Okay this is going to be a long post, so here goes.

​

If you really want to get into sound design, youre going to need a few essentials. A DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), an audio interface, a handheld recorder, and a microphone.




DAWs

As far as a DAW goes, there's a few alternatives you can go with. I personally use Avid Pro Tools for near everything I do, but also mess around with Reaper. I've found that most studios will use one of these two. Most DAWs will have a pretty steep learning curve, so be ready for that.

Pro Tools First is the free version of Pro Tools. It has a lot of limitations, but for starting out it should be fine. If you want less limitations it costs big money, but I'm sure you can find a crack or two as long as you don't use it commercially.

Reaper is starting to grow on me lately. You can customize it to your needs, and the full version is only $60. You can also just deal with a popup everytime you open the program for ten seconds and use it for free. I mainly prefer Pro Tools over this because the video engine in Pro Tools is much better. But for batch editing multiple sound files, Reaper is muuuuuch better.

​

Audio Interface

This basically takes over as an intermediary between high quality audio and your computer. You can plug a microphone right into it to record sound straight to your computer. You can do this with a USB microphone as well, but the quality is a million times better with one of these.
I would recommend either the Behringer UMC22 or the more advanced Focusrite Scarlett Solo. Both will do the trick, I just prefer the mic pres on the Focusrite a bit more.


Handheld Recorder
Handheld recorders allow you to record anything you want to without having to deal with any cables. They should be compact but durable.

The Tascam DR-40 is a great intro recorder. It was the first recorder I got 5 years ago, and it still holds up. I've dropped this thing so many times and it still powers through.
Another favorite is the Zoom H4N. This was a favorite among most of my classmates as it was the one my school supplied, but I didn't feel like going through the checkout process all the time so I saved up and got the Tascam. It has a newer version, the Zoom H6, which is pretty slick, but comes at a higher price point. It also comes with some interchangeable microphone capsules so you can get different types of recordings. I'll cover more of this later.
I'll leave off with the recorder I have now, the Sony PCM-M10. This thing is a godsend. It's discontinued due to a newer version coming out, but you can find this guy on eBay for around $300-400. It's smaller than a phone, and the sound quality is amazing. If you have the money to shell out for this guy, definitely go for it. Every sound designer inn the industry I know swears by it.


Microphone

So the first thing you need to know is that there's a load of different microphone types. Its a lot to cover, so I'm just going to link you to this article that will cover the basics of what you need to know. Basically I would recommend different microphones for different things, all depending on what you're trying to capture.
A good all-around microphone is the Shure SM57/Shure SM58. They're essentially both the same microphone. But these things will LAST. Like,people have run over them with trucks and they sound fine. Definitely a good starting point

For vocal recordings, I would recommend the Rode NT1A. This mic is a great starting point for capturing voice, and is durable to boot.

For capturing foley/field recording, I would go with the Rode NTG2. Its a shotgun mic with great quality for the price, and never let me down in all the years Ive been using it. I won its successor, the NTG3, in the Riot Creative Contest a few years back, but still use the NTG2 from time to time when I need to.


Some Extra Stuff


Theres a lot of cool, free plugins out there. I've used both Blue Cat's and Melda's plugins, and they all get the job done with a bit of tweaking.

As far as building up a sound library goes, I would recommend recording literally everything you can around you and playing with those sounds with plugins as a good starting point for building up a library. There's a few resources out there that give out free SFX every once in a while, GDC has had a bundle go up for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. You can also check out the BBC Sound Effects Library. Be careful about getting libraries and bundles though, as they add up quick. I have to go through my sound library soon, and I probably have around 500,00+ files but only really need a few thousand.

For all your sounds, you're going to want a file manager. A great and free one is Mutant. You just add the directory where you downloaded your sounds to, let it load them in, and voila. You can search easily for what you need.


Hopefully, all this was somewhat helpful to you, or to anyone else reading this who's interested in sound design!

Well, I decided to provide you with a cheaper suggestion compared to /u/Du6e great suggestion.
I did include a external

I changed a few parts to reduce noise.

• CPU: Went with a locked CPU. This means less heat, which reduces in less fan speed required to cool the CPU.
  
• CPU cooler: The NH-D15 is absolutely amazing for the price, but this little cooler is also in the category of amazing. Very easy to install, more than silent enough and keeps the CPU cool enough.
  
• Motherboard: Because I went with a locked CPU, we don't have to pay the small premium for a Z97 board. This motherboard got everything you will want and will work absolutely fine.
  
• Storage: Changed the SSD to a slightly faster one. I personally have the exact same one and I love it. Here is a benchmark of the performance.
  

• Video card: The difference is mainly the cooler. Here is a comparision between the EVGA, MSI, Asus, Gigabyte & Stock GTX980Ti. Under load (so during games) the Gigabyte card is the loudest one of the cards tested. MSI beats the EVGA/Asus versions by a small judge.
  

  
  

  I will also provide you with a couple of great guides to help you build the PC.
  

  
  

  
  

  ---
  

  
  

  As for the Focusrite audio recorder.
  

  Here is a great video explaining and showing you why you want this.
  

  Here is a review of the one that I am suggesting. A slight amount cheaper compared to the one used in the video above.
  

  
  

  PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
  

  
  

  Type|Item|Price
  

  ----|:----|:----
  CPU | Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor | £217.76 @ Dabs
  CPU Cooler | CRYORIG M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler | £16.49 @ Ebuyer
  Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | £85.98 @ Ebuyer
  Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury White 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory | £60.99 @ Amazon UK
  Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | £117.00 @ Amazon UK
  Storage | Western Digital Blue 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive | £53.94 @ Aria PC
  Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Superclocked ACX 2.0+ Video Card | £528.53 @ More Computers
  Case | Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case | £58.96 @ Aria PC
  Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA G2 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | £74.99 @ Amazon UK
  Monitor | Dell U2515H 60Hz 25.0" Monitor | £265.86 @ Aria PC
  Monitor | Dell U2515H 60Hz 25.0" Monitor | £265.86 @ Aria PC
  Sound recording| Focusrite Scarlett 2i2| £99.00 @ Amazon UK
  | Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
  | Total | £1845.36
  | Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-22 09:11 GMT+0000 |
  
  ---
  
  ####Guides
  
  ---
  
  Now before you have a look at all these guides. The best guide in most cases will always be your MANUAL. Some manuals are garbage, but most of them are more than good enough to be able to help figure out most problems.
  
  

• How to build an Intel 115x socket PC? This is my personal favorite because it goes in depth, but still keeps the video relatively short. It also got great camera work so you are able to follow all the steps very well. I decided to skip the start of the video. The reason being that the video is posted on 17th of May 2013, he gives the rationale of his selected parts at the start. This is a very long time ago, so the parts are very old, so no need to hear this out. But building a PC is still pretty much the same. No drastic changes.
  There are a lot of different build guides on the internet, but I really like this one. It's easy to follow.
  
  
• How to install a 115x CPU? Very simple and easy to follow guide again.
  
• How to install thermal compound? Now, to be clear! Every single heatsink will come with its own thermal compound. Even the intel/AMD stock heatsinks. So there is no need to buy this.
  It's only recommended to buy when you either have very bad temperatures or when you want to overclock to the extreme. The temperature difference between the best and the "worst" thermal compound is a couple degrees Celsius.
  Be careful though! More is not better! It needs to have enough, but too much will dramatically increase the temperatures of the CPU. Thermal compound helps with the contact of the cooler + the CPU. The CPU + heatsink both have microscopically small gaps, which the thermal compound fills up to let the heat get too the heatsink.
  
• How to install RAM? It's very simple these days. For DDR4 it's pretty much the same.
  
• How to install Windows 8(.1) or 10 from an USB drive? You have to download "media creation tool" which is located at the bottom of the page (blue button). Run that program with a 4GB+ USB flash drive plugged into a PC. Then follow the simple steps and the program will make the USB drive bootable. After that all you have to do is build the PC and boot from that USB drive to install Windows.
  
• How to set up your SSD & HDD? This video is another older video, but it works pretty much the same in Win 8/10. He does talk about a few things that aren't very important, but it's good to know.
  
• How to use Ninite? This video explains it very well, as well as their recommendations. For security I advise to only get Avira (if you don't mind to get an add every day; if you do mind - just use Microsoft Defender) & Malwarebytes. If you want to pay for an anti-virus; Webroot! Light weight; very high detection rate.
  
  
  

  Hope you like it and If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
  

Hi, I'm the co-editor for podcast production and I think I may be able to help with your questions.

Mics: Depending on your current recording space you have 2 options, Condenser or Dynamic Microphones. Condenser mics are very good at picking up detailed sound but they are most of the time to sensitive to be used without some sort of sound proofing or acoustic treatment to the room as they are really good at picking up even the quietest of sounds. but if you have a treated room or a acoustic shield then that might be an option to look into. Dynamic mics however are really good at capturing loud sounds and because of that, they are mostly used for singing and instruments. however they are also often used for narration because you don't have to go all out with the sound proofing as they are less sensitive. now since my talents are in post production, I don't need an expensive microphone to get a good sounding recording, so I just use a $20 Dynamic microphone from amazon, they're great in fact I bought 4 of them for a podcast I was doing, I can give samples if you would like. As for price, Condenser are on average going to cost more because of everything that goes into it. Dynamic mics are older tech, so they aren't as expensive. my friend who does the vocal recordings has the Rode NT1a, a rather expensive condenser microphone $229, and I record using the Behringer Xm8500 Dynamic mic $20 on amazon. so it's really up to your budget and editing know how.

