The 1st Home Studio

[JamesSteele]

Hey Everyone,

I am about 50 percent done with the home studio, but I need to be able to record my voice (it's getting old cutting tracks at the station and then bringing them here), I have the computer, the good soundcard, Adobe Audition, now all I need is the mic, small mixer, and what else? I'm looking to spend around 1,000 dollars. Is that possible? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, and happy holidays!

-James

 

[mrterry]

James,

You should be able to do it have a little something left for the holidays.

Unless you're getting into some involved production I don't think you'll need much of any outboard gear other than your mic and mixer. Others can offer advice on outboard units for compression and EQ for voice work but I've gotten to where I rarely use it any more. My pre sets in Audition seem to work well with a little EQ tweek on the board.

For a mic I'm a big fan of the ElectroVoice RE 21. The RE 20 is less expensive and very good, but the 21 has a much brighter high end.

I also use a Mackie board. Again, it doesn't sound like you'll need very much. Check your local music shops, EBay, etc. Other than your mic do you expect to need other inputs? Again, I'm curious as to what the others are using for a small mixer these days.

Good luck!

Mike

 

[jefflaurence]

Hi James..for a small format console..we LOVE the Yamaha MG124CX. The mic inputs have a sweet little compressor built in as well as EQ..AND there are several DSP digital effects on board as well..lots of gain for headphones..and a real steal at only 269.00 brand new from Full Compass. We have two of them that we use in our voice studios..feeding Adobe Audition 3.0. We also are using more internal software processing these days, so unless you need an extra box laying around..get comfy with Auditions excellent processing effects and aside from the mic, you are set. How are ya fixed for monitors? We have a few pairs of them laying around we could part with. one set is a JBL Studio Monitor pair that comes with a Crown D75 power amp. The other is a smaller set of Wharfdales that are powered. Remember to budget a little for GOOD sound treatment in your room..ALSO if you can swing it get a VOVOX mic cable for whatever mic you use..You will not believe the sonic difference! A good starter mic might be a Sennheiser MD421, or that EV RE21. Mike is right about the brighter character of the "21" If you are looking at a condenser mic (The Yamaha mixer will power these) try any of the offerings from ADK. I like thier "Hamburg" series mics at around 250.00 it's an amazing mic They are truly the best value for an entry-level condenser mic..Slightly more might be that new AKG C214. I hear good things about it..at about 400 bucks. Now..ya wanna spend 1k or more for a single mic? Let's gab! I am currently a huge fan of John Peluso's mics out of Virginia..but that's for another day. any questions or added help, I would be glad to speak with you..PM me

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

James, take it from Jeff, he nails it. Nice suggestion on the Yamaha mixer. I use a Mackie 1404-VLZPro, which allows for "voice over music" monitoring (like back in the day using an Auditronics board when you'd voice in Program while monitoring both Program and Audition channels in your headphones.) The Mackie has clean mic preamps. An AKG Perception series diaphragm condenser mic is a good starter, but given the choice, I'd opt for the Sennheiser 421 as suggested by Jeff. Just make sure it's set on "M" and you work it at a mild angle. Wish I had a Crown D-75. Beautiful amp, maybe next year. Keep your cables short & shielded... and trust the guys on this board. It's one of the most helpful forums on the R-I site.

 

[Kiki]

for what it's worth, here is what I put together...

Yamaha 16 channel 6 bus mixer MG166CX board
dbx Professional 166XL Compressor/Limiter/Gate
Aphex 230 RPA Tube Preamp & EasyRider Compressor
Stanton C 500 dual CD
Electro-Voice RE27ND Studio mic
Adobe Audition