ccravens - Posted - 09/01/2010:  13:56:08

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I'm trying to start doing some home recording, and have an Audio Technica 2020 USB mic on the way.
I plan on using Audacity to record & mix on the laptop. I'm new at ths and so was wondering if you think that I would need a mixer also.

I just need to figure out if I'm going to keep it simple by just going from my USB mic to Audacity, or to purchase a mixer also, to go from mic to mixer to Audacity. I want to keep it all simple so I'm not sure about this step.

Will the sound be noticeably different in my set up, depending on whether I do or don't have a mixer?

Thanks in advance.

banjo_brad - Posted - 09/01/2010:  14:37:09

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I use Audacity and never used a mixer. If you're recording more than one instrument at a time (like a band), then you probably will need one, but if you're playing a couple (or more) instruments, you can just play back the first track(s) through earphones while you record the next track.

I'm not really all that happy with the way you mix effects after the recording with Audacity - I find it very unintuitive. But then, when I was on my PC, I first used n-Track Studio ($69 US), and I'm now saving to buy the iMac version (which they finally released in Beta a few weeks ago). I like the way you can work with effects in real time before saving them.

-B-

DaddyJ - Posted - 09/01/2010:  18:00:12

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quote:

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Originally posted by banjo_brad

I'm not really all that happy with the way you mix effects after the recording with Audacity - I find it very unintuitive. But then, when I was on my PC, I first used n-Track Studio ($69 US), and I'm now saving to buy the iMac version (which they finally released in Beta a few weeks ago). I like the way you can work with effects in real time before saving them.

-B-

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I used n-Track too and really liked it, especially for the price. For what I needed to do it was just as good as Pro Tools and dirt cheap in comparison. But that was several years ago.

banjo_brad - Posted - 09/01/2010:  19:16:31

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The free 10-day trial version for iMac seemed quite similar to the old PC n-Track. I've been a fan ever since I first used the program quite a few years ago.

-B-

Histopicker - Posted - 09/02/2010:  20:57:47

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Chris: You will have a lot of fun with that set up. The next thing I had to do after getting set up to record was get headphones. If you play your click track (unless you don't need one) through your speakers while recording, you will hear it in your recording. Like I stated in our pm, you hear everything in the background.
Michael

flash of the gap - Posted - 09/03/2010:  01:44:11

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hey chris, i,m using a boss micro digital br, small and compact and cheap too, for what it does, i, not well up on recording, but gary tremel is the man you should have a word with, i think he has it pretty much nailed

mrNatchl - Posted - 09/03/2010:  06:01:11

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It depends on what you want to accomplish. You can record vocal and guitar at the same time with the USB mic, but you'll get a lot of the room ambience and noise and little control over the levels of the voice and guitar. If you want to record vocal and guitar at the same time, and get the levels exactly as you want them with minimal room ambience in the mix, then you need a mixer and 2 mics, and probably not USB mics, unless the mixer has USB inputs (never saw one that did, but maybe there is one). Most mixers have low-impedance XLR and high impedance 1/4" inputs.

Rather than a mixer you might consider an audio interface (most have at lest 2 mic inputs) and a couple of decent mics. I recently got hold of a Presonus Audobox USB - I already had a couple of more or less decent AT condenser mics and cables. I am getting some really decent results with just the interface, the mics, and GarageBand on my Mac. The Presonus has some drawbacks on usability (like you can't see the position of the knobs) but they do have really good mic preamps as advertised. Before I got the Mac I recorded with Audacity quite a bit. I was never really happy with the results. However, I think now that it was partly due to a mediocre sound card on my Windows notebook PC (typical of most Windows machines unless they're sold as multimedia machines), and lack of an audio interface.

If you decide to really get into home recording with acoustic instruments, imo the best investment will be an audio interface with quality preamps plus a decent mic or 2. Neither has to be really pricey for decent home recording results. As already posted here, you'd need a mixer only if you are playing with other folks and need more inputs than the audio interface has.

BTW - for Audacity, the free Kjaerhus Audio VST plugins proved far superior for things like reverb and compression than the stuff that ships with audacity. I can't find their site, only a lot of download sites I wouldn't necessarily trust... I think I may have found a link to them on the Audacity site... sorry, no time to check further just now.

Good luck, and be sure to post some tunes here!

SLKmartin - Posted - 09/04/2010:  08:06:18

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Good news, its a great and rewarding pastime

MitchellB - Posted - 09/05/2010:  08:46:25

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Home recording can be a lot of fun, but it can also be very time consuming and expensive. It can be a pretty huge learning curve once you get into to the little details that surround it. There will be something new to learn everyday or another piece of equipment you want to add or mix you want to change. I think the way you are starting out is very good. Keep it simple and you will be please with your results, but be careful, it can be additive and you may soon be lusting after better and more expensive equipment. A good recording engineer works just as hard, is just as talented and valuable as the musician he is recording. Good luck and as with all things - enjoy it!