Home Recording Under $1000

[Aidiptg2112]

I'm looking to make a cd with my band however we don't have any recording equipment. What would you guys recommend in the area of a digital recorder/mixer etc.? We'll be recording in a 20 X 20 sized room, drums, bass, guitar, and vocals. Any info is very much appreciated!

[Thrice_removed]

What sort of computer are you starting out with?

[toddlans]

Well I think a more appropriate question would be: Do you have a computer to use or do you want a standalone DAW?

 

Also, do you have any mics already?

[greendoor]

I would recommend a cassette tape ghetto blaster. Seriously.

 

With only $1000 to spend, you are just going to make bad demos. You can make bad demos with a cheap cassette player. Once you have identified your songs and arrangements that really work for you, spend that $1000 at a good studio and you will have your CD.

 

If you are hellbent on being diverted, in time and money, intellectual and emotional resources - then plunge into learning the art of recording and be prepared for a long, hard haul.

 

What is more important to you: success with your band, or trying to do it yourself? That's not a right or wrong question - only you can answer that.

 

If you are serious about recording in the long haul, spend that $1000 on monitor speakers and start listening critically before you bother recording anything.

 

Or waste it on cheap toys that will frustrate you with poor results for a long time. That's what many of us have done. It's an education, but probably not the best one.

 

It's hard to get excellent results on a budget. Unless you are into electronica - in which case you can make amazing stuff in your bedroom on a PC. But to capture a full band with drumkit - you are pushing it up hill unless you have many thousands of dollars to get good gear.

[Aidiptg2112]

I was thinking of maybe one of those boss all in one recorders. With the cd burner attached. Are those any good?

[stage7]

What are you hoping to actually accomplish with your setup? If you're looking to make a professional level CD on a tiny budget with little or no experience recording, you'll probably be in for an unpleasant surprise. There's really a lot to learn and it's something that can't be picked up in a short amount of time no matter how good you are. If this is your situation, you'd be much better off taking the $1000 and going to a studio. You'll have access to MUCH better equipment than you would on your own, and you'd have someone who knows how to use it. Around here, $1000 would get you between 18 and 40 hours in the various studios in the area. If you practice your songs before you go in to the point where you can play them pretty well together and track all the parts at the same time in different rooms, you should be able to get a good sounding CD relatively quickly and with a lot less stress on yourself and your band.

 

On the other hand, if you're doing tracks for your band members to listen to or demos where quality doesn't matter as much, doing it yourself is a perfectly viable option. You can either do the stand alone unit route, or you can look into a computer based recording system. Obviously portability is an advantage with the stand alone units, but generally you have a lot less range with effects that you can add later as well as the quality of the effects. You also have limited channels to work with, and sometimes the interfaces are less than ideal. If you were to get a computer based setup you have a lot more flexibility with track numbers, effects, upgradability, etc. However, it's a bit less portable if you're hauling your only PC back and forth. Still, you'd only have to take the bare minimum.. monitor, case, mouse, keyboard, and headphones. That way you could leave your interface and mics set up. The other huge advantage the computer setup has over stand alone recorders is price and value.

 

The 8 track and 12 track Boss stand alone recorders are the only ones I've seen in your price range with a built in CD burner. In both cases, you'd be using over half or your budget on the unit if you buy new ($650 for the 8 track, $900 for the 12 track). You'd only have 2 XLR inputs in either case which basically means you could only record 2 tracks at a time. They also probably have pretty crappy mic pres in them which will make it harder for you to get your stuff to sound good, and you'll ultimately be limited to 8 or 12 tracks.

 

On the other hand, you can buy something like a Presonus firepod. You'd have decent mic pres, 8 XLR inputs, included software, and no limit on track numbers depending on what software you use. It's a firewire interface so you'd need a firewire port on your pc or you'd have to buy a firewire card. Anyway, new it's about $500 from any of the major retailers online... if you buy it here they're running a deal that gives you a free AT2020 with it. It's actually a fairly decent budget mic. Then you'd still have $500 left to buy stands, mics, and cables.

 

Good luck.