Rode NT1a

Xm8500

You will also need a audio interface if you're going to be using XLR mics, which I highly recommend you do. Here's the one I use, although you may not need that many channels

​

Software: I use Adobe Audition around $20 a month subscription. However I have in the past used Audacity and if you know how to use it, you can get some really good results. If you are looking to get into industry standard software I would recommend Pro Tools also I think $20 a month.

​

Yes, people who don't use a studio generally record to their preferred Audio editor and mix/edit then upload to a hosting website for their podcast, the production I work for uses Blogtalk which I think has a free option. However there are many options for hosting websites (E.g. Acast, Podbean, Libsyn, Ect.) I recommend reading this website for hosting options.

​

People typically find voice actors through Casting Calls which they themselves set up or by going through a casting call website, and yes voice actors are typically paid although some may offer volunteer if they're just getting out there or for charity. For the sake of professionalism always assume you are paying for their services, that way if they decline payment then that's their choice as an actor.

​

If your podcast gains enough listeners then yes, you can definaty make money through podcasting, but you should never go only for making money. because one, it takes a while ti gain listeners and two it's just no fun if your only in it for the money.

​

I remember being exactly where you are now asking these questions, so If you need any help don't hesitate to ask. I hope this helps :)

​

​

TL,DR

Mics: I use a $20 Dynamic mic which gives me great recordings, although there are more expensive and higher quality options out there.

Software: I use Adobe Audition to edit everything but there are a myriad of other audio editing options out there including the free software Audacity.

Yes it can be as simple as Record/Edit/Post depending on what your doing and the type of podcast your going for.

You find actors through casting calls, and typically you always pay actors for their services. Always expect to pay.

Yes you can make money through podcasting depending on your listenership and Ads and things like that.

I'm not going to tell you how to spend your money, but you could easily put that 7k away and have a pretty badass setup for 10-15 years by building a new rig every so often.

Anyways lets say we go the one badass pc route, I'd recommend something like this based on a white build theme.

• i7 8700k - Best gaming chip currently on the market (you'll need it for high refresh rate gaming at 1080p). Also has 6 cores / 12 threads if you use software that can utilize them. Overclocks fairly well which is going to get you more frames at 1080p
  
  
• Deepcool Captain 360ex - A white 360mm AIO to keep your cpu cool. Adjust the fan speed appropriately and you won't hear it under lighter load.
  
  
• NZXT N7 - An expensive Z370 board, but it's all white. I'm not very familiar with it so check out some reviews.
  
  
• 32gb's of fast ddr4 - Also in white with some rgb.
  
  
• 500gb NVMe ssd / 2tb ssd / 6tb hdd - Use the 500gb NVMe ssd for the OS and visual studio. Put whatever you want on the ssd for faster access and the 6tb hdd for all other media like music, pictures, movies, games etc..
  
  
• GTX 1080ti Hybrid - You can use whatever 1080ti you want, but this on has an included AIO and a blower fan. It'll keep it nice and cool under load.
  
  
• Corsair Crystal 460x - A nice white case with tempered glass.
  
  
• EVGA 750w G3 - High quality fully modual power supply.
  
  
• Asus ROG Swift - 1080p 240hz G-sync panel. About as good as it gets for competitive gaming.
  
  
• 2x 27" 4k IPS panels - I would get a monitor arm for all 3 panels so you place these one vertically which helps quite a bit while programming and browsing resources.
  
  
• Corsair K95 - A nice full size mechanical keyboard that has macro keys on the side that can be programmed. This one inpaticular have cherry mx browns (my personal favorite, but everyone has a preference).
  
  
• Logitech G502 - A good do it all mouse. Although you may want a smaller/lighter one for CSGO.
  
  
• Sennheiser HD600 - Probably the best headphones you'll ever wear without spending thousands. They need a DAC to power them properly.
  
  
• FiiO E10K - DAC for the HD600's. You can get something like the Scarlett Solo if you want to upgrade to an XLR mic in the future.
  
  

• Blue Snowball with a mic arm / pop filter - Not the best thing you can get, but you're still miles ahead of your average gamer.
  

  
  

  So that's my recommendation if that's the route you plan on going down, but imo a 2.5k build would pretty much accomplish the same things with a bit less performance and style.
  

  
  

  
  

  PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
  

  
  

  Type|Item|Price
  

  ----|:----|:----
  CPU | Intel - Core i7-8700K 3.7GHz 6-Core Processor | $329.00 @ Amazon
  CPU Cooler | Deepcool - CAPTAIN 360EX WHITE RGB 229.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler | $159.99 @ Amazon
  Motherboard | NZXT - N7-Z37XT-W1 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $245.47 @ Newegg
  Memory | Team - T-Force Night Hawk RGB 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory | $344.99 @ Newegg
  Storage | Samsung - 960 EVO 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive | $209.99 @ Samsung
  Storage | Crucial - MX500 2TB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $495.99 @ SuperBiiz
  Storage | Seagate - IronWolf 6TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $189.89 @ OutletPC
  Video Card | EVGA - GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB SC2 HYBRID GAMING Video Card | $974.98 @ Newegg
  Case | Corsair - Crystal 460X RGB White ATX Mid Tower Case | $139.99 @ Amazon
  Power Supply | EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $99.99 @ Newegg
  Monitor | Asus - ROG Swift PG258Q 24.5" 1920x1080 240Hz Monitor | $559.00 @ Amazon
  Monitor | LG - 27UD69P-W 27.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor | $399.99 @ Best Buy
  Monitor | LG - 27UD69P-W 27.0" 3840x2160 60Hz Monitor | $399.99 @ Best Buy
  Keyboard | Corsair - K95 RGB PLATINUM Wired Gaming Keyboard | $169.89 @ OutletPC
  Mouse | Logitech - G502 Proteus Spectrum Wired Optical Mouse | $49.99 @ Best Buy
  Headphones | Sennheiser - HD600 Headphones | $286.00 @ Adorama
  Other | FiiO E10K USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier (Black) | $75.99 @ Adorama
  Other | Blue Microphones Snowball iCE Black Microphone w Knox Studio Boom Arm & Pop Filter | $74.99 @ Newegg Marketplace
  | Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
  | Total (before mail-in rebates) | $5226.12
  | Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
  | Total | $5206.12
  | Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-28 23:25 EDT-0400 |

Not OP but I can help you out here. Let's break this down by component:

1. Speakers - There are two types: active and passive. Active = amplifier built into each speaker (i.e. most dedicated "computer" speakers from the likes of Logitech, Creative, etc.). Passive = 90% of speakers out there, must be connected to an amplifier to work. Typically passive speakers will get you a better speaker for a given price for an active but you have to figure in the cost of an amplifier. For a passive speaker set up, the cheapest system recommended over at /r/audiophile is a SMSL SA-60 amp and Micca MB42X Bookshelf Speakers. If your budget is higher, ask in the daily purchase advice sticky there (read the rules/suggestions thoroughly). I don't mess around with active speakers so I can't recommend any.
   
   
2. Microphone - For simplicity's sake, I will recommend you look into USB connecting condenser microphones as they are affordable and have good sensitivity. Something like the Audio-Technica AT-2020 or Blue Yeti are popular mics for under $100. I have the Yeti and can attest that it is a very good and sensitive multi pattern mic. They can be hooked directly up to your PC or if you want to get really fancy, check out an audio interface like the Focusrite Scarlett Solo or Scarlett 2i2. The nice thing about an interface is it allows you get a nice mic with an XLR connector (generally better than a USB connection) and it will work with your PC.
   
   
3. Headphones - Don't waste your money on "gaming" headphones. A nice 2 channel pair of cans with a standalone mic like I listed above will hands down outperform the likes of Turtle Beach and Razr headsets. /r/headphones has a really good wiki with more info than I can provide here and headphones broken down by price range and characteristics. Plus, then you can use them both for gaming and general music listening and have a good experience, something you don't get with dedicated "gaming" headsets. The amp I listed in the speakers section is fine for headphones but Schiit makes absolutely fantastic headphone amps and DAC (digital to analog converters, check out both /r/audiophile and /r/headphones for more info on them and why they are good for your set up) with very respectable price tags.
   
   Hope this helps. Higher quality audio equipment can be confusing and daunting, what with all the technical details, wide price ranges, parsing through all the marketing bullshit and the sometimes snobby attitudes of some "audiophiles". I wish you luck and feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

Hey you need overall 3 things:

1. Gear
   
2. A room
   
3. Software
   
   /
   
   
4. Gear:
   
   -Audio Interface:
   
   You want a number of channels depending on the type of groups you wanna record and the size of the group. Example: 18 Channels (8 mics) v.s. 2 channels (2 mics)
   
   -Microphones:
   
   You want basic versatile microphones and specialized ones for the type of instruments you wanna record.
   
   Example of basic mics: Shure sm-57 Dynamic Mic and AKG 414 Condenser Mic
   
   Those two have a fairly transparent frequency response and work for most scenarios but you also want mics that work better for certain instruments because of their coloration or diaphragm or polar pattern.
   
   -Monitoring:
   
   You need some headphones like the Audio Technical M50x which are transparent enough and good for the price although you could go a little further and look for Sennheiser HD or some of the expensive AKG stuff.
   
   -Accessories and cables
   
   You want good quality XLR cables, two direct boxes like this one and probably a direct box with pre amp like the Avalon U5 (great for sending bass via line, skipping the bass amp part, which can be great for live sessions). Both depend on the type of music you are gonna record of course (first example works for connecting stuff like a keyboard and the Avalon well for bass is great).
   
   You may want a monitor amplifier like Behringer Powerplay for distributing audio to the players or producers or audience via headphones monitors.
   
   Also check out EquipBoard to see what gear are other producers or studios using. They have a good database and is good reference.
   
