My current setup
One of the things I’d like to do with this blog is talk about recording technology and to review it, if I get the chance. Well, for the sake of somewhere to start, I figured I’d take a post to talk about my audio setup. I’ve been asked before how to get started recording for cheap, and if there’s a setup out there thats as cheap as it gets (but with all the quality), it’s mine.
Lets start with the basics. Unless you have an old tape machine (and I’m not talking about a cassette player), you are gonna need a computer to record to. And that computer needs some software to record with. I started out with my MacBook Pro, and I have to say I love it; I’ve had it for upwards of 3 years and it’s not had a single problem. Its got a 2.53 GHz Intel Core Duo core processor with 4 gigs of ram, and it hasn’t had a problem running any program I might need.
The program I needed, is Logic Pro 9. Logic is Apple’s hat they’ve tossed into the DAW (digital audio workstation) ring and by itself will cost you around $500. However, apart from being an audio file editor, it has extensive options for composing, sampling, mixing, even DJ-ing if you get the right plug ins. Logic is popular for its ease of use and broad range of tools. I consider myself a multi-talented person, and I like to write music as much as I like to record it, so Logic’s multipurpose nature lends itself well to my needs. I've also got Pro Tools, but I tend to stick with Logic because I'm more familiar with it.
Now, usually a computer like that and a full version of Logic will be quite pricy, but along with some other toys (which I’ll get to in a minute), I bought them together for around $3500. This was a deal, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter; CSUC requires all Composition and Recording Arts students to buy their bundle which also includes an Axiom 25 MIDI keyboard controller, a LaCie 500 gig hard drive, an Apogee Duet audio interface, and a handful of other very useful software. Tools like that usually cost quite a bit more when you buy them separately, so I won’t complain I had to blow almost two years of scholarship money on them.
Apart form the Axiom that came with the bundle, I’ve got another keyboard (an M-Audio 88 Keystation), two sets of speakers, and some professional headphones (some Shure SRH 440s to be exact). Rather than go in depth on any of those now I am going to take time to review each of those components in turn later. The next crucial step would be to get the sound from the air to your interface, and for that you need microphones. However, I don’t yet have any, and I’ve so far relied on using other peoples microphones (when I’m not in the school’s studio).
So, thats a birds eye view of my setup, and in a nutshell what you need: a computer, recording software, an interface, and microphones. Thats the bare bones of what you need to get started, and from there everything else is optional (though highly highly HIGHLY recommended). I will talk more about my interface, speakers, and keyboards coming up, but if you’ve made it this far, you’ve earned some music.
This is a piece I wrote for a game through Chico State Game Studios called Galactic Enforcer. The game was a Hitman-esque assassination game set in the future. The game was for the iPhone and wasn’t even close to being released, so at the time of working on it all you did was accept a mission then shoot the correct guy on screen. They planned to do more in depth strategy and whatnot, but the atmosphere is what got me. The director wanted a very low-key mystery to it, with just a touch of sci-fi (you know, future). So, I gave him Space Jazz.
Lets start with the basics. Unless you have an old tape machine (and I’m not talking about a cassette player), you are gonna need a computer to record to. And that computer needs some software to record with. I started out with my MacBook Pro, and I have to say I love it; I’ve had it for upwards of 3 years and it’s not had a single problem. Its got a 2.53 GHz Intel Core Duo core processor with 4 gigs of ram, and it hasn’t had a problem running any program I might need.
The program I needed, is Logic Pro 9. Logic is Apple’s hat they’ve tossed into the DAW (digital audio workstation) ring and by itself will cost you around $500. However, apart from being an audio file editor, it has extensive options for composing, sampling, mixing, even DJ-ing if you get the right plug ins. Logic is popular for its ease of use and broad range of tools. I consider myself a multi-talented person, and I like to write music as much as I like to record it, so Logic’s multipurpose nature lends itself well to my needs. I've also got Pro Tools, but I tend to stick with Logic because I'm more familiar with it.
Now, usually a computer like that and a full version of Logic will be quite pricy, but along with some other toys (which I’ll get to in a minute), I bought them together for around $3500. This was a deal, but I didn’t have a choice in the matter; CSUC requires all Composition and Recording Arts students to buy their bundle which also includes an Axiom 25 MIDI keyboard controller, a LaCie 500 gig hard drive, an Apogee Duet audio interface, and a handful of other very useful software. Tools like that usually cost quite a bit more when you buy them separately, so I won’t complain I had to blow almost two years of scholarship money on them.
Apart form the Axiom that came with the bundle, I’ve got another keyboard (an M-Audio 88 Keystation), two sets of speakers, and some professional headphones (some Shure SRH 440s to be exact). Rather than go in depth on any of those now I am going to take time to review each of those components in turn later. The next crucial step would be to get the sound from the air to your interface, and for that you need microphones. However, I don’t yet have any, and I’ve so far relied on using other peoples microphones (when I’m not in the school’s studio).
So, thats a birds eye view of my setup, and in a nutshell what you need: a computer, recording software, an interface, and microphones. Thats the bare bones of what you need to get started, and from there everything else is optional (though highly highly HIGHLY recommended). I will talk more about my interface, speakers, and keyboards coming up, but if you’ve made it this far, you’ve earned some music.
This is a piece I wrote for a game through Chico State Game Studios called Galactic Enforcer. The game was a Hitman-esque assassination game set in the future. The game was for the iPhone and wasn’t even close to being released, so at the time of working on it all you did was accept a mission then shoot the correct guy on screen. They planned to do more in depth strategy and whatnot, but the atmosphere is what got me. The director wanted a very low-key mystery to it, with just a touch of sci-fi (you know, future). So, I gave him Space Jazz.
Ok, so its not really jazz, but its about as close as I'll get without some jazz lessons. Jazz is one of the few styles I have no experience in I'm afraid (but I do love to listen to it). I'll be posting more here on recording technology, methods and whatnot coming up. So, if you're like me from four years ago and you don't have a clue about how to record that song you've spent all week writing to impress the girl down the block, stay tuned.