Recording Equipment - Need Some Serious HELP

[The Don]

OK guys. I've got about a $500 budget and I want to get recording equipment that will WORK well, get good sound, and be easy to use. I've been using the M-Audio FastTrack USB for a few years and shit has finally hit the fan. Something inside the little box broke, so now all I get is fuzz. Me and my friend who I make music with have dicked around with cheap $100-150 plugs, boxes, etc, and it's getting really old. We've tried going digital, but there is too much lag from playing to hearing it on the comp. We were using a microphone on the M-Audio box, which gave decent sound and was pretty easy to use.

So my question is: What products should I be purchasing if I want to get a decent sound? What type of mics work the best for recording really crunchy amp sounds? Is there one product that stands out above the rest? I've been playing for about 4 years and we are getting serious about putting out a demo and jumpstarting playing, we just have had trouble in the past getting songs down that don't sound like Darkthrone recorded it (shit production).

I know there are plenty of guitarists on the forum, so help me out!

 

[eternalswamplord]

hey man, well i record with a Lexicon Omega Recording Studio, which comes with the software Cubase LE, and i have a Line 6 PODXT guitar effects processor. To be honest, the Lexicon is kind of complicated and i wouldnt recommend you buying it. The buffer settings are really inconsistent. But i definitely recommend the PODXT! Its awesome! I dont know much about mics considering i record guitar tracks with the pod.

 

[TomAwesome]

I've been using a M-Audio Delta 1010LT sound card with some pretty good results. For $200, the quality is pretty good, and the latency is really low. The only bad part is that it doesn't have 1/4" ins or outs, but I've mainly been recording through XLR and S/PDIF anyway. As far as guitar mics, the Shure SM57 is the industry standard at about $100. Audix has a mic (I forget which model) that is the same price and is supposed to be a lot like the SM57 but a lot more forgiving as far as placement. I have no experience with it, though.

What are you doing for monitoring? Good headphones are a great and less expensive alternative to desktop monitors. I'm looking into getting a set of AKG K240 MK IIs soon myself. I think their going rate is about $200.

So between those three things it ends up being about $500. Someone else will likely have some even better ideas, but this is the direction I've been going with my low-fund home studio ventures.

 

[The Don]

OK a few questions about the Line 6 PodXT- Can it be set to deliver a sound that is similar to that of the metal bands we listen to? How hard is it to get close to that god, Antii Kokko's sound? I see it connects to my comp through USB, so can I have the PodXT as my input and route the output through my M-Audio FastTrack and hear my playing live through my demon speakers (usually I have to play silently, then listen to what I've recorded to actually hear how it sounds)? How's the latency?

I've been thinking about two options. 1 - Getting the M-Audio FastTrack Ultra and the SM-57 mic and getting a nice clear, amp recorded sound (since I own a few decent amps). Or 2 (which seems like the most sensible option since I'm looking for a professional, easy to set up sound (micing an amp, no matter how good you are at it, always seems to take a bit of setting up with amp volume, mic placement, etc)) - Get the Line 6 PODXT for $299 and get the M-Audio Fast Track Pro for like $150 to keep the option of mic recording open, as well as provide a nice audio output for my line 6 (again, the demon speakers own).

I like the idea of the PODXT, I just am concerned about where I can route the output (since many programs have a default output for certain inputs), and if it actually lives up to the hype to deliver the 133t t0nze I've been hearing about.

 

[TomAwesome]

The POD is a pretty flexible unit, and you can get some great tones out of it if you know your way around it. Check out the Andy Sneap part of the UM forums for a lot of examples of really great POD recordings. It does take some work, though, and a lot of time/tweaking to get the hang of it. If you're going to get a POD just to maybe use it and maybe not, it seems like a waste of money given your budget. If there's a pretty good chance that you might not actually use the POD, the money would be better spent on something like mixing and/or monitoring headphones. It does save a lot of the trouble of setting up a recording environment, though.

I haven't tried it myself, but recording through the USB will have a bit of latency. I think any USB recording device will have some latency, though some are probably better than others. I'd imagine most DAWs will let you select whichever ins/outs you need.

 

[eternalswamplord]

Well first of all, the PODXT is pretty damn amazing!! I get amazing tones from it. And since Kalmah is my favorite band i try to imitate somewhat their sound. It has so many effects, cabs, and amp models. It is so easy to tweak different tones to match what you want. It comes with free software online which makes it super easy to play with. I have a line 6 amp, and its pretty good, but with this PODXT, i dont plan on buying another amp for a while. what i need is good speakers. I connect the PODXT to the Lexicon Omega and i put on the heaphones(which are connected to the Omega) and record. Im not sure how the latency would be with the M-Audio.

 

[The Don]

Yeah I'm guessing there is going to be a bit of latency regardless. I'm working off of a laptop so even recording from a mic is going through an audio interface that is connected through USB, though I have not really experienced any noticable lag. (BTW I checked out your guitar gear pics- nice shit!) I guess if it came to it I could route the POD to the audio interface for low latency, since that seems to work just fine. I think if I purchased the PODXT I would be tweaking it for hours, and fully using it, not half and half. I like mic recording but I tend to fuck with the volume too much and I don't know enough about placement and environment to really replicate the amp sound.

Another issue is recording drunk at 2am. I'm sure my housemates don't want to hear my amp thundering with debaucherous ideas, so I'm also taking into consideration that I could throw headphones on this and record whatever the hell I think sounds cool at the time.

I wish I could like take a trial for a few days to see if this works for me

Eternalswamplord - do you have any recordings of your tone with the pod? and are you using it directly through USB (or how is it set up)?