   
   
5. If you wanna do it like TinyDesk then you wanna have a nice room with good isolation and space for your musicians. Well, mostly for the sound. There are 2 ways of recording live sessions: Either you isolate most of the musicians or you use proper recording techniques and use your mics intelligently to get a good mix before your Mixing stage. You may wanna look for highly directional mics.
   
   You also wanna look on isolation techniques and architecture if you wanna have good natural reverberation or just have control over what the sound is doing, including annoying neighbors if that’s the case. Look for how to soundproof a room in the internet and try read a little about acoustics if you haven’t.
   
   You may wanna to set up 2 rooms: a live room and a control room. The live room would be where you record the musicians and have way more soundproofing and the control would just need to isolate enough and allow visual contact with the ppl in the live room. If you go for 2 rooms you may need to set up the ins and outs and pass cables through the wall in a snake cable like this Hosa or this bigger one . The purpose of having 2 rooms is partly because you wanna monitor with speakers not only headphones (as well as having more recording gear there but it only applies to bigger studios). Example Yamaha HS8 x2 or the KRK . Those are fairly priced options and you will get more value out of them if you are the one mixing the music as they can be better references than just headphones.
   
   
6. For software you should consider Pro Tools as is the industry standard. I personally enjoy Logic Pro and there are a lot more options out there some of which are free. If you are not gonna go a lot into mixing and do the post production maybe Pro Tools Ultimate is a bit of an overkill but if you are looking to do the mix you may also wanna get some audio plugins. Look for Waves or Arturia plugins online (most of which is simulations of real hardware) which will give a “better” sound to your mixes if used well. It also depends a little on the genre or type of music you are producing.
   
   
   
   That’s it. I was very broad but I did mentioned some basic equipment you can start budgeting. If you need more details about the basics PM me and can help you a bit more, I’m no specialist on some stuff like exquisite mics but know about a bunch that are generally used. Are you in Vancouver by chance? I can help you in the actual physical setup if you are.
   
   Cheers.
   
   Edit: You probably want a powerful laptop or a desktop computer btw but I figure out you already have one.

I have a buddy who runs a music studio, but if you needed the space, he'd definitely set it up for a podcast interview.

I do tend to agree that you should be able to get pretty close to studio sound on a budget assuming you have a computer already. I understand that sometimes owning stuff is a huge hassle itself, but if it's something you want to do a few times, the cost savings would start to be there.

Since no one has given you any real advice on how to do this, I can give it a shot.

I'd start by installing Audacity on your computer. It's super basic, but what you're doing is super basic. And it's super free. That's a huge plus.

Next, decide how you want to do microphones. First, you'll want stands. If it's an interview/two person thing, you'll need a couple of these (or more if you want more mics). We're at $25 for two now.

Next, decide what quality you want to be at. The Blue Snowball is a pretty great entry level microphone. I've honestly never run two into a computer before, but I imagine it'd be easy enough to record two different microphones on two different tracks in Audacity. That would bring our total to around $150. To upgrade in this way, you would go to something like the Blue Yeti. At over $100/unit, that adds another $100 to your cost.

The other way to do microphones is using a USB Interface for your computer and buying standard microphones. I'm keen on that option because it's a little more flexible if and when you look to upgrade your setup. You can use $15 microphones to get by or if you're locked and loaded, you can upgrade to really nice condensers.

As far as soundproofing goes, you can decide if that's possible wherever you're at. The last voice over project I worked on, I hung blankets in my bedroom and that was perfectly fine. Obviously that's not the most professional look, but there wasn't a pile of ambient noise to deal with and the directional mics do a good job focusing on your voice. You can build sound dampening walls with plywood, insulation, and fabric if you really want. It takes a staple gun, some screws, and about an hour per panel.

Assuming you have the time, an okay computer, and about $300, you could really build yourself a nice studio. If this is a one off kind of thing, it's definitely not worth it. My buddy's place is called, The Petting Zoo and I'd be more than willing to ask him details if you want.

Either way, good luck!

I'm /u/whitefeather14's friend. If it's solely for headphones and you're not looking to spend a lot, then I would strongly recommend something by Fiio. I have an older one, the FiiO E7. They don't sell this one anymore, but they have a newer one called the FiiO E70k. I haven't personally used it, but I can only assume it's like mine but better.

If it's a little more than you want to spend, then I'd look at the Q1. I've heard good things about these as well.

These are nice, because they double as a USB dac and a portable headphone amplifier. Which means if you're traveling or something you can plug your phone into it and still get the amplifier out of it, no need for a USB source.

If that doesn't interest you, then there's the FiiO K1, which is just a USB DAC, and does not have an analog 3.5mm input, only the micro USB.

Now, understand that any of these aren't going to be the greatest DAC ever. Sub $100 is pretty cheap for a DAC, and I'm pretty sure these are all 24-bit, with 32-bit being more or less the best you can get (There's some debate on whether or not you can hear a difference, but that's entirely a different conversation.)

If you do want something a little more pricey and nice, the Schiit Modi DAC and Magni amp are really quite nice. They also have a Amp/DAC combination for $80 which I haven't heard anything about, but Schiit is pretty good.

The one /u/whitefeather14 said is a PreSonus AudioBox USB. You probably don't want this, as it is primarily an audio interface for recording instruments and microphones, and isn't a dedicated DAC, though the DAC is pretty nice, and as a bonus has a 1/4in headphone out as well as two 1/4in outs for L/R powered speakers, such as studio monitors, if that's of any benefit for you.

As for the SMSL one you posted, I have also heard good things about that one, though it's a desktop unit and does not have an analog 3.5mm input.

Let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help.

So assuming that all normal PC components are included (PC, display, keyboard, mouse), as well as monitors or headphones, this is what I'd do:

DAW: Cakewalk by Bandlab [FREE]

• Having a DAW should really be the first thing you look at. I don't use Cakewalk personally but I've tried it and for the price, it's unbeatable.
  
  Interface: BEHRINGER UMC22[$59]
  
  
• A very affordable interface with the very good MIDAS preamp. Great value for all of your initial interface needs.
  
  Mic: Audio-Technica AT2020 [$99]
  
  
• Again, a very affordable, but decent, mic. As it's a large diaphragm condenser, it's extremely versatile and will sound great on everything from guitar to vocals.
  
  MIDI Controller: Alesis VMini [$49]
  
  
• For the budget, you'd only need a basic midi controller and Alesis is a tried and true brand in this price segment.
  
  VSTs/Plugins:
  I'd try to get by using as many free VSTs, as well as what's included in Cakewalk. Here's a list of decent free stuff that'd get you started:
  
  Guitar amp sims: LePuo free collection [FREE]
  
  
• LePou is really the gold standard of free guitar plugins. With a bit of tweaking, they sound great. I'd definitely pair them with the TSE Audio TS-808 tubescreamer (also free).
  
  Drum sim: MT Power Drum Kit [FREE]
  
  
• A Steven Slate-style drum VST with good samples and a decent groove editor. For the price, you can't go wrong.
  
  Other plugins:
  
  
• For synths, effects and other plugins, VST4FREE is your friend. They have a great selection of free stuff.
  
  Assuming your PC is relatively recent and has enough horsepower to run a production suite, and you have monitors/headphones that are fine for mixing, this would be a great place to start out. Also, even after buying extras like cables, mic stands, pop filters etc, I'd say you have about $200-250 left for whatever genre specific stuff you'd want - whether it be a used guitar, a second mic (such as the Shure SM57 [$95]) or a second hand hardware synthesizer, for instance.

I have always wanted to have a "smart" radio. My parents have always owned various Pioneer, Kenwood, and Sony radio decks, but they always had their cons to them (clunky OS, different type of touch screens that suck, lack of features, very expensive $800-$2000), useless features, etc.). I wanted something that runs Android 6.0+. I thought about using iPads, but I didn't want to waste a bunch of money for something that is going to be used in my car only. I wanted a budget friendly "smart" radio. That is when I found the perfect tablet, the Nexus 7 2013. Cheap, powerful, Android 6, compact, somewhat thin and small, and best part, it fits in a double-din radio deck.

After finding various projects that people have used, I decided to order a bunch of stuff from Amazon (everything was bought with Prime) and see if I could get this to work. It took about 3 weeks to work out all the bugs, but it runs perfect now. I never found anyone that did this mod in a Nissan Pathfinder, so that was difficult going on my own, reading various wiring diagrams and getting power, sound and steering wheel controls to work. After lots of testing each wire, and lots of trial and errors, everything is working how I want it too.

Questions that people have asked me that I can remember on the top of my head:

Q: How do you turn the tablet on and off if the power button is blocked?

A: Easy, with Timur's Kernel, and the USB car charger hooked up to the accessory power, when I turn my key on/start my car, the tablet detects power from the USB, which wakes the screen/powers on. (ELI5: there are 2 power sources in your radio, a constant 12 volt power, and an accessory key power. So when you turn the key to ACC or ON, it gives power to the tablet, but when you turn the key off, it takes away power from the USB port.)

Q: How does it hold up in the wonderful California heat?

A: Shockingly very well. It hasn't given me any issues in ~95F (+35C) degree weather. There was a day where it was 115F (46C) degrees outside, and that is when the tablet finally said NOPE and started locking up and freezing due to the ridiculous heat. After running my AC for a few minutes, it cooled the tablet down to reasonable temperature and ran normally again. When my car is parked, I have a windshield sun shade that helps a ton with keeping the sun off my black/gray dash, and/or microfiber towels over the screen to keep the sun off. If it's super hot, I just take the tablet/radio/air conditioner part out of my car and bring it inside (not that hard to remove).

