Members rayboomboom Posted October 1, 2009 Members Share Posted October 1, 2009 I posted this in the other recording forum but I think now it may be better suited for this forum: Hello all, I decided to check things out other than the drum forum so here I am and noobing out, so please bear with me. I've been playing drums for a long time and finally getting into recording soon. I have very little money and I'm in the experimental phase at this point. I"m going to start with just recording drums with conga and percussion overdubs. A friend turned me onto his Adobe Audition 3.0. I have a couple of 57's and some other so-so mics. I currently have a Beringer powered mixer I use live (that I want to replace with probably another Beringer unpowered mixer that'll have preamps - price is a big factor as I said). I have a PC with P4 3.4 GHz, 2 gigs RAM, 250GB HD running Windows 7 RC. Okay finally here's the Q: when I start Audition it says my sound card isn't capable of the DirectSound input. So I thought of going with a usb interface. Such as the M-Aduio. MF has it on sale for $70.00. I also read, in an older recording book, that usb has limited number of recording track inputs ( assume they were talking about usb v1). Is this still the case? How many tracks can I record at once with usb and the M-Audio? Geese, am I even asking relevant questions . I'm sure this has been asked before so if someone could post a link to other threads that'd be cool too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jchas Posted October 1, 2009 Members Share Posted October 1, 2009 Okay finally here's the Q: when I start Audition it says my sound card isn't capable of the DirectSound input. So I thought of going with a usb interface. Such as the M-Aduio. MF has it on sale for $70.00. I also read, in an older recording book, that usb has limited number of recording track inputs ( assume they were talking about usb v1). Is this still the case? How many tracks can I record at once with usb and the M-Audio? . You'd be better off IMO going with a firewire interface. They tend to be more reliable and faster allowing for more tracks. If your machine doesn't have a firewire port you can add one for about $25. Make sure you pick the interface first and then but a firewire card that they recommend. I'm very happy with Echo's Audiofire interfaces. They're reasonably priced, sound good, and are very reliable. Some mics you may want to consider on your budget:MCA SP1 condensors - nice for overheads or room mics (aggressive). $40 eachLittle Blondie SDC's $80 each. Also good for OH's or room (mellow). Good luck with your search Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted October 1, 2009 Moderators Share Posted October 1, 2009 If you do buy a mixer, I'd go for a used Mackie 1202 on eBay. 4 cheap and decent pres. Lots of quality routing choices for getting creative with very little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rayboomboom Posted October 1, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 1, 2009 Thanks for the suggestions. I've been looking at used Mackie mixers and may go that way. And the PCI interface sounds like the way to go. jchas, you recommend fw as opposed to a pci sound card? Why is that? And I'll check out you suggestions on the condensers. thanks again. I"ve gotta apologize, as I said, I also posted this on the other recording forum so I'm trying to respond to replies from both. But hey, twice as much info (that could be good or bad I suppose).Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jchas Posted October 1, 2009 Members Share Posted October 1, 2009 jchas, you recommend fw as opposed to a pci sound card? Why is that? Ray I had been using a pair of PCI Echo Gina cards since maybe '92 and they were rock solid. When I decided to upgrade a while back I was pretty sure i'd go with Echo products because of the great experience I had. The newer Audiofire line allowed me to daisy chain 2 Audiofire 12's for a total of 24 inputs / 24 ouptputs - and add more should I ever have to (I can't imagine needing to). Though the most inputs i've needed at one time is 10 - it handled it without even a burp. And I consistantly use all 24 outputs with no problems. I know not all firewire devices have the same level of dependability, but they seem to have gotten it right with the Audiofire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted October 2, 2009 Members Share Posted October 2, 2009 I'd go with a used Mackie or a used Allen and Heath (which I like better than Mackie, and you can get them for surprisingly cheap sometimes). Allen and Heath have nicer sounding preamps and EQ than the Mackies, in my opinion, and have a long history of building decent quality consoles. I can't stand Behringer and think they make a sh*tty product, not surprising since they're a sh*tty company. I also agree that firewire would be better if you are recording more than a few tracks simultaneously. SM 57s are good mics even though some like to say they suck or this or that. The truth of the matter is that they are really good - especially if you have a decent mic preamp to bring out the sound a little - and are used constantly for a reason. Good workhorse mic and good and cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rayboomboom Posted October 2, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 2, 2009 Again thanks for the info. I understand what you mean about the fw cards, though I don't ever foresee getting much bigger than 6-8 mics at a time. Maybe 10-12 for recording drums and percussion at the same time. But the stability is a huge plus. I don't want to be recording something fantastic, only to find out my sound card glitched and didn't 'catch' it all. Jury is still out on the Behringer (thanks for the spelling correction). The people that I know that own something and have talked to about them have liked them. But that's been for live stuff. We'll see for recording. I just have to keep price down where I can for now. I've always liked the 57's live. They are a work horse. At this point I think I need to put a little $ into an interface and some condensers for overheads. Then I'll go from there and see if this is something I'll actually have the time and ambition to pursue further. You guys are great. Thanks for the help for a noob! As things come up I'll be back. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted October 2, 2009 Members Share Posted October 2, 2009 I've always liked the 57's live. They are a work horse. At this point I think I need to put a little $ into an interface and some condensers for overheads. Condensers are definitely really good for mics, and are the most popular go-to mics for overheads. And I have no idea what kind of music you record, but I think you should consider looking into ribbons or dynamics (the Heil PR30s are really good dynamic mics for overheads, for example) as well. You might be really surprised. Again, this depends on your tastes and the sorts of drummers and genres of music you are recording, but it's something to consider. You guys are great. Thanks for the help for a noob! As things come up I'll be back.Ray Why don't you hang around here all the time instead of just returning when "things come up"? If you are a noobie, you'll learn a lot, and you can contribute a lot as well by asking questions or contributing comments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rayboomboom Posted October 5, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2009 Why don't you hang around here all the time instead of just returning when "things come up"? If you are a noobie, you'll learn a lot, and you can contribute a lot as well by asking questions or contributing comments. Thanks, I will. I've added the 2 recording forums to my browser start up tabs, along with the drumming forum, to check in. Thanks for the invite! Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted October 5, 2009 Members Share Posted October 5, 2009 But I gotta see if I'm any good first so I don't want to dump a bunch of $ right now. I have small diaphragm condensers but still have been using Heil PR30s for overheads lately anyway just because I really like the sound. As a bonus, Heil PR30s are really flexible and can be used for other things, such as bass cabinets, guitar cabinets, congas, etc. Might save you some money. OTOH, I do realize that most people use condensers as overheads and it's conventional, so you might want to go that route, as you can use small diaphragm condenserse for acoustic guitars and some other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted October 5, 2009 Members Share Posted October 5, 2009 Also, if the price between a Mackie and an Allen and Heath are comparable, I'd go for the Allen and Heath. YMMV, but I prefer Allen and Heath's EQs and mic preamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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