Beginner's Recording Set Up

[bones]

I'm about to take the leap into the (scary) world of home recording, and wondered if anyone would be kind enough to give me some feedback on the specific hardward / software set up i have in mind.First, a bit of background:- my primary goal is to be able to make decent quality demo recordings of my songs, so I can sell the song (not my peformance of it)- for this, i can envisage that many recordings would comprise only 2 tracks - acoustic guitar and voice. - however, i'd want to be able to put down a second, possibly electric, guitar track (i'd want to mic up my amp for this)- i'd also want the ability from time to time to overlay simple drums and bass but i really can't see going to deep into this- i do want monitoring ability, i.e. i want to be able to listen to the sound as I record it without this "latency" problem i've heard about. but i don't need speaker monitors - i am comfortable with headphones- i have decided on a computer based set-up and will most likely get an apple laptop- i'd rate my technical ability / interest in techno-gadgetry fairly low. i was recently in a friend's studio recording a couple songs and watched him fiddle for hours over the MIDI drum & bass patchwork. i definitely won't have much patience for this kind of thing. nor would i be able to commit huge amounts of time to learning difficult software.- the genre is mainly acoustic rock, folk, countryNow, here's the set up i'm considering:- computer: apple 12" powerbook, 60GB hardrive, 512MB RAM. Questions: is this enough memory? storage? is the screen big enough for all those little windows in the sequencing software?- software: start with Garageband (comes freew with the computer) and maybe later migrate to Logic Express. One of the reasons i'm leaning towards apple is because of Garageband, which seems to be a simplified version of Logic, enough for my simple needs.- Audio interface: Mackie Spike. I was also looking at the Mbox but was bothered by its lack of MIDI i/o. Spike has the MIDI i/o, and is considerably cheaper. I realise Spike doesn't come with ProTools but since I am a real beginner I 'm thinking this isn't a big loss.- Mic: Audio Technica ATM33A. This mic recommended by a friend as good value (€150)- MIDI Keyboard: Roland PC160AGrateful for any thoughts you may have,Bones

[nickbatzdorf]

You seem to be on the right track. I'd recommend putting in more RAM, because it will let you load more GarageBand instruments. The screen is okay, but of course more real estate or a second monitor is better. You definitely want an external Firewire drive to record onto, but I'm not 100% sure GarageBand lets you do that. It doesn't let you put its samples on an external drive, which is a PITA.

[53mph]

For what you want to do 60 GB is sufficient. (but remember you can't upgrade a laptops memory so easily). You don't really need an external drive if youre not doing huge productions. It's always useful but not a must have.Make sure the copy of Garageband, or ProTools (or any other bundled software) isn't the cut-down freebie version of the software. You will find them very limited after a while.Can I recomment M-Audio for mics. I'm using a Nova http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Nova-main.htmland I find the sound quality to be especially nice for guitar, and versitile enough to use with vocals too. the price is also good but you will need phantom power on your soundcard. A cardiod mic doesn't often work well with male vocals...great for instruments, trebly with male vocals.For soundcards, check-out The Edirol 6 channel firewire interface http://www.edirol.com/products/info/fa66.htmlI use the 10 channel version. It's rebust enough to transport, has plenty of inputs, phantom power, it's very fast and affordable.The Roland keyboard is fine for a studio setup, but perhaps consider a portable one.http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/O ... in.htmlThe Oxygen8 bu M-Audio is cheap, USB, portable. Though being USB it does suffer from a bit of latency. I would get a firewire such ashttp://www.stgd.ch/home.htm?ego/Aon/Aonthough it won't be so cheap.My whole system travels with me in a backpack (keyboard and all) and is better than most setups I've used.Have you checked out Music laptop dealers such as www.nusystems.co.uk or http://www.inta-audio.co.uk/ They'll set up all your equipement for you, make sure it's compatible, so when it arrives at your house it works straight from the box....and believe me that can make a real difference.

