Home Recording...

[Lt. James Cater 62]

Looks like i'm geting involved in a project and so i'll be needing some hints from anyone here who already does this.

 

I've got studio experience but it's always been with medium to big setups, amps, drumkits, and i never had to worry too much since i was just the vocalist. Now i have to do most of the work on my own and i'm looking for a starting point in the digital world.

 

For starters i want to pick up a laptop and use it exclusively for the music. Don't know yet about pro tools or other programs but i am going to use EZ Drummer/Drumkit From Hell,then run my Bass through an emulator to finish off the rhythm section. Certain rhythm guitar tracks i can lay down but most will be sessioned by people i know. Same with the leads as i can't play one worth a damn. The vocals should be no problem as i can rent out a rehersal studio and anticipate knocking it out in 2 days at the most.

 

I plan to go around and check out a number of forums but i figured i would ask here as well since we have quite a number of devout music devotees.

 

At the moment, my equipment budget is pretty small, about $1200 But i figure the laptop should be quality and the highest cost purchase involved.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Lt. James Cater

[Guest Raden]

Looks like i'm geting involved in a project and so i'll be needing some hints from anyone here who already does this.

 

I've got studio experience but it's always been with medium to big setups, amps, drumkits, and i never had to worry too much since i was just the vocalist. Now i have to do most of the work on my own and i'm looking for a starting point in the digital world.

 

For starters i want to pick up a laptop and use it exclusively for the music. Don't know yet about pro tools or other programs but i am going to use EZ Drummer/Drumkit From Hell,then run my Bass through an emulator to finish off the rhythm section. Certain rhythm guitar tracks i can lay down but most will be sessioned by people i know. Same with the leads as i can't play one worth a damn. The vocals should be no problem as i can rent out a rehersal studio and anticipate knocking it out in 2 days at the most.

 

I plan to go around and check out a number of forums but i figured i would ask here as well since we have quite a number of devout music devotees.

 

At the moment, my equipment budget is pretty small, about $12000  But i figure the laptop should be quality and the highest cost purchase involved.

 

James, hi.

 

 

Kindly visit this On-Line NoteBooks/Laptops to compare, price-wise, www.bhineka.com

 

I HATE ACER, even the latest one with newest Processor, 1GB VRAM, 640GB HDD and Maximum 8GB DDR3 (standard 4GB DDR3); yet, it is undeniable that this Taiwanese products (and the new variants) enjoy a world-wide [not in Himalaya tho, :)) ], On-Line Tech Support. Some guys in Indonesia were complaining of getting such and such (drivers), and a tech guy at ACER Jakarta informed them they could go to ACER Europe On-Line.

 

ACER USA also is available I believe.

 

BHINEKA in Jakarta offers not only PC and Notebooks. There are clickable bars for it.

 

Good luck James.

 

 

[mmaDave 0]

Firstly, good luck with the home recording setup. It's probably the most rewarding activity I've ever come across and nothing compares to the ability to record and master an idea to exactly how you imagined it in your head.

 

I do have a couple of questions - keep in mind it been five years since I've dealt with digital recording and ten since I've done any recording in any sort of semi-professional capacity. Why are you dead set on a laptop? Is it a portability issue? Would you consider an independant digital multitrack recorder in addition to a new computer?

 

Also, what is your budget for the project? I know you mentioned $12,000 but then quantified that as "pretty small."

 

 

[Lt. James Cater 62]

Firstly, good luck with the home recording setup. It's probably the most rewarding activity I've ever come across and nothing compares to the ability to record and master an idea to exactly how you imagined it in your head.

 

I do have a couple of questions - keep in mind it been five years since I've dealt with digital recording and ten since I've done any recording in any sort of semi-professional capacity. Why are you dead set on a laptop? Is it a portability issue? Would you consider an independant digital multitrack recorder in addition to a new computer?

 

Also, what is your budget for the project? I know you mentioned $12,000 but then quantified that as "pretty small."

Actually,

 

it's a typo. The budget is about $1200.

 

Portability is one of the big reasons since i'm going to have to haul it around a few times to get things recorded. As a matter of fact i don't even know how much longer i'll be living where i'm at and so being able to just pack up and move is a great bonus. If i use a desktop setup it will have to be sized small enough to unplugg a few cables and fit in a backback with room to spare.

 

Being able to do things to your satisfaction would bring me a lot of joy. I remember hearing myself just days sfter the sessions were over and thinking that i could have done a lot better. What i do now is structure the songs in my head and work things out there. I've come up with a number of riffs that were forgotton since they were song specific and i didn't have the framework to record them at the time.

 

When you are thinking in terms of 5-8 minute "short" songs and are ambitiously plotting 50+ minute adventures, you better have a way to lay down the blueprint and work things out.

[mmaDave 0]

Are you sure you wouldn't be better served with a dedicated 8 track recorder and then using the balance of the money to buy better microphones, a mixing board, effects boxes and upgrades to your current computer? You would still mix down the tracks into the computer and could run what ever effects you needed to and tweak the final balance before burning to CD or uploading.

 

While a laptop is certainly portable, the audio playback quality will be less than a desktop with a good sound card in an expansion slot. Plus, breakout box after breakout box to get multiple instruments to feed into your laptop. I'm also a big believer in having dedicated equipment for certain roles (as I once lived in fear of the perfect take being suddenly ruined by a CTD or having to redo something after an antivirus scan caused stuttering)

 

I guess I'm going to caution going down just the portable route. I mean by the time you show up to a site, you're going to have several microphones, 100 ish feet of XLR cable, breakout boxes, musical instruments. You can get away with DI'ing guitars and such, but then you lose so much of the sound quality IMO.

 

I don't think there is a way to go wrong what ever you choose, but buying a dedicated recorder gets you more milage for the buck.