Originally posted by Schiffi
3)Any microphone will do, however pro mics have that connector with the 3 knotches on it will be the best (I can't for the life of me remember what those connectors are called).
XLRs
not surprisingly, one can spend anywhere from a little to a s***load of $$ for hard disk recording.
your uncle can get a nice setup for an additional $800. that will buy him a digidesign 001 -- a hardware unit (w/ analog/digital & digital/analog converters) that comes with software -- ProTools LE.
that system will allow up to 8 simultaneous inputs and a total of (i think) 32 audio tracks.
for about half that, he could get the MBox (same company), which provides two simultaneous inputs.
if he wants to record audio and do some MIDI work, he might think about Emagic's Logic program (now owned by Apple). that's just software, he'd still need the hardware unit.
once that stuff is bought, he can go nuts w/ outboard gear -- mic pre's, microphones, compressors. every (wise) purchase and competent use gets him that much closer to pro sound.
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here's my setup:
for audio, i record into either a Shure KSM32 or a B.L.U.E. Dragonfly mic. that plugs into a Mackie mixer (for the mic pre's, phantom power, and leveling). i take the direct outs of those signals into my Digi001. that translates the signal from analog to digital and gets it into my mac. there, i use either ProTools LE or Logic to record it.
if i want some synth stuff, I'll use a nice software package called Reason for that. i can export Reason sound files into Logic, then record live instruments alongside it.
to listen to it, the signal path comes back out of the Digi001 (which converts digital back to analog), into my Mackie mixer, then out to the powered speakers.
for more info than you can handle, go to
OSX Audio
final notes: in general, you get what you pay for. also, nothing beats knowing your gear and being a good engineer.
