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Post by lesblues on Jan 6, 2010 6:59:56 GMT -5
I might not have permission from the "accountant" in this family to buy another guitar but I thought I might get away with a different toy. So I started having a look at mixing desks and Mics. Nothing too pricey as obviously I can't really produce anything worth recording yet and don't play in a band.....I wish. Anyway looking for something to connect to the pc and allow me to mic up the guitar amp. Considering Behringer XENYX 1202 Mixer and Shure SM57 mic. Just wondered if anyone had any experience of these or better ideas for what I'm trying to do. Also while browsing I came across this link www.behringer.de/EN/Support/U-Control-Downloads.aspxLoads of handy looking free software downloads for budding guitarists to use in their recordings Thought it may be of some use.
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Post by Happy Jack on Jan 6, 2010 14:05:39 GMT -5
On a similar vein to this can anyone recommend an inexpensive USB microphone?
Or a webcam / microphone
I want to start doing some recording but haven't got / don't want a video recorder
Looks interesting Dudster
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Post by lesblues on Jan 6, 2010 14:20:41 GMT -5
On a similar vein to this can anyone recommend an inexpensive USB microphone? Or a webcam / microphone I want to start doing some recording but haven't got / don't want a video recorder Have a look here: www.musiconmypc.co.uk/art_record_guitar_on_pc.phpThey recommend Samson G-Track USB Condenser Mic + Audio Interface For Guitar, which is £92 in Amazon, probably cheaper elsewhere. You should take a look here too, just because it is really interesting! www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
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Post by lesblues on Jan 6, 2010 14:26:12 GMT -5
The Samson G-Track comes with cakewalk sonar software included for recording, editing, mixing, mastering and outputting audio. But you don't get all those knobs for twiddling that you get with a mixing desk.
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Post by pwfirst on Feb 4, 2010 22:28:12 GMT -5
Instead of going with a mixer ,you might want to consider using a computer audio interface that you can plug into the computer. They come in USB, Firewire, and PCI flavors. Then you use a program to record and edit your songs. There are some free programs like audacity that work just fine. A really good program for $60 US is Raptor. Then the big boys, Pro tool, Acid, Sonar for a round $200 to $600. Phil
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Post by lesblues on Feb 6, 2010 3:42:31 GMT -5
Thanks Phil, I've decided to go with the shure sm57, audacity and a tascam 4 track recorder which will also act as the interface. How does that sound?
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Post by pwfirst on Feb 8, 2010 22:45:57 GMT -5
I think those are good choices. I have a Tascam 1641 and an old DP-01. The only down side is that you record on the Tascam 4 channel and then down load it to the computer to work with. One extra step. If you go with a direct interface no extra step and it will come with it's own soft wear. But having a portible unit Like the 4 channel , you can record any place. The 57 is good for intraments and vocal too. Good over all choice for a mic. Good luck and have fun Phil
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Post by lesblues on Mar 1, 2010 11:45:02 GMT -5
I think those are good choices. I have a Tascam 1641 and an old DP-01. The only down side is that you record on the Tascam 4 channel and then down load it to the computer to work with. One extra step. If you go with a direct interface no extra step and it will come with it's own soft wear. But having a portible unit Like the 4 channel , you can record any place. The 57 is good for intraments and vocal too. Good over all choice for a mic. Good luck and have fun Phil Hi Phil I may have hit a snag that I hope you will be able to advise me on. My wife kindly bought me the SM 57 Mic as part of my birthday present but the Tascam is going to have to wait a while. I thought that I could simply connect the mic to the mic in on my pc sound card and start recording. However further research would suggest that I need a mic preamp, nothing too expensive so i was considering the Behringer mic100 Tube Ultragain. Is this the kind of interface you had in mind? Is it a reasonable interim solution and can it be used in connection with the Tascam once I have that too? If you have any other advice to offer it would be most appreciated. Les
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Post by pwfirst on Mar 1, 2010 12:53:49 GMT -5
Hi Les Behringer make 2 model MIC 200- $40, mic 100, $30 And ART has 2 models between $30-40 too. Either would be a good choice. Presonis has a tube preamp that I use for $125 that is very good but not worth the extra money for what you are going to do. The 57 dosen't need phantom power so you will be ready to go and you can use it with the Tascam when you get it. Phil
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Post by lesblues on Mar 1, 2010 13:18:32 GMT -5
