Simple, high-quality, home recording gear?

[opether]

I'm looking into doing some home recording, and want to know where to start. I've done some recording with bands, of course, but never owned my own stuff..

So, I'd like to get started with something user-friendly, economical, and good quality. I don't want to spend a fortune, (yet), and want to primarily mic one of my Mesa Thieles, and the Randall, and Budda SD18 heads.

Help getting started would be greatly appreciated.

[ConcreteVampire]

I get away with

Sony acid (program)
Line 6 UX2 (interface, and amps, pre's)
ART tube mic pre
MXL big condenser mic (vocals)
SM57 (guitars)
Lotsa drum loops

Pretty much all you need to create a demo, scratch tracks, record ideas, etc...

$200-300 total

That's me. Can't program drums for shit! Lol....

[opether]

I get away with

Sony acid (program)
Line 6 UX2 (interface, and amps, pre's)
ART tube mic pre
MXL big condenser mic (vocals)
SM57 (guitars)
Lotsa drum loops

Pretty much all you need to create a demo, scratch tracks, record ideas, etc...

$200-300 total

That's me. Can't program drums for shit! Lol....

Cool, I'll check some of those out!

[midnightlaundry]

Any name USB micpre, and a 57. Any recording software would be fine, I bet you'd get a bundle of software with the micpre.

[guidedbyechoes]

a buddy of mine some pretty great tones out of using a sm57 and tracktion. But he can get a pod xt to sound pretty good so I dont know how much of that is gear and how much is tweaking.

[Country-Butter]

this is relative to my interest as well..

I have been thinking of getting a Scarlett interface and a set of reasonable priced monitors and use reaper..

[Burn]

If you can't swing the Cubase (which I highly recommend), n-Track has a pretty intuitive interface. Reaper should be good, as well.

As for studio monitors, I'm going to go against public opinion, and say that you can easily get your basic recording and mixing done with a good pair of headphones. Initially, all your time will be spent on learning the DAW and the various intricacies of recording stuff, so you should be good with a pair of Sennheiser HD280s or Sony MDRs until you're ready to invest in a good pair of monitors.

[racerevlon]

Reaper is solid. Any 2-in interface with good pres will do. Learn how to program drums or get tons of loops. Off you go. If you want to mic an entire drum kit, that Tascam US-1800 is hard to beat... Use the TRS for the room mics and overheads if you run out of XLR. The Focusrite stuff is good as well.

[Schweezly]

this is relative to my interest as well..

I have been thinking of getting a Scarlett interface and a set of reasonable priced monitors and use reaper..

I've got a Scarlett Interface, KRK monitors and Mixcraft. It works well for me, especially because I have Addictive Drums and an electronic kit for midi.

The nice thing about Mixcraft is that its easy to use an isn't a resource hog. My laptop is about 4 years old an wasn't good when I bought it (~$450). I run everything fine.

[nwright]

Just about any interface comes with recording software these days. The scarlett 2i2 from focusrite is nice as is the presonus 22vsl.

[bonedish]

Good thread. Subscribed.

[_ej_]

I'm running a Focusrite Scarlet 2i2, a pair of Equator D5s, and Reaper. All tolled I'm out $500 for my setup and could not be happier. The monitors are fantastic and the Focusrite sounds better than the Digidesign rack i use to use.

[nightflameauto]

Focusrite has really nice, clean preamps. I know my recording quality jumped when I moved from the old ART direct box I had to the Focusrite Saffire unit I use now.

And remember, whatever you get, don't record near the redline. Digital has plenty of headroom to work with, and digital clipping doesn't add warmth like analog can. I usually target -12 to -20, depending on my source and where I want it to end up in the mix.

The previous paragraph will save you months of frustration if you're anything like me or know anything about analog recording gear.