So what do i need?

Fibus · Post by **Fibus** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 9:25 am

I want to start recording stuff at home and as we all saw with the pixies comp since i changed laptop i can't use my old method of just plugging a mic in due to the over modulation.

I have an sm57, cool edit and reason so i really just need some way of getting the sound into the computer without using the mic port.
I was thinking all i needed was a usb interface much like an m-audio fast track pro or something along those lines but will that work?

Are there any other products in that price range that are any good?
I took a look at the Boss BR-600 but it seems like it would recording onto that and then transferring the finished song onto the pc which is not exactly what i want to do.

How does everyone else record so i can get an idea of how to do it?
Its been a while since i have recorded anything and my old method no longer works.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:07 am

Whats' your budget?

This is what I would buy if my Edirol UA-1000 ever died:
http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/78008

Edirol UA25 EX - Â£159

Fibus · Post by **Fibus** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:18 am

I am trying to stay under â‚¬200 (or Â£200 given the strength of the euro recently).

Is a usb interface the way to go?

That looks very similar to the m-audio fast track pro, why would you pick that one over it?

Post by **Mike** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 11:19 am

I have Edirol (by Roland) experience and have always been impressed by their Support, Drivers and the function of their interfaces.

I'm sure the M-Audio is also good. The Edirol here comes with some software too I believe.

vivadeluxxe · Post by **vivadeluxxe** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:28 pm

Mike wrote:Whats' your budget?

This is what I would buy if my Edirol UA-1000 ever died:
http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/78008

Edirol UA25 EX - Â£159

+1
I was gonna recommend this but Mike beat me to it...
Definitely the best quality budget interface IMO, I think you get a copy of cakewalk with it as well which would do for all your recording software needs...

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:56 pm

The Edirol UA-25EX seems pretty good, not too expensive. If you're recording with a mic then it should be perfect.

I use a Line6 TonePort which is OK. It comes with Amp Modelling software (Gearbox) so as well as using a mic with a basic preamp you can plug your guitar straight into it and use the Gearbox software which is pretty cool. Its a mix between a Line6 POD and a USB Interface. There are 2 version, the UX1 and UX2. The UX2 is better really, 2 xlr inputs, 2 1/4" inputs, phantom power. The UX1 has just one of each input, and no phantom power. I have the UX1 and had to fork out an extra Â£40 for phantom power box thing, sucked.
The UX2 is just Â£97 HERE , when I got my UX1 it was Â£100!

Post by **Mike** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 1:59 pm

DanHeron wrote:The Edirol UA-25EX seems pretty good, not too expensive. If you're recording with a mic then it should be perfect.

It's got a Hi-Z switch and those jack inputs are combo TRS/XLR so yuo can DI a guitar into some modelling software, or plug a SansAmp style pedal into the front also. You can buy the Behringer Amp modeller with the spare scratch

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:01 pm

Mike wrote:
DanHeron wrote:The Edirol UA-25EX seems pretty good, not too expensive. If you're recording with a mic then it should be perfect.
It's got a Hi-Z switch and those jack inputs are combo TRS/XLR so yuo can DI a guitar into some modelling software, or plug a SansAmp style pedal into the front also. You can buy the Behringer Amp modeller with the spare scratch

Ah cool, it might be the best one to go for then. I dont really know, never used it myself. I just have the Line6 thing and it works fine for me so I thought I might aswell mention it, especially as its gone down in price quite a bit recently.

Fibus · Post by **Fibus** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:06 pm

Thats tempting! And considerably cheaper though i don't want to just go for the cheapest option and then end up having to upgrade in 6 months, best to get it right the first time. If i did get the Edirol UA-25EX and i wanted to put my guitar straight into it would i have to put something like a v-amp before it then?

Post by **Mike** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:09 pm

You'd have to have modelling either before or after it's capture. So either an Amp Line Out (those Vox AD combos sound great this way), a sansamp style pedal, or some software on your machine (GuitarRig etc.). If you're that way inclined, you can easily find a torrent on some shithot Amp modelling software.

DanHeron · Post by **DanHeron** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:10 pm

Fibus wrote:Thats tempting! And considerably cheaper though i don't want to just go for the cheapest option and then end up having to upgrade in 6 months, best to get it right the first time. If i did get the Edirol UA-25EX and i wanted to put my guitar straight into it would i have to put something like a v-amp before it then?