Q: How do you control the volume?

A: With the JoyCon EXC, it translates either CAN, IBUS, resistive, or digital steering wheel control signals, to USB keyboard signals that the tablet can see. I have the Joycon setup to have Volume UP/DOWN, Screen ON/OFF, PAUSE/PLAY, and PREVIOUS/NEXT. Click here for more information.

Q: How do you listen to the radio/music?

A: Spotify Premium. While I can spend ~$10 on a radio antenna to USB to listen to over-the-air radio stations, I never listen to the radio. When I had my old stock radio, I never listened to the radio part. I always used my 3.5mm jack to plug in my phone for Spotify. Great perk about being a broke college student is getting 50% off Spotify Premium.

Q: Can you/do you watch TV or movies on it while you drive?

A: I can, but I don't. Pay attention to the freakin' road.

Q: How do you get internet on it since it's a WiFi version?

A: I use my Bluetooth hotspot on my phone to get internet for Waze, Google Maps, etc. I can also use the WiFi hotspot, but that uses more power. I can drive from California to Idaho running Waze the whole way and it uses about ~300MB of data.

Q: Can you make phone calls with it?

A: This has been something I have been trying, but have not had success with yet. I use an app called [TabletTalk] (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apdroid.tabtalk&hl=en), but it doesn't push the microphone/sound through the tablet. I gave up on this since I have a Samsung Gear 2 Neo smartwatch that has a microphone/speaker on it. Some day I will explore with this more.

Q: How do you power your speakers if you removed the radio?

A: I lucked out big time with this issue because my Nissan Pathfinder has the Bose System built in. That means that there's an amplifier already installed that powers the speakers. So the tablet sends the sound to the Behringer UCA202 DAC, that then converts to a 3.5mm headphone jack that then splits into the Left Front/Rear, Right Front/Rear, and dual subwoofer channels that go to the car wiring harness that then goes to the amp. This saves me hundreds of dollars. For vehicles without a stock amplifier that rely on the radio for power, that is when you will need to buy an amplifier to power the speakers. My 12 inch subwoofer also plugs into the DAC and works perfectly.

Q: I see the reverse camera, how did you get that to work with the tablet? How does the tablet know when you are in reverse?

A: There were 2 ways to get this to work, one way is by video detection, or the other way is by the JoyCon EXC. I chose to do the video detection way because it was simpler and waiting about one second for the app to open was fine with me. I use an app called EasyCap viewer.

Q: Why is there paper over the JoyCon, EasyCap, USB charger etc.?

A: The plastic pieces over the EasyCap and USB charger were bulky/broken. The JoyCon didn't come with a cover. Paper was the easiest/closest thing I had at the moment. If only I had a 3D printer. Someday..

Q: Why is the mic in the vent and not somewhere else? Doesn't the wind from the HVAC cause problems?

A: It was a last-second add-on and just put it in there without having to rewire the harness. I also didn't know where to move it that made it look "stock". I've gotten some great opinions on where to move it! Thanks for those!

I'll add more common questions here when I think of them.

Breakdown of Parts:

Price | Part
---|---
$100 | Nexus 7 2013 32GB WiFi (flo) (bought from /r/hardwareswap)
$5 | Nissan Radio Wiring Harness
$6 | AmazonBasics 4-Port USB 2.0 Hub
$20 | Esky EC135-05 Rearview Camera
$95 | JoyCon EXC
$7 | Tendak OTG USB cable
$30 | Behringer UCA202
$7 | VideoSecu Amplified CCTV Microphone
$25 | Timur's Kernel v4.0 for Nexus 7 2013
$10 | Maxboost Car Charger
Free/Other/Already owned | EasyCap USB Video Capture Card, RCA cables, 3.5mm audio cables, USB cables, 12-16 AWG wire, grinder, zipties, paper, hotglue, other random stuff.
TOTAL COST | ~$305

TL;DR: Modified my Android tablet to work as a replacement for my radio. Worth it? YES. Best Radio Ever.

Have Questions? Ask away. Since I had to learn most this crap on my own, I can share my experience with others and give pointers in the right direction.

EDIT #1: Formatting.

EDIT #2: RIP my inbox. I would never have guessed this would get this popular. I'm just speechless. Wow. Thanks everyone! Trying my best to reply to everyone! Also added another question to this.

Hey, I kinda know this feeling. For a while, I'd wake up, look at my home-studio setup, and think "wow, all my shit is broken." My mic cables would hiss, my bass had a hum that I couldn't explain, guitar needed new strings, computer kept overheating...no fun. The solution was to get better XLR cables (not the cheap Chinese ones I had), replace the 9 volt in my bass/get a better instrument cable (other one had electrical tape everywhere), and use effects more conservatively.

And I understand the frustration with not having money for gear. I couldn't afford an interface for a while, so I tried singing into my digital point-and-shoot camera. I had to literally scream to be heard, and it sucked. Yeah, great musicians can rock terrible gear, but the gear you have has to at least, you know...work.

What I'd do is work, busk, or play open mics, and buy a midi controller of some type. Maybe something like this.

Hook it up to Reaper (very similar to ProTools, costs $60 for a license, but is like Winrar in that you can use it for free indefinitely.) Look up tutorials on YouTube to learn it, plus read the manual (it's basically the Reaper Bible, and it's huge). Also, the Reaper Forums and Reaper sub-reddit are great for specific troubleshooting.

Get some VSTs (plugins) to experiment with synth sounds and effects. Alchemy Player is free, Tyrell N6 is free, and Bedroom Producers Blog has hundreds of others. Uproar24 is a great YouTube channel for hearing VST demos, and usually feature all the ones from Bedroom Producers Blog.

I've copied this a few times, but I think it's helpful, so I'll share it. It's a list of some of my favorite free synths and whatnot:

• Tyrell N6
  
• Synth 1
  
• Keyzone
  
• CVPiano
  
• VS Upright 1
  
• Kontakt 5 Player
  
• Magix Independence Free
  
• Alchemy Player
  
• DSK VSTis
  
• C700 - perfect SNES chip replica
  
• Magical 8-bit
  
• Micromoon
  
• GTG 44 S
  
• Elektrostudio VSTi pack
  
• Proteus
  
• Saturn V
  
• COMBO V
  
• VL-122
  
• VB3 Tonewheel Organ
  
• SuperTron 2
  
• TAL - Bassline
  
• TAL - Elek7ro
  
• TAL - Noisemaker
  
• Cannabis Vocoder
  
  For simple drums, TS-808 will get you some nice 808 sounds (obviously). If you're willing to learn how to work a drum sampler, though, your options will be much bigger. You load up the sample files into the sampler, and then assign them to keys/pads on your controller to play them. Easiest free one I've found is Short Circuit.
  
  
  And here's a great place for drum samples to use in Short Circuit or a sampler of your choice. Over 300 sample-packs, all contributions from site visitors, all legal, all good quality.
  
  If you're lacking inspiration, The Recording Revolution and Brian Eno's "oblique strategies" have always been helpful to me.
  
  Oh. And some tips on recording in an apartment (I record in a noisy downtown place): make as much of it electric as possible. Play an electric guitar through an interface with a digital amp, DI bass, play synth, use headphones instead of monitors...basically try to get it all into a computer. Acoustic instruments usually require mics (which will also pick up traffic, sirens, and noisy neighbors) and are probably loud enough to annoy somebody. You can still do it, but it's usually really annoying in a busy area. Put off mic stuff as long as you can and then record those parts in the small window when noise is at its lowest. If it's impossible, fuck it. Just write songs that incorporate the noise and consider it ambiance.
  
  So hopefully this gives you a good place to start.
  
  

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor | $359.99 @ Micro Center
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler | $104.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard | Asus Z170 PRO GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $140.00
Memory | PNY Anarchy 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | $72.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $77.88 @ OutletPC
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $49.98 @ OutletPC
Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card | $329.99 @ NCIX US
Case | Fractal Design Arc XL ATX Full Tower Case | $105.99 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply | EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $105.98 @ Newegg
Optical Drive | LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer | $49.88 @ OutletPC
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 OEM (64-bit) | $141.98 @ OutletPC
Mouse | Razer DeathAdder 2013 Wired Optical Mouse | $39.99 @ Amazon
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1579.64
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-14 18:34 EST-0500 |

CPU : Intel Skylake i7-6700k. Unlocked, overclockable. Technically, you can get a locked i7-6700 and overclock it using BCLK only, but you are not on a tight budget, and that feature is not ready yet. In any case, for best results, you use both BCLK and multiplier to overclock. Another option is to get Haswell Refresh, older CPU architecture, its not really that much worse, and way cheaper. But Skylakes are very energy efficient. At stock, it will run cold, especially with that cooler.

Cooler ; Noctua D15. Best air cooler that exists on this planet. Is better than most AIO water coolers, and much more silent. Check the reviews if you don't believe me. Can't go wrong with it.

RAM : 16GB DDR4, with option to add 16 more for total of 32 later on.

MB : Asus Z170 ROG series. Has surprisingly good on-board audio, so you don't really need a sound card. Has USB 3.1, m.2 . Supports SLI/Crossfire. 4x SATA ports, 1xSATA Express, 1x m.2.

GPU : GTX 970, the MSI model. You wanted power efficienty, and GTX 970 is extremely cool for the amount of power it delivers. It can run any game at 1080p 60fps with settings close to max, while producing 2x less heat than its competitor, R9 390. Also, MSI model is extremely silent, good for overclocking and has 0db feature, which means that when it is idling, like when you watch movies or do work, it will turn off its fans, relying on passive cooling from the airflow inside the case. Fans only start spinning once it exceeds 60c, and in games, under full load, it floats around 70-75c. I have this exact GPU, its really good for someone who seeks good performance but wants silence and low temperatures as well.