 

[TomAwesome]

Then yeah, the POD looks like a pretty viable option for you! I record mostly through my POD X3 Live. I'm still working on getting a good tone with it, though. I think my main trouble is coming from needing good headphones. If it helps any, though, here is a recording my band did shortly after I got the POD the night we got the M-Audio sound card. We pulled an all nighter to make a deadline for a competition, and I was learning how to do everything as we went along, so the production is absolute crap. Also, all we had to work with was a 1/4" -> 1/8" and a 1/8" -> RCA adapter to get the sound to the card, so we lost a fair deal of quality that way. Bulb so far has much better success with his POD.

Oh, and thanks! I'm glad you like my stuff!

 

[The Don]

^^Sounds a hell of a lot better than what I've been getting! Thanks for the advice guys. So here is a question: What do you think the best audio interface is? I've got about $500 to throw down, and the POD is $300. My M-Audio FastTrack USB is fucked (the one I have is the cheap $100 version), though while it was working I had very low latency, lag completely unnoticable. I was thinking I could pick up a new M-Audio product, since it worked beautifully (when it WAS working). The Fastrack Pro is $250, which is a bit over my budget but I'd like to get something that is somewhat decent. Do you guys have any recommendations?

 

[TomAwesome]

I can only speak for the Delta 1010LT, but since you're on a laptop, that cuts that and a lot of other options out. Most of their products are pretty decent, though.

 

[eternalswamplord]

My guitar connects to the input of the PODXT, the PODXT has two outputs which are connected to the 1/4" inputs of the Lexicon Omega. The Omega has four 1/4" inputs, two mic inputs, two (left and right) output for speakers, and an output for headphones, (which i use because i currently dont have speakers.) I use my desktop to record, and right now im on my laptop, so i will send you some clips of the good tones that i have soon.

 

[The Don]

Yeah if I had a desktop I would be all over a nice soundcard in a heartbeat.

Yeah so I think what I'm going to do is get the PODXT and the M-Audio Fastrack Pro and hope for the best. I'll have my guitar to the PODXT, then two 1/4" outputs to the Fastrack Pro, with my l/r outputs on the pro to a nice set of speakers. Pretty much exactly like yours eternalswamplord.

Yeah definitely send me some stuff I'd like to hear it. Was your Hades cover done using the POD cause that sounded pretty damn good! Also, can't you customize your tone on your comp with the software included and like save the presets? Maybe you could send me some Antii swampgod killer tones?

 

[eternalswamplord]

Yeah definitely send me some stuff I'd like to hear it. Was your Hades cover done using the POD cause that sounded pretty damn good! Also, can't you customize your tone on your comp with the software included and like save the presets? Maybe you could send me some Antii swampgod killer tones?[/QUOTE] In the hades cover i actually used my Line 6 Spider. But yea, you can customize, edit, change all the tones using the software on the comp. And yup you can save and store your tones on your computer. yea man but i could send you all the tones i have that are great. When you get the pod you just have to register at line.com and then download all the free software.

 

[The Don]

Sounds great man I would appreciate that. You could email em to me if they r small files: bmoenning@ups.edu. Can't wait to try em out. Do they sync as presets on the actual POD or just have the info then you set it yourself manually?

Going to get the POD and the Fastrack Ultra tonight (extra inputs for drums and shit). I only have one more question. Right now I have the Fastrack USB, and the back looks like this. Notice the Audio R/L outputs. Those are connected to my speakers, with the Fastrack connected to my comp. Now the back of the Ultra looks like this. Notice there are only 1/4'' outputs. I can get a l/r stereo to 1/4'' plug converter (or combiner whatever the fuck it's called), but would I just use output 1 if I want my main computer sounds to be linked to my speakers? Also, can one of you fine gents explain the roles of the S/PDIF, how the Inserts could be used, and what exactly the MIDI outputs do? In Metal Recording for Dummies language perhaps? I've only been recording for about a year and a half so I'm trying to get up to speed on what certain things do. Thanks again.

 

[eternalswamplord]

The way to download the tones is i go to Line.com and i search and download the submitted tones. All i have to do is submit my tones, and then you download them! Unless i could directly email the tones to you. I will find out about that. But I am fairly new to recording so im not sure about the S/PDIF deal.

 

[TomAwesome]

Sounds great man I would appreciate that. You could email em to me if they r small files: bmoenning@ups.edu. Can't wait to try em out. Do they sync as presets on the actual POD or just have the info then you set it yourself manually?

Going to get the POD and the Fastrack Ultra tonight (extra inputs for drums and shit). I only have one more question. Right now I have the Fastrack USB, and the back looks like this. Notice the Audio R/L outputs. Those are connected to my speakers, with the Fastrack connected to my comp. Now the back of the Ultra looks like this. Notice there are only 1/4'' outputs. I can get a l/r stereo to 1/4'' plug converter (or combiner whatever the fuck it's called), but would I just use output 1 if I want my main computer sounds to be linked to my speakers? Also, can one of you fine gents explain the roles of the S/PDIF, how the Inserts could be used, and what exactly the MIDI outputs do? In Metal Recording for Dummies language perhaps? I've only been recording for about a year and a half so I'm trying to get up to speed on what certain things do. Thanks again.

The mono/mono -> stereo converter should work fine if I understand you correctly. S/PDIF is digital audio. If possible, this is probably the one you'll want to use. It cuts the number of AD/DA conversions down and should sound a bit clearer than using a XLR or 1/4" cable to go between the POD and the FastTrack. Just make sure you're using S/PDIF cable and not regular RCA cable.