[Majoria]

If all you need is the software and interface, there are some decent deals on Pro Tools with the 002R on eBay and I'm guessing soon to be seen in stores as the 003's come out. Many on eBay new for a buy it now of around $850. The 8 inputs (only 4 with pre amps) will give you enough inputs for drums.

[C JoGo]

Tascam 238 8 track cassette ( we have one for sale;) ) --or Roland VS 1680 > with money left over for monitors/mics/etc

[EngineGuitarist]

With only $1000 to spend, you are just going to make bad demos. You can make bad demos with a cheap cassette player. Once you have identified your songs and arrangements that really work for you, spend that $1000 at a good studio and you will have your CD.

 

 

[GZsound]

 

I'm looking to make a cd with my band however we don't have any recording equipment. What would you guys recommend in the area of a digital recorder/mixer etc.? We'll be recording in a 20 X 20 sized room, drums, bass, guitar, and vocals. Any info is very much appreciated!

 

 

It could be done.. If you can buy a used Akai D1200 or a Fostex 160 for example, you could mic and record your band in sections.. But getting a used recorder and decent mics would eat a thousand dollars up pretty quickly..

 

In theory, you could buy a used stand alone unit and pick up some inexpensive mics and cords for under a grand.. You won't get world class radio ready CD's, but you will learn how to record, mix, play the songs, etc. all of which is valuable and will help you a lot if you eventually go to a studio for a quality recording.

 

Some of the guys around here forget that they started from humble beginnings too and worked with substandard equipment while learning their craft.

[EngineGuitarist]

 

I Some of the guys around here forget that they started from humble beginnings too and worked with substandard equipment while learning their craft.

 

 

and some of the people here also forget that not everyone wants to be an engineer, they just want to play in a band and have a good sounding ep or whatever to sell and not spend 2 years making it.

 

enjoy learning the craft.

[blue2blue]

A cassette based recorder doesnt' seem like a smart idea in today's affordable recording market, seems to me. I've owned ten r2r machines and scores of cassette decks and, while a fine tape recorder is a nice thing -- any kind of cassette based machine is seriously compromised from the word go.

 

Those who suggest that because your budget is small you should just get a boombox recorder and be done with it are not only NOT particularly funny and certainly not helpful -- their condescending attempt at humor seems based on little more than the fact that you're ambitious and don't have much money.

 

Avoid outmoded tech like the cassette, go with an affordable memory or hard drive based recorder, buy one decent affordable vocal mic (paying attention to whether or not your recorder has phantom power) and a handful of cheap mics for whatever live tracking you need.

 

Read up on techniques and experiment a lot.

 

And don't pay any attention to people who say big dreams and small pocket books mean you can't accomplish your goals.

[Dylan Walters]

You can find a decent setup for around $1000. In fact, I just put one together with the following:

 

Used Korg D888 Hard Disk Recorder - $500

On-Stage Stands Mic Stand Package (6-pack) - $100

 

I already had mic's, but if I didn't I would have gone with:

 

(1) $100 Large Condenser Vocal Mic (i.e, Studio Projects B1)

(1) Drum Mic Kit. You can find them for about $200

(1) Used Shure SM57 and (1) Used Shure SM58 - $100

(1) Musicians Friend Musicians Gear XLR Microphone Cable 10-Pack - $50

(1) Cheap pair of studio headphones - $50.

 

That's $1000 by my math. If you can swing some cheap studio monitors then I'd go for it. Otherwise, you can plug the Hard Disk Recorder into a receiver and use your home stereo speakers. They won't be as accurate as studio monitors, but if you learn to mix on them you can achieve good results. Try to find as many of the components used as possible. I'd opt to get the cables and Mic stands new, but everything could be purchased for a nice discount if you by used.

[blue2blue]

There's the ticket. (Although I'd also look at more affordable new recorders, as well. The mem-based players start pretty cheap these days, have no moving parts [although the memory might get expensive depending on your needs, how often you plan to dump projects to a computer, etc].)