Case : I am not really proficient in fancy cases, with leds and all. Always preferred sleek, modest and fucntional ones. So, I put in Fractal Design Full-ATX case, which is exactly that. You can get whichever.

PSU : EVGA G2 850w. Made by SuperFlower actually. Extremely reliable, and silent. Modular.

Storage ; 250GB SSD and 1TB HDD. SSD is 850 EVO. Again, from personal experience - excellent SSD, uses SATA, and its not that far behind m.2 SSD - honestly, SATA SSD are already so fast, that you only see the difference between m.2 and SATA in benchmarks.

Also, threw in a gaming mouse, the Razer DeathAdder. Its reliable and has good sensor.

CPU+MB are MicroCenter bundle, in-store pickup only.

I am not proficient in Webcams, I use some cheap Logitech one. But I imagine that for 100$, they all good. I can recommend Logitech ones, because their drivers never gave me any issues.

As far as sound cards - the on-board audio on that Z170 is actually quite good. For professional sound work, like doing voice overs, you are better off with a good audio interface. I recommend Scarlett 2i2.

Out of curiosity - why do you want 8GB VRAM?

EDIT : Put in the wrong MB by mistake. Fixed now.

I dont know if you plan to be on pc or mac. If its pc then fruity loops as others said with machine is a great place to start. If your on mac, which FL is still not available in full size i dont believe, ableton is a great program. I use ableton for everything i do, plus its great for live performance to which i think it has the edge over fl for. Its really easy to learn to. I switched from FL to Ableton and it took me about 3 hours to get re- acclimated. Theres a 100 dollar basic package for ableton if you want to buy it. Otherwise just pirate the full software package tbh. Also alot of DAW have free demos you can download just to get a feel and look. Sometimes the interface is enough to turn you off (as reason which is great did for me). Other DAWs that you can look into are Reason, Cubase, bitwig (which is new and is kind of a combo between ableton and fl) and then also apple's Logic X. logic X, if you plan to but your DAW is great bc i think its only 200 bucks which is a great price and it does alot. Idk how great it is for hip hop style of music but i doubt its "bad". It definitely has its strength in production of house music though, but learn enough and the world, or the DAW rather, is your playground. As for midi, maschine is awesome, but there are some cheap and portable midi controllers that combine pads and keys. I use the akai mpk mini mkii and i love it. I can fit it in my backpack and use it for everything i need at home as well, although i do have a full size keyboard that i use sometimes. That little beauty runs at 100 bucks. Good luck with it man! Remember though, some of the most famous artists out there started out on the shitiest equipment available. So really what its about is getting your hands on whatever you can and just having fun with it. Good luck!!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IJ6QAO2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_BuJ8wbT2W64GE

Why are there still fake-real knobs and such? Because.....

There was a long time where analog was it. It's all there was. 4, 8, 12, 16 track analog recorders. Behemoths of recording consoles. If GWA existed somehow in that day, we would all own little 2-track recorders, a small mic pre-amp unit, and a microphone. And you'd maybe have an analog EQ and compressor, big physical units that looked like this.

So when everything went digital, a decision was made. To preserve brand identity and user familiarity, they copied the physical unit into a digital VST application. Compare This real world Shadow Hills Compressor unit with The Shadow Hills Compressor Plug-in.

There isn't any reason beyond that. There is reasons to choose analog or digital, but not to have a UI reminiscent of analog units.


As far as heaphones go, I'll take you through what I own, and what I use most.

Sennheiser HD 650

Sennheiser HD6 MIX

These were gifts through a brief endorsement deal I had, and I run these through this headphone amplifier

For higer-end earbuds, I use Sennheiser IE 60's and Sennheiser IE 80's. These I primarily use for simple editing on the go, giving to performers to use on stage or using myself on stage, or for women tracking vocals or instruments who don't want to mess up their hair with big over-the-head headphones.

But, my most used setup, what has become my dream setup, and the one that I will always reach for first, is far from the priciest.

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro, run out of the computer through a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.

This is my favorite setup. The 280 Pro's are $100, the Scarlett is around $150. The headphones are crystal clear, have tight response all through the spectrum, are rugged enough to get chucked the fuck around, are comfy, and come with a great quality screw-on adapter so they able to be used into a 1/4" connection or a standard 1/8" headphone jack. Their impedance means they don't need an amp and can be used as normal headphones. They sound JUST as good as pairs ten times their price, and they have a certain special something to their super-low end and high-mids that I haven't found. Go get these today. Trust me.

The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 isn't used as an amplifier in this case, since the 280's don't need it. It serves as a USB feed out, with a nice little volume knob. USB out will always trump 1/8" headphone jack out audio. Plus, the 2 inputs are nice to have. I own two of these units, and one always travels with my laptop for an easy, portable solution for HQ audio monitoring, easy L-R in recording from a sound board, or easy audio out from my laptop.

Together, these things have a certain magic, and I don't have to break my bank or handle them like china dolls. They're both rugged and sound AMAZING.

EDIT: I forgot my in-ear molded earphones. I own a pair of Alclair Reference IEM's. They are a great price, sound incredible for stage or studio, and I got mine with wood backs and DAMN are they sexy.

i have this little amp with some small book shelf speakers and i love it http://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-LP-2020A-Lepai-Amplifier-Shipping/dp/B00FOK6974/ref=sr_1_5?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1405229745&sr=1-5&keywords=hifi+mini+amp best 20 bucks spent

and these are the small speakers i use to check mixes out in the living room and sometimes just to enjoy some tunes while cooking (condo, living room or kitchen? the lines blur),.they sound fair for the price
http://www.amazon.com/PLMR24-3-5-Inch-Weather-Speaker-System/dp/B001CXXDBM/ref=pd_sim_MI_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=12SZHXF0FR2DA98B7T3Y with a separate amp you can always upgrade the speakers.

these are 3 way but a little less cheap http://www.amazon.com/Dual-LU43PW-Indoor-Outdoor-Speakers/dp/B000A5S926/ref=pd_cp_e_0.

when it comes to near fields, to do actual pro work, for a good price, i went with the blue sky exo2.1 , they are full range with the sub, shielded because they are made for the desk, no bass reflex port on the satellites (the sound from the port holes comes out delayed, bad for mixing, unless very well engineered) and the woofer has separate control so you can turn it down because small rooms amp up the low end, all for for 500 bills (the price to value ratio is great, no doubt). if you find them used, the price is even lower. blue sky products are legit and you will have no need to buy monitors for a long, long time. i would save up, like 20 bucks every other day or so and in no time, you will have a legit, full range monitoring system that will gets even better with a little room treatment. all i know is "buy cheap, buy twice" http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/eXo2/

next is the equator d5 with dsp. i have not heard these live yet, but sometimes they are on sale direct from equator and they seem great on paper for the price http://www.equatoraudio.com/D5-Coaxial-Studio-Monitors-p/d5.htm but since i have not heard them like i have with my blue skies, i cant be anecdotal. here is a sound on sound review for a pro break down of their performance http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec12/articles/equator-d5.htm

and if you want to save money and have a truly great output to feed any monitor for 50 bucks, try the hifime diy sabre dac http://www.amazon.com/HiFiMeDIY-Digital-Analog-Converter-Optical/dp/B00AOH5JTQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405237210&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=hifi+diy+dac, i using it now in between digital to analog converter upgrades and if you plug right out of the usb port on the computer (no hubs) it sounds great, like really even compared to dac's in several price ranges above. read the first review, http://www.amazon.com/review/RIXL3WSR02G6/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B00AOH5JTQ you will get a little smarter about digital analog converters. its one of the best reviews on amazon i have ever had the pleasure to read, and check out the users other reviews, he does a few headphone units comparing their price to performance ratio and will blow you away with his technical know how and fluid writing style. like the one on the Beyerdynamic DT-990-Pro: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2BUTFCE473Q9V/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

i dont know much about recording gear, as im mostly a listener, i use an adc/dac from behringer and it sounds decent for 30 bucks and no drivers http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA222-U-Control-Ultra-Low-Downloadable/dp/B0023BYDHK/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1405238098&sr=1-2&keywords=behringer+dac
sounds better than a tascam i had, that was overbuilt and 3-4 times the price. i choose this not be cheap, my focus is just on listening, it was what i wanted.

sorry about the long post but i dont half ass my posts. its like playing those brain training apps for me but not boring and actually productive/practical. take care. my hands are injured, so im not bothering with punctuation and formatting!

Continuing the answer, /u/talbayne:

As mentioned above, XLR is a way to get super clear sound - more than USB.
The reason for this, is because the hardware converting the analog (actual) sound waves to digital input, called Analog-to-Digital-Convert (ADC), is better in a preamp, than inside the a usb-microphone... Or at least they used to be.

The ADC is actually just a small chip - or a part of a small chip - which are inside a regular computer chip. They have a number of input pins to register to register the sound from the actual microphone, as seen on this picture of a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 - the bigger, black chip, reading XMOS upside down.

16 of those small pins come from the first XLR-input, and 16 from the second. This is because it's a 16-bit preamp, which you can also see from this screenshot.

Now - these ADCs used to require quite a certain amount of power, but do no longer. They can now be powered by 5 volts (to convert to 48 volts) - the output of a USB-port. Or... at least some of them can, and quite a few of them do a pretty decent job.

----
Time for examples in the USB-section:

• The Røde NT-USB ($169) review.
  
  I have a friend who uses this, and I have a hard time not hearing it being just as good as my own microphone (longer down the list).
  
