improvements to my setup

[bada$$]

i have an imac and i record though garageband. i play guitar, bass and vocals and use gb for drums and other instruments. i have a alesis 6 chanel mixer which is plugged to the imac input. i mike my guitar amp with a shure sm57 and i use a di box for the bass.

overall my recordings have been ok but i feel they could be clearer and louder. any advise?

[Drumjim85]

i have an imac and i record though garageband. i play guitar, bass and vocals and use gb for drums and other instruments. i have a alesis 6 chanel mixer which is plugged to the imac input. i mike my guitar amp with a shure sm57 and i use a di box for the bass.

overall my recordings have been ok but i feel they could be clearer and louder. any advise?

There are three main categories you can upgrade:

1) Mics
2) Preamps
3) Converters

My first step would be to get better converters, and probably in form of an audio interface. (M-audio, MOTO, RME.....). And along with this you're also going to get a better clock, which will reduce the jitter, which will make things sound cleaner...
There are interfaces with preamps built in, but I'm not sure you would get any better results from them than you do your alesis...

[bada$$]

There are three main categories you can upgrade:

1) Mics
2) Preamps
3) Converters

My first step would be to get better converters, and probably in form of an audio interface. (M-audio, MOTO, RME.....). And along with this you're also going to get a better clock, which will reduce the jitter, which will make things sound cleaner...
There are interfaces with preamps built in, but I'm not sure you would get any better results from them than you do your alesis...

What do you mean by clock?

do you have any brand names and models that you would suggest?

[Drumjim85]

What do you mean by clock?

do you have any brand names and models that you would suggest?

I gave you 3 brands already... If you can afford it I would go with RME...
As far as models go, its really upto what your budget is and what your needs are (how many in's and out's you need...)

Word Clock and jitter get pretty technical... if you really want to know more about it I can dig up some stuff for you to read .. (i would explain it, but not being the best witter, it would probably confuse you.)

[zimv20]

before we get into specific gear recommendations, especially with something like a clock, let's break 'that whole engineering thing' into 4 areas that need attentions:

1. the room
2. the gear
3. the engineer
4. the music

all these need to be in place for success. so, badass, which of these are in good shape and which are not? if your room isn't treated, it needs to be. i love gear, and making gear recommendations, but if your engineering talent isn't up to the level of your gear, it doesn't make much sense to invest resources there. and if the music isn't well played (sorry, but that's a reality), then all the gear in the world won't make you sound like Queen.

[bada$$]

before we get into specific gear recommendations, especially with something like a clock, let's break 'that whole engineering thing' into 4 areas that need attentions:

1. the room
2. the gear
3. the engineer
4. the music

all these need to be in place for success. so, badass, which of these are in good shape and which are not? if your room isn't treated, it needs to be. i love gear, and making gear recommendations, but if your engineering talent isn't up to the level of your gear, it doesn't make much sense to invest resources there. and if the music isn't well played (sorry, but that's a reality), then all the gear in the world won't make you sound like Queen.

thanks for your reply, i'm not looking to make a crazy demo... i can't do anything about my room... so basically i have to rely on gear, engineering an the music. my recording setup is a mobile thing... i record when i have an idea and i spend time between my house and my cottage... i just want it to sound as good as i can make it sound.