Help: Newbie Looking to Make a Record

[Loxley]

Hey everyone,

 

I'm on a tight budget with this next record I'm making, so I'm planning on doing the majority of it at home. The final mixdown and mastering will likely have to be done by a pro, but I hope to avoid long hours racking up in the studio tracking by doing this DIY.

 

Let me start by explaining what I'm doing. I'm a one-man band, using drum machines, synth, guitar, and vocals. Think Joy Division meets Jesus & Mary Chain - the good thing is that it's all going to be noisy and lo-fi, so sparkling clean gear isn't terribly necessary.

 

I'm thinking that getting Pro Tools might be my best bet since I need to use a fairly universal program to transfer the files to a studio to get it mixed and mastered. I currently own the Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones, an SM57, and SM58. I will need some good monitors, interface, compressor, and vocal mic. I need advice on what to get and if you'd recommend I get anything else, such as a mic preamp. Remember, I'm trying to do this on the cheap, less is better, without ultimately compromising the project. Since I've never taken this on before, any tutorials or sage advice is important too.

 

So far, here's what I'm thinking on my shopping list:

 

- Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 interface

- A decent condenser mic - suggestions?

- 2 DBX 163X compressors (especially for the synth)

- Pro Tools 11

- Strymon Deco (to warm up and drive tracks)

- Monitors

 

Any input is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[Temple of Light]

Hit me @ Radrecordz@maIl.com for some insight of the priceless variety.

[davie]

I'm in a similar situation to yours. I primarily record and produce everything myself. For mixing and mastering I plan to go to a professional engineer. Pro Tools might be a good idea since most audio engineers use it, making it easier for you to port over your tracks. The interface you mentioned should be fine, in my opinion, most mid budget interfaces produce similar quality. As for microphone choice, if you're doing lo-fi sound then honestly I think any mic would do fine, like the sm57 or sm58. A mic preamp might be a good idea for warming up or giving the sound more saturation. If you really want to do things on the cheap, then try looking into using DAW plug-ins and do most things "in the box".

[Temple of Light]

On second, thought, I have a we bit of spare time, so...a few words to hopefully prevent you from doing some very stupid things. As a 1 man band of sorts myself, {more like a multi-instrumentalist/producer extraordinaire} the bottom line is computers for audio are already becoming obsolete for the vast majority of real musicians. If I was going to start down this road you're on today, I'd do something like, a Tascam UH7000 into a Tascam DP32SD, into a Tascam DA3000. Regardless of budget. If you want to do it on the cheap, the results will be significantly influenced by that direction...which is one reason why studios do still exist. Many recording and performing artists have had no good alternatives until recently, hence the birth and proliferation of the DIY scene/home based studio. Too many have spent {wasted} thousands on crappy studios only to get rejected for airplay, broadcast, gigs and contracts. Don't know or care what your personal ambitions are, so that much is an entirely personal observation of MY 50 years experience as a MUSICIAN/ENGINEER/PRODUCER.

If on the other hand if you want to do it right, you might want to give me a call, tour my studio and find out what really happens when making a record, and/or follow my suggestions herein, but I digress...This would yeild you 32 tracks with 123db of dynamic range, from start to finshed master. Limitation is tracking 2 tracks at a time with that DR and fidelity. Tracking multi track would be limited to 24bit 48khz. Don't know how technical you are but, this is where the standard of quality of your recording is defined. A pair of monitors {dependant on the type of music you were doing} and your done. 5 pieces of gear, plus cabling and you are running the basic equivalent of a high end motion picture studio. This setup, regardless of your budget, will take you into the 21st century and allow for professional standard recordings for decades. A few month's working in that environment and a couple of other pieces down the road {like maybe a multi-fx unit, and a good compressor}

and you will be able to compete with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Protools is a bottomless money pit of nightmarish support, weak minded proprietary desgn {read constant upgrades, expansion and accessories; brilliant marketing to the rich, but completly irrelevant and destructive to anyone else getting started} and complete corruption amongst those involved, the company is dying and will be bought or sold soon if it hasn't been already. Highly not recommended by myself and countless others. Avid should be eliminated, and the market will eventually finish the job. There is an entrenched user base {read mostly hollywood studios and movie production houses that have invested millions into the company and yet it has taken them 12 tries to get it right? Hence my comment about computer based recording. I recently schooled a guy in a basic Protools recording suite and after six weeks, even after me giving him a degree's worth of ecducation and insight, he ended up selling it for dope change.

That is as much as you will get from me without a real conversation, if you really want to know how a record gets made and what that potential is, call me.

You might make some interesting discoveries...

RAD

Rick A. DeNardo

Owner/Engineer/Artist

RADRecordz INC.

C.2015 A.R.R