Trying to record from home on my pc and need help on getting the right gear? the basics Please Help!

O.K.

I am a song writter and plan on doing some recording at my house. Here is what I got so far.

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PC (NoteBook with Vista 32bit)
Electric Drum kit.(roland td-3)
Music Creator 4
Pair of M-Audio Studio Monitors(BX5)
2 Nady 12" Pa speakers
24 bit Usb interface with one 1/4 instrument input (M-Audio)
Bugera 6260 Guitar Amp
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What else do I need. Do I need a pre-amp or Power Amp?? Or Both? And what about a conditioner? What kind of mic for vocals and to mic the cabs for recording the amps?

And Im also looking in getting a new USB Audio Interface.

Looking at E-MU 0202, M-Audio Fast Track USB and the M-Audio MobilePre USB.

I just want a good basic recording that sounds studio quality. And I plan on recording one instrument at a time.

If someone could help me out that would be great!!

thanks guys!

First off.. Welcome!

You're off to a good start with what you have, (except for Vista...but we all know that)

Start with the M-Audio fast track, it comes bundled with ProTools LE and is good out of the box. It's easier to install on a Mac, it's plug and play, but you'll get it running on the PC with some fiddlin'

As far as microphones go, I'm sold on my new Studio Projects B mic, it's great on vocal and makes an acoustic guitar sound nice too. If your guitar has a pickup, blending the two can create a nice sound. It's also good for mic'n the amp.

A power conditioner is a good idea for gear, especially if your power is questionable. Low power or fluctuations are tough on electronics.

Take small bites and baby steps with gear, don't buy more than you have too. A good pair of self powered speakers connected to the M-Audio will get you far down the road. Always go out to the car however to double check your mix on the car stereo.

keep us posted!

thanks alot Monkeywork!

question. you said go with the m-audio fast track. If I get that Im gonna need a pre-amp right?

What about the ART TUBE MP STUDIO V3 pre-amp? Is this a good choice for what I need?

again thanks alot and I'll keep you posted!

God Bless,

ISA

you may not need a pre-amp, the pre-amp on the M-audio could be enough.

That said, a good pre-amp, such as the ART MPA Gold with vintage tubes makes a difference on how the mic sounds. However, one of the engineers I work with, and he's got the awards on the wall, just uses the pre-amps that are on the mixing board or input device. Nothing fancy, nothing in the way of getting the audio into the software.

Once it's recorded, you can eq it, compress it, add effects, etc.

So start with a basic recipe, and then add spice if you need to.

another thing I noticed. The m audio fast track is only got the usb 1.1 unlike the e-mu 0202 which has the usb 2.0. Is there a big difference between the two of them??

They're both going to work fine for what they're designed to do. USB is ok for stereo recording, after you start adding more channels, then you'll need to jump to something faster like Firewire.

Faster still after that is a dedicated PCi card.

but all that speed and extra tracks costs more.

Remember the M-Audio comes with Pro-Tools LE which is a major selling point.

thanks again.

um.........last thing. you said the fast track comes bundled with pro tools LE. Which is awesome! where exactly did you see that at?

everywhere I go says it come with GT Player Express software. is that a version of pro tools LE?

Now....they have the m-audio fast track and the m-audio fast track Pro. The pro might come with LE. Not sure though let me check.

hmm. You may be right, I may have seen the four channel fast track thing with Pro-tools.

The mBox comes with LE
http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?langid=100& navid=114&itemid=4962

yeah.....i just went ahead and bought the mbox 2 mini with Pro-Tools 8. So I think Im set now.

What microphone do you recomend for vocals and micing cabs??

Microphones are like icecream. Everyone has a favorite flavor. And each mic is going to fit a voice or situation better than another.

So, with that said. You should look at the Studio Project B1 as a first purchase, it's about a hundred bucks and will a good first addition to your eventual mic closet. A Shure 57 is a standard weapon for mic'n a cabinet as well. From there the world is your oyster, dependent upon your budget.

yeah I was thinking about the shure sm 57 for micing cabs. But I wasnt sure how it was on vocals.

I gonna check out the Studio Project B1.

thanks again.

now of any good compressors??

I use the software compressors with DP5.

Start with the basic settings and tweak from there.

i need a new external hard drive for my pc so I can save my work.

Any suggestions on what I should get?? 250 giggs big enough or should I go bigger?? Maybe 500 GB?

thanks again.

ISA

I just bought a TeraByte drive for 179 at Staples. It had firewire and was a 7500 speed internal drive.

Perfect.

Some people want certain chipsets, I've never run into a problem with a Seagate drive.