Getting into recording help needed...

[Dan.123]

Hi guys,

Just after some advice on what to do in my situation.

Recently I bought a new MBP 2.66GHZ 4GB RAM which I would like to use for recording purposes as I am due to take Music Technology in September at my Sixth Form.

Now I currently have a copy of Logic 8 Express and am aware that the line in can be used to record say an electric guitar. I am a complete novice when using Logic as I have only used much simpler programs like Audacity.

My advice is what sort of interface do I need to use to record say a band consisting of guitars, bass, drums, vocalist and possibly keyboard. My school is currently selling a FW interface for recording guitars, is this the norm?

What sort of equipment will I need to record this type of band?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Dan.123

 

[jackerin]

My advice is what sort of interface do I need to use to record say a band consisting of guitars, bass, drums, vocalist and possibly keyboard. My school is currently selling a FW interface for recording guitars, is this the norm?

The one thing you should decide from the start is whether you want to record the entire band at once or do one intrument at a time. In any case you're going to need an interface with at least about 5 inputs if you want to mic the drums (digital drumset makes it easier, but not all like the sound); good built-in mic preamps are a plus.

If you want to record everything simultaneously, you're looking at up to 10 inputs. I hear MOTU has good FW interfaces, and you can also have a look at the Presonus FP10.

Edit: not to mention mics, cables, good recording space, good speakers and listening environment to mix on... I recommend visiting Tweakz' guide and reading it over: http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm.

 

[noisegeek]

Since your in sixth form, Im guessing your on a budget?

First question I guess is, What interface is your school selling? Second would be, whats your budget?

MOTU are for sure not too bad for the price ( still not super budget though ).

As said above it all depends how you want to record. Are you looking at recording bands live? Or doing demo's / studio / rehearsal recordings?

As an idea heres something to look at from MOTU....

http://www.motu.com/products/motuaudio/8pre/i-o.html

Thats a firewire based 8-pre amp. AKA using that you can record upto 8 different instruments / mics at the same time.

These are perfect little things if you want to record sessions as you can track the drums, then once finished, do the gtr's then bass, vocal etc...

If you need to record a live show, you can also buy as many of these as you need per channel numbers.

For example I use

http://www.mhsecure.com/v5mm/2882_2dExpanded.html

I have several of these and depending how many tracks I need to record, depends on how many units I take with me, as they all link via firewire into my MBP