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Requirement Equipment [message #66797] Wed, 30 March 2011 19:36 Go to next message
iDummy is currently offline  iDummy
Messages: 45
Registered: March 2011
Baron
My son will love to have a recording studio at home. I would like to surprise him for his birthday with a nice piece of equipment, but I can't afford something too expensive. He doesn't have much since he is just starting. He has a full Yamaha keyboard that can be connected to almost anything.

Any ideas? I know I should ask him but I want to surprise him. Any help will be appreciated.
Re: Requirement Equipment [message #66807 is a reply to message #66797] Thu, 31 March 2011 08:31 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Adveser is currently offline  Adveser
Messages: 434
Registered: July 2009
Location: USA
Illuminati (1st Degree)
Just get him a Digital Interface box and use the computer. Make him learn a digital recording software package like Audacity. There is nothing you can't figure out given the time and experience. Teach him that recording is a skill and an art like playing the keyboard and it is going to take time and patience to get get at it or to even record the first note, more than likely. Down the line you can buy (or however you wanna do it) a professional recording software that will interface with a relatively cheap (couple hundred and up) mixing console. If you have the cash, I'd drop it on an 8-track mixer which will include some beginner software and it will likely be able to double as the Digital interface.

I'm assuming he has a laptop, if he doesn't, get him one instead and worry about cheap DI later. It is cheaper to buy a new laptop, an 8-track bus mixer and the software will be included than to buy an all-in-one portastudio.

You absolutely have to get him reference quality headphones so that he learns as early as possible to listen to the stuff they reveal as to make good recordings. I like the 100 dollar MDR-7506.

All in all, I think 300 gets you the mixer and the headphones.

There's a million different directions. So first off, does he have a relatively recent laptop or desktop? If you can, could you find out what type of soundcard it is? onboard 24-bit audio is perfectly fine and should be the LAST thing you need to replace and only for specific reasons. An old computer with a AC97 based chipset will require a new soundcard.


Re: Requirement Equipment [message #66898 is a reply to message #66797] Mon, 04 April 2011 21:32 Go to previous messageGo to next message
iDummy is currently offline  iDummy
Messages: 45
Registered: March 2011
Baron
Thanks so much for your post. It really points me in the right direction. He just got a new laptop for Christmas. I think it has the sound card you mentioned, but I will ask to make sure. I will have him read your post to see how he responds. I want him to know that he can do it if he really works at it.
Re: Requirement Equipment [message #66908 is a reply to message #66898] Tue, 05 April 2011 06:08 Go to previous message
Adveser is currently offline  Adveser
Messages: 434
Registered: July 2009
Location: USA
Illuminati (1st Degree)
iDummy wrote on Mon, 04 April 2011 19:32
Thanks so much for your post. It really points me in the right direction. He just got a new laptop for Christmas. I think it has the sound card you mentioned, but I will ask to make sure. I will have him read your post to see how he responds. I want him to know that he can do it if he really works at it.


The sound card should be perfectly fine if it is a new computer.

Yeah, it takes time, patience and a real desire to learn. People want to download software with very little knowledge of sound and engineering and expect studio quality results on day one. That ins't anyone's fault, it is just there is the expectation that because something is possible that it is easy. Apple has essentially told people for years that with a Mac, you might as well be a professional audio engineer, which is not the case whatsoever.


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