Re: Recording setup
Yeah, my friend's in the same boat, there are a load of different ways to get set up, a good one is the Presonus FirePod,
http://www.zzounds.com/item--PRSFIREPOD, but that's a little more than you wanted to shell out, if you want to go analong, then you could look on ebay or somewhere for an Alesis "Blackface" ADAT and a mixer of some kind, it's really basic, it just had 8 inputs and 8 outputs and records the 8 tracks, then you could use some kind of mixer, like an Alto L-12, and by connecting the two you could have a pretty sweet eight track recording setup, but i'm not sure how much that would cost, it might be a little expensive, and then you don't get to use your computer as much, you just run the final mixdown into the computer and then stick it in iTunes or wherever. That's one option, another is something like a lexicon lambda, or a Lexicon Omega, these are just usb interfaces with your computer and are in theory pretty straight foreward, the upside is that they usually come with some software, I think that they come with Cubase LE wich is pretty good for home recording, protools is the industry standard, but you really don't need it unless you are going into the recording business and you want to learn the program, something like Cubase or Logic should be just fine for you. As for mics, if you want to go dymanic, the Sure SM-57 is a great all around mic, it's indestructable, so you don't have to worry to much about damaging it, and they sound great, it's a good all around mic, people use them for snare drums, guitar amps, vocals, all kinds of stuff. but if you want to go for a condenser then you'll have to shell out a little more cash, there are so many different oppinions on condenser mics, everyone thinks different things, no one can say there is one mic that is better than all the other, they are different and some are better for different applications, but if you want to record vocals, for a first time recording setup, an SM-57 or any large diaphram condenser mic will be just fine. Another thing to consider is the room, the room make a huge difference in recording quality, if you can find a cheap way to get set up then you might want to look into some cheap sound-proofing, anything from just some carpet on the walls to some acoustics foam, like audrilex or something, anything will help, vynil is good too, if you can I'd put some foam or curved pieces of carpet in the corners after you take care of the main walls, bass sounds like to get trapped in corners. Idealy when you're done you should be able to stand in the room and when you hit your chest it should really boom, not just a dull thud.
I hope I was of some help and I hope your friend get set up,
- Turvey
