Sionar Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Hi, I'm wondering if anyone could give me the lowdown or provide me with the links on setting up a home recording studio. I have been searching around the forum, and been doing some researching online, but I haven't found any definitive answers on how to set it up yet. I wish to record live piano. I have a minigrand located in a large living room, and my computer is a 3.00ghz, 1 gb ram with an sb audigy 2 card. The microphone that I'm willing to purchase is one Rode NT1A microphone, since i have limited funds and don't know if I should buy another one. Now, from some research I see that that microphone needs a 24v or 48v phantom power. Also, my sound card has a 1/8'' plug. All I'm wondering is what kind of cable do I need, what type of phantom power should i get, and whether or not there anything else that i'm missing from this list. Thanks for the advice in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Several things to keep in mind: 1) Your soundcard is decent, but not great. Don't expect a flawless, pristine recording out of an audigy. 2) Pianos generally sound best recorded in stereo; you can't do that with just one mic. Also, I don't believe the audigy has any stereo input, but I could be wrong. 3) Do you have a preamp? A mixer? You'll need one or both to plug the mic in and supply phantom power. I definitely think the NT1A is an excellent choice of mic. I have two that I recently got for recording acoustic guitar, and they sound absolutely fantastic. I don't know if they'd work as well for a piano, but they are absolutely perfect for recording acoustic guitars. As for preamp/mixer/soundcard, I'm sure there are products out there that could cover all three; look for audio interfaces with decent mic preamps and phantom power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sionar Posted December 22, 2006 Author Share Posted December 22, 2006 Thanks for the advice. I'll really consider getting two mics. As for the preamp and mixer, and phantom power, do you know where I can get buy them, or have any recommendations for which ones to buy? And for the cables, do I need XLR-XLR or XLR-1/4''? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OverCoat Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 Zzounds.com has an affiliate program where OCR earns a commission if a sale is made when someone comes to their site from ours. So yeah, you could support OCR if you wanted. Hooray for everybody! A good preamp has XLR inputs, so you'll need XLR cables. Some 1/4" audio cables would be nice, so you could record other things! A 1/4"->1/8" adapter might come in handy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jagori Posted December 22, 2006 Share Posted December 22, 2006 I've got an Edirol UA-25 that I'm liking so far. Two XLR inputs that double as 1/4", phantom power, and it's a decent price. I'm not positive about this, but I think it won't provide phantom power to a 1/4" cable. That's not really an issue though, since you'll likely want to use XLR cables with your mics anyway. A potential downside is that it's USB, but I personally haven't had any issues at all with it being USB instead of Firewire. [edit] Just thought I'd mention that I haven't had it for that long yet - about six months - so I can't speak for durability or anything. Haven't had any problems yet, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sionar Posted December 23, 2006 Author Share Posted December 23, 2006 Okay, so this is what I think I'm going to get: Rode NT1A Studio Condenser Microphone (New, Matched Pair, With SM1 Shock Mounts) - $500 M-Audio MobilePre USB Interface with Microphone Preamp (New) - $150 OnStage Short Microphone Stand with Boom (New, Black) x 2 - $70 Shure C25J XLR-XLR Hi-Flex Microphone Cable (New, 25 Foot) - $32 Any suggestions, anybody? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Looks good to me, though I've never actually recorded a real piano. I'm sure articles exist on how best to record a piano; I just don't know where they would be, and I'm too lazy to look right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I dunno about M-Audio stuff. I rarely hear good things about it... try an EMU 1212M. Same price, and I haven't heard *bad* things about it. In terms of micing you have a few options; X/Y, spaced pair, etc. Do a google search on "mic techniques piano" and you'll come up with plenty of options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 I dunno about M-Audio stuff. I rarely hear good things about it... try an EMU 1212M. Same price, and I haven't heard *bad* things about it. In terms of micing you have a few options; X/Y, spaced pair, etc. Do a google search on "mic techniques piano" and you'll come up with plenty of options. The E-mu 1212m doesn't have mic inputs or preamps. It's definitely a good soundcard, but it would mean he'd need more gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted December 24, 2006 Share Posted December 24, 2006 My bad, I didn't realize he was ALSO using that as the preamp. That being said, why not an EMU 0404 (~$100 or less) plus a VTB-1 tube/ss mic preamp (~$110)? The VTB-1 (by studio projects) is one of the best sounding preamps around, and it can blend between solid state and tube circuity. A combo preamp and audio interface for $150, especially by M-Audio, is not gonna have high quality components. However, the VTB-1 is a really sound investment that won't go obsolete anytime soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sionar Posted December 24, 2006 Author Share Posted December 24, 2006 Ahhh.... its too late, since I already placed my order on zzounds. All the equipment will arrive on the 27th-29th. If the M-Audio stuff really isn't usable, I'll just return it and go with your suggestion about the EMU 0404 and the VTB-1. Once again, thanks for the comments. I truly appreciate them. EDIT: Zzounds DOES have a return policy right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 Off topic: is there a stereo equivalent of the VTB1? A preliminary search isn't giving me much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted December 25, 2006 Share Posted December 25, 2006 The VTB-1 is pretty much intended for vocals. It even says so in the feature list: "A superb vocal mic pre with a warm, transparent character". So, it is highly unlikely they would produce a stereo version (nor am I aware of one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Ah, gotcha. EDIT: Wouldn't a mixer be more useful for Sionar's purposes than a preamp? Since he'll be using two mics, it seems like it would make far more sense to hook both mics up to a mixer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sionar Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share Posted December 28, 2006 Whats the difference between a mixer and a preamp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Taucer Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 A preamp is more specialized. And more pricey. A standalone mic preamp generally give you a lot more versatility on one or two mic channels, but from what I've seen, a good mic preamp with more than one input will probably cost $mucho. A mixer is basically used for signal routing; that is, plugging a bunch of line or mic inputs in and condensing them down to a single stereo output. Of course, you'll still need a soundcard with stereo input usually, though some (but not many) mixers these days also have USB output. My advice would be to try the stuff you already have first; you got that m-audio interface and the two mics, right? See how they work. The alternative will cost more. If you do end up sending the USB audio interface back, my advice to you would be to grab a mixer (behringer is a good low-end brand, mackie is a good high-end brand) and an e-mu 0404 audiocard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sionar Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share Posted December 28, 2006 http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=98426 The volume is too low, and I can't turn the gain very high. If I turn it any higher I get severe amounts of clipping from playing loud. Is it something that I'm doing wrong or not doing, or is my equipment just not good enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.