DIY Recording FAQ

[AhmadZaim]

Hi people!

I have a 2 man band doing acoustics. We just wanna record at home, using a labtop. We have audicity. We have one song recorded but it doesnt sound clear, at all. So we are looking for a microphone for the labtop to record our rmusic.

What is the fairly good yet cheap michrophone we can get fo doing this?

(We dont wanna spend a lot, cause we still are still schooling).

 

[blueprintstudios]

Zoom H2. tried and tested!

 

[AhmadZaim]

Zoom H2 is a pretty neat tool. But it cost close to $300!?

Is there anything cheaper?

 

[MadWerewolfBoy]

cool guide! + points for ron.. haha

AhmadZaim:

the H2 is one of the most budget thing for clarity at that price. u could try to get a usb microphone however, those may be slightly cheaper

 

[blueprintstudios]

thanks man. haha points remind me of those IRC days sia. "op pls." "how to bcome IRCop" "where is Q?"

weird sorry Ahmad, I missed your post. thats why I didn't reply. cos this thread is "stickied" I didn't notice any changes haha.

like what madwerewolfboy said, USB mic will be your other option but remember it's in "MONO" only. miking the acoustic guitar sounds better in stereo usually. one aimed at the body one aimed at the 12th fret.

 

[Halimatus]

I'm getting a laptop to learn to do DIY home-recording... for a start... do i need to get a laptop with good sound-card or i can just get a good external one... any info is appreciated...

 

[blueprintstudios]

your laptop onboard soundcard will most likely NEVER be good enough for recording. so a laptop with decent specs and proper maintenance and an audio interface like Zoom H2/H4n/ Presonus Firebox/AudioboxUSB just to name a few.
mac or PC ?

 

[Halimatus]

i starting to learn to di DIY home recording..saw ZOOM R16... thinking of getting one... is it too much for a beginner or is it suffices...

 

[blueprintstudios]

if you're recording multitrack drums , r16 definitely will achieve the purpose. i just bought one myself.
if only lesser than that, zoom H4n / firebox audiobox presonus will be good enough. depends what you're recording

 

[Halimatus]

thanks for the info... havent thought of doing multitrack drums... but since i'm getting zoom r16 might as well i will look into multitrack drum eh... waiting for payday to get the zoom r16... yay!!..cheers...

 

[Halimatus]

oh btw for a beginner..is it necessary to noe the technical stuffs...cos i'm more of a practical/ just-do-it guy...

 

[blueprintstudios]

if you read the DIY Recording FAQ, you're also talking to a "Just F-in Do It" guy.
what I did mainly is "This is the Universe". simple. big picture. but if you look deep into the universe a.k.a go "technical" , it's not as simple as it looks. galaxies,orbits,moons,planets,stars,nebulas etc. and in each planet like the one we're on for example, there's diff countries etc, all the way down to any kinds of details as long as you understand/feel like it/have fun learning more about it.
but understand that R16 IS quite abit complex for a beginner. the variety of options/capabilities is alot more than the Zoom H4n. be prepared to do alot of reading and trial and error.

 

[chickenbonez00]

hey blueprintstudios thanks for replying to my thread. I wanna ask if there's a really big difference in the audio quality when you plug it in into your computer through either usb or the line in jack. i guess that's mainly why im considering getting that xlr to usb adapter, but i rather not get a whole new interface for that as yeah, it isn't really that cheap. and if usb connections do help i thought of getting one of those 1/4 inch to usb adapters instead, as those seem cheaper. I'm not goin for really high recording standards just yet. haha

 

[kongwee]

For demo, don't need high quality recording.

 

[chickenbonez00]

dont need lah. but if can. why not. haha

 

[blueprintstudios]

for your own songs as preproduction to prepare for a serious recording or any demos to get gigs, need to record, but want it to be better/higher quality. need and want it to set a good first impression.

yes there is a difference in terms of noise/preamp gain. when you line in, you're using your onboard soundcard as an "audio interface" which was made for CONSUMER PLAYBACK no preamp (onboard software gain mic boost), and therefore there may be latency issues, noise issues, etc. it's not impossible, it's been done, but eventually you will wanna move on and buy something. the purpose of audio interface/SOUNDCARD is that they were made so that you can record with it.

 

[chickenbonez00]

hmm i see...

 

[fffaaarrr]

Hi,,fffaaarrr here.

hi,
im usin tracktion...and when i tried to connect the tapco icon to track 1,,shit happens..
it sounded like a buzzing-machine-gun...im usin 44100 Hz n a bit depth of 16-bit..
i tried to change the bit-depth but it's still the same..ouh yea and my latency is 2.9 milliseconds..
thanx.

 

[blueprintstudios]

fffaaarrr : I'll try help you out with your problem at your thread

 

[JanWilder]

Very good thread...