Thread Need CHEAP home studio.

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crispy_en

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1 Posted on 05/15/2006 at 12:53:13

I know nothing about recording and not much more about computers. I also have a budget that wouldn't buy more than one happy meal a week. My 16y/o son has a garage band and we just want to play around and see what we can do. Here's what I have:

Laptop with XP, 1.73 GHz processor, 1 gig RAM, usb 2.0 ports, 1/8 phone mic jack, and plenty of hard drive space. I also have Acoustic Lab's Multi-track recorder 3.0. I'm not sure what kind of sound card I have if any(Sigma Tel?).

What else do I need to record instruments(guitar -electric and acoustic, keyboards, and drums) and vocals. A lot of what we will be doing is laying down 1 track at a time but occasionally multiple vocals and instruments(like when they have a gig).

Any advice/suggestions are appreciated.

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Rivka

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2 Posted on 08/30/2006 at 15:54:02

Hi, I want to buy all the equippment for a home studio. I want to create music that sounds like piano and guitar and drums, and sing on it. What do I need and how much does it cost? Right now all I own is a windows xp computer.
thanks
Rivvie

HomeRecordingOdyssey

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3 Posted on 08/30/2006 at 17:54:10

A cheap basic system can be setup using a Zoom G2.1u Guitar pedal as it acts as a PC USB Interface and comes with Cubase LE. There are a ton of great plugins to be had for free if you look, many are listed on my website also.

The only downside to this is that it is one channel at a time, although it outputs stereo it only accepts mono, this is for the stereo guiater effects like stero pong delay etc.

The upside, you get a smokin guitar pedal as an extra and it can be used in Recordign Interface mode to simulate different Amps and Micing positions as well as type of mics.

I have a full Pro Tool system now but still use my Zoom for a lot of stuff, Guiatr and VST plugins etc have a delay(Latency) which makes it hard to get the vibe while recording, if you use the Zoom and direct monitorig you don't get the delay and you can perform better.

Just my two cents.

Andrew

Dea_en

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4 Posted on 09/14/2006 at 08:38:13

If you just want to create music on your computer, you can purchase a midi sequencer. Personally, I think the easiest one to use is Voyetra Record Producer Deluxe ( $60 ). You can create music with pianos, and other various instruments. You then then mix them down and then add your vocals to it. Again, there are many midi sequencers out there, but Voyetra's is by far the easiest to use and you cannot be that price.

The drawback is that it doesn't support third party VSTs, but you don't need them since the built in compression, reverb, other effects are ample for anything a hobbyist needs to do.

Anil1

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5 Posted on 10/09/2006 at 23:54:40

Hi, I know little about recording and even less about computers. And I am trying to set up a home studio! :rolleyes: Basically, i want to record electric and acoustic guitars, drum machine.

So far, Iâ€™ve got an M-Audio FireWire 410 and a windows xp laptop. I also have a condenser mic. I may have got an Ableton software along with the M-audio but anyway Iâ€™ll probably get a Cubase or a nuendo.

What I need to know:

I am not sure if I need a separate mixer if I already have a Cubase/Nuendo. If I do, which are cheap & best?

Also, I am not sure how many/what type of speakers I should get for the studio.

Also, my computer doesnâ€™t have a firewire port. So how can I connect the M-Audio to the laptop?

Thanks

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