Hi Les Behringer make 2 model MIC 200- $40, mic 100, $30 And ART has 2 models between $30-40 too. Either would be a good choice. Presonis has a tube preamp that I use for $125 that is very good but not worth the extra money for what you are going to do. The 57 dosen't need phantom power so you will be ready to go and you can use it with the Tascam when you get it. Phil Thanks Phil Here's another combination I was thinking of that might do what I want for a bit less cash (have I mentioned that I'm Scottish ) what about a Behringer xenyx mixer, model to be decided on, plus the Behringer mic 100 and I imagine I would need something like Bheringer's energy control uca-202 audio interface. Sorry if I'm hasseling you but it's a whole new world to me and you seem to have a lot of experience/knowledge in this field. Les
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Post by pwfirst on Mar 1, 2010 15:15:24 GMT -5
No problem I am glad to help, I went through this several years ago too. I have a Behringer Xenyx mixer for a moble PA system that I have and it has preset programs already in it so you would not need the pre amp. You could connect it to the mic input on you computer and use audacity. You also could just use your 57 with a small sized conector into the computer too. It will sound Good without a pre amp. You would probable need some audio interface too about $30 from beherenger. What sound card do you have in your computer? One other option is to buy a used Tascam DP-01 It is an older model and records up to 2 channels at the same time but can store up to 8 channels. It uses a USB connector for the computer hook up. I started out using them and still have 2 units that I occasionally use and loan out, they can be bought for around $100 on EBay. They don't require a pre amp either. Our old Rock group used one to record a CD at 16 bit and it sounded pretty good. Bottom line Tascam DP-01 fist choice. Behringer mic 100 with audio interface is secound and cheepest. Three is the Board with an audio interface. Phil
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Post by lesblues on Mar 2, 2010 3:58:36 GMT -5
No problem I am glad to help, I went through this several years ago too. I have a Behringer Xenyx mixer for a moble PA system that I have and it has preset programs already in it so you would not need the pre amp. You could connect it to the mic input on you computer and use audacity. You also could just use your 57 with a small sized conector into the computer too. It will sound Good without a pre amp. You would probable need some audio interface too about $30 from beherenger. What sound card do you have in your computer? One other option is to buy a used Tascam DP-01 It is an older model and records up to 2 channels at the same time but can store up to 8 channels. It uses a USB connector for the computer hook up. I started out using them and still have 2 units that I occasionally use and loan out, they can be bought for around $100 on EBay. They don't require a pre amp either. Our old Rock group used one to record a CD at 16 bit and it sounded pretty good. Bottom line Tascam DP-01 fist choice. Behringer mic 100 with audio interface is secound and cheepest. Three is the Board with an audio interface. Phil Thanks Phil, plenty to think about there. I don't know what soundcard I have in my pc. Must admit I leave upgrading/building my pc to my sons aka Tech support. Am I reading you correctly, by simply connecting my sm57 to the soundcard without a preamp it will still work fine? Thanks again. I'm afraid you can probably expect to have your brain picked again. Les
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Post by pwfirst on Mar 2, 2010 15:48:53 GMT -5
Depends on the sound card but if it has a mic input it should be fine. Then use audacity as the program and you should be able to record, listen and play back your tunes. If it doesn't work, run it through a pre amp and that should work. Good luck. Phil
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Post by lesblues on Mar 3, 2010 5:00:11 GMT -5
Depends on the sound card but if it has a mic input it should be fine. Then use audacity as the program and you should be able to record, listen and play back your tunes. If it doesn't work, run it through a pre amp and that should work. Good luck. Phil Thanks again Phil. The soundcard definitely has a mic in so i'll give that a go and then i'll have more time to ponder exactly what extra piece of kit I want. Looking at Behringer, some of their mixers have a usb interface built in as well as preamps. Might be the way to go then I can record and if I ever get good enough i could use it in a live situation too. (probably just dreaming) but it sounds like a good excuse to buy a mixer. :-)
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Post by pwfirst on Mar 3, 2010 12:12:23 GMT -5
Mixers are good for live sound but not very important for home recording since the software has a built in mixer already. If you record multiple channels all at once then a mixer is OK but with out a multichannel interface you will only have one chanel to the computer. The poor man option is to record one channel at a time and then mix them together using audacity to get your final mix. When I started out we first recorded a rough take of the song. Then we played it back through the head phones and re recorded the intrument parts and then the vocals on seperate tracks so they were clean copies and disguarded the original rough recording. Once you have clean copies of each track, then you can use the effects in the program to improve the sound. Once it is all mixed together you can get a pretty good song. Phil
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