Help (i need somebody)
Hi all;
Please excuse my ignorance to all things digital. Im an old school bass player thats also proficient at real drums, guitar, vocals etc. I have a basic understanding of the recording process, having played sessions in various pro-studios, so I know what compressors, reverbs, sonic maximisers are etc…I have no idea how midi etc works though.
I (like many) can’t afford the SSL & Studer set up!!! Keep dreaming eh…
Ive been looking at getting a digi set-up for quite a while now and seem to conclude that n-tracks appears to be a good option!!!
I have the following analogue gear & am looking to set up a good (budget) home studio for song writing.
Current gear:
Trace Elliot Bass Amp/cab
Bass/Acoustic/electric guitars
LA Audio CX2 rack compressor
BBE rack sonic maximizer
SM58
Yamaha SPX90 rack reverb
Zoom rack guitar effects.
On my list of things to get, I have:
Newer PC; min spec P4 2.8, 512Mb, 80Gb (7200) HD, CD/R etc
CRT monitor
Yamaha or Mackie desk (around 12 channel) - any advice?
D/A card, thinking of M-Audio Delta 1010LT (10 ins/outs) - any advice?
Proper studio mic - any advice?
Midi keyboard controller - any advice?
Keyboard software & sequencing - any advice?
Monitors - any advice?
And all the usual bits around the outside such as patchbay, cables etc…
Any advice would be great on the above items, my budget is not massive, so I would like to keep things to a minimum (yeh…typical bass player), without overly compromising quality… and also…
Can I integrate the analogue rack gear in to the system in the mixing/mastering stage. .i.e. route the PC outputs to master through the maximiser then back in to the PC etc.? I did say I was new to digi land…
There appears to be loads of free plug-ins & software available, for keys etc, and drums/effects. Are any actually usable? Your recommendations?
I have no idea how to use a drum machine to link patterns, if it aint got sticks!!! Ive used fruity loops to create a beat, but where from there…again, any suggestions would be gratefully received
Cheers (and Happy Xmas)
Dave
Hi Dave, and welcome to the asylum.
So, to make a start on your questions, I’ll ask some of my own.
Are you going to be recording a whole band, or just yourself a track at a time?
If it’s just you, then you only need a simple stereo soundcard, something like the Creative Audigy. (16 bit cards are OK, but you really want something that will do 24bit/96K).
FX units? Forget it. Software FX will do all you want.
Same for mixing desk, etc.
But, if you’re doing simultaneous recording of a band, then obviously you need to record a track for each instrument/vocalist, and the Delta 1010 can record 8 analogue tracks at once. And if you’re recording a drum kit, you’ll need all those i/p’s for the drums alone. 
But, before I go into detail too much, I suggest you post your question again in the main forum, and also at audiominds.com, you’ll get a better response in both those places.
There’s many knowledgeable guys on this forum (like Learjeff) who don’t come into the “moron’s area”, and there’s just as many at audiominds who for personal and political and religious and ethical and…LOL, who won’t come here at all! 
)
Ali
Cheers Ali…
its basically for me (in one guise or another), but would prefer the option to record a kit etc if became necessary…
Have ben offered the following ‘used gear’, and am thinking about it?
Dell P4 1.8ghz - 512 Ram - 1 x 40 gb hardrive / 1 x 20 gb hardrive with CDR/XP etc…
Evolution Midi Keyboard
M- Audio Delta 10/10lt
Steinberg Cubase SX 2
Reason 2.5
Albino - Plug In Synth
Lots more VST Plug in instruments & VST Effects including £2000 worth of Waves mastering software
all for £400 which sounds a great deal…i’ve looked at Cubase, but it just looks ‘alien’ to me, at least N-tracks appears similar to an analogue set up…
Thanks for repsonse anyway
Cheers
D
Dave, I posted a reply on the other thread you started:
http://www.ntrack.com/cgi-bin…;t=1221
Basically, I agree with you about Cubase, but that other stuff is great, and the waves plugins are really wonderful.