AshersUK

Hi all

Once a week, me and my pal get together to play acoustic\classical guitar. We're relative novices, but have realised that it's extremely informative to hear our own playing played back.

So far I've recorded our playing using a smartphone balanced on the music stand. sounds ropey as you'd expect!

with xmas around the corner, I can put in a request to Santa for a microphone, so I wondered if anyone could suggest anything?

Budget - up to £100 max, less is fine
style - classic\acoustic
Location - UK
Connected to - laptop or PC

alternative usage - recording electric (classic rock)

TIA

Ash

GaryBillington

Go read the Interfaces sticky in the Recordings forum.

As well as either an Interface (to connect to your PC) and software or a multitracker, you'll need monitors/headphones and mics.

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AshersUK

okey dokey, I'll do that. (tis an area I have never strayed into, it seems.... intimidating!)

cheers

GaryBillington

Quick reply! Hope you caught my edit

Don't be scared - there's the same mix of experts and idiots in all the forums here, the recordings forum is no different.

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another_dave

The Zoom stuff gets good reviews. The H1 would be within your budget.

http://www.zoom.co.jp/products/h1

The additional accessories APH-1 (stand, wind shield, USB cable) might just burst over the budget (Amazon UK are selling the H1 @ £80, and the accessory package @ £30).

GaryBillington

^ They're OK for just recording a practice session so you can get an immediate playback, but if you want to be able to record something & mix it so it can be played through a regular stereo and sound good either a proper multitrack recorder or interface/software setup is required.

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Artemis Entreri

Nah, the zoom is going to be way better than an interface at this price point. The caputures sound great and you can import them into a DAW later. For a beginner looking to capture some stuff with a guitar or two and some vocals for 100, the zooms are hard to beat. An interface and mics to come close to that sound quality would be 350+

Not to mention, the zoom captures with an XY pattern is VERY mono compatible. It sounds great when played back through speakers, no matter how they're spaced since it's so close to mono. You should also be able to flip them to more of an ORTF if you want a wider image.

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GaryBillington

^ But you're still getting everything recorded onto a single track. To make a purchase like that worthwhile for anything other than immediate playback & note-taking, you need the H4n as that has 4 tracks. As that one costs over £250 new, you might as well get the proper equipment.

I'm not saying those handheld recorders aren't a useful tool, but they aren't a good investment for someone wanting to set themselves up with a recording system.

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stepchildusmc

i fall into the "idiot" category so all i'm gonna say is " yesterday was a good day, i made it through without stuffing cheese down my pants".

Artemis Entreri

To be honest, it sounds like he's just looking for some playback. I have a full recording studio, not only interfaces but standalone pres and converters, etc but I've found the zoom to be wonderful for quick, accurate recordings. It sounds GREAT and a single, stereo track is much easier to work with than having to record tracks into a DAW and edit them.

Even if he wanted to get set up with a recording system, a 100 pound interface would NOT be the way to go. Hell, your 250 wouldn't even get your "proper" equipment. It would either get you a pair of cheap mics or a cheap interface, neither of which would compare to the zoom.

__________________
Winner of the 2011 Virginia Guitar Festival

Taylor 712
Cordoba C10
American Fender Strat with 59/62s
PRS CE 22
Seagull Entourage Rustic (I won it!)

Fender 65 DRRI
1978 Fender Champ

Fulltone OCD

GaryBillington

Not disagreeing with any of this, if a quick recording is all he wants then its a decent choice.

However, the fact he's also considering doing some recording of classic rock as well as his acoustic sessions tells me he's looking for more than just the quick recording & playback option - if I'm wrong with that assumption, the Zoom is a good suggestion.


As he's getting the mic for xmas (or hoping to at least), £100 would get an interface or a used multitracker that would be plenty good enough for some quality home recording. The more he can stretch his budget, the better the kit he can consider will be.

It's not going to be comparable to your full recording studio, but then neither is his recording talent. You wouldn't buy a Gibson Les Paul & a Vox AC30 as your first guitar setup, so why would you expect someone to dive straight in & buy pro-level gear for their first recording setup?

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