Any Guitarist That Record?

[jlbenedict]

getting ready to invest into something basic, so I can start recording..

been trying to decide what to buy..

Should I get one of those amp modeling devices that hook up to the computer by usb?

or.. should I go the Soundcard > preamp > mixer > software route??

Looking at something economical... not professional by no means..

I noticed I can get an E-MU 0404 pci recording sound card for a nice price..
If I was to get that.. I assume I would only need to get a preamp at that point?

Sorry if these are newbie type questions and concerns.. just trying to sort out what all I need..

 

[Saint Nick]

Shure SM57, Behringer UB802 mixer, Behringer FCA204 audio interface

It will cost you about 200 bucks total.

Then just use Audacity, it's free.

 

[ruffilb]

Bump, I have the same questions.

 

[misle]

When I first started recording, I used an SM-57 into an M-Audio AudioBuddy Preamp into a decent soundcard. It worked quite well.

But if you don't have a good amp, or you don't live somewhere where you can crank up a bit, the TonePort / POD things might work the best for you.

 

[tweakmm]

M-box.

 

[misle]

BTW, I've had very good luck with M-Audio equipment. You might want to take a look at www.m-audio.com

I've heard good things about the M-Box, but I've never used one.

 

[mordantmonkey]

m-box ain't too shabby. i went with an EMU, but there are a ton of choices out there... i suggest you start reading here

http://www.tweakheadz.com/

 

[CptObvious]

i have m-audio gear (audiophile, dmp3) and it works pretty well.

but by far the easiest way i've found to record guitar is the line 6 toneport. i use the asio drivers and i just plug my guitar into it and record through any multitrack software. i used to use a v-amp pro but it took longer to set up. there's 2 versions of the toneport, i have the cheaper one with one xlr mic input, but the more expensive one comes with two xlr inputs and phantom power which is a bonus.

 

[phantom309]

I had two e-mu cards and it seemed like I was always fighting with them - driver issues, artifacts, wierd clicks, incompatibilities and that mixer program was infuriating. I also hated working with Cubasis. I finally broke down and forked over $450 for the Digidesign M-Box system and so far it's been very good. The interface has fantastic mic preamps built in, and ProTools is incredibly flexible and easy to use. A lot of the bundled software is actually useful, especially the BFD drumkit and the Bomb Factory plugins.

It's all designed to work together, and all designed to help you get GOOD sounds on disk QUICKLY. This is important to me because I hate having to spend time troubleshooting, reloading drivers and reading manuals when I've got something I want to record.

The other advantage is that ProTools is pretty much the standard of the recording industry right now. As much of a pain in the ass as it is to learn any recording software, you might as well learn the one the pros use. Even the pros who don't use it, know it. It's sort of the Cisco IOS of the music business.

On the downside, you only get two inputs, and since it's USB there's always a little latency when you're going to disk. There are workarounds for that and it's never been a problem for me.

For mics I suggest a Shure sm57 for elec guitar and a Studio Projects B1 for vocals and acoustic instruments. Very cheap. EQ them right and you can make a pretty damned impressive recording. If you can only afford one, get the 57 - if you get bored with music you can always go camping and use it to pound in your tent stakes.

I also have a Vox Tonelab amp simulator/fx box and it's very useful - but the original POD has lots of great sounds in it too and you can get them >$100 on eBay. There's also a pretty good software-based amp simulator bundled with the Mbox.

 

[jlbenedict]

:thumbsup:

Thanks alot for all the suggestions.

I've been seriously considering the M-Audio M-Box product.. I'm a little concerned though with the USB conectivity.

Other than that, thanks alot for all the recommendations and that TweakHeadz link!!

 

[SandInMyShoes]

Originally posted by: jndietz
Shure SM57, Behringer UB802 mixer, Behringer FCA204 audio interface

It will cost you about 200 bucks total.

Then just use Audacity, it's free.

Ditto, except I'm going into an Audigy 2. Works great for me

 

[cjgallen]

I use a Sansamp PSA-1 preamp, and only that. I run it straight to the line-in on my sound card, it sounds amazing.

 

[aircooled]

I've heard good things about the Line 6 Guitar Port.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: tweakmm
M-box.

QFT

this is the ONLY option if you are ever interested in integrating your work with professional recording studios or going back/forth with files. you can get modeling plug-ins for guitar that sound good enough for demo work, or plug in a mic and record your amp. the pro tools software included has enough power to record a full album if needed. unless you are 100% just doing this to dick around and are sure you will NEVER want to do anything important with it, you have to get a pro tools based system, and the m-box is the cheapest way to get into one.

also, if you look around, you can sometimes find Digi001 systems for pretty cheap. they are the previous hardware generation for Pro Tools and are also good enough for this kind of work.

edit: i did forget that there is a cheap M-Audio hardware-based Pro Tools system, but I can't remember what it is called. that would probably work fine. also, as others have mentioned the Shure SM-57 or SM-58 are good places to start with mics, and Studio Projects makes darn good mics for the money. My band actually used a C-1 in my hall closet to record background vocals for our last album. The tone can't compete with a true expensive mic, but they are a great value.

