Starting out, a little help, please?!

[TheVatican]

Hi, I was recommended to these forums by someone on the Krank forums, actually. They said that people here would know a lot about recording, etc. I'm a real gearhead when it comes to guitar equipment, but when it comes to home recording, I am kind of stumped.

I'm in the process of moving, and in my new home I'm making sure I have enough computer/desk/recording space to mic up my cabs, acoustics and even vocals, but I would like some suggestions on where to start. I was looking at items such as the Alesis Firewire 8 multimix mixer. But then I heard someone telling me that Presonus' stuff is pretty good, which I would believe.

If I get a mixer, I would need help hooking up a pre-amp, and if I get those, I need getting all of that product onto my computer.

I think basically what I'm looking for is a device to go into the computer, and a preamp. As long as these components won't cost an arm and a leg, (I do understand that if you spend more money, you'll get better product) but I'm not aiming to be a professional producer. Just something I can put down and master and make sound excellent as can be.

Oh yeah, software, I would like some suggestions on that too. Any good drum simulator software, etc. I would go an ask the guys at any music store, but they're looking to make commission, so of course they're going to steer me in the wrong direction.

Any help is appreciated, thanks!

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

How about a Presonus Firepod (http://www.thomann.de/gb/presonus_firepod.htm) or similar? It has eight mic pre's, and you can plug it directly to your computer via Firewire.

For software I would recommend trying out Reaper (http://www.reaper.fm/) for a DAW. It's uncrippled shareware, so basically you can use it for free, or purchase a really inexpensive license. For drum sampler, you could take a look around KVR (http://www.kvraudio.com) and see if you can find some free plugins, or purchase a commercial drum VSTi like EZdrummer (http://www.toontrack.com/ezdrummer.asp).

My setup is basically a Firepod and Cubase SX2, and for drums I use Battery 2 and EZDrummer.

 

[TheVatican]

That's pretty cool. I'm kind of diggin' the presonus stuff. I'm just still kind of shaky on that stuff. Would I need another preamp to go into that, or would that be decent enough? It's rackmountable too, which is convenient. And eventually I can put together a mega studio, but for now I want something small, but will produce a clean enough sound. I've been running my Pod XT through the computer and I had to really tinkle with it for a long while until I got a decent sound.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

There are lots of Firepod -users on this board, and even though there are a lot better preamps out there (of course, it's a ~€400 interface after all), I don't think I've read a single negative comment about Firepod's pre's so far Try the search and search for comments about it.

 

[colonel kurtz]

the firepod doesn't rule, but it doesn't suck either - people who know how to record can get great results, while people who don't will probably get so-so results...but the same goes for most gear

if you're going by price vs. quality, it's probably one of the better deals out there

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Firepod and a 57.

No you don't NEED a preamp, but I am sure it would sound better than the stock preamps the presonus puts in the firepod (although they are not horrible)

 

[TheVatican]

I've also been looking at a focusrite Saffire pro. I think it's pretty similar to the Presonus, anyone have any feedback on this item?