Need help with recording/equpiment setup, please! :)

I desperately need help... I've been fighting with this for a long time and I still haven't figured out anything satisfactory. I'm using Sonar Producer. I have a Yahama S80 that I connect to the computer through a Midisport USB. I record drum tracks and keyboard via midi with that. I also need to record guitar and vocals. The trouble is, I don't have any kind of a "box", so I use my 350 watt Beringer Amp (because my mic isn't the kind I can plug into my sound card). And here's where it starts getting sticky. I'm fine recording midi tracks. I can even manage to bounce them to audio tracks (though when I do, I don't seem to know how to set the levels properly. It sounds great on my computer speakers but lousy on, say, a car stereo.) When I start trying to record vocs over the music, or guitar, I run into a problem. It's very difficult for me to get the music to come OUT to the amp and into headphones (on the amp) only while getting the vocals or guitar to run OUT from the amp to the line-in on the soundcard. In other words, I need to be able to record vocals without the background music being picked up externally by the mic. I never seem to be able to figure out how to do it. I guess I need someone to help walk me through HOW to do this... or is there something I can buy to make it painless? Also, HOW DO I SET MY LEVELS to make my final mixdown sound decent? They always are too heavy on the bass and don't sound "full" and "present" the way CD tracks do on my car stereo. Thank you in advance for any assistance!!!! :) Editing to clarify: I guess what I mean is, what is the best method to go about setting this up? What would you plug into what and which settings would one use (on Sonar and the amp) in order to achieve the ability to record vocals and mixdowns successfully? I'm so confused, and every time I think I've got it it seems like I need to tear the setup apart and start from scratch.

ohmygodim30


I desperately need help... I've been fighting with this for a long time and I still haven't figured out anything satisfactory. I'm using Sonar Producer. I have a Yahama S80 that I connect to the computer through a Midisport USB. I record drum tracks and keyboard via midi with that. I also need to record guitar and vocals. The trouble is, I don't have any kind of a "box", so I use my 350 watt Beringer Amp (because my mic isn't the kind I can plug into my sound card). And here's where it starts getting sticky. I'm fine recording midi tracks. I can even manage to bounce them to audio tracks (though when I do, I don't seem to know how to set the levels properly. It sounds great on my computer speakers but lousy on, say, a car stereo.) When I start trying to record vocs over the music, or guitar, I run into a problem. It's very difficult for me to get the music to come OUT to the amp and into headphones (on the amp) only while getting the vocals or guitar to run OUT from the amp to the line-in on the soundcard. In other words, I need to be able to record vocals without the background music being picked up externally by the mic. I never seem to be able to figure out how to do it. I guess I need someone to help walk me through HOW to do this... or is there something I can buy to make it painless? Also, HOW DO I SET MY LEVELS to make my final mixdown sound decent? They always are too heavy on the bass and don't sound "full" and "present" the way CD tracks do on my car stereo. Thank you in advance for any assistance!!!! :) Editing to clarify: I guess what I mean is, what is the best method to go about setting this up? What would you plug into what and which settings would one use (on Sonar and the amp) in order to achieve the ability to record vocals and mixdowns successfully? I'm so confused, and every time I think I've got it it seems like I need to tear the setup apart and start from scratch.

If you "monitor" your mix thru cheap speakers/headphones the results are often not good. Speakers/headphones often colour a sound a certain way. Say, for example, you listen thru computer speakers. The bass and low mid response of the speakers is usually poor so you end up mixing it to sound good on -those- speakers, however it may sound bassy and have little presence on better speakers. Some headphones add bass boost and low mid colouring to make stuff sound "fuller" but if you mix using those then when you play it on a better system it will sound thin and have too little bass. Unfortunately, you need better speakers, usually called studio reference monitors which are designed to have a relatively "flat" frequency response, and a power amp that is also relatively flat. A cheaper route would be to start with some good studio headphones with a flat frequency response; you should check at a good music store, not at a stereo/electronics store (well....usually not). Something like this, for example:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/K240S/
Then you have to listen to some music thru the headphones coming from the same system so your ears start to adjust to hearing a flatter sound. When you mix, try comparing it to a commercial mix thru the exact same system so you have some sort of reference.
 
When you record vocals, why not use headphones plugged into the soundcard to hear everything and turn the volume of the amp down?
 
What model of Behringer amp is it?

Doesn't your computer's soundcard have a headphone jack? 

Also... When you do a final mix in studio headphones/monitors, what sound are you looking for at those point? Do you adjust your lows/mid/highs so it sounds good on there and therefore with will sound good on other speakers or is it more an intuitive/knowledge/sweet spot thing that comes with experience? Thanks!

OR this? (With the same headphones SToons recommended in the above post?) http://www.ebay.com/itm/A..._0&hash=item3f18e1086f

ohmygodim30


ONE more question. *grin* Is this a good deal and would it solve my problem? Or is buying the whole setup overkill? http://www.ebay.com/itm/A..._0&hash=item3f18af9d69

This is intended to suck you into using Avid's Pro Tools. They give you some basic equipment and a stripped down version of Pro Tools SE which you'll eventually need to upgrade. Since you already have Cakewalk's product you might want to go a different direction and get a MOTU or M-Audio soundcard and work with that. This is something you have to research yourself and make some decisions based on your needs and your budget.

ohmygodim30


Does anyone have a recommendation for an inexpensive but decent quality USB audio interface? My Beringer amp is an Ultratone K3000FX. Someone told me that I could turn off the EQ or set it to an inverted pyramid shape to get the "flat" tone. Is that true? My computer is a Dell Dimension 5100 2.99 GHz, 3.5 GB RAM, Windows XP. Thank you again, and thanks in advance for any further comments! :)

Yep - try the Focusrite Saffire 6 USB.


Great little unit with 2 Focusrite pre amps, Midi I/O, Phones Jack, good monitoring facilities, and 4 plugins from the Scarlett range.


A 'flat' EQ tone is usually one where all your controls are literally set to 'flat'


You also don't need to invest huge sums of money in studio monitors either - for now - so have a shop around. There are some really good deals around at the moment. A pair of KRK Rokit RP6 G2's might do you well for a few years.


Your studio will grow in quality & complexity when you start replacing the weakest link in the chain.
It's pointless going out buying a mic for 2 grand if you pre's & monitors aren't going to get the best out of the mic.


Enjoy the journey.