Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

Guitarist

Guitarist

Mesa-ologist
I'm weaving in and out and over and sideways and back and now I've come full circle to a promise I've broken for the past 6 months. Help!

I let myself dwell in the halls of pleasure, when it comes to making music. You see, I told myself 6 months ago that I would break away from the band thing, and go for absolute control in my music. About two months ago, I broke that, as of a burning desire to try at it again. But now, a little enlightened, I'm feeling the excitement and energy in an idea, and I think it's pretty damned good! --Considering that I have had many great revelations whilst under an influence that keeps me up to date with my sub-conscious.

So here we are, fellas! Again, I thank you for integrity and I hope - - that you can help this L00NI3 out!! ...err, have I thanked you? :confused:



























...:laugh: Budday...! Alright, here's the deal:

I want to get back into recording.​

Help me out with everything I would need to simulate a band, and to record my guitar. Here's a list of the things I have to (hopefully) help us out...

  • Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop
  • BAD TO THE BONE guitars
  • BAD TO THE BONE amplifiers
  • BAD TO THE BONE pedals (still waiting for an echoczar...)
  • 1 Shure SM57
  • 2 XLR - 1/4in. microphone cables
  • PreSonus tube preamp
  • $800
  • Motivation

Well, ****...that sure don't sound like much. :smack:

What should I buy?!​

Remember, I want everything it takes to get a GOOD sounding recording setup. Doesn't have to be professional, but enough for me not to get annoyed with. I'm a ****ing freak when it comes to that **** - I can't play a bar without fiddling with those damned knobs! Seriously, it's getting to be distracting from the playing piece of music making... :no:

My humbleness to your patience and perseverance in a tiresome read! Believe me, this **** has taken me 15x the amount of time it should have to type in. Thanks.

Let me know if I left anything out that would help you answer my question. +++PLEASE INCLUDE PRICES ON ALL RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT!!+++
 
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Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

Basically, you're going to need:

PC with at least 2Ghz P4 equivalent processor, I'd recommend no less than a gig of RAM, and I'm sure most would back me up on that.

A DAW (Digital Audiow Workstation). Generally software. I wholeheartedly suggest Nuendo 2.0, or Cubase SX3. I find these to be the most versatile and stable of the PC based DAW's.

An interface to get from the mic to the PC. Your stock sound card isn't going to work, especially considering it won't have the ASIO drivers needed to run any sort of sane latency with a DAW. I'd recommend an M-Audio MBox ($450) for you. You basically just need one or two inputs (one or two mics), for recording guitar tracks, or a keyboard, or what have you. With that, you can eliminate the PreSonus from your chain, sell it to fund a bit!

Something to make drummzzz with. There are basically two options here. One would be to go with a peacemealed kit from your favorite samples or sample packs, run in a sampler (Battery 2 is the best for this, IMO). You program the beat in your DAW, and it runs the midi notes through the sampler, which triggers the corresponding notes. This can get some good sounds, I lived for a while off this.

The other option is to get Drumkit From Hell Superior ($270). This acts as a sampler and samples all in one, with much more options. Not only are there a ****ing ton of samples and velocity hits (35 gigs of which, to be exact), but you can control the amount of bleed between mics, and it has an ambience mic which makes it sound orgasmic. I honestly cannot tell the difference between DFHS and a real drummer, if it's done properly. The downside to this is that they really are raw drum tracks, and will take a fair amount of tweaking, eq, compression, etc, to sound their best. There are presets all around, that can help in this, but it really is like dealing with a mic'd drum kit, from the ground up.

I'd suggest getting an external harddrive (cost varies), dedicated to music. I have 2 HDD's in my PC, one 30 gig, dedicated to system and program files, and one 200 gig, dedicated to music, presets, videos, etc... basically media stuff. If (when) you ever have to reformat, all of your media files will be intact, and you'll only have to re-install the programs and OS, which is a total godsend.

As far as bass and keyboard sounds go... I've been using a pitchsifted guitar (down one octave) using a single coil neck, with pretty damn good results. I wouldn't overlook this at all! For keyboards, I'd get a midi keyboard controller, like the M-Audio Oxygen ($150), and some softsynth programs.

Shoot me a PM if you'd be interested in Nuendo 2.0, Battery 2, and some kits/maps and stuff... I'm leaving tomorrow morning on vacation, and return the following Saturday, but would be happy to yousend you some stuff tonight.
 
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Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

For reference, this was done with a Battery2 made kit, and is a prime example of what can be done with it, I think:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=187505&songID=3474624

This is a decent (meaning my best so far) example of what DFHS can do:

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=187505&songID=3759076

I already have a ton of things I know I'm going to change in it, but for only spending 5 minutes with a preset I have, I'm digging it :p.

This is an example of what I mean when I can't tell the difference between human and machine:

http://www.tesseractband.co.uk/sounds.php
 
Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
PC with at least 2Ghz P4 equivalent processor, I'd recommend no less than a gig of RAM, and I'm sure most would back me up on that.
Click to expand...

+1. 1 gig is a baseline, and when it comes to audio editing, the more the merrier, especially when/if you start dealing with a lot of tracks and effects.
 
Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

SpiderVenom said:
+1. 1 gig is a baseline, and when it comes to audio editing, the more the merrier, especially when/if you start dealing with a lot of tracks and effects.
Click to expand...


You really only need a gig, unless you're running a massive amount of plugins... I don't mind myself needing to upgrade at all; In fact, I think DFHS takes up less resources than Battery2 when run correctly, even with a ton of plugins!
 
Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

DeadSkinSlayer3 said:
You really only need a gig, unless you're running a massive amount of plugins... I don't mind myself needing to upgrade at all; In fact, I think DFHS takes up less resources than Battery2 when run correctly, even with a ton of plugins!
Click to expand...

True enough. I just remember a particular guitar fx plugin (VST) years ago that made a P4 2.4 with 1gb of RAM cry when you started to really load up the effects. It probably wasn't all that well written, mind, so yeah, you're right.
 
Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

Oh god I think I know which one you're talking about... don't bring that up. :laugh2:
 
Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

Oh, ****! Forgot to ask for prices on all equipment!! Sawree...EDIT!


....back to reading!!
 
Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

Aside from PC costs... you're basically looking at about 450 for that Mbox, possibly cheaper, depending on which interface you go with. DFHS runs 260, and is worth every penny, IMO.

Plugins, DAW, Battery2, Softsynths, etc... In all honesty, they're all way too expensive for me to not torrent. :(. I think Neundo runs like 1200 right now, it's obsurd.
 
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Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

Shuddup and make some darn clips! :D More than anything, it takes effort and the willingness to take a chance at failure.
 
Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

Stevo said:
Shuddup and make some darn clips! :D More than anything, it takes effort and the willingness to take a chance at failure.
Click to expand...
I'm a little dumbfounded...? ...how?
 
Re: Alright Guys, Need Some Serious Help Here...Please Come In

Guitarist said:
I'm a little dumbfounded...? ...how?
Click to expand...
Sorry.
I use Cakewalk guitar tracks to record and ACID Music for drums and bass. I use a little Mackie DFX-6 mixer which connects directly to my computer sound card. I use an SM-57 mic. All of those items cost less than $400 I think.
 
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