building a bedroom studio

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robosaurus
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building a bedroom studio

Post by robosaurus » Tue Apr 25, 2006 5:50 pm

i'm new to a lot of this stuff but

i am looking for good mics, a good DAW, interface, and mic pre for a bedroom studio

i play a lot of avant-pop music
think: (danielson famile, tv on the radio, unicorns, magnetic fields, kinks, os mutantes)

i would only be recording myself so a 2 channel interface is all i need for now
perhaps i could daisy chain later on

i was considering the apogee mini-me
or the presonus firebox

and i'm looking for a good DAW

i have a mac g4 with osx panther so i've been considering logic express

for mic pre's i've been looking at the TAB funkenwerk

i'm looking for something that's colored

i am mainly looking to record vocals and acoustic instruments

baring in mind i have a middle register male voice

any suggestions are highly appreciated

sadly i don't have the time to try out pre's and interfaces

mics i'm considering are:

Rode - K2 (voice)
Shure - SM81 (classical guitar or other acoustic instruments)
Neumann - TLM103 (voice)
Josephson - C42 (guitar or other acoustic instruments)

for prices i've looked through

mercenary.com
vintageking.com
sweetwater.com

again any help that you pro's could give a novice like me would be appreciated to say the least

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rolandk
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Post by rolandk » Tue Apr 25, 2006 6:58 pm

How are the acoustics in your room? Thats the first thing I'd suggest looking at. If its your standard box shaped room then at the very least you'll want to soak up the echoes and do a bit of bass trapping. If the room sucks then the best gear in the world will still sound like ass. Heres a good read on acoustics.
The gear you listed will all work fantastic.
my band: Mission 5

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JWL
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Post by JWL » Tue Apr 25, 2006 7:15 pm

looks like you're on the right track. Follow your nose.

Some good advice: ask those you know who record. You'll probably be picking their brains some, so you might want to get a DAW that they are familiar with so they'll be more able to help you.

I agree that you should definitely pay attention to room acoustics, though I personally think that Ethan's Acoustic Treatment and Design for Recording Studios and Listening Rooms article is more relevant to home studios than his bass trap article linked above.

In your mic selection, try to diversify. For example, you mention the Rode K2. That's a great mic, but for a starter collection I'd get the NT2A, which has the same capsule as the K2, along with a pair of small-diaphragm condensers (like perhaps the Rode NT5). For about the same budget, you'll have a bit more flexibility in your mic selection.

I'd also consider a dynamic mic or two (everyone recording should have at least 1 SM57), and possibly a ribbon (I just ordered my first one, personally).

robosaurus
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thanks

Post by robosaurus » Wed Apr 26, 2006 3:43 am

thanks for the help thus far, anyone else with suggestions?

ckeene
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Post by ckeene » Wed Apr 26, 2006 6:36 am

if you have a typical bedroom filled with bedroom stuff, you probably have enough irregular surfaces, as well as soft surfaces, to mitigate "boxy room" problems. PERSONALLY I'd spend more time pulling together a sensible workspace area, and maybe just start off acoustic treatment with a couple goboes. This is especially true if you rent.

I've been doing drum tracking at my apartment and just threw up a couple goboes and have been really happy. (I'll put up some samples next week.)My only "room treatment" was taking out anything that rattled and putting it in another room!

Anyway, good luck and keep up posted, I'm really interested in people's home recording experiences.

-chris

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JWL
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Post by JWL » Wed Apr 26, 2006 3:21 pm

Agreed. Gobos rule. I just built 6 broadband absorbers (bass traps) and 6 gobos in my room out of acoustic cotton. They give me all the flexibility I need to record good tracks, and then also create a RFZ for listening/mixing. Very cool.

tommy
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Post by tommy » Wed Apr 26, 2006 6:17 pm

Check out the Groove Tubes MD1a microphone. They dont make em anymore so used is your only option on these. It's a large diaphram cardioid only tube mic. They came out in the early ninties at around 2000 bucks. These days, they can be had for conciderably less if you find one. Very nice sounding mic. Kind of soft on the top with a gentle proximity to it. Also (for a lack of a better term) kind of tubey sounding even by tube mic standards. I LOVE mine and use it on every session for lots of stuff. So far, mines been in front of guiitar amps, singers, cellos, violins, brass and the occasional percussion.

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surf's up
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Post by surf's up » Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:30 pm

my suggestion is dont get Logic. its rather ironically named and is a pain in the ass. If all you need to to do is record and edit audio tracks there are cheaper and more user friendly programs out there.

Also, I agree with the post advising you to consider acoustical improvements to the room if possible. put some bass traps in each corner or if you cant afford that even some Owens Corning rigid fiberglass panels can help. Or if you cant afford THAT even some blankets, furniture, bookshelves, whatever to absorb those gnarly cube-room reflections. Its always going to be difficult to get great sounds in rooms that were designed for living and not for making music in, so keep this in mind.

The MXL V67 is a great little mic for vocals and acoustic guitar and can be had fairly cheap.

Barry Jive
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Re: building a bedroom studio

Post by Barry Jive » Wed Apr 26, 2006 9:51 pm

robosaurus wrote:
Rode - K2 (voice)
Shure - SM81 (classical guitar or other acoustic instruments)
Neumann - TLM103 (voice)
Josephson - C42 (guitar or other acoustic instruments)

/quote]

I'm piecing together a similar setup, and recently had the opportunity to try a great many really fantastic mics. I can't say I recommend the TLM103 for vocals. It may be good on a specific source (what isn't), but overall I found it had a tin-ey, unplesant sound. Nice on my Martin, but YMMV.

mwingerski
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Post by mwingerski » Wed Apr 26, 2006 10:21 pm

microtech gefell makes some great mics, and can sometimes be found used for much less than their neumann counterparts... they started out as the same company and then gefell moved to east germany during the cold war... i love my m71's... definitely my "stranded on a desert island" mics...

Also, the universal audio 2610 pre is really colored and groovy... you could consider the 6176 which has the tube pre and an 1176 in the same box...

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Russian Recording
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Post by Russian Recording » Thu Apr 27, 2006 9:23 am

my best suggestion would be to go with Mercenary Audio even though they might be more expensive. It will be the best service you have ever experienced, and well worth the money you are spending.

mike

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