HOME RECORDING ON A BUDGET

[dave waite]

I am considering buying some recording equipment & want to keep it under 1,000.00. I want a stand alone recorder/ cd burner, a good mike, & anything else that you think I might absolutely need in order to get high quality results. Can I do it for that? What equipment would you recommend? I won't need alot of effects, but absolutely need a high quality sounding reverb.
Thanks!
Dave

[steve in tampa]

Musician's Friend and other online meglo-marts have some decent package deals.

[garyblanchard]

I bought a Fostex (I believe) MR-8 for $300 and use a Peavy vocal mike and Shure instrument mike. The only problem I have with it is that the data storage card that came with it only allows 24 minutes of recording time so I have to record one song (with multiple parts), mix it, then download it to my PC as a wave file before I do my next song. If you visit my website at www.brookfieldsmusic.net you can hear two songs that were recorded on it.

[mandroid]

Some Web sites for online music stores: toll free Q&A possible, too
<a href="http://www.zzounds.com/" target="_blank">
&lt;a href="http://www.zzounds.com/</a>" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.zzounds.com/[/URL]&lt;/a&gt;

http:/ /www.musiciansfriend.com/

http://www.americanmusical.com/ ,
also: www.sweetwater.com/

and bhproaudio.com/ the latter 2; I havent done any Biz with them.

some package setups would get it down to $1K , save money if monitoring to headphones , rather than adding cost a pair of active monitors.
home stereo probably would substitute there.
perhaps some package switching trade up for pricier mic is possible.

[glauber]

Try Protools. Look for package deals at the big distributors like Sam Ashe.

[nobleheart]

I also use the MR 8 fostex digital recorder. It has treated me well. I got a really good deal on ebay, but musicians friend would be a better way to go for a warranty and a kit if you need extra materials.

[grant_eversoll]

have you tried this
http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
I have not had time to play with it yet but my son has some and likes it...and it's free so the price is right

[AW Meyer]

I have a Boss BR1180, made by Roland. It is an 8-channel unit, with lots of effects, good reverb, phantom power, programmable rhythm tracks,a record-two-tracks-at-once function, and an onboard cd burner. I was able to make a multi-track recording within half an hour of unpacking the unit from its box. For a technologically-challenged geezer like myself, I think that is pretty user-friendly. You should be able to get one for around $1000.

[JGWoods]

I'm with Mr. Eh- Boss 1180CD for &lt;$1k and you havwe room to grow a long way. easy to use, got a slower downer, excellent unit.
best
jgwoods

[Pete Martin]

Check out homerecording.com and Tape OP. Check the archives and ask questions there. I prefer using a computer for recording. You can then upgrade if needed in the future. The only thing I don't like about the stand alone recording units is you can't upgrade them without starting over.

[madog99]

A buddy of mine just picked up a Tascam unit with a built in hard drive .I forget the model number but it has a ton of features , no drums though. He paid under $600 Cdn for it so had lots left over for mics and stands . I have heard the few tunes he has done so far and they are quite good sounding , has a nice reverb.Drawback is it will only allow you to record 2 tracks at once , if that is an issue.

[dtb]

if you can find a used (no longer made) Tascam 788, you'd probably see it for 3-500.00. 6 simul. record, and your friends can join in. I can get almost 2 hours of recording with 4 inputs. the newer Tascam models are good, and in your budget. Musicians Friend....check these item #s

241106
241107
248148
240280
240283....the whole ball of wax for 800.00

[RichM]

I recently bought a Fostex VR-80EX from Musician's Friend. It's a digital 8-track with 20 MB hard drive and built-in CDR/CDRW burner. It works well, is easy to use, and cost $499, free shipping. You can mix and master on the unit itself (although you have to keep two tracks open for the stereo mix, so it effectively becomes a 6-track), or you can do like I do, and burn the tracks to a CD and mix them on your computer (I use Cakewalk Home Studio 2 XL, but there are lots of choices).

One of the nice things about the Fostex unit is that it has 24 "virtual tracks"-- it actually records up to 24 simultaneous tracks, but you can only listen (or mix) 8 of them at one time on the recorder. But if you burn your tracks to a CD and mix them on your computer, you can use all 24. So it can be a sketchpad with almost now work, or a 24-track studio, with a bit of work.

The Fostex unit has some built-in effects, including a selection of reverbs. These are usable, but not impressive. Cakewalk has some very nice effects, including fully editable reverb with some very effective pre-sets. The Fostex has no effect sends, so your only option for using an external box is to record wet--something I wouldn't do.

If you're recording acoustically, you'll probably want a condensor mic-- you can blow a bundle on a good condensor mic, but you can get a basic MXL or Octava for under $200 and it will get the job done. I'd also recommend an external mic preamp, as the preamps on these budget mixers are adequate at best. I use the ART Tube MP, which I think now sells for under $100. You may also want a dynamic mic for vocals-- if you're going budget, try a Shure SM-48 for around $80.00.

So, if you use this setup, you cost out to:

Fostex VF80-EX $499.00
Basic condensor mic: $200.00
Basic dynamic mic: $ 80.00
External mic pre-amp: $100.00
Cakewalk 2 XL: $150.00

Total Cost: $1029.00

And that's with rounding up, so you can probably do it slightly cheaper.

That's a pretty good basic setup. It's not a pro setup by a long shot, but you can get very good results from it (and paying twice as much probably won't get you significantly better results).

[Spruce]

"Check out...Tape OP."

Pete forgot to mention that you can subscribe to TapeOp magazine here (click the "subscribe box in the upper-left-hand corner), and it's free to subscribe....

I think that not only is TapeOp the most inspirational and informative magazine for recordists going, but the fact that it is free is amazing...

A great mag for sure....

[halfdeadhippie]

You might really want to think about a preamp -

made a heck of a difference in tone - I only mic when recording - don't plug in ( except the electric cittern)

Stormymorning