I think you would need some type of amp modelling somewhere in the line, whether it be hardware or software on the PC. Otherwise it would just be a clean guitar sound.

kim · Post by **kim** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:26 pm

a usb or firewire interface is like the basic tool you'll need to record good audio yeah

usb's are cheaper and if your pc happens to have no firewire you'll always be able to use the interface
if you don't want to record your amp i guess there's an even cheaper way to go with a behringer guitar interface usb thing and use pedals or software for effects and fuzz and distortion and eq tweaking.

i used to record guitar like that using a G4 ibook, garageband, an m audio firewire interface and my pedalboard, no amps no mics.. just really simple... and it works if you wanna just record your songs and don't wanna spend to much money or time on it.
with the behringer guitar interface (that i have to use now because my laptop has no firewire..gah) i put my guitar through my pedalboard and then into an amp with a line out, i tweak the eq on the amp then let the line out go to the behringer interface.

total cost 50eur

but that's very very basic so if you have a budget i would recommend

but only because it's the only one i really know and it's always been reliable, jsut that it is firewire only is a bit of a bummer when you don't have a laptop with firewire atm

as for software i really really liked garageband, it's so simple, way nicer to work with than audacity (nightmare) but that gets the job done for free too...

Fibus · Post by **Fibus** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:34 pm

Cool, so if i get a usb interface i can use my pedals with it as well without plugging into the amp or would i need a modeller in that cause as well?

I was looking into getting a v-amp or pocket pod as well so i can play with headphones on and not annoy the hell out of my housemates when it gets late. Has anyone any experience with either of them?

If i ran a chain of

guitar > pedals > v-amp/pocket pod > usb interface

would that work? If i didn't want to mic the amp that is.

kim · Post by **kim** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:37 pm

yeah if you think the v amp is essential but you could do it without it too,
like : guitar-pedals-interface-laptop-headphones (headphones from your laptop OR from the interface) anyway.

also to tweak your guitar sound, when you're not using an amp and you're not using the recording software's eq or don't have an eq pedal it kinda sucks you can't adjust the guitar sound so one of those three (amp, software's eq'ing, eq pedal) is handy

that's why i use a cheap amp's line out before i just send my guitar into the interface (for recording anyway), it's an extra element in the chain, with garageband i would use garageband's eq'ing.. eq'ing in audacity sucks so i use the shit amp.

Post by **Mike** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:38 pm

Fibus wrote:guitar > pedals > v-amp > usb interface

This would work perfectly. Generally if you want to get some nice cleans or in between sounds (or classic overdrives) you need some amp modelling in there (or a real amp). Kim I'm sure could get raucous distortion and fuzz sounds going DI with pedals but if you want anything more subtle then you'll be disappointed.

kim · Post by **kim** » Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:44 pm

yeah, maybe, although you can get the cleanest cleans that way too, with a decent guitar and all, i know i'm a twat for not using an amp for recording because i love the amp i have, but i have to be able to record silent because of where i live so it's not really an option. also when i read sune of raveonettes used to just put his guitar into a rat straight into a computer all of a sudden i realised how he could get those really direct sounds. i don't know if he did it for reverby lush sounding cleans too though

Jazzmasterfan · Post by **Jazzmasterfan** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 3:38 pm

Excuse me for asking a geeky question or two...I've returned to playing music after a ten year plus break and want to try home recording at some stage. I see the Edirol UA25 EX comes with a "Production Plus Pack from Cakewalk by Roland, a feature-rich recording software bundle consisting of SONAR LE, Project 5 LE, and Dimension LE for PC-based recording. The CD-ROM also includes the latest ASIO, WDM, and MME drivers for Windows XP and Vista (32-bit versions), plus CoreAudio drivers for Mac OSX."

My question is, would that Production Plus Pack be sufficient to do some basic home recording?

Post by **Mike** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 3:56 pm

Absolutely.

Jazzmasterfan · Post by **Jazzmasterfan** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 4:27 pm

Mike wrote:Absolutely.

Cheers. Much appreciated. Will probably buy it next week.

JamesSmann · Post by **JamesSmann** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:04 pm

i've always liked every iteration of cakwealk i've ever used.