DAW / Interface / Plugins and other Magic

Thatbastarddon said:
I like the fact that you are looking around. Though a two channel unit may well work for you, we tend to outgrow things quickly in the studio. What works on paper often comes up short in practice. I use 3 mic’s(or channels) to record electric, and acoustic, guitars often. I do have a 2 channel interface though….a super cheap one….but it does okay for what I want to use it for. I would be sad if it was my only option though.
Weigh your options carefully. If you enjoy what you’re doing, you may want room to grow.
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I am able to achieve adequate recordings.
There seems to be a great divide between hardware and software. I started with a Roland quadcapture.

There is room for improvement.
These types of conversations are great to bring out the details of better interfaces and related hardware/software
I do think you could get yourself in to a position where you have more software than you will need.
 
ibmorjamn said:
I am able to achieve adequate recordings.
There seems to be a great divide between hardware and software. I started with a Roland quadcapture.

There is room for improvement.
These types of conversations are great to bring out the details of better interfaces and related hardware/software
I do think you could get yourself in to a position where you have more software than you will need.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Been there…10 years ago…with the software, and PC tuning etc. These days, one can capture, with decent quality, many noises that may pass as music in some circles…with relatively cheap, modern, gear. If you’re going for “Dark Side”, you may have to put in some extra effort. If you don’t want to be tweaking too much, try to capture the subject as desired(if possible) in context.
This….
https://soundcloud.com/id%3Duser-876355516%252Fmother-pink-floyd-cover-mix%3Btrack_id%3D625062120

….was recorded with this interface….
1682741411315.png
…and an iPad….it was, indeed, mixed and uploaded to SoundCloud directly from that iPad app.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
Agreed. Been there…10 years ago…with the software, and PC tuning etc. These days, one can capture, with decent quality, many noises that may pass as music in some circles…with relatively cheap, modern, gear. If you’re going for “Dark Side”, you may have to put in some extra effort. If you don’t want to be tweaking too much, try to capture the subject as desired(if possible) in context.
This….
https://soundcloud.com/id%3Duser-876355516%252Fmother-pink-floyd-cover-mix%3Btrack_id%3D625062120

….was recorded with this interface….
View attachment 92389
…and an iPad….it was, indeed, mixed and uploaded to SoundCloud directly from that iPad app.
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Oh yeah, I have one of those too. They actually work with android as well.
 
ibmorjamn said:
Oh yeah, I have one of those too. They actually work with android as well.
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Yep….still my go-to for mobile iOS recording. I definitely do not regret that investment, as it’s still functional today.
I wouldn’t mind an upgrade, but that little box just works, and does ok for a low impact rig…I mean really…it doesn’t get much more simple than the DualPre, the appropriate USB cabling, mic’s, mic cables+stands etc, maybe a 9V battery…if I feel the need to use phantom power for a condenser mic.
 
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Scarlett 18i8, Reaper, and a Macbook Pro. My rig of choice. Never been happier than with that setup. I have the 18i8 because I wanted the inputs/outputs for my setup at the time. I was running outboard effects which I used the 1/4" inputs to route through, and I have (2) mics, Captor, and guitar inputs for the front.
 
Ghostman said:
Scarlett 18i8, Reaper, and a Macbook Pro. My rig of choice. Never been happier than with that setup. I have the 18i8 because I wanted the inputs/outputs for my setup at the time. I was running outboard effects which I used the 1/4" inputs to route through, and I have (2) mics, Captor, and guitar inputs for the front.
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Nice! That was on my list, but I am really attached to the mixer format…some day, I may get with the times.
 
Are you recording professionally and hope to sell the music? Get the best you can afford. If you're like most of us and record for your own enjoyment or to do demos to post on YouTube or show your band a new song you're working on spend your money on something else and get something that's good enough. You should be able to get decent gear for around $500 including a few plugins for the DAW. Professional - the sky's the limit.
 
Kerry Brown said:
Are you recording professionally and hope to sell the music? Get the best you can afford. If you're like most of us and record for your own enjoyment or to do demos to post on YouTube or show your band a new song you're working on spend your money on something else and get something that's good enough. You should be able to get decent gear for around $500 including a few plugins for the DAW. Professional - the sky's the limit.
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Kerry if your are talking about my post or Ghostman's?
I am not recording professionally. I wish I had the skills to do that.
 