  
• Bill Dewees talks about the Apogee MiC 96k ($20).
  
  That man knows his shit - pro dude, who makes 4k a week doing voice over.
  
  
• The Excelvan BM-800 ($25) is in the opposite price range. How can this cheap thing work? Well, like the XLR-microphones it needs what's called phantom power, which is 48 volts - this comes pretty cheap ($20)... or you plug it into your desktop (laptop won't work, I've read).
  
  
• The Blue Snowball Ice ($45) being compared to a few others.
  
  This one is extremely popular with YouTubers - for a good reason.
  
  ----
  
  Well, that's all good and nice, but what about the XLR options?
  
  When you go XLR, you need a preamp, which provides the 48 volts I described before - also known as phantom power.
  
  If you'd asked one year ago I'd say 'get the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2', but that was what I knew worked.
  Today you have two other options (from the same company):
  
  
• Scarlett Solo - $99.
  
  I takes only one input - but you only have one microphone, right? It converts upto 24 bits (where as my own only goes to 16 bit).
  
  
• Scarlett 2i2 (gen 2) - $149.
  
  This takes two inputs, so when you plugin your guitar you get a separate channel for each... It is also 24 bit, where as my gen 1 is only 16 bit.
  
  Are there others? Yes - plenty, but I don't know them.
  
  -----
  
  So microphones with XLR?
  
  
• I have a Røde NT1 (as a kit) for $269.
  
  
• The Blue Yeti Pro ($245) are spoken of as the next step up from its little brother (USB-microphone, mentioned above).
  
  
  Steep price for a starter, right? Well, the sound from it is not too bad, and this is where you need to remember what I wrote in my previous post - Your clients want clear sound. You can get clear sound from the USB-devices as well, but there will still be some quality loss between them. Decide for yourself what you want, and how much you want to spend on it.
  This list can go on forever, but it's getting late right now, so I'll holdt that here.
  
  ----
  
  I talked about sound treatment, yes?
  
  
• /u/sureillrecordthat has a great YouTube channel, where he posted a "booth" to record in (hear the actual recording at about 13:03.
  
  
• If you don't have a walk-in closet, you can do as I already posted and make sure you cover the microphone from reflected sound waves.
  
  
• If that's not an option, put up cheap panels to absorb the sound waves. They work SO DAMN WELL.
  
  Best of luck with your adventure :)

Any basic recording interface would do, you usually just need an available USB port on your computer to plug it in. You can find them used for $50+, but the most popular go-to is the Focusrite Scarlett.

I recommend getting an interface with at least two channels. You may only ever use one channel if all you ever do is record your bass, but having a spare channel is always nice, for example if you are wanting to record live with a friend, or if you want to sing/play at the same time, or if you want to split a stereo signal into two mono channels, etc.

For good quality recordings you basically need a recording interface, a DAW (digital audio workstation), a computer, and an instrument.

A DAW is basically a digital studio that will allow you to lay down tracks, mix, add effects, and a whole lot more. It can be a bit daunting at first, but just keep things simple, there are a TON of features I hardly ever use in my DAWs, so don't make it too hard on yourself.

The Focusrite comes with Ableton Live Lite, which is perfectly capable for a wide range of needs and will cover all the basics. If you find later on that you want more out of your DAW then check out something like Reaper. Reaper is cool because it has a free trial that never expires (it will nag you from time to time), but if you like it then I recommend purchasing a license for $60. It's an amazingly powerful DAW for the price (not affiliated in any way, I actually use Logic Pro X, but that's a bit more pricey).

Pair your new studio with a *cheap MIDI keyboard and you'll have almost unlimited creative potential.

It's amazing how powerful this stuff is now-a-days. Back in the pure analog days all this power would have cost tens of thousands of dollars (maybe even hundreds), and now you can have it all for $150 or less.

I highly recommend people getting into recording, there are a TON of uses for it outside of just making music. I use mine constantly for practicing and reviewing my playing, which has done a ton to accelerate my progress.

To be honest, It really depends on what your budget is. If you have a $10,000 budget my recommendations are going to change drastically compared to if you have say, a $400 budget.

Assuming you want to keep price pretty low but still want pretty nice quality I recommend the following.

• Microphone: Audio-Technica AT2020. It's a good mic for the price and most people start out on something like this or something similar. It delivers a good enough sound that you'll be happy with the results, especially considering how cheap it is.
  
  
• Interface: Focusrite Scarlette Solo, This has kind of become the industry standard for beginner interfaces. It's a clean, simple interface. You hook it up to your computer, plug in your mic, adjust the volume and you're good to go.
  
  
• Software: I personally started on Logic Pro X, If you have a Mac, I HIGHLY recommend it. Fantastic DAW, Arguably the next best thing to the industry's standard which is Pro Tools. Although it doesn't really matter what DAW you use. Most of them do the exact same thing, Just with different work flows.
  
  
• Headsets: This doesn't matter that much. Find a pair of studio reference headphones in your price range and learn them like the back of your hand. Listen to tons of music on them, as much as you can. Some headphones boost certain frequencies and it's important you know what frequencies it's boosting so when you're mixing you dont add too much or too little of said frequency in.
  
  My one tip to anybody beginning is learn to mix and experiment. You can have a shitty mic and a shitty interface, but if you can mix well, You can make 90% of things sound at least decent and that's all that really matters in music. If you make a song that's a banger but it's not mixed that great, people will still listen to it. If you have a shitty song that's mixed by a world class engineer, nobody is going to listen to it. Don't get caught up in making sure everything sounds amazing, Just work and be creative.

I've heard of their 3020, but supposedly the Concept 20 is the same driver in a different cabinet? The What HiFi review makes it sound like the cabinet alone is worth the price difference. That could be true, but I am not going to rely on their word for it. I think it would be best if you could arrange for an audition or, better still, buy them with a good return policy so you can send them back if you are not satisfied with them. This is the most reliable way you could test out 2 speakers because you know best what is important for you. As for bass, it is also part of the music and I feel a faithful reproduction is essential to the experience. I do not own a subwoofer myself because I am satisfied with my MB Quart 490 and their 7.5" woofer. The bass is present but not overpowering at all and it makes all the difference when listening to Pink Floyd or The Coup.

Anyway, what I meant was the audio files will be converted from digital to analog at one point. In your case, it would be the PC's onboard solution. Now, depending on your PC, your onboard solution could be great or it could suck (distortion/constant hum etc.) ! To get around this some people use the digital output on their PC (USB/HDMI/Optical) and the conversion is performed using another device. Since usually stereo amplifiers do not have any way of accepting digital input, the go-to choice is a separate DAC like Fiio D03K / Behringer UCA202. Some people also a get a headphone DAC like Fiio E10K because they need a portable amp for their headphone in addition to a DAC. Others may need more than just a DAC - for example there could be a need to take the HDMI input and send the video to a TV and the audio to speakers. This is where a receiver comes in. A receiver is basically an amp + many more options for inputs, but it could be overkill if you only need a DAC. Used receivers could be cheap, though, and they are quite popular because of the input options you get. Goes without saying that you may not need a separate DAC at all, but just something to consider.

Phew! Hope that helps! :)

My suggestion assumes you already have FL Studio, a capable PC, and $100 to spend on a MIDI keyboard, specifically the Akai MPK Mini mkII because it's widely available and has a little bit of everything for you to learn with. I'm also assuming you have 4-8 hours everyday to spend on production-related things and that you'll use all of that time.

Day 1: Become familiar with the general layout of FL Studio.

• Rearrange the buttons at the top of the screen (right click>edit) so that the things you'll use the most (playlist, channel rack, mixer, piano roll, audio editor) are all in one row.
  
  
• Plug in your MIDI keyboard and configure it in options>MIDI settings to get it working with FL Studio.
  
  
• Open FPC and learn how to map your drum pads to it, and also how to route them to their own mixer channels.
  
  
• Learn how to link the knobs on your MIDI keyboard to the ones in FL Studio.
  
  
• Learn to color-code your sounds in the playlist/channel rack/mixer. It sounds relatively unimportant but it's one of the most important things.
  
  Days 2-10: Get acquainted with your keyboard and drum pads.
  
  
• Label the keys on your keyboard. Start with a piece of scotch tape on each key, then write the letters over the tape, then put another piece of tape over the writing so you don't wipe it off while playing. It's tedious but you only have to do it once, and having that visual aide can be helpful in numerous ways.
  
  
• Learn some scales and chords; D and G scales are a good place to start for making hip-hop beats but there are no actual rules about it, so do whatever sounds good to you.
  
  
• Find a scale you like and play it until you can do it with your eyes closed, then play it with your eyes closed until you can start to improvise with it. Play it forward and backward, then try playing it but skip every other note. Playing every other note in a scale can help you find chords and build your own chord progressions instead of Googling one and boxing yourself in with it every time you go to make something.
  
  
• In FPC, create your own drum layout or find one online that makes sense to you. Once you've made or found one you can jam with, save it as an FPC preset and stick with it so you build muscle memory toward it. Change the sounds, but never the layout.
  
  
• Start putting together a beat for the sake of learning, because you'll need it for the next phase.
  
  Days 10-15: Learn about common mixer effects, and practice applying them to a variety of sounds. This includes but is not limited to:
  
  
• Compression
  
  
• EQ
  
  
• Reverb
  
  
• Delay
  
  
• High Pass/Low Pass Filters
  
  
• Distortion
  
  There are stock plugins for all of those effects in FL Studio, so you'll at least be able to mess with those.
  
  Days 15-20: Learn Automation. It is a key part of adding motion and life to your tracks.
  
