RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Little by little, I've started recording snippets and putting them onto soundcloud.(mellowcat if you are interested). Basses..check, USB keyboard.. Check, computer(mac mini ) .. Check, iPad and apps.. Check. Things I haven't got .. Mixer. controllers for GarageBand /logic . Drum pad things / sliders /samplers like maschine, akai etc. Any recommendations as to what else I need to complete ? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Savage Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 I'd highly recommend looking at a Yamaha 01X as the centrepiece, especially as you're running a Mac Mini; runs via Firewire (they call it mLAN, but same thing, you just need to install a driver) and will give you motorised-fader control of GB/Logic, eight analogue inputs (including two mic preamps) and full transport controls. I <3 mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 it depends what level you are looking to go to. simple terms you need an interface to plug your guitar, bass, mic into and a programme which you have in garage band. interfaces you can quite cheaply, you don't neccesarily need a mixer, i do all mine in software rather than on a desk/mixer a good set of monitors won't go a miss if you can afford some Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) Good question, but it depends solely on what you yourself need. From the list you mention the only basic ingredient that I'd recommend investing in is an audio interface - I use a Tascam, but the [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=focusrite+saffire+6+usb&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=7969415326&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1251566024218949905&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_5tx9zenqbm_b"]Focusrite Saffire[/url] is often recommended as being great value for money. The advantage of an interface is that it offers much better processing power than your computer's built-in sound card. It also enables you to be more 'hands on' when recording, which I find very useful. Other than that, I'd suggest a good pair of suitably flat, non-attenuating headphones (i.e. cans that don't colour the sound too much). I use a pair of [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0016MOC28/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9556678269&ref=asc_df_B0016MOC28"]AKGs[/url] and have got very used to them over the years... but again, there are a bunch of other options on the market. The rest of the stuff you mention - mixer, pads, controllers, etc - aren't what I'd call essential items, but are nice to have if you want to burn some ca$h (and can be useful in speeding up your workflow). I personally use a computer, an interface, a MIDI keyboard, a pair of headphones, some stringed things and that's it. I don't own any monitors, which is not a recommended strategy, but I've found you can do "ok" if you get to know your headphones well and test out your mixes on a variety of systems (hi-fi, car, iPod, TV, etc). But a decent pair of monitors are always going to stand you in better stead. Spend wisely and have fun! Or foolishly and potentially have more fun. Whatever PS: I highly recommend these books for some great advice on home studio set ups and mixing - worth every penny: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/ZEN-Art-Mixing-Mixerman/dp/1423491505"]Zen and the Art of Mixing (by Mixerman)[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixing-Secrets-Small-Studio-Senior/dp/0240815807/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352208218&sr=1-5"]Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio (by Mike Senior)[/url] Edited November 6, 2012 by Skol303 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 [quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1352207869' post='1860072'] Good question, but it depends solely on what you yourself need. From the list you mention the only basic ingredient that I'd recommend investing in is an audio interface - I use a Tascam, but the [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=focusrite+saffire+6+usb&tag=googhydr-21&index=aps&hvadid=7969415326&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=1251566024218949905&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&ref=pd_sl_5tx9zenqbm_b"]Focusrite Saffire[/url] is often recommended as being great value for money. The advantage of an interface is that it offers much better processing power than your computer's built-in sound card. It also enables you to be more 'hands on' when recording, which I find very useful. Other than that, I'd suggest a good pair of suitably flat, non-attenuating headphones (i.e. cans that don't colour the sound too much). I use a pair of [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0016MOC28/?tag=hydra0b-21&hvadid=9556678269&ref=asc_df_B0016MOC28"]AKGs[/url] and have got very used to them over the years... but again, there are a bunch of other options on the market. The rest of the stuff you mention - mixer, pads, controllers, etc - aren't what I'd call essential items, but are nice to have if you want to burn some ca$h (and can be useful in speeding up your workflow). I personally use a computer, an interface, a MIDI keyboard, a pair of headphones, some stringed things and that's it. Spend wisely and have