I want to record acoustic guitar, vocals, and a digital piano. I read that the simplest setup is the following:
Keep your signal chain simple and learn the basics first.
In it's simplest form you'll want:
Mic -> Pre-amp -> Sound card
Personal recommendations for above:
Mic: Shure SM-57
Pre-amp: Art Tube MP
Sound card: M-Audio Audiophile 2496, or their Delta series cards
Some things to clarify:
I recently bought a SM57, a XLR to XLR cable, and a mic stand. Unfortunately, I have a laptop, so I can't really install a sound card. My laptop has a microphone in (not a line in).
I'm a little confused about a few things...
1) Does the mic cable length make a difference? I was reading on tweakheadz that longer than 10 feet cables might have interference issues? I have a 15 foot cable, but realistically, my computer's going to be pretty close to my guitar and piano, so I could always get a shorter cable.
2) Will it work if I get an XLR to 1/8 adapter and plug it into the mic-in? I assume the laptop's sound card and pre-amp is not very good, but it'll work?
3) Even if I buy a pre-amp (say the Art Tube MP), it has XLR and 1/4 outputs, or, I buy a mixer (like a Behringer one or a Yamaha MG10/2) which has a preamp, but then wouldn't the signal chain be mic -> preamp/mixer -> laptop mic-in -> not work!
4) Some people recommended a usb sound card, like: Behringer UCA202, but that has RCA Input? So would the chain be mic -> preamp/mixer -> lineout from preamp -> lineout to rca -> behringer usb?
5) Finally there are the all in one usb solutions like the Edirol UA4FX for about $200. Or maybe the M-Audio FastTrack USB for $100 or the pro version for $200. The main difference seems to be 24bit/48khz as opposed to 24bit/96khz.
6) What is the difference in using a tube pre-amp versus a mixer pre-amp?
Thanks!
Ok, everyone can now ignore the previous message. I mucked around with my laptop and I now have the following chain for recording vocals and guitar and maybe digital piano:
sm57 (on boom stand) -> cable -> radio shack low-z to hi-z adapter -> 1/4 to 1/8 adapter -> to microphone in
I looked up the specifications on the microphone in on my Dell D600 laptop. It's 18 bit analog-to-digital, unknown khz :)
I think that qualifies as a pretty cheap solution (the only thing cheaper would be getting a worse microphone). Now I can lay down one track at a time to Audacity.
Hopefully I'll have some recordings up in hear here soon!
That setup is going to do some damage to the mic input on your laptop. That heavy adapter, not to mention the weight of the cord will cause the contacts to eventually break loose. If you want decent sound, go out and spend $150-200 on a usb interface. Tapco Link Usb/ Line 6 UX1 and UX2/Tascam US-124 and others. These are all decent choices.
The ART tube MP gets mixed reviews. A lot of people complain that it is noisy. Of course the complaints come from the same people who have tens of thousands of dollars invested in their home studios and should know better than to rely on a $50-$100 preamp.
The bonus with buying a decent interface is getting the software that comes along with them. The Tapco comes with a full version of Tracktion and most of the others come with either Cubase LE or Abelton Live Lite. Cubase LE being the most functional of the two. Cubase LE does not limit you to less than 24 tracks. Abelton Live limits you to 4 but has some great looping and editing features.
Yes, if I connected it directly, but I actually have an extension cable to the mic input, so everything is mechanically happy. The heavy transformer, etc, rests on the desk, and the cable plugs in like a set of headphones.
Good point, though!
I'll try this for a while and see how the sound is, but I'm already down $150 for mic, cable, and stand, so I'll wait on spending another $200 on an interface. :) I'm sure I will buy one eventually, but I'm still deciding if I want USB vs Firewire. I also need to practice my songwriting, vocals, guitar, and piano more before I worry about a nicer setup!
From the reading I've done, USB interfaces work in conjunction with your PC, which takes up PC usage. Firewire works "behind the scenes" so to speak and doesn't take up much (if any) of your valuable PC usage.
I've got a long road ahead of me with my my set up and I plan on going the Firewire route.
Mike: true, but as far as I know that's mostly from a statistical point of view: the actual difference between USB and FireWire is pretty much non-existent in the real world, for the time being.
For the reasons I stated earlier, Firewire is "said" to be faster with noticeably less latency issues.
I don't buy into much but, Firewire is the future, USB is the past.... and the future has already started.
