19
votes
Accepted
How hard would it have been for a small band to make and sell CDs in the early 90s?
There are two scenarios here, a DIY one, and a semi-pro one, which would have been affordable for a band with saturday jobs or middle class parents.
The DIY scenario is: they record and mix their ...
- 206
12
votes
How can I connect my condenser microphone to my PC using a Saffire PRO 24?
The Rode needs phantom.
The Saffire can supply phantom, on XLR.
Nothing is built to run phantom along a TS/TRS jack, because the chances of shorting the socket or accidentally sending it to something ...
- 27.6k
10
votes
Accepted
Why would someone use a DI box if they're recording directly into the external sound card
The job of a DI box is not to colour the sound at all. Some may, but that is not the original purpose. The original purpose is impedance matching.
You only need a DI box when you are going into what ...
- 27.6k
9
votes
Accepted
Is it necessary to have an audio interface to record electric guitar directly?
In short; yes it is necessary.
Firstly, your proposed cable wouldn't work - you'd need one made up specially to go from a regular mono TS jack to whatever socket configuration your laptop uses…
...
- 27.6k
9
votes
How hard would it have been for a small band to make and sell CDs in the early 90s?
Short-run CD duplication didn't become economic until the late 1990s. Until then, if you wanted just a few hundred copies you'd probably be selling cassette tapes. Though short-run vinyl pressing ...
- 90.4k
8
votes
Impulse response: does it represent a cabinet only or the whole chain used to record it?
The impulse response can represent any linear time invariant parts of the signal path. In practice this means frequency response and delay, so it is good representing room response and equalisation, ...
- 2,789
7
votes
Accepted
Why do people use a microphone to record an electric guitar
Yes, in a way it would indeed be "easier", as long as there is a line output on the amp.
The reason for using a microphone when recording an amplified electric guitar is that the speaker is a ...
- 1,447
7
votes
Accepted
Efficient strategies when recording alone
One simple "technique" can improve your solo recording drastically: whenever you start recording a song, begin with recording a guide track.
This is a track where you sing the song, accompanied by a ...
- 5,923
7
votes
Accepted
Record drums for cheap
Yes. Get two identical mics, condensors if you can afford them, if not then SM-57s. You also need at least a two channel audio interface with two or more mic preamps. Bare minimum total is about $300 -...
- 56.1k
7
votes
Why are most microphones XLR and not USB?
Simple answer: because microphones are analog and USB is digital.
The only way you can make a "USB microphone" is to build an analog-to-digital converter into it. Of course you can buy the electronic ...
- 71
7
votes
Why are most microphones XLR and not USB?
A USB microphone is essentially a microphone, preamp, and audio interface in one. They're convenient when you're recording or streaming with a single microphone that can be placed within a short ...
- 22.3k
7
votes
Why would someone use a DI box if they're recording directly into the external sound card
No reason for that. A DI box will change the impedence of the signal, and also convert it to a balanced output; if you need to be over 20ft or so from the mixing console, a DI box is essential.
Some ...
- 1,900
6
votes
Accepted
How to connect a Shure SM58 to a mac? Do I need something like an XLR-USB adapter or just an XLR-jack cable?
The gender of the first cable is wrong--it would need to be XLR female. But the signal you would get would be unusably quiet anyway. The raw output of a microphone is at a level called mic level, ...
- 22.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Avoiding Plosives
Two things:
You want a pop filter:
You can use techniques to avoid the negative effects of sibilants (s and soft c) and plosives (t and p).
Bad-sounding sibilants and plosives have one thing in ...
- 56.1k
6
votes
How should a pop shield be set up?
Contrary to what Todd Wilcox said, a pop screen is actually more effective if placed further away from the mic.
The main trouble with plosives is that they are pretty directional (see here for a ...
- 35.3k
6
votes
Accepted
Do I really need tube pre amp and condenser to properly record bass/vocals at my home studio? If so, is there affordable option on it?
It sounds like your problem is you've been told (as we all have) that the quality of a recording is determined by the quality of the recording equipment, which is completely false. The quality of a ...
- 56.1k
6
votes
Why would someone use a DI box if they're recording directly into the external sound card
When recording to a sound card, a reason to use a DI box is input impedance. (DI boxes have many other uses in live sound)
EDIT: Looking at the manual of the MOTU 896 interface, I'm not sure if it is ...
6
votes
Reduce pedal noise when recording
Depending on whether it's creaks or thumps from the pedal itself or from the damper mechanism, you could try alternative mic positions.
From the front, aim higher up the body, or mic it from the rear, ...
- 27.6k
6
votes
How can I connect my condenser microphone to my PC using a Saffire PRO 24?
Yes it’s true that a 1/4" input will not provide phantom power. We want it this way because phantom power on 1/4" cables is dangerous for the power supply and devices. A 1/4" connector ...
- 56.1k
6
votes
How hard would it have been for a small band to make and sell CDs in the early 90s?
The first short-run CD makers for bands were just using CD burners themselves, so the answer to your question is “close to impossible”. In the early 90s there just weren’t CD burners and making CDs ...
- 56.1k
6
votes
How hard would it have been for a small band to make and sell CDs in the early 90s?
I have anecdotal evidence that this might have been feasible in 1996 (upper bound): a band playing exclusively in a medium-sized local church, all with day jobs except probably the band leader, ...
- 161
5
votes
Accepted
.Wav only sounds good with headphones not regular speakers
High end engineers do not use headphones for the final mixdown; you need decent quality speakers to do this. In addition, the speakers need to be chosen for the accuracy of the sound reproduction and ...
- 76
5
votes
Any bed sheets thick enough to be used as sound proofing?
Just FYI, you're looking for sound treatment and not sound proofing. Sound proofing stops transmission in and out of the room while treatment is controlling the reflections inside.
Most material will ...
- 771
5
votes
Accepted
Doubt regarding Frequency Response & Polar Pattern
The -10dB shown in the second image of the polar pattern is a rather generous 'average' of some sort. This pattern is typical for a super-cardioid mic & it will display similar characteristics at ...
- 27.6k
5
votes
Recorded track is fractionally ahead of the beat
This is probably a latency issue. DAW audio works by filling up buffers with a small amount of PCM-sampled audio, sending that to the computer, which does some processing and mixing, filling up ...
- 35.3k
5
votes
Reduce pedal noise when recording
Aside from other pretty much reasonable recomendations to relocate or reorient the microphone, there is one thing you can try for a bumpy pedal:
Insert something soft (rubber, few layers of fabric, ...
- 766
5
votes
Record condenser mic and acoustic guitar in the same time?
The phantom power is only applied across pins on the XLR connections. A guitar plugged in with a 1/4” cable will not have the phantom power voltage on that connection.
- 56.1k
5
votes
Does it make sense to invest in a better microphone if my recording room doesn't have good acoustics?
Room acoustics is indeed a very important and often underestimated component of good recordings. However, that doesn't mean microphone quality is less relevant. It's impossible to say which of the two ...
- 35.3k
5
votes
what types of equipment do i need to rapidly produce songs with keyboard instrumentation, USB microphone vocals, and multi-track recording?
This is really far too broad to cover in a few paragraphs, so let's just hit the basics…
Oh… one thing this is not going to be is rapid.
You are not going to learn this stuff in a week or even a month....
- 27.6k
4
votes
Efficient strategies when recording alone
I can't tell you what might work best for you to reduce the amount of time you are spending on your recordings. But I can tell you what works for me.
Before I am ready to record a demo of an ...
- 27.2k
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