fun! Or foolishly and potentially have more fun. Whatever [/quote] i work fairly similar to this i have 2 different interfaces into a computer, 1 is a 16 input one which i use for bands, and one is a 2 port which i use for home use. this then runs into my computer and cubase, then out to a good set of monitors or my good set of headphones. its very much subjective and down to choice, like bass playing, you really only need a guitar, lead and amp. everything else is your own desire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lifer Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) I've used the focusrite liquid saffire 56 and it's a nice bit of kit, you get eight inputs with nice preamps (two with a load of DSP effects on them) and lots of connectivity options. Would be overkill for most home applications though! Edited November 6, 2012 by Lifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 Get a decent microphone. If you don't sing you can do something else acoustic and shake your tambourine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 [b] [i][size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]"What else do I need"............[/font][/size][/i][/b] Some Talent...!! [Not you personally, by the way RATM] Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 (edited) For the noises I have my POD X3 LIVE through which the bass and guitars go, Korg keyboard, EZDrummer software for MIDI drum programming. Hardware is a MacBook Pro / a large widescreen monitor / Focusrite Saffire 24 DSP ADC interface / KRK headphones / Alesis M1 Active 520 monitors. The mic on the MacBook is great for recording handheld percussion, and voice etc. For 'proper' singing I have a cheapie (£50) MXL condenser mic and shockmount. My DAW is Reaper. I have a large bunch of free software signal processing to use in Reaper too, including the free Focusrite compressors and reverbs, delays, modulation, mastering tools, etc. I do everything in Reaper via the Mac keyboard and mouse, I use no control surface. It's all perfectly fine for me this way. I came from using (and thinking I needed) knobs and faders and did not want to learn all this software sh*t. But it was easy, very easy actually. I am only a beginner with Reaper and it is a fully featured DAW like Logic, Pro Tools et al, so I'm only using the basic functions at the moment, but each project I do I learn lots more. I did this with the above kit (I only used the MacBook mic) in a few days, from scratch. Also, the tracks are not EQed, only mixed and effects added [url="http://soundcloud.com/silddx/shltshoeriotface-i-ii-iii"]http://soundcloud.co...otface-i-ii-iii[/url] Edited November 6, 2012 by silddx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/Zoom-R16-Multitrack-Recorder-Audio-Interface-and-Controller/B7S"]http://www.gear4music.com/Recording-and-Computers/Zoom-R16-Multitrack-Recorder-Audio-Interface-and-Controller/B7S[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Wow! Haven't had time to look at all responses yet-still working. I have monitors , and podfarm(line6 toneport ux1) Times are hard, and I wanna trade a bass or two for the right gear,) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 Also have headphones ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted November 6, 2012 Author Share Posted November 6, 2012 [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1352212689' post='1860179'] [b] [i][size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]"What else do I need"............[/font][/size][/i][/b] Some Talent...!! [Not you personally, by the way RATM] Garry [/quote] Yes I need talent alright ,) love your cat , ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted November 6, 2012 Share Posted November 6, 2012 [quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1352231722' post='1860548'] Yes I need talent alright ,) love your cat , ) [/quote] He's left handed - Indeed a South Paw. Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share Posted November 8, 2012 Ez drummer, is that expensive ? Wouldn't mind having 'proper' sounding drums , fills rolls etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 Nope pretty cheap and effective software, there are normally special deals on [i]EZ Drummer[/i] if you look around. I have that with a [i]Groove Monkey[/i] plug in pack that works really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 [url="http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=7&gclid=CLTfk4fGv7MCFYxa3godL1gAGw"]http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=7&gclid=CLTfk4fGv7MCFYxa3godL1gAGw[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 I was wondering about EZ drummer. Drums are the part I struggle with most. I already have loads of drum [i]sounds[/i] in EmulatorX, DimensionPro and an external MIDI module. Given that the music I work on tends not to use traditional rock/pop drum patterns and fills, is there anything that EZ drummer provides that I might find useful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share Posted November 8, 2012 [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1352232248' post='1860560'] He's left handed - Indeed a South Paw. Has he met Oscar ? Garry [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted November 8, 2012 Share Posted November 8, 2012 [quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1352390881' post='1862503'] I