Thinking About Recording

[warren0728]

I want to start recording myself (mainly as an instructional tool to help me play better) and was wondering what approach members of thefret.net family are doing.

Are you recording directly into your computers or are you using a standalone digital recorder. I was looking at the zoom mrs8 and like its small size and builtin drum machine. Here is a link:

http://www.zoom.co.jp/english/products/mrs8/index.php

I have an older mac powerbook g4 667 with 1/2 gig of ram. Is this laptop fast enough to record to and if so is garageband good enough (superswede?). I here about latency problems recording to a computer...have any of you experienced this?

If i record direct to my laptop do i just use an rca adapter on my guitar cord to reduce it to the 1/8 jack on my laptop or is there a firewire adapter i could use?

I really think i like the idea of the small stand alone recorder and then move the files to my dual processor g5 with 4 gigs of ram to do final mixing.

thoughts?......

ww

[SuperSwede]

Warren,

I dont think that latency will be a big problem on your computer (I have almost no latency on my iMac 2.0). However, you should try to invest in a preamp of some sort (built-in to the newer iMac models) or else you will have only line level input and that is not sufficient for audio recording.
I dont think that you can expect more than a few audio tracks on your computer, especially not if you use several plug-in effects.

You can find some useful gear tips here:

http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/accessories/
http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic2/index.php

Another thing you could try is the M-Audio "Blackbox" which basically is a preamp, amp modeler & USB audio card in a all-in-one box. It can also be used without the computer as a standalone modeler/effect box.

[warren0728]

thanks ss....i'll look into those links and the "blackbox"

ww

[Justaguyin_nc]

I noticed the blackbox has a big price drop at musiciansfriend.com... from $279 down to $199 with a free pedal board to boot ($80 value) dunno for how long.. I was amazed when this came out.. (Im easily amazed).. but the reviewers are not being to kind to the BlackBox.. anyone actually use one?

[SuperSwede]

Well, I must admit that I never have tried one. But I own some of their other stuff and it works really good (USB Midi et.c).

Anyhow, here is the link:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MAudioBlackBox-main.html

[Spudman]

Warren

I use 2 systems to record, 3 actually. One is a Zoom MRS-1044 no CD burner but it does have the USB option. This is great to take with you. It's very portable and it sounds real clean. It is difficult to program rythyms on though but has it's own built in.

Another is my old Yamaha MT120 4 track cassette recorder. Again very portable but to get it into the computer you need to do an analog to digital conversion.

Lastly is a Lexicon Omega system with Cubase. This is a nice 8 input preamp/ midi port that enters the computer via USB. I think this is the best system of the 3 because you can work in a graphical environment which is something the other two lack. I'm finding that the Cubase is difficult to learn and have heard that Cakewalk and Reason are better software systems. However, you will still need an input system of some sort regardless of what software you use. Some people including myself also use our Line 6 Guitar Port as an input too. That only has one input though, but it does convert analog to digital and has it's own ASIO driver.

Hope this helps and keep plucking away.

[warren0728]

hey spud,
i just googled the mrs-1044 and found it was not mac compatible :(

i think i am leaning toward a stand alone recorder......have you had good luck with your zoom...i know they aren't considered top of the line but the ones i looked at seem ok. I just want something to play with at home.

A friend of mine has a professional studio that i could use for free...but i'm not ready for that yet!

ww

[Robert]

Spudman, if you ask me I'd say Cubase is at least as good as the two you mention, but since I wasn't asked, I'm not gonna say it! :)

For computer recording, I have Tascam US-122 that works good. It is a USB audio interface and allows for 2 mics or two line input devices. It is a nice little unit. M-Audio has some similar products - USB Mobile Pre, FastTrack, etc. Another option is a Firewire interface - they can handle more inputs and seem to have fewer issues. It seems the USB audio interfaces are on their way out.

I think the main problem the standalone products suffer from is the display problem. They often record well, but it is not as easy to edit your work as it is with a computer monitor and mouse in a program such as Cubase. However, they are of course much more convenient than a computer system!

[SuperSwede]

Warren, If you already got some equipment that can raise the line level of you guitar sound then you already have a great recording studio (your mac). You could of course try to plug the guitar straight into the powerbook and see if you get a decent signal without a preamp. I advice you to at least try Garageband before you buy a standalone recording unit. You have some rather good sounding amp models built into GB as well.

[warren0728]

I think the main problem the standalone products suffer from is the display problem. They often record well, but it is not as easy to edit your work as it is with a computer monitor and mouse in a program such as Cubase. However, they are of course much more convenient than a computer system!

I agree with that...i think my plan would be to use the standalone for recording and then bring the recorded files to the mac for editing. Is this feasible?

ww

[warren0728]

Warren, If you already got some equipment that can raise the line level of you guitar sound then you already have a great recording studio (your mac). You could of course try to plug the guitar straight into the powerbook and see if you get a decent signal without a preamp. I advice you to at least try Garageband before you buy a standalone recording unit. You have some rather good sounding amp models built into GB as well.

What would you suggest for a preamp....i have a few pedals but that's it. Could a pedal like my bad monkey be used as a preamp?

ww

[SuperSwede]

Got a amp at home?

[warren0728]

yep...a vox ad30vt and a epi valve jr.

i hear the vox line out isn't that great but i guess i could mess with it once i got it into garageband

the epi doesn't have a line out but the speaker is connected via a 1/4 inch jack...could i disconnect the speaker and then use the speaker jack as my line out?

ww

[SuperSwede]

No!, to the speaker out! :)

Just connect the VOX to the mac, then you will be ready to rock (be sure to fine tune the system recording volume in the system settings). You should be able to reach "red" only when you are hitting the strings very hard. Then start up garageband and create a new empty audio-track. Select channel 1 mono, I am not sure if the VOX outputs a stereo signal from the line out).

[warren0728]

cool....i'll have to give it a try this week!

now if i wanted to add my digital piano to the mix...

my piano has line outs....i guess i would have to hook it up to the computer and check the system recording levels to see if i get enough signal. If not can i hook it up to my vox and then into the computer?

I should probably read my recording for dummies book but it's more fun conversing with my fellow fretters!

ww

[SuperSwede]

You can connect the piano from the output (mono, or stereo if you got it) straight to the PB, no problemos. If you got midi as well, you now have a self playing piano ;)
Dont forget that garageband has thousands of loops: drums, bass et.c

You can always try to connect the guitar straight into the PB as well, but I suspect that you will get a slighty too low signal.

[warren0728]

yep....the piano does have midi...cool!

can't wait to start playing around!

ww