 

With re monitors, don't forget headphones. It's CERTAINLY not ideal mixing in phones but you can use a combination of whatever speakers you have, phones, and whatever you can find to set up a series of "reference" monitors and do a little shooting in the dark until you come up with mixes that work across all of them. (It might be helpful if you had a buddy with a decent stereo you could go over and do final checks on. )

[EngineGuitarist]

 

A cassette based recorder doesnt' seem like a smart idea in today's affordable recording market, seems to me. I've owned ten r2r machines and scores of cassette decks and, while a fine tape recorder is a nice thing -- any kind of cassette based machine is seriously compromised from the word go. Those who suggest that because your budget is small you should just get a boombox recorder and be done with it are not only NOT particularly funny and certainly not helpful -- their condescending attempt at humor seems based on little more than the fact that you're ambitious and don't have much money. Read up on techniques and experiment a lot. And don't pay any attention to people who say big dreams and small pocket books mean you can't accomplish your goals.

 

 

condescending attemp at humor? not even close dude. it was a suggestion saying that if the poster wants a GREAT sounding recording done quickly they should go to a studio. IF they want something just for ideas than something along the lines of a boombox COULD work.

 

yes a hard drive or flash type mini recorder would be better than a tapedeck. But it would probably need a mic to go with it, but maybe not. Either way they are both less than getting a standalone multi track unit and a bunch of mics and headphones. But MOST people have a boombox laying around already so it costs nothing no more than a blank tape.

 

IF the orig poster wants to learn how to engineer thats one thing and there's nothing wrong with it. Use any gear you can get. BUT, when I see someone write "I'm looking to make a cd with my band however we don't have any recording equipment" I think its a band that wants a good sounding CD. not a guy who wants to make records all {censored}in day.

 

And there is no way anyone can say recording at home gets done as fast as at a real studio. Unless you're Dr. Dre with an SSL in your house.

 

no one ever said "big dreams and small pocket books mean you can't accomplish your goals." quite the opposite actually. A small pocket book and big dreams can happen but you need to make a LOGICAL decision.

 

either learn to be an engineer or go to a studio. and NO, that doesnt mean you shouldnt make demo's on something cheap.

 

if this still isnt clear, bring some windex next time.

[Lucky #9]

You can find a decent setup for around $1000. In fact, I just put one together with the following: Used Korg D888 Hard Disk Recorder - $500 On-Stage Stands Mic Stand Package (6-pack) - $100 I already had mic's, but if I didn't I would have gone with: (1) $100 Large Condenser Vocal Mic (i.e, Studio Projects B1) (1) Drum Mic Kit. You can find them for about $200 (1) Used Shure SM57 and (1) Used Shure SM58 - $100 (1) Musicians Friend Musicians Gear XLR Microphone Cable 10-Pack - $50 (1) Cheap pair of studio headphones - $50. That's $1000 by my math. If you can swing some cheap studio monitors then I'd go for it. Otherwise, you can plug the Hard Disk Recorder into a receiver and use your home stereo speakers. They won't be as accurate as studio monitors, but if you learn to mix on them you can achieve good results. Try to find as many of the components used as possible. I'd opt to get the cables and Mic stands new, but everything could be purchased for a nice discount if you by used.

 

Dylan is often the Voice of Reason in posts I've read.

 

Don't listen to the posters that tell you "you can't..."

Because then you never will.

 

You can do much with a basic, decent equipment once you learn how to use them well.

Of course, you'll sound better in a studio with $100,000 worth of equipment. Who wouldn't.

[greendoor]

 

Some of the guys around here forget that they started from humble beginnings too and worked with substandard equipment while learning their craft.

 

 

 

Those who suggest that because your budget is small you should just get a boombox recorder and be done with it are not only NOT particularly funny and certainly not helpful -- their condescending attempt at humor seems based on little more than the fact that you're ambitious and don't have much money.

 

 

I haven't forgot my beginnings, and i'm not trying to be funny. If you are at the teenage band stage, you have a short period of time to make your mark, or disappear down the gurgler with a billion wannabies.

 

You need to seriously consider what your priorities are. IF you decide to be a recording engineer in today's market, you are in for a LONG and EXPENSIVE haul. By all means enjoy the ride if that's what you want to do. But if you want to exploit your 15 minutes of fame while the clock is ticking, you may be better served by making a good album in a good studio.