 

[mrrman]

I have the guitar rig 2 pedal by NI( native instruments)

 

[tweakmm]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain

Originally posted by: tweakmm
M-box.

QFT

this is the ONLY option if you are ever interested in integrating your work with professional recording studios or going back/forth with files. you can get modeling plug-ins for guitar that sound good enough for demo work, or plug in a mic and record your amp. the pro tools software included has enough power to record a full album if needed. unless you are 100% just doing this to dick around and are sure you will NEVER want to do anything important with it, you have to get a pro tools based system, and the m-box is the cheapest way to get into one.

also, if you look around, you can sometimes find Digi001 systems for pretty cheap. they are the previous hardware generation for Pro Tools and are also good enough for this kind of work.

edit: i did forget that there is a cheap M-Audio hardware-based Pro Tools system, but I can't remember what it is called. that would probably work fine. also, as others have mentioned the Shure SM-57 or SM-58 are good places to start with mics, and Studio Projects makes darn good mics for the money. My band actually used a C-1 in my hall closet to record background vocals for our last album. The tone can't compete with a true expensive mic, but they are a great value.

Said how I wanted to say it, the way I knew someone would say it, the way only you could say it.

:thumbsup:

 

[biggestmuff]

To answer your first question, stay away from using USB with audio interfaces!

Most audio interfaces include a software mixer. External mixers are good if you are recording multiple sources at the same time into an audio interface with only one or two recording inputs.

Next, you need to settle on a budget. You can go from ultra-cheap stuff to pro stuff. How much do you want to spend?

I'm using Sonar 4 Producer Edition with an M-Audio 1010 PCI audio interface and using Mackie 824 monitors. Those are running on a standalone, music only DAW. I then have over $3000 in synth, sampling and virtual instrument software installed. This is just a mid-level system.

For external hardware I primarily use a Pod XT Pro and a JoeMeek TwinQ preamp.

I use the analog outputs of the Pod XT Pro. Surprised? It sounds better than the digital outputs.

 

[jlbenedict]

Ok.. there are alot of good respones and exactly what I needed to start my research.

I'm not looking for professional studio quality. I haven't been playing long; so my main goals are to be able to record my practice sessions, and songs along with backing tracks, etc.. you know.. beginner stuff.
There will be no vocals, or other instruments..
I am in a small, basement apartment, with a pregnant wife, so I don't believe mic'ing my amp is going to be a "go" with the wife.
Based on that, I believe direct connection with my computer is the most preferred method.

I was playing around with some software lastnight; Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro. Its pretty nice. I had my guitar hooked up to soundcard (Audigy 2 Value), with a 1/4" -> 1/8" adapter; first tried the "Line-In" and that didn't work at all. Plugged it into the Mic-In, and the results were a little better; still not great. I'm assuming since a guitar is a "line level" instrument, I need a preamp of some sort in between the guitar and the Line-In?

Another thing, is the Audigy 2 Value drivers didn't seem to work. I had to download some freeware drivers called, ASIO4ALL. I'm not sure why those worked better, since I thought the Creative Audigy 2 drivers were ASIO 2 compliant.

 

[phantom309]

You may also want to consider a standalone recorder. I have one of these to use as a kind of digital notebook, and have been pleased:

http://www.americanmusical.com/item--i-ZOO-MRS8--brand-290.html

It's cheap, reasonably easy to use, it has a ridiculous array of simulators, presets and effects built in, as well as a perfectly usable drum machine. You get an XLR input for a mic (no phantom power so you'll have to stick with a 57 or similar dynamic mic - probably not a problem for you) and a 1/4" input especially for guitar, as well as line-level inputs. You can run it on batteries or AC and it's very portable and surprisingly well made. It even has a decent little condenser mic built in - very very handy. You can also use it as a preamp and run it directly into your soundcard. You can't get a pro-quality recording out of it like you can with the M-box, but for what you've said you want, it'd work great and you wouldn't need to buy anything else.

Fostex and Tascam also make similar units.

 

[CptObvious]

get the toneport and you won't have to worry about your soundcard. it has the interface and modeling software together. i used to mess with various modeling interfaces (v-amp, j-station, pod) but they all required going through the soundcard, which was sometimes problematic.