[bones]

Thanks a lot to both of you for your comments. some specific follow up - Nick - good point about the memory... will look into a RAM upgrade and maybe also bigger hard drive. still undecided about screensize, as portability (as a normal laptop, not necessarily a studio) is important.53mph -thanks for the tips on gear. one question - i wasn't aware i would need a sound card if i was using the powerbook + the Spike. I sort of thought the Spike took care of that step. Or do you always need a sound card? I'm not sure that the laptop I'm looking at has one already (12" powerbook), but I am sure that it doesn't have a slot for a separate "PC" card. Pls exuse my ignorance here... any further guidance appreciated.Bones

[nickbatzdorf]

Well, I happen to think you'll fill up 60GB very quickly, but that's not really the reason I recommend an external HD so strongly. You don't want to subject your system drive to that kind of excessive wear and tear, especially if it's relatively small.Upgrading memory on a PowerBook is easy.There's only one version of GarageBand, and Pro Tools Free doesn't run on OS X.Other than that I agree with everything... And yes, the Spike is your "sound card." It connects to the PowerBook's USB port.

[53mph]

Sorry, when I said upgrading memory isn't easy I means the HD memory, not the RAM.Yep, RAM is very easy to upgrade.I know what you mean about an external HD, but I still think if he's only recording a vocal, guitar with a band in the box setup, it is not a 'must have' bit of gear.Also, I'm yet to find a decent, affordable BUS powered external HD that is fast enough to warrent a second drive. If you need to plug in an external drive then you end up with too many plugs and it's all too much time to plug in....might as well be a PC Tower system, the amount of hum you get off it all.I've got a PC, so I can't comment on the Mac system and software etc....sorry for any mix-up there.I don't know the Spike soundcard. I was recommending others based on the fact they have phantom power included. I don't know if Spike does.If you're buying a mic that needs phantom power then keep that in mind.Be good to hear what you get in the end Bones.

[nickbatzdorf]

Memory and storage - two different terms. Yes you can get away with recording a little on the system drive, but it's not a good thing to do all the time. You're right, you don't want a bus-powered drive - you want a drive you can plug in. It's not a big deal plugging in a drive, and in my experience hum isn't likely to be a problem. The PowerBook and drive are both isolated by their power supplies.The Spike has phantom power.

[bones]

ok, that's great. i'm pretty clear now. i'll get more RAM (1GB) and more hard drive space (maybe 80-100 GB). i'll start out recording on the system HD. i have read elsewhere that it's better to have an external drive (it's actually stated in the Spike's owners' manual), but it seems like i can get started without it and maybe add it on later.i will let you know how it works outthanks again for all your advice!Bones

[nickbatzdorf]

Just to be a total niedermeyer and make sure you understand, note that the issue of hard drive storage capacity is secondary to the issue of using a separate drive. Audio is very disk-intensive, especially if you make a lot of edits, and the idea is to keep all that activity off your system drive.Another point: the Firewire drive you buy will almost certainly have better performance than the internal 4200 or 5400 RPM PowerBook drive. That's not so important if you're just recording a few tracks, but all bets are off once you start editing.

[53mph]

He, He.I'm like the annoying 'but..' man on this chain.Does the Powerbook have 2 Firewire ports?I would recommend a firewire audio card over a Hard drive.If the Powerbook has USB 2 you can get a cheaper external HD which will still be quick enough to use as an external drive.And the cost of a USB 2 Hard drive is less than the cost of a USB 2 soundcard.Also, a question for Nick.I'm currently running Sonar 4 with Triolgy Bass, BFD drums, East West Orchestra and a bundle of plug-ins on my PC 2GHz Intel Centrino laptop...and I've only got one 60GB drive.I record lots and lots of guitar, vocal, violin etc....lots of edits...and I don't really have any problem.The 60GB is sufficent because I'm very strict with archiving songs. I usually work on 5-6 at a time and archive the parts (Sonar is very good for that) and transfer them to an external drive.The reason why I stopped using the external drive to run the virtual instruments was that it was a noisy F^cker and a pain to lug around with me when I travelled.The system works smoothly and only hiccups when I start using Guitar Rig (it seems to be CPU hungry).Will this setup eventually ruin/burn out my computer?