 

This is just some friendly advice - the lure of home recording is strong, but it's a bit like the School of Rock colleges out there. It can take your time and your money, and you can disappear up your own arse if you aren't too careful.

[Aidiptg2112]

Thanx for the information guys , We are not looking for pro level recordings of course, Im not that naive to think We can buy something for 1000$ and get studio quality. We need something to give us a good demo so we can find new members and look for shows. We dont want to go to a studio cause we dont even have a full band.

[Dylan Walters]

I am in the same boat as you. My band consists of a drummer, singer, and myself playing guitar and writing all of the tunes. We're currently looking for a bass player, but before we start seeking one out I'd like to complete as many of the songs as possible. I can play a decent hacked bass, which has given me a better idea on how the songs will sound once we find a real bassist. Our singer has been having a hard time coming up with lyrics, so I figured that we'd make a decent sounding demo CD for her to work with.

 

The recording resolution of the D888 is only 16-bit/44.1kHz, and the preamps aren't great by any stretch. But the recording quality is good enough for getting song ideas down. I think the Korg D888 would be really good for you to check out. The interface is about as easy as it gets and is reminicent of a 4-track cassette recorder. The Korg provides you with dedicated controls for the 3-band EQ, panning, and effects sends just like a traditional mixer. No soft menus to sort through. If you want to get into computer-based recording then you can take advantage of the USB 2.0 interface of the D888 as well.

 

As much as I agree with other posters advising you to go into a studio to get the best possible audio quality, you should also take into consideration that recording your rehearsals before going into the studio will give you a much better idea of how you really sound and if there are any areas you need to work on before shelling out cash by the hour. There is nothing worse then getting into a studio and finding out that you are not ready! You might find that investing in even a cheap 2-track flash-based recording with built-in mic's is you need initially. It all comes down to how much flexibility you want for adding parts to the mix later. Good luck!

[BIGD]

If anyone in the band has the time and desire to learn basic recording engineering, and is decently computer savvy, a decent demo can be made that will be equivalent to any demo studio recording from yesteryear. If no one has the patience to sit down and learn this stuff, read everything they can on the internet or in books about recording and mixing, than you should just go to a studio.

 

I recorded decent demos with the following set up: the demos were used for audtioning singers, press kits, getting shows, etc, and I never had anyone say that they sound amatuer.....they sound like they were recorded in a demo studio...no suprises

 

I recorded a guide track of vocals, drum click, and guitar.

 

Then, the drummer played to that..sm 57's on kick and snare, 2 condensers as overheads/room mics

 

We then recorded guitars, keys, vocals, even a violin...ended up with a lot of tracks. Did a lot of mixing, listening in the car, then remixing.

Pc amd 2800

M audio delta 44

small Behringer mixer w/2 mic pres

tascam porta 2 as a headphone mixer (BAD!!!)

m-audio buddy

2 shure sm57's

2 cheap chinese condenser mics

We used any stereo receiver we could get our hands on and used those speakers and headphones to mix

My bass players living room (high sloping ceilings, decent acoustics)

cool edit pro

 

We're going to record our album in a $600 a day studio, so I'm not under the delusion that I'm a great engineer.

 

If you already have a computer, you're most of the way there. There is a lot of trial and error involved, so if you are in a rush...it won't work. It really isn't that hard to get a decent sound once you've read up and experimented a little. Getting a really good sound is another story.

 

As for the boombox guys..well...anybody who starts out with that has an ax to grind already. There's no reason for anyone to record on a boombox anymore..if you're posting here you probably have a computer, and that's a gateway to pretty good digital sound right there.

[willie the wimp]

 

. Our singer has been having a hard time coming up with lyrics, so I figured that we'd make a decent sounding demo CD for her to work with.

 

 

aaaaaaaaahhhh! i'm sorry but this really anoys me. i don't mean to pick on you inparrticular at all but this is much more of a general displeasure. i have nothing agianst you or your band.

