Help with getting into home recording - what do I need?

57s and 58s will be used long after we’re gone. They’ll be fine. If you get a budget, ribbon mics for the cabs will be a level up later on.
I’d go with the ssl12 over the m4 as it’s actually 4 inputs out of the box and it can expand if needed later but works great right now. As I said you’ll need additional mic pres to take advantage of the m4 inputs 3/4 and even then it’s a bit clunky working with the four tracks.
 
Technology, even in the home recording budget, has gotten so much better the last 15-20 years that you don’t have to splurge on mic pres many of the included pres are just fine. But I would try to have atleast one quality preamp down the road eventually. What was 5 grand just a few years ago can be had under a grand now. Find out what DAW you want to work with. Back when I was recording you HAD to have Pro Tools but I’m sure it isn’t necessary now. Try some lite or free sample and see which interface works best for you. I’d get one SM57 and one condenser mic. Check out homerecording.com. I’m sure it’s still up. Don’t venture too far down the worm hole…less is more!
 
I second the 57, it can cover so much territory. Tom Petty and a bunch of others have used it on vocals as well.

The 609 are cool as well, not as versatile as the 57. On acoustic I can get a Neutral Milk Hotel sound instantly.
 
andare said:
Also get an old phone and use the speaker in the earpiece as a lo-fi mic. It's two wires, no polarity. Just solder an XLR plug and you're good.

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For maximum lo-fi I crank the preamp gain into clipping as it doesn't sound as bad as I'd like.
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Use the carbon mic part if you want the true lofi. I’ve got a schematic on here somewhere for a simple way to hook up a phone to xlr.
 
JamieJ said:
Hey!

Wanting to do some recording at home but know very little about this world. Any suggestions on the essentials to get started?

I want to at least be able to record my wet/dry set up, so I was looking at the Volt 2 or 276/476 from Universal Audio. These come with quite a bit of software that would be enough to get going. Then I was going to pick up 2 SM57s and floor mic stands and cables and get stuck in.

My big question is - is it worth getting an interface that can handle more inputs or is 2 inputs enough?
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Logic pro has a free 3 month trial right now.

Also, udemy has some solid courses on how to use/mix/master with logic pro. I’m taking one right now. (56 hours!)
 
SM7B is really a killer mic, still.
I'd almost say make that your second mic purchase, but it's a bigger investment than a 57.
But, you can use it on everything. I would grab it before a cheap condenser.
You can also make some decent sounding electret mics for pretty cheap.
 
I love my Beta 58A for my vocals, but I make use of the proximity effect and often play along with an acoustic, and the Beta also has great rejection as well.

I really love my Fat Top for acoustic guitar but haven't used it much for vocals because the Beta 58A is just kind of my default vocal mic.

Otherwise I record everything on tape or ADAT so I don't really have anything to offer.

I'll go back under my rock now 😂
 
PunchySunshine said:
Use the carbon mic part if you want the true lofi. I’ve got a schematic on here somewhere for a simple way to hook up a phone to xlr.
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I considered it, it's a simple circuit, but from the demos I heard I actually preferred the tone of the speaker so I didn't bother. I also don't have space inside the phone for the board.
I do have the carbon mic, however, so I might still do it one day, maybe in another enclosure.
 
JamieJ said:
Thank everyone. The biggest use I can think of is recording two cabs wet/dry with two mics per cab so I’m tempted to go for the SSL 12 or MOTU4. I’m using a Mac so logic looks interesting. I would be using it at home 99% of the time but would want to be able to record if I played out anywhere.

Any thought on the beginner mics? They seem criminally underpriced. Or are they garbage?
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I was just at the library earlier today* and noted that there's a good selection of books on this thread's topic — including some on using Logic and other books on related recording software. There was even a copy of Home Recording For Dummies there.




*I borrowed the Stompbox book again, a Leonhard Cohen biography and a couple other non-music related things.
 
Feral Feline said:
I was just at the library earlier today* and noted that there's a good selection of books on this thread's topic — including some on using Logic and other books on related recording software. There was even a copy of Home Recording For Dummies there.




*I borrowed the Stompbox book again, a Leonhard Cohen biography and a couple other non-music related things.
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Your library has the Stompbox book? That’s surprisingly cool.
 
andare said:
Sure you want to sound like this guy?
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Looks like you’re “just asking questions”! ;)

Re: DAWs, I’ll throw in another endorsement for Studio One. I tried several different ones, and it turned out to be the most intuitive to me.

I think all the big DAWs have at least some kind of free trial version, I’d download a few and see what you like. They all essentially do the same things, so it mostly comes down to which interface you click with.

You said you’re on a Mac, so you should have GarageBand for free already. You can do quite a bit with it, if you don’t want to venture into DAW shopping right away.
 
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