was wondering about EZ drummer. Drums are the part I struggle with most. I already have loads of drum [i]sounds[/i] in EmulatorX, DimensionPro and an external MIDI module. Given that the music I work on tends not to use traditional rock/pop drum patterns and fills, is there anything that EZ drummer provides that I might find useful? [/quote] I found these short tutorials very useful initially. This is part one of four. They will show you pretty much everything you need to know to make a decision mate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G7IdXNkyCc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 [quote name='silddx' timestamp='1352397703' post='1862588'] I found these short tutorials very useful initially. This is part one of four. They will show you pretty much everything you need to know to make a decision mate. [/quote] Thanks Nigel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 [quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1352390881' post='1862503'] is there anything that EZ drummer provides that I might find useful? [/quote] The Latin Percussion expansion pack is very useful. You can use individual elements in non Latin tracks. The midi files [And there are loads of them] have a nice swing about them. [url="http://www.toontrack.com/products.asp?item=10"]http://www.toontrack...cts.asp?item=10[/url] [Demo's on the right hand side] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NKAm1OjnLOA"]http://www.youtube.c...d&v=NKAm1OjnLOA[/url] Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 (edited) I'm a cheapskate. So if there is a free solution out there I use it. I've got a huge number of very very good sounding free vsts. One that is really nice if you can programme and make drums sound good for yourself is mydrumset by bluenoise [url="http://www.bluenoiseplugins.com/plugins/drummix/beta-edition/"]http://www.bluenoise...x/beta-edition/[/url] Its no where near as fully featured as theones you pay for. But its a nicely recorded kit and I've had some real success getting decent results with it using exactly the sort of processing I woudl use on a real kit (unsurprisingly). Its certainly enough to get you going! Other than that the two most important things you need are good monitoring (spend every penny on proper monitors you can the Neumann kh12a is definitely getting up toward a real monitor) and some acoustic control of the room you work in. Which requires more reading than anything else, and some simple DIY with not desperately expensive items in order to vastly improve the sound of the room you are working in. If you cant afford a great set of monitors then use speakers you really really know and check your mixes on as many different systems as you can to see how they translate. Get a decent interface that allows for all the ins and outs you require. If you arent recording full bands you probably need no more than 2 ins, and 4 outs (2 for headphones). Go for quality, I would recommend an RME Babyface as a great sounding interface with absolutely bulletproof drivers. Seriously good quality. Personally I'm about to pull the trigger on an RME UCX, because I can expand it easily up to a full 14 mic inputs, which is enough to record a full band, I can also get some [url="http://www.seventhcircleaudio.com/"]real quality mic pres[/url] later to plug in to it for some flavour. Added to that the lowest latency in class and the RME reputation I just cant control the GAS on this device If you need more inputs straight away then the Steinberg UR824 is about the best bang for the buck interface with 8 mic pres in it, that you can expand up to 16 more channels with the 2 ADAT I/O channels. Highly regarded bang for buck there! Beyond that its all about getting arrangements right to help the tracking and mixing. +1 for Zen and the Art of Mixing, its a superb book, lots of insight into mixing (and tracking and arrangement) in a not too technical format. Edited November 9, 2012 by 51m0n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 [quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1352458842' post='1863272'] The Latin Percussion expansion pack is very useful. You can use individual elements in non Latin tracks. The midi files [And there are loads of them] have a nice swing about them. [/quote] Hmmm....tempting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1352459932' post='1863298'] Get a decent interface that allows for all the ins and outs you require. If you arent recording full bands you probably need no more than 2 ins, and 4 outs (2 for headphones). Go for quality, I would recommend an RME Babyface as a great sounding interface with absolutely bulletproof drivers. Seriously good quality. Personally I'm about to pull the trigger on an RME UCX, because I can expand it easily up to a full 14 mic inputs, which is enough to record a full band, I can also get some [url="http://www.seventhcircleaudio.com/"]real quality mic pres[/url] later to plug in to it for some flavour. Added to that the lowest latency in class and the RME reputation I just cant control the GAS on this device [/quote] Got to stop reading your posts, Simon - they always end up costing me money . (Line Audio CM3 mic due for delivery today!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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