 

so why is your singer the one that is supposed to write the lyrics? is it just becuase she sings them or what is the deal with that? i don't understand bands that have designated positions for each member like the singer writting all the lyrics. it makes no sence to put pressure on one person to write all the lyrics or anything for that matter. i have always felt that this limits peoples creativity, if a member has some part of a song or some verse that he/she would like to present them they should be able to, but they should also have to. not only the singer should write the lyrics, each member of the band should have a copy of the song (which is what your doing:thu: ) and write their own set of lyrics for it. then you can see whose are better, share ideas and if the lyrics fit together maybe even combine the best parts of a few different sets of lyrics. good luck to you in finding a bassist as well, they are always hiding!

[GZsound]

I agree with the "group" approach to lyrics. Sitting around writing a song with everyone involved can lead to some pretty neat tunes. We frequently write songs with input from everyone on every aspect of the song.

 

Having a demo of the backing tracks can really help also so recording the tune without lyrics is a good idea too.

[blue2blue]

 

condescending attemp at humor? not even close dude. it was a suggestion saying that if the poster wants a GREAT sounding recording done quickly they should go to a studio. IF they want something just for ideas than something along the lines of a boombox COULD work. yes a hard drive or flash type mini recorder would be better than a tapedeck. But it would probably need a mic to go with it, but maybe not. Either way they are both less than getting a standalone multi track unit and a bunch of mics and headphones. But MOST people have a boombox laying around already so it costs nothing no more than a blank tape. IF the orig poster wants to learn how to engineer thats one thing and there's nothing wrong with it. Use any gear you can get. BUT, when I see someone write "I'm looking to make a cd with my band however we don't have any recording equipment" I think its a band that wants a good sounding CD. not a guy who wants to make records all {censored}in day. And there is no way anyone can say recording at home gets done as fast as at a real studio. Unless you're Dr. Dre with an SSL in your house. no one ever said "big dreams and small pocket books mean you can't accomplish your goals." quite the opposite actually. A small pocket book and big dreams can happen but you need to make a LOGICAL decision. either learn to be an engineer or go to a studio. and NO, that doesnt mean you shouldnt make demo's on something cheap. if this still isnt clear, bring some windex next time.

 

Hmmm... here is what the guy asked:

 

I'm looking to make a cd with my band however we don't have any recording equipment. What would you guys recommend in the area of a digital recorder/mixer etc.? We'll be recording in a 20 X 20 sized room, drums, bass, guitar, and vocals. Any info is very much appreciated!

And with re attempts at humor, I was pretty much thinking of greendoor's comment:

 

 

I would recommend a cassette tape ghetto blaster. Seriously.

... emphasis on attempt -- greendoor's statement that he wasn't trying to be funny rings to my ear as transparently disingenuous.

[thinkingthought]

I've spent less than $1,000 on my recording equipment, and I make recordings that sound fine to myself and to my friends. Sure, no radio station on the HD RADIO! (all I ever hear about these days) will play it, but it isn't like they are playing any other local bands. As long as you can hear the music through the Myspace media player, you can easily get your music out to other people around the world. Most listeners wouldn't really even appreciate the fact that it was recorded in a perfectly tuned studio. I mean, half the speakers in my car are blown out, and I can still enjoy the music I hear.

 

I only have 2 MXL condenser mics, and an SM57, but I record one Beatles song every day. It really doesn't sound that bad to the students at my school, or anyone else I know who hasn't worked as an audio engineer. Sure it could sound better, but I don't really think it's worth it. I'd rather practice singing and learning songs and instruments for 6 hours a day, write good songs, make decent recordings of them, and spend my time getting a fan base and label attention.

[blue2blue]

I don't even know anyone WITH HD radio... unless maybe someone with a new car. I know a number of people (online) who bought into the satellite radio thing but I don't think I've talked to anyone with an HD receiver either in the 3DW or in the online world, either.

 

My local jazz station (IIRC) has been making the occasional noise about how they're sending out an HD signal but...

 

I assume the HD radio biz will simply be an extension of hte regular radio biz and that means a very high bar for indie and micro-indie artists as a rule -- unless they've got the money to pay the required "promotional fees" that really seem like they're illegal but the FCC basically refuses to prosecute.