The Steel Guitar Forum

Guys, I need help! After seeing the setups some of you have, I want to do some recording. At this point, all I know is I want a unit with a CD burner built in, maybe some effects(reverb), that's fairly easy to use, and doesn't cost an arm and a leg! If y'all could help with some suggestions, I'd appreciate it. And if you've got a unit you've outgrown, maybe we can talk pricing . Nothing obsolete, though---I've already got a Tascam cassette recorder in the closet.
Thanks a lot!!!

hey...

as you know there are many nice affordable units out there which include a CD burner.

I use a Yamaha AW2816 which is the same as the AW4416 with a few less bells and whistles..it uses the Yamaha OS2 operating system which can be a tad steep on the learning curve .

The Boss products are in my opinion very easy to use and learn, such as the BR1600. Effects are very good and the results you can get out of the box so to speak is very very good.

I did many projects on an older Boss BR8 which uses a zip drive..I loved it.

I would lean Boss for price vs value...

It's really amazing what they can cram into a 10" by 10" plastic case these days..

If you spend a few minutes editing a few of the pathces specifically for the Steel, Tele , LP , Bass etc..and save them all in the patch bank you can call them up as needed.

These little plastic boxes are really amazing..

t<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 09 February 2005 at 02:18 AM.]</p></FONT>

I found an audio recording program for $20 at the local Best Buy by a company called Magix, it is a sixteen track studio with a great sound for the money, I have a ball with it and Band in the Box, easy to use

You can buy "Band-in-a-Box" with "PowerTracks",which is a recording program.
About the CD burner. I personally would not want one that was built into other equipment. The technology and pricing is changing so fast that I prefer one which I can install in my computer. Very fast CD burners are available now for $30.

Stephen, you've already got a computer. Get a sound card like Delta 1010lt($175),an 8 channel preamp(Nady Pr8,$90), and recording software( many choices). I use Ntracks,under $1oo. This would give you 8 tracks simultaneous input,unlimited total tracks, and nondeestructive editing. It would take about a week to learn.There are ons of free VST effects on the net. The drawback is that it is not portable. If you only need 2 tracks, there are many cheaper and more portable solutions. Good luck. JimP<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jim Peters on 09 February 2005 at 06:47 AM.]</p></FONT>

I'm looking at the Boss BR-1180CD. Got drums, phantom power, but records only 2 tracks at a time---anybody got one of these, or have any experience with one?

Much better on the comuter, it is less limited.
The Delta is a good card.

With a computer system it is mostly software up grade and integration,
it can all be transfered to a new computer easily whaen you upgrade.

And add things like BIAB and work all in one plasce.
And disk space is easier to add on a PC.

A hardware based solution means you are locked into that one piece of hardware...
and must transfer to other units with burned cd's and such.
And more limited softawre choices by far.

Stephen the 1180CD is the next generation from the BR-8 which I used ( still have) the current model is the BR1600CD which records I believe 8 tracks at a clip.

The 1180 is very easy to use and keep in mind it is intended for a single ( not as opposed to married )musician who builds songs 1 or 2 tracks at a time.

Simple to use, quality patches and effects, excellent 16 bit ( here we go with that BIT RATE thing again) results.

Some folks as mentioned are firm believers in PC recording..but they are two different worlds. You can't bring your PC over to your pals house for a jam session..you pal must come to your house.

There are enough features on these workstations for a musician to use and make quality recordings without actually loosing touch with playing the music. These Boss machines are about making it easy to capture the music from the musician rather than the technical doo dads that may be available on other machines or PC based systems.

I personally like both the PC format and the workstation format but prefer the workstation format as it is separate from my other PC life which is typing endlessly on forums..

I don't think you can go wrong with the 1180 CD..


t

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 09 February 2005 at 12:23 PM.]</p></FONT><FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 09 February 2005 at 12:25 PM.]</p></FONT>

Stephen,

I also did my recordings on a Tascam 4-track for 15 years. Very recently bought
a Boss 1600 CD Harddisc Recorder and man,
it is an amazing experience. Go for it!

Roland

My main issue with the workstations is I fill them FAST and then have to dump stuff I don't want too
.I agree with the portability thing.

I am a bit leary of most of their preamps and A to D converters too. Roland's sound harsh too me.

Stephen,
Check your email, maybe something you can use...

Bill

I use my PODxt thru my Computer Sound Card into Cool Edit Pro Recroding Software.

Here is a link to my samples using the above rig:
http://dvanet.net/timharr_audio.html


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Tim Harr
Carter D-10 8p & 9k w/ BL-705s, Hilton pedal, PODxt, Webb 6-14E Amplifier

http://groups.msn.com/TimHarrWebPage/yourwebpage.msnw

So if I go with a PC system, won't I need a new sound card? And can I get phantom power from the sound card? And I'll be mixing to my PC speakers, right?
(More questions as they become available.)

Thanks, guys--you're helping a LOT!!!