  Days 20-30: Make some beats, and try to use as much of your knowledge as you can in every beat. Don't take more than a day or two to finish each one, because at the beginning it's most important to repeat all of the aforementioned steps until you get to a point where you can sit down and work without thinking too hard about the technical process.
  
  The day numbers are irrelevant because everyone learns at a different pace, but that's the order you should do things, in my opinion.
  
  A few side notes:
  
  
• At some point you should get some new sounds (drum kits, VSTs, mixer effects) and the better you are at pirating things, the more you'll have available to you, so I suggest learning the basics of torrenting as well if you're not rich or above it.
  
  
• If you end up with a bunch of different drum kits, make a folder for all the drums you use the most so you don't have to look for them every time. Do everything you can to minimize the amount of time you spend setting up or finding things, so you maximize the time you spend on the creative process.
  
  
• The Akai Mini is a good starter keyboard, but eventually you should upgrade to one with 49 keys so you can play a wider range with both hands and learn more advanced piano/keyboard techniques. When you get to that point, I highly recommend the Akai MPK249 because it would also be an upgrade to your drum pads and give you MIDI faders to automate things with as well.
  
  Hope this helps, even if it's not exactly what you were hoping for.

Hey! I'm a newbie myself [same deal, but got my SX about 3 months ago and haven't gotten much time to practice :/]

- You'll certainly need RCA cables, to connect input sources like turntables or other equipment into the ext source for sampling, and / or outputting your SP404SX audio to speakers other than the headphones output.

​

- if you want to sample from your phone / computer, you can:

1. get a RCA to 3.5 mm adapter cable https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=30902 - this site has great, trustworthy cables
   
   
2. get a RCA input interface (and eventually RCA cables of course) https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA222-BEHRINGER-U-CONTROL/dp/B0023BYDHK
   
   ​
   
   - The sound does come out of the box...via RCA output, or headphone output :P There is no onboard speaker, if that's what you mean :)
   
   ​
   
   - You need separate RCA cables if you want to connect an input source and output source at the same time; up to you. If you're fine with only using the headphones to listen to / make beats, then you don't need one for output. :)
   
   Same with input: if you're ok with sampling from your phone / whatever else by playing the audio into the mic input [which might be great depending on what you're into] instead of external source, or if you're only importing samples from an SD card, you don't need one for input.
   
   Either way, they're cheap and good to have around if you ever want to connect speakers for output, sample from RCA output equipment, etc. :)
   
   ​
   
   - Not sure where you're located, but Micro Center has SD cards for super cheap
   
   https://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?Ntk=all&sortby=match&N=4294966791+4294821590
   
   ​
   
   Bonus: Aside from the manual, there's a ton of resources listed on the right of the sub; along with some that helped me:
   
   spvidz; great guy who continually puts out tutorials, tips and tricks for the SX [and other equipment]
   
   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP2CqbhL7InlgfIRQv9m7_Q
   
   and Chops Magazine SP404SX tutorial playlist
   
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-Q8srdrka4&list=PLsOHfXKpEjzT5jl2U1kaPxCkCuovw3g3h
   
   ​
   
   Hope this helps!

Not a problem at all! Glad to help in any ways I can!

When you are done editing sections of a video together you then have to render the video to stitch all the pieces together and make it a final video. Some of the cheaper video editors don't offer GPU accelerated rendering, so it relies completely on your CPU for the rendering. GPU accelerated rendering allows the software to use your CPU and GPU to render videos, opening up the software to a lot more power. I recently switched from Hitfilm 2 Express (no GPU acc rendering) to Sony Movie Studios 13 Platinum (GPU accelerated rendering) and reduced my renderign time by 75%. A video that would normally have taken me 8 hours (yes that is right) to render now takes 2 hours. The upload to Youtube will depend on the file size after rendering and your internet connection.

I would outline exactly what you want to start with and look at your options. If you are only doing newer games (that allow HDMI) then I would go with the HD60. If you (seriously) plan on doing retro consoles that don't allow HDMI then either go for the HD or an emulator. You could also put more money into a really fancy setup that will do both if you want. That is up to you and your budget.

Let's talk a little bit about how microphones work. They have a bit inside them called a transducer which will convert acoustic energy into an analog electrical signal. There are several types of transducer (condenser, dynamic, ribbon, etc) but they all have the same function. The voltage signal you get from the transducer is analog and very low voltage. In order to use that signal for editing and recording it needs to be amplified. A USB microphone is made up of 3 main parts, the transducer, an amplifier, and an analog to digital converter. The analog to digital convert turns the voltages into binary so that it can be transferred through USB to your computer.

An XLR mic does not have an amplifier or an analog to digital converter. It is simple the transducer and usually a few circuits then it outputs an analog signal through an XLR cable. In order to use this signal you need a preamp. There are several options, you could get Mic converter/Preamp which is basically what a USB mic has inside it. You can get a Tube amplifier which will have a MUCH better amplifier in it and a MUCH better analog to digital converter. It also allows you to control the sound a bit as well. You could get a Mixing board which will have a MUCH better amplifier and converter as well, but will also allow you to adjust some of your settings before the sound goes to your computer. They may look scary, but tehy are actually very easy to use.

The main benefit of an XLR setup is better sound, gain control, and the ability to better adjust and control your sound. With a USB mic you usually get a few small adjustments on the mic (if you are lucky) and then that is the sound you get. Everything else must be done in post processing through a computer program. With XLR you can adjust it how you want and leave it like that (or adjust it on the fly) which cuts down on time since you don't have to do audio editing anymore.

Now to the other real benefit: XLR mics have better components. The AT2020 USB is $130 and the AT2020 XLR is $100. However, the USB version has the cost of the amplifier and converter into the price. So what USB mics do is give you a cheaper transducer in order to make up for the extra cost of manufacturing the USB mic. The XLR mics sound better because they have better transducers inside of them. Also, once you have a preamp and an XLR mic and you want to upgrade it will be easier because all you have to do is buy a new XLR mic. If you get a USB mic now and then upgrade to an XLR (like I did) then you have to buy both components later. If you have the money for it, get the XLR setup now.

Hope that explained some of it. I can go further into details if you have more questions.

With a sound card made for studio usage, lag/latency shouldn't be a major issue. Some basic knowledge is required to set it up, but that same knowledge is required for any sort of computer-based recording, so it's easy to come by these days! There's tons of materials about this online, but I'll write a brief summary (not to be considered a tutorial!).
(I'm assuming Windows usage here. For Macs, the default sound card may be good enough -- it was in my 2006 and 2011 Macbook Pros. Apple's Core Audio API is really good for a OS stock one!)

You need a sound card (or: "audio interface") with good ASIO drivers. In practice, that means one that is designed for studio use. That doesn't have to mean anything very expensive, though. The cheapest ones are about $100-120, but a pretty decent one is probably more like $180.
A few examples:
FocusRite Scarlett 2i2 (a 2nd generation is on the way, so I wouldn't recommend this right now. Also, I returned my Scarlett 2i4 due to having issues.)
Roland Quad Capture (the one I use personally)
Presonus AudioBox 22VSL

The sound card you already have might work well enough with the ASIO4ALL driver, in which case you may be able to use the hardware you already have.

Once you have one of those, you install the drivers and set up the ASIO latency or buffer size (different names, same thing) to some low value. You might have to tweak this -- having too low a value will cause dropouts as the computer doesn't have time to apply effects and so on before it's time to move the sound to the speakers.

With that in place, there are a few ways to go. You need some sort of effects (like amplifiers, cabinets, delays, EQs and so on); the easy way to do this is to use some package. I mostly use Guitar Rig for this, but there are plenty of others, such as AmpliTube and Peavey ReValver. There are fully free options as well, e.g. the LePou plugins.

You can use those in several ways. The simplest would be to use a simple audio editor, like Audacity. Another way would be to use a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), i.e. an application used for recording music, with tracks and mixers.
I use REAPER for that, as it's about $60 and I still prefer it to ones that cost ten times as much. Other popular choices are Cubase, Logic (Mac), Pro Tools, and so on.

So, yeah, it's a bit of an involved process... but once you're there, the main difference between playing for fun (to a track or by yourself) and recording an album is clicking the record button before you start playing. :)
As for cost, that really varies. If you're lucky and your sound card works well with ASIO4ALL (or you have a Mac and that works well), you can do this for free. If you need to buy a sound card and want to use the software legally, you might have to pay a few hundred bucks for the combo.

Ableton is a great DAW and is my preferred software choice for recording/editing.

You can use the TASCAM to capture your performances and transferring those .wav files into Ableton for editing but you'll have a much better experience recording directly into your computer.

You can go a few different routes here. You can pick up an audio interface that accepts an XLR connection for a proper microphone like a Presonus Audiobox and an SM57 which will allow you to capture as good a single channel signal as you can really get outside of a big recording studio.

OR you can go with something cheaper like a Blue Snowball USB microphone. These things actually sound surprisingly good and have multiple settings for directional and omni modes for different situations.

Once you have a way of capturing audio directly into Ableton you can start building up your songs layer by layer. Experiment with things like EQ and compression/delay/etc to make your guitar tracks sound nicer. There are built in patched in Ableton for EQ like "Acoustic Guitar" or "Electric Guitar" and just dragging one of those onto your channel will be a great place to start.

That's a skill in and of itself but you have to start somewhere so start experimenting.

When starting out applying EQ to tracks I'd start this way :

• Solo the track so you're only listening to the single layer
  
  
• Create a single EQ filter with a high Q value so it creates a really sharp and thin "peak" and drag it upwards so it's amplifying a very narrow band of frequencies quite a bit.
  
