NEED HELP BUILDING STUDIO.....

[the_mirror]

I currently have an electribe esx,er-1, kaoss pad and the micro korg.
What computer based program can record cd quality electronic music? I also need guidance in buying a good quality studio mic. Any help would be appreciated.

[elektro80]

What style of music are you into?

You have a PC?


A great mic is the KEL Audio HM-1. That one is a great multipurpose mic.
You might want a dynamic mic too. the old AKG BT330 is very underrated and these go for nearly nothing on ebay these days. You do however have to be sure the AKG is in excellent condition. A battered mic is a useless mic.


A ribbon mic is also something to consider later on. These usually have a very velvety sound. the rebranded Oktava ribbon mic that Electro-Harmonix is selling is pretty decent. Electro-Harmonix is also selling a mic preamp thingie that is in fact rather good too. All these are considered low end gear, but I am sure you are not thnking of investing in 25 year neumann mics and NEV and API preamps any day soon. Another matter is of course that this gear will do just fine even for high profile productions.

[elektro80]

A very easy DAW is the Mackie Tracktion. It is inexpensive and it actually works just fine. It is also easy to learn. I have no idea though how good the midi section of it is.

Anyway, your style of music might be the decisive factor when you choose a DAW.

[the_mirror]

Im in the experimental stages right now but the sound I am going for is along the lines of "peaches" with an evil twist. If that makes any sense to you.

I have a dell desktop....Is there a program out there where I can hook up all my gear to my comp and record it?

[elektro80]

There are shitloads of apps out there. Stuff like FruityLoops, Cubase, Metro and others.

peaches? never heard of it.

You do however need some kind of audio interface in order to get a decent signal in and out of the computer.

You must also consider a monitoring setup and gear like mic preamps and compressors and whatever.

[the_mirror]

I am very new to sudio recording....so when you say compressors and an audio interface, what are those? Can you give me specific models for a not so big budget?

[elektro80]

The most basic setup is an audio interface
- like this stuff: http://m-audio.com/forums.html?do=products.list&ID=mobileinterfaces

Many of these also have a a very simple midi interface built in. If you for some reason need more midi connections than the basic in-out you might have to get something like this:
http://m-audio.com/products/en_us/MIDISPORT8x8s-main.html



+ a computer

+ a DAW ( a software application ) like: http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion2/index.html

+ a pair of decent headphones


A lot of the low end interfaces have unbalanced inputs. I recommend getting an audio interface with balanced inputs. This might come in handy later on if you add semipro outboard gear like compressors and preamps.

Microphones are low level devices, so for most types of microphones you will need a preamp in order to turn the low level signal into a line level signal. Some audio interfaces have pair of very basic preamps built in.
Many microphones are actually powered by the preamps. Look for phantom feed ( a 48 volt powersupply ). About 99,5 % of all preamps have this, but some older lowend gear might not. I think the most basic Behringer mixers still don´t have this.

You can ignore compressors for now, but these are very cool to have around. I suggest you check out this concept at wikipedia.
When recording you will probably not want to use a compressor/limiter for adding character to the sounds. You can do this in the DAW and often far better anyway. main point is to use the compressors/limiters for very subtle gain management so you don´t get clipping and distortion when you record.

Later you will probably find you want monitors ( loudspeakers), some kind of outboard monitor mix setup and various outboard gear.

[v-un-v]

[the_mirror]

where is a good site to get free loops and samples?

[elektro80]