Can you easily use a laptop for recording, considering most of them are available with Pentium4 and fast processors etc ....and large hard drives ???? What about laptop sound cards, are they up to it ?

Stephen and Paddy, to answer some questions; you will need a soundcard in a PC to have more than 2 tracks at once. If you only need 2, get the Roland or other brand standalone units. If you have a newer laptop, you can get MBox,it connects by firewire to your laptop. The Delta soundcard cost me under$200 at GC,it has 8 in at once,includes 2 mic preamps.For more than 2 tracks,go PC. For 2 tracks at once, go with the Roland. If you only need 4 tacks,Delta has a $99 card,but you still need software.Ntracks studio is under a hundred bucks,not too hard to use. If you only want to record 2 at once, your PC already has a soundcard that should work. I've also had great results tansfering 4 tracks to my friends PC with his 4 track Delta card. All 4 tracks are kept seperate,you can mix and junk them up later on your PC,then burn to CD. E-mail me if you have more questions,I have done want you want to do in the last 6 mths. JimP

Thanks Jim, I'm still toying with the laptop idea, so when I decide to jump in I will give you a call regarding the technical requirements.

If you go the lapstop route, a firewire drive
and a firewire interface are the best multichannel solutions.

The Motu interfaces are good and
also the Metric Halo is very good too.

both are 8 chan I/O with Motu with 2 mics In's built in with 8 line.


As to mixing on your computer monitors. gadzouks!
I can only say garbage in garbage out.
With out a passable reference, you will NEVER mix well for the outside world.

Get the best small speakers and subwoofer combination
that makes your 5 favorite varied style CD's sound best over all for you,
at a price you can get it.
Choose things with a variety of sounds.

I test with :
Gloria Estephan MiTiara, the tile song... impecably recorded. If I had only one song to test a room with this would be it.

David Grisman Jerry Garcia bluegrass album or Bela Fleck Drive, good acoustic picking well recorded

Any large orchestra recorded in the Concertgebaw Amsterdam The BEST orchestralclarity and range

Alan Jackson greatest hits. Hey it's a country rock kind a thing and ya heard it every where right?

Lloyd Green Revisited we IS steelers and this is a classic and great recording

Village Vangard Jazz Orchestra Don;t forget some REAL brass playing,

If all of them sound cool, then the speakers work for me.
A similar set of musical types will give a good ear reference.

If you CAN'T HEAR THE BASSPLAYER EVENLY...
you will never mix your low end right.

I like the small iInfiniti MK II's with a small sub wooofer for a buget system.
But let your EARS be the judge.

I recommend a computer with Sonar (Cakewalk); computers are very inexpensive now; Sonar is a fine program. Also, BR-8 digital. The UA-20 is a good professional sound card as well.----j----

I'm with Dr Hugh and D.D.

For budget price reverb and effects, the Alesis Nanoverb is much for the $100 and less category, and there are a few available for less on Ebay.

Some might scoff at it, but as I said, for basic reverb--what, 95% of effects use?--it's hard to beat.

I use ProTools on my Powerbook G4. It's a little pricey for the whole outfit, but you just can't beat it. It's the industry standard! I bought the MBOX factory bundle that has many plug-ins(reverb, compression, amp-modeling, etc)

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www.natelapointe.net

The computer you have now, the soundcard you have now, and n-Track studio (http://fasoft.com), and maybe a cheap mixer just to make it convienient, (and for phantom power, if you need it).

Just try it, it won't cost you a thing.

Les

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Strat,Tele
Dekley S-10

Although I have a high end SoundBlaster Audigy 2 EX, that has a relatively low latency and I have Cakewalk Home Studio, I have a Fostex VF160 that I use for recording.

Even with the SB Audigy 2 EX, I can only record two tracks at a time, which I find is insufficient for most recording. You really need at a minimum 8 tracks/channels interface. Many of the "low price/entry level" PC's won't really do the job (e.g. the cheapies that companies such as Dell sell (e.g. the 2400's and 3000 models).

I do my own recordings plus I do a lot for local singers and even one semi-retired Nashville songwriter, that did some record producing (he produced one of Mel Street's albums).

The only "joke" in the Fostex VF160 is the built in CD recorder. It will only record one song/program on a CD, not the entire "session". Otherwise it works well and is not really too hard to learn, compared to some other hard drive recorders.

I do use my PC for audio editing and "msastering". I use the digital link (S/PDIF) between the recorder and the PC and mixdown to the PC. I then edit with GoldWave software.

I would definately stay inside the computer. You can get banging results nowadays for a lot less money then hardware options. I'd stay aways from the whole Alesis nanoverb kinda deal. I have Cubase SX(kinda pricey, but the SE is more affordable) and the effects that came with it are decent, especially the multiband compressor.............
anyway check out Cubase SE with a MOTU 828 sound card.

Alvino Rey used ProTools very effectively; it is a MacINtosh format, however. ----j-----