will it work well??

also, i was looking out some speakers, these --> Creative Labs Inspire 5.1 Speaker System

and i still have to look in to microphones.. any recommendations for bass/guitar/vocal recording mics?

and what else do i need? do i NEED to buy an expensive mixing console??

thanks

[JMX]

Rule number one: Stay away from Creative Labs cards, especially when you plan to use an ASIO-capable host program like Cubase or Logic later.
USB cards are not the best choice, get a real internal card for low latency.
The Midiman/M-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496 www.midiman.com is a very good card with great driver support and low latency. It has full 24bit/96kHz capabilities, unlike the Creative cards, which can only record 16bit and up to 48kHz. ASIO on Creative cards is limited to 48 kHz only - the Extigy has no ASIO drivers at all.
BTW: You don't really need 5.1 speakers for audio recording, better get some good stereo speakers.

I'd recommend recording from the line out of your amp first, that way you don't need a mixer.

You can add a small Mackie or Behringer mixer (4 or 8 channel) later and use a Shure SM 57 or 58 to record vocals or your amp.

[Misanthrope]

well.. i was satisfied with some small studio by fostex (hard disk recorder with mixpult - 12tracks) combined with computer... well.. some microphone is needed too :-) if u only don`t want to put a bass jack into mix. ;-) it`s a lil bit more expensive... (secondhand stuff was almost 2000$ - non used..just on sale.. but i liked that a lot...)
if u wanna go for cheap alternative try to plug a jack into soundcard heheheh....
i don`t know... on this kind of hme studio u can reach a proffesional stuff with not a big problems... it`s like PLUG and PLAY toy...
c`ya

[.-.LeX.-.]

Originally posted by JMX
Rule number one: Stay away from Creative Labs cards, especially when you plan to use an ASIO-capable host program like Cubase or Logic later.
USB cards are not the best choice, get a real internal card for low latency.
The Midiman/M-Audio Delta Audiophile 2496 www.midiman.com is a very good card with great driver support and low latency. It has full 24bit/96kHz capabilities, unlike the Creative cards, which can only record 16bit and up to 48kHz. ASIO on Creative cards is limited to 48 kHz only - the Extigy has no ASIO drivers at all.
BTW: You don't really need 5.1 speakers for audio recording, better get some good stereo speakers.

I'd recommend recording from the line out of your amp first, that way you don't need a mixer.

You can add a small Mackie or Behringer mixer (4 or 8 channel) later and use a Shure SM 57 or 58 to record vocals or your amp.

and what kind of quality am i looking at here.....

and, how much is that mixer??

[JMX]

The Audiophile is at 200$ and (semi) pro quality.

As for mixer:

Something like this (99$)

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/.../base_id/35499

[.-.LeX.-.]

hmm, thanks...

but..
could you explain what all this stuff actully does....

im not that dumb in the subject.. but i could use some good explaining...

like.. what will the set up be... Ill buy the card, ill buy this mixer... ill buy some good microphones...then what happens???

i was hoping on setting evreything up to do single track recording.. like, record one track at a time, then mix them all together like we did in the studio.. drums first, then guitars, then bass, then vocals.. .like that...

( whats the best software for this kinda of stuff too? )

[JMX]

Setup:

Install the card in the computer, start computer, install drivers.

Connect mixer or amp line out with line in of the soundcard. Plug the mic in one of the channel mic inputs.

Connect line out of soundcard with your stereo.

Best programs to use:

Steinberg Cubase, Nuendo, Magix/Sek'd Samplitude or Emagic's Logic. Cakewalk's Sonar is good too.
But most of these cost 500$ and up.

N-Track is a good cheap alternative. Or Steinberg Cubasis.

[.-.LeX.-.]

speaking of mics...

what are the best mics for recording bass, guitar, and vocals.

( and... this mixer is for recording more then one track at one time.. or for 1 at a time? im confused... )

[JMX]

With a mixer you can record one or more, depending on the soundcard inputs, usually 2 mono or one stereo with cheaper soundcards (250$ and below).

We had a thread on mics a while ago, but Shure SM 57 or 58 are safe bets and not too expensive.

Best bass recording microhpone around $100...

[air_leech]

JMX,

what about the Audigy? (internal version of the Extigy?).
the drummer I played with on sunday has one and it seemed like a good piece of hardware.

[.-.LeX.-.]

Originally posted by JMX
With a mixer you can record one or more, depending on the soundcard inputs, usually 2 mono or one stereo with cheaper soundcards (250$ and below).

if they can only record 1 track at a time.. then whats the point of having an 8 channel mixer?

[JMX]

You can record up to 8 sources by mixing them down to 2 channels, e.g. drums.