Something I should have researched before I started with plugins is the available plugins in Mixcraft and how to master with in the DAW I use.
I was so happy to have moved on from Audacity to a upgraded software I never studied much. It just worked. But I was completely blind to engineering the mix. I still am but looking in to it further.
 
The main reason being , I had Mixcraft 8. Recent upgrade to 9 had the plugins.
They work just fine.
I will post my mastered (mess) in Friday riffs and link here for reference.
 
ibmorjamn said:
Kerry if your are talking about my post or Ghostman's?
I am not recording professionally. I wish I had the skills to do that.
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Just a general comment. I wanted to point out that you don't need to spend a lot of money to setup a decent home recording studio. People find forum posts like this on the internet and take what they find as gospel. If you search for home recording studio you will find a lot of recommendations for very high end gear that most people would never figure out how to use and have no need for.
 
Kerry Brown said:
Just a general comment. I wanted to point out that you don't need to spend a lot of money to setup a decent home recording studio. People find forum posts like this on the internet and take what they find as gospel. If you search for home recording studio you will find a lot of recommendations for very high end gear that most people would never figure out how to use and have no need for.
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Absolutely true, I might not be great at mixing but I know what direction I want to go and no way am I spending thousands.
I like gear for sure. I am more about bang for buck. There is some good info here.
Going a step further in the interface is not for everyone. Maybe not what I need but I always want to get the best gear and in this case plugins for money spent.
Majority of the reason I posted this is for discussion and so far I think it's a 10 of 10.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
Nice! That was on my list, but I am really attached to the mixer format…some day, I may get with the times.
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I used to run a Soundcraft Signature mixer as my interface. I can't remember if it was 12 or 16 channels. I loved that but eventually realized it was WAY overkill for what I am doing.

edit: Found it. One of a million studio configurations I've had over the years. It was the Signature 12

E81nCxt.jpg
 
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Ghostman said:
I used to run a Soundcraft Signature mixer as my interface. I can't remember if it was 12 or 16 channels. I loved that but eventually realized it was WAY overkill for what I am doing.
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Was it the same model as mine? The MTK? 14 in, 12 out? Or the straight-up Signature? 2 in 2 out?
I still love mine. I keep a patchbay behind it, tapped to everything in the studio, including the projector..The Soundcraft, MacBook Pro, and Reaper have been fun again….also the old Mackie MCU gets fired up once in a while…so much faster while tracking/mixing.
That said, it is probably overkill for a good number of people, and the form factor is super dated compared to most interfaces.
I’ve been using Soundcraft mixers since my first one in 1992…I’ve had others along side of them, but the Soundcraft mixers have always worked well for me. I’ve got a GB2R-12.2 that I will not let go of…best little mixer I’ve had…unbelievably flexible. The preamps are pretty darned good too.
 
Thatbastarddon said:
Was it the same model as mine? The MTK? 14 in, 12 out? Or the straight-up Signature? 2 in 2 out?
I still love mine. I keep a patchbay behind it, tapped to everything in the studio, including the projector..The Soundcraft, MacBook Pro, and Reaper have been fun again….also the old Mackie MCU gets fired up once in a while…so much faster while tracking/mixing.
That said, it is probably overkill for a good number of people, and the form factor is super dated compared to most interfaces.
I’ve been using Soundcraft mixers since my first one in 1992…I’ve had others along side of them, but the Soundcraft mixers have always worked well for me. I’ve got a GB2R-12.2 that I will not let go of…best little mixer I’ve had…unbelievably flexible. The preamps are pretty darned good too.
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It was the MTK. I was able to buy at dealer cost so I went big. :D
 
So diving in to EQ of EZ drummer. Must see video for me. I know they are already equalized in tracks recorded but small tweaks can be done. I had no idea you chose each mic separately.
My drums on the last song were inspiring but one thing I can't seem to get rid of is kind pop , I think it's bass drum compression. I went back to the drum track and turned all of the compression and reverb down. I did a slight parametric eq. Still need some work on it.
 
ibmorjamn said:
So diving in to EQ of EZ drummer. Must see video for me. I know they are already equalized in tracks recorded but small tweaks can be done. I had no idea you chose each mic separately.
My drums on the last song were inspiring but one thing I can't seem to get rid of is kind pop , I think it's bass drum compression. I went back to the drum track and turned all of the compression and reverb down. I did a slight parametric eq. Still need some work on it.
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Solid stuff. That was a nice peek into what you can get done with Reaper and EZDrummer.
 
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