Hey all...
I'm a bit new to computer recording and I'm looking for some help with putting together a simple set up that requires only myself to create a song from start to finish. I'm a metal guitarist first, and singer/bassist/drummer last. Money is not THAT much of a concern, but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg for something that's more than I need.
I've recently learned about USB/Firewire Audio Interfaces and was looking at the PreSonus Audio Box Studio- something simple and cheap to get me started. It comes with a condenser mic, headphones, the DAW software, and of course the 2-channel audio interface. I think I'm headed in the right direction.
According to the PreSonus tutorial I watched, I'm supposed to be able to plug my guitar right into the interface and record that way, but I'm a bit particular about my distortion. I'm also reluctant to use the onboard distortion, so what do I use if I want quality distortion that could be equivalent to mic'ing a stack in a good room?
I've read about preamps that can be used for recording or for live applications such as the Mesa Recto Recording Preamp. Is that something that I could use to get good tone while recording? Is a preamp over-the-top or just what I need? I thought about just going through a distortion pedal, but most pedals I've run through my stack or any amp sounds like crap. None of them come close to an actual head. I'm not quite sure what my options are.
The last and most important thing that concerns me is recording drums. I do not have the capability to record an acoustic kit as my dorm room is too small (even for an eKit) and neighbors would have a fit. So what's my alternative? A drum machine? I want complete control over quality drum sounds and refuse to settle for cheap sounding midi drums you find on crappy keyboards. And I want to be able to create drum tracks that sound natural, not played by a robot. Being able to be completely creative with software or hardware that's easy to use is also important.
I was looking at Maschine by Native Instruments, which was a bit pricey and looks a bit extreme for creating beats on a simple (well, metal) drum set, but having the capability to create beats in real time and just dragging and dropping them into your host (DAW?) seems ideal. But, the fact that it's not completely geared towards drummers, something like Toontrack's Superior Drummer 2.0 would have the quality drums I'm looking for. But won't I need a midi controller to be able to make it more convenient, anyway? I just don't want it to be a pain in the ass if I want to get creative with my drum tracks.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
I'm a bit new to computer recording and I'm looking for some help with putting together a simple set up that requires only myself to create a song from start to finish. I'm a metal guitarist first, and singer/bassist/drummer last. Money is not THAT much of a concern, but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg for something that's more than I need.
I've recently learned about USB/Firewire Audio Interfaces and was looking at the PreSonus Audio Box Studio- something simple and cheap to get me started. It comes with a condenser mic, headphones, the DAW software, and of course the 2-channel audio interface. I think I'm headed in the right direction.
According to the PreSonus tutorial I watched, I'm supposed to be able to plug my guitar right into the interface and record that way, but I'm a bit particular about my distortion. I'm also reluctant to use the onboard distortion, so what do I use if I want quality distortion that could be equivalent to mic'ing a stack in a good room?
I've read about preamps that can be used for recording or for live applications such as the Mesa Recto Recording Preamp. Is that something that I could use to get good tone while recording? Is a preamp over-the-top or just what I need? I thought about just going through a distortion pedal, but most pedals I've run through my stack or any amp sounds like crap. None of them come close to an actual head. I'm not quite sure what my options are.
The last and most important thing that concerns me is recording drums. I do not have the capability to record an acoustic kit as my dorm room is too small (even for an eKit) and neighbors would have a fit. So what's my alternative? A drum machine? I want complete control over quality drum sounds and refuse to settle for cheap sounding midi drums you find on crappy keyboards. And I want to be able to create drum tracks that sound natural, not played by a robot. Being able to be completely creative with software or hardware that's easy to use is also important.
I was looking at Maschine by Native Instruments, which was a bit pricey and looks a bit extreme for creating beats on a simple (well, metal) drum set, but having the capability to create beats in real time and just dragging and dropping them into your host (DAW?) seems ideal. But, the fact that it's not completely geared towards drummers, something like Toontrack's Superior Drummer 2.0 would have the quality drums I'm looking for. But won't I need a midi controller to be able to make it more convenient, anyway? I just don't want it to be a pain in the ass if I want to get creative with my drum tracks.
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
