Basic equipment for a 1 man acapella

[Rickaaa]

Hi, i'l start off by admitting i am a complete equipment beginner when it comes to knowing what to look for.

 

I have been working as a singer for the last 7 years, at home and abroad, in groups and also as a solo artist. However when i get home from this seasons outing i am looking to record some 1 Man Acapella covers to upload onto the likes of Youtube and also my own website and agents websites.

 

I know i will require some kind of Multi Track recording equipment to get a professional enough looking end product but this is where my knowledge ends....

 

If anyone has any ideas of the basics of what i should be looking at, i would greatly appreciate it

 

Thanks

 

Rich

[WRGKMC]

Go here http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm and read the chapters on the left. This can get you up to speed so you can make some wise decisions for yourself. it doesnt cover everything but it does get the ABC's oit of the way.

 

There are three main things you need to do even basic stuff.

 

1. An interface. This can be a recording PCI card, a Firewire interface, or a USB interface. My guess is you'll go with a USB device but be sure to check all options.

 

2. A DAW recording program. There are quite a few choices here, even some free ones. The main differences between them is mixing options and packaged sound effects. DAW programs have virtually no effect on whats being recorded other than some routing of signals or allowing effects to be applied real time. They're main influence is playback and mixing.

 

3. Hardware such as mics and preamps and Monitors. A good mic and preamp will make the difference between a crap or pro sounding recording. If you already have a dynamic mic for live stuff it may get you going but they have limitations. Used with a great preamp, it can make all the difference in the world. Combine it with a great studio mic, you're cooking with gas. A good preamp begins in the $300 range and a good mic the same. Anything below may get the job done, but you need to know. A recording needs to sound great before its compressed down to low quality playback on the net in places like youtube.

 

For mixing you really need studio monitors. You can capture great sound on the computer with a good mic and preamp. Its worthless unless you hear good flat responce quality sound when mixing what you recorded. If you go cheap here, the monitors will color the sound preventing you from mixing properly. If the monitors lack bass, you wind up adding too much. If theres a midrange bump, you wind up not adding enough mids etc.

 

You can get something going on the cheap. You can troll EBay and buy used and spend maybe a hundred or two and get something going. Most find after a short time that going cheap has immediate limitations getting anything worth listening to for anyone but yourself so the cheap equipment constantly showing up on auction sites. If you go to the medium ranged stuff you at least have the range to record something pro sounding once you learn how.

 

 

Lastly knowlege is power. An experienced person can create a better recording with the cheapest garbage out there, where as a rookie with the best equipment may do something marginal or decent through luck. It takes many many years to gain the experience to do great work. main thing is you enjoy it.

 

If its just the end results you want, dont even bother getting into recording. Its expensive and requires a lot of time to learn properly, as much time as it does to learn to sing or play an instrument to get decent consistant results. Go to a studio where they have the equipment and experience and get great results without having to learn another trade. This way you can focus 100% on being an artist and leave the technical stuff to the hired help dedicated to that field.

[Lee Knight]

Get this.

 

http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/one.php

[WRGKMC]

 

Get this. http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/one.php

 

 

Thats cool if he has a Mac. Apogee are mac only.

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

 

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:

Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470385421?ie=UTF8&tag=myjescom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421

(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)

You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

 

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price

http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Guitar-Bass-Getting-Record/dp/0879307307/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1

(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

 

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

 

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

 

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs

http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

 

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

 

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

 

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

 

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.

#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.

Here's a good guide and user-tested suggestions that work: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm

(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)

Another good article: Choosing an audio interface - http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep08/articles/audiointerfaces.htm

 

 

Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

 

Sony ACID Express (free 10-track sequencer): http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)

Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\nKristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/

Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

 

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)

I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

 

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com

Demo you can try on the website.

 

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

[Rickaaa]

Cheers for the replies, i have alot of reading to be catching up on it seems.

 

In response to what has been asked and and commented on so far.... Its not purely for the end product that i will be doing this, its something i have wanted to do for years and i will soon have alot of spare time so filling it with something i will hopefully enjoy and love doing is the main reason behind it... end product is just the bonus, but i would still like a good end product

 

I do have a Mac, a Macbook Pro so i will research the apogee One, thank you for the heads up.

 

Thanks for the links to Free useful recording software i shall look into these over the next few days and see which seems to have the easiest interface to work with etc and look for reviews on each.

 

A little extra info on the Equipment i have at home at the moment, which may or may not come in useful to any added info people may wish to provide (i should probably have mentioned this in my first post).

 

I have a small HK Audio Lucas Smart Rig that i use for small gigs and for practising etc in my spare room at home. The microphone's i am using are Shure SM58 and Shure PG58 wireless mics. All plugged in thru a Behringer Europower PMP1000 desk (its the set up i use for small solo gigs when working at home).

 

 

Again thanks for the info so far, much appreciated

 

Rich

[WRGKMC]

Cheers for the replies, i have alot of reading to be catching up on it seems. In response to what has been asked and and commented on so far.... Its not purely for the end product that i will be doing this, its something i have wanted to do for years and i will soon have alot of spare time so filling it with something i will hopefully enjoy and love doing is the main reason behind it... end product is just the bonus, but i would still like a good end product I do have a Mac, a Macbook Pro so i will research the apogee One, thank you for the heads up. Thanks for the links to Free useful recording software i shall look into these over the next few days and see which seems to have the easiest interface to work with etc and look for reviews on each. A little extra info on the Equipment i have at home at the moment, which may or may not come in useful to any added info people may wish to provide (i should probably have mentioned this in my first post). I have a small HK Audio Lucas Smart Rig that i use for small gigs and for practising etc in my spare room at home. The microphone's i am using are Shure SM58 and Shure PG58 wireless mics. All plugged in thru a Behringer Europower PMP1000 desk (its the set up i use for small solo gigs when working at home). Again thanks for the info so far, much appreciated Rich

 

Thats a powered board that isnt very useful for recording. Maybe for playback but its still going to color the sound. PA's are for live sound and designed to reject feedback. In recording you record all those frequencies a PA rejects. You're not concerned with feedback recording. Everything gets tracked and you filter it afterwards mixing.

 

You could record some live takes with the PA for vocals, but voice is almost always recorded in a silent well treated room to reduce bleedover from a live source. Some use monitors that are out of phase to prevent bleedover, but its something that takes a special placement and setup to do. You have enough to worry about with the basics at this point.

 

For tracking you'll want some good closed back headphones. Be sure they're comfortable and something you like cause you wear them alot as a vocalist. Expect to spend at least $100 which is the beginning range of the bro stuff. Anything below is pretty much garbage for recording. I mean you can get by with it but they will likely give you false frequency responnce and you'll adjust your voice accordingly which couls make for a bad recording. Get some decent pro bones like AKG's or Senheisers. It will make all the difference in the world tracking and you'll be able to hear all the subtle voice changes and air.