nms said:
Sorry Trevor, i'm afraid i'm not very knowledgable on this but i'd be honoured if you'd help! Seems like you know your stuff!
First order of business, get to those magazines!!
nms said:
Roughly for recording, i (amongst others) will be using (though not necessarily at the same time) a drum kit, two guitars, a bass guitar, a microphone and a keyboard. My mic doesn't connect through XLR.
OK, counting up the total number of inputs that will be used simultaneously is important. If you are micing a drum kit, it will take between 2 and 6 microphones, so that means that you may need an external mixer of some description plus the mics, and spending some time on setting up the room and drum kit for good sound. The mixer would be used to take the drum mics (and possibly vocal mics, bass and guitar cabinet mics) and mix them down into 2 to 4 inputs for Garageband 2.
Most professional level microphones use XLR (3 pin) connections, and some require Phantom power (where 9 - 48 V is fed through the cable to the microphone to power it) A good mixer will have XLRs and phantom power on at least some of its inputs, some Firewire audio interraces also offer XLSr and phantom power.
Guitars are a problem, either you crank up the amp and put a mic on the speaker, or you need another way to form the sound of the guitar: simply plugging the guitar into the recording input produces a weak, wimpy sound. You would either treat the guitar sound with an external effects box that simulates an amplifier (Line6 Pod series, Behringer V-Amp, various Boss, Korg and Digitech units) or you can use software such as Amplitube, Warp and others in the computer to give the guitar its characteristic roar. The software is not necessarily less expensive than the external device (and the external is handier for live performance).
nms said:
I'll just be using GarageBand as i have no misconceptions of the ability of the band...it's kind of a hobby/side project rather than oodles of talent...but i may upgrade to Logic Express or something...
For live acts i doubt the mini will be used at all, maybe possibly to play synths/various loops through a sound system (if that).
With regards to the keyboard, i'd really rather it was just a set of keys rather than a complicated mixing desk/breakout box built in...i was thinking (offhand i can't quite recall) of the one-oh-something key one that's on the apple store, plugs in through usb, that might be good.
OK, the point about the keyboard and the Mini for live performance was that you will probably want a keyboard with its own built in sounds for performing, rather than just a USB controller keyboard. Which keyboard you choose depends on the style of playing and the sounds you will need.
The Mini is viable for playback of loops and backing tracks (although a MiniDisc player or CD player is cheaper, more rugged and reliable generally). There are some brilliant programs such as Ableton Live which are designed for live control and mixing of computer generated loops.
Of course either way if you use loops or backing tracks, your live rhythm section will have to play to the tempo of the loops, not vise-versa - not all players are comfortable with that.
nms said:
The box is needed mainly for recording but i'd prefer a not-so-pricey one that connects through firewire (my 7-port USB 2 hub has no ports left).
You can expect $400 - $1400 for a Firewire solution, the audio quality will be very good.
-Edirol FA-66
http://www.edirol.com/products/info/fa66.html or FA-101
-M-Audio Firewire 410 (although this one has a bit of a reputation for shakey drivers)
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWire410-main.html or Firewire 1814
-Presonus Firebox
http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html or Firepod
If you have more money, the Onyx mixer from Mackie with its Firewire module looks very, very good. It would cover off live mixing, recording mixing, and computer interface.
http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx1220/
nms said:
As you can see it's not so pro stuff, i'd probably be using a PM if it was! Latency, i'm sorry i don't know what that is [lordy, that was a poorly constructed sentence] but i'd be pleased if you could give me a rundown on that.
Using the Mini as a sound generating module for live playing is a bit more problematic, because there is a delay of 5 - 20 ms between when you hit the key and the sound comes out (latency).
nms said:
Out of interest, do you record audio??
I have a Mac system with ProTools and Logic, and a PC system with Cubase SX. Don't get enough time with them at the moment. My son is a urban music writer and producer, he has a full-blown Mac-ProTools studio (plus most of my old equipment and all of my LP collection...)
Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
