A newbie question about recording

marT · Post by **marT** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:20 am

Hi all,

I have been pondering lately about doing some quality recording. I have been approached by a few pickup winders to demo their PUPs and while they are happy with the youtube clips I have made so far and would be happy with something like that, I would like to do a better job of recording at least down the track.

I was thinking about picking up a sennheiser e609 as I have heard very good things about it.

What I was wondering is will I get decent sound quality just hooking this mic directly into my computers input and recording using software? Or do I really need to plug it into some sort of mixer?

Thanks for any help.

St August · Post by **St August** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 7:46 am

The 609 is nice but get a SM 57 its more true than the 609..

you will need recording software and a mic pre and a audio interface

just going into your computers sound card wont cut it if your going to make clips for PU vendors. just my .02

marT · Post by **marT** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 9:28 pm

Anything you would recommend for a guy on a budget? i.e. me.

In terms of mic pre etc.

St August · Post by **St August** » Wed Aug 15, 2007 10:46 pm

ART makes some ok pre for the budget minded also berhinger

but remember you get what you pay for.. because once you got the bug
the cheap stuff will get shoved to the side and youll want better..
my studio gets bigger everyday.and the sounds get better right along with it.

npminard · Post by **npminard** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:33 pm

St August wrote:ART makes some ok pre for the budget minded also berhinger

but remember you get what you pay for.. because once you got the bug
the cheap stuff will get shoved to the side and youll want better..
my studio gets bigger everyday.and the sounds get better right along with it.

You should write a tutorial and/or do lessons on recording at the Boiler Room.

St August · Post by **St August** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:36 pm

npminard wrote:
St August wrote:ART makes some ok pre for the budget minded also berhinger

but remember you get what you pay for.. because once you got the bug
the cheap stuff will get shoved to the side and youll want better..
my studio gets bigger everyday.and the sounds get better right along with it.
You should write a tutorial and/or do lessons on recording at the Boiler Room.

I have slots open Nate you can be the first!

toner · Post by **toner** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 7:21 pm

Hi marT. Sorry, I'm a little late on this thread. Seems like your YouTube vids are getting some attention. That's great!

I agree that you need a fairly good mic pre and a good sound card. You don't have to spend $1000 or anything but don't expect much for under $200. The quality of the A/D converters makes a huge difference. I've been out of the loop with computer recording for a while so I can't recommend any current sound cards. However, most of the "all in one" units with built-in mic pres aren't very good, IMO (like Tascam and other cheap USB boxes).

Mics? You can't go wrong with a Shure 57, Sennheiser 421 or similar dynamic mics. Personally, I don't like the Sennheiser 609 because they seem very bright and sterile. I usually use a 57 or an Audix D3. The Audix has fatter mids than a 57 but can be a little dull on the high end. If you can afford it, get a mid-priced condenser mic like an AKG, Audio-Technica, RODE, etc. and use it as an ambient room mic along with your close mic. You can get some great sounds by blending the two. Good luck!