  
• Drag that "peak" left and right while the audio is playing and listen for something that jumps out at you as unpleasant. Now drag the peak DOWN to bring those frequencies down in the mix to remove whatever harshness you discovered. Bring down the Q value to make that trough a bit wider and smoother.
  
  Do that 3 or 4 times on a channel and you'll have something that sounds a bit nicer. If you do too much it'll sound hollow and empty so make subtle adjustments as much as possible. Don't dump that "bad frequency" all the way to the bottom, just bring it down a little bit so it doesn't jump out at you.
  
  You won't be creating drastically new tones this way, just polishing them so they sound nicer.
  
  Having a good pair of headphones or even some inexpensive studio monitors will also be extremely helpful so you can accurately hear what you're producing.
  
  Use the built-in metronome and record with headphones (so the click doesn't get picked up by the microphone) to keep things tight.
  
  Once you've finished your audio and it's how you like it THEN film your video and just play along with the click. Don't use any audio from the video recording and just pair the two back up in editing.

If you enjoy acoustic style playing, I feel it can be beneficial to developing a better playing style as you branch out to electric. Acoustic guitars require a little more attention to finger placement and fretting technique. Mistakes are more noticeable and you can fix those problems early before they become bad habits. Electric guitars tend to "cover" those mistakes more easily with all the effects and distortion (once playing at a high level they become more noticeable again). Things like hitting extra strings, fretting a note that is dead, etc.

I definitely regret not learning more on an acoustic first. I jumped straight into electric and never really looked back.

As for gear and making the transition to electric, it depends on what you want to do with your guitar playing.

If you are going to just play and practice by yourself at home, I recommend at least researching amp simulator software for use on a PC and getting an affordable audio interface.

I recently bought a brand new Jackson 7-string guitar for $180 (it's actually not bad either was on sale), an audio interface for ~$75 (included free DAW software, was on sale as well), and purchased a large amp/cab/effects bundle on Revalver 4 for $100. I already had headphones and a PC. I also bought studio monitors but that's neither here nor there.

I know that's over your budget but you can try most amp sim software packages for free and you can buy the amps, cabs, and effects a la carte for pretty cheap prices (a few $ each). It unlocks a huge range of sounds and possibilities and you can learn the types of amps and sounds you like. If you ever want to buy a real amp/cab, then you have a direction you would like to go.

Just for comparison, by the time you buy a guitar, some floor pedals (can range from $50-100 each), and a practice amp (which may or may not sound good at this price level), you are probably over your $300 anyway. With the software/interface option, you can have like 15 amps, probably like 25 cabs, lots of microphone sims, and tons of effect pedals inside the software for like $350.

I'm into metal as well and I've found the high gain amps and sounds in Revalver to be pretty good. Different amp sims do certain things better than others.

Good luck on your journey

> I have 2000 dollars maximum for my computer build. I don't have any play over that. That being said if I need an amplifier for my interface I am cool with buying that in the future when I can get the money for it. If you can fit it in that's great!

Hm. Well, not entirely sure you'll need it - sadly, interfaces provide almost no specs for their headphone outs, so it could be 5Vrms into 100 ohm or it could be .5Vrms. Guess the thing to do would be to listen, then determine if it's working properly for you and getting loud enough without distortion - if so, you're good. If not, amp time.

>The room is dedicated to this computer. And I'm getting the micke from ikea for a desk. I wouldn't exactly feel comfortable moding it to mount the mic. Perhaps a stand would better better for my needs?

Looks to me like the Micke would support a mic arm just fine without modding. Of course, you could also put it on your desk, but I've found that tends toward very loud keyboard noise.

So, with all the information you've given me, I think I've got a pitch for you:

For an interface: a [Focusrite Scarlett Solo] (http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Solo-Compact-Interface/dp/B00MTXU2DG) which will run you around $100 new (a bit harsh - I got a 2i2, which is the same or better in all regards for around the same), or $80 or less used (though I sadly don't see many used ones from respectable retailers at the moment, so you'd need to go eBay spelunking). It will accept an instrument line in for recording, allow live monitoring via the headphone out of all inputs, and has a mic input with phantom as a bonus.

For a headphone: [AKG K7XX] (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/akg-x-massdrop-k7xx-limited-edition-ruby-red), which is one of my favourite recommendations in moderately-priced headphones. The K7XX is a comfortable, detailed headphone with excellent positional audio, and an easy-to-like sound signature which slightly boosts the bass but without the ludicrous bass boosts of some "lifestyle" headphones. At $200, it's already compelling value, and you can find it used on Head-Fi, eBay, or /r/AVExchange for $170 or less typically. The wrinkle here is that the K7XX takes a fair bit of juice to drive, and I'm legitimately not sure the Solo has enough. It might, some interfaces surely do, but Focusrite publishes no specs here, so all you'd be able to do is listen and see for yourself.

For a mic: [Audio-Technica's AT2020] (http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2020-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B0006H92QK) is a very clear, detailed mic for its price (which is around $80 new, less used) if you have the 48v phantom it craves (which, as a Solo owner, you would). It will pick up keyboard and room noise pretty easily, though, so you'll want to use push-to-talk with it for VOIP IMO, though a shock mount and positioning it well could also work, I suppose.

There's probably enough slack in the budget to fit additional gear if needed - particularly if you buy used - so if you need an arm to mount the mic (since you're a musician, you might see if you can get one from a friend for cheap/free first, though) or an amp for the K7XX, it can be provisioned for.

Just project with your voice, and keep the mic about 6" away. If you get farther from the mic, you will pick up a lot more reverb from the room, and have a higher noise floor (the gain would need to be higher, and so everything else would have a raised volume too).

​

As far as interfaces go, the Behringer U-Phoria UM2 is the cheapest I know of that will still give you a good sound, or there is the UMC22 which has slightly better preamps (which shouldn't be an issue unless you are using a dynamic and need high gain to get a good volume). The Focusrite Scarlet Solo is also really popular, if a bit more expensive (~$100). As far as the mic goes, the AT 2020 is very popular, although I prefer the MXL V67G which is also a bit cheaper, or the Lewitt 240 Pro if you have the money (I use the 440 Pure, but it's more expensive, so not the best place to start). Hopefully that helps, at least to get you started. I know I listed a lot of gear here, but it isn't the gear that makes you good, it's lots of practice that will really make the difference. While you will need some gear to get going, there are plenty of pros that use the AT2020 and the scarlet solo for all their recording, so don't sweat about all the high-priced stuff. The top end products do have benefits over the "beginner" gear, but not so much that you need the high end stuff to record professional sounding audio.

​

So the cheapest setup will run you around $100, although you will also need a mic stand, XLR cable, and pop-filter (which are all fairly cheap), and a shock mount is recommended. You will also want to make sure your space is acoustically treated well, as a good XLR mic will be sensitive and pick up any extra reverb, but I didn't hear anything out of place and echo-y in the demo you posted, so you may have enough treatment already (you will have to play around with it).

​

Here is a test-track I threw together that hopefully demonstrate the tone and pacing I mentioned in my first reply, and also give an example of how focal fry can be used to good effect (I don't have much in my voice, but when used properly it can add a lot to a performance). It's just my voice, no extra effects (slight EQ was applied), to be as clear as possible about the difference in tone quality. I was going to throw it in an edit of my original, but it will fit just as well here. It's not an actual demo, just a piece I did to cut in as part of a demo, but hopefully it gives you a better idea of what I was talking about.

I have an AT2020USB sitting on the floor (next to a Rode Podcaster). Good mic. Sounds good. Still a condenser and still sensitive. Still better choices to be found that'll work for most and sound better.

I generally avoid everything Alesis and Behringer because they're cheap. Not just in price, but in components, quality, reliability, and sound... generally speaking. That said, I have no experience with that particular audio interface. The Focusrite Scarlett Solo comes well reviewed at around the same price (I think?). Steinberg also has an interface around the same price. If you're looking more for a mixer (that's what the Alesis is), then I'd suggest looking at a Mackie or Yamaha mixer. Chances are, you're going to be looking a lot more money than the Alesis, but you're getting superior preamps and overall better hardware and reliability. Just be careful to get one that's USB unless you want to go analog everything (if you're not an audio engineer with a high end sound card, don't).

Whether you need a mixer or an audio interface comes down to what you're going to be doing. The mixer can be helpful for effects, additional EQ, monitoring, multiple inputs, etc., but it's not necessary in most instances. For most, an audio interface with one or two inputs is sufficient--you can always upgrade later and sell the interface on Ebay (or some such) because they're always in demand.

Regarding stands, I use a Rode PSA1 and have no qualms recommending it, but it's somewhat pricey. If you need cheaper, the Neewer arm has good reviews, but I have no feedback regarding it. Pretty sure several people here use and like the Neewer arm.

For a pop filter, anything, really, is fine. Don't worry about metal ones or filters made of exotic materials--any cheap nylon screen works as well as anything else. You likely won't need a windsock, but you can find plenty of those on the cheap as well. (I suppose you could go with just windsock or just filter, but either should be fine--I just prefer a pop filter to a sock.) For the XLR cable, meh... not Monster? I use these--they're nothing special, just cables. Work/sound fine.

It's easy to spend a lot of money on this stuff, but if you have patience and time, you can save a lot by buying used. Most of my mics are used and they work perfectly well--generally speaking, people take care of those (and it's obvious when they don't).

https://www.amazon.com/IK-Multimedia-digital-guitar-interface/dp/B01KPYGBR6 - this is what i bought (at 100$, its 84 now), because i wasn't sure if i wanted to play on the go or at my desktop. it also comes with amplitube (though a watered down version) but i got really sick of all the nickle and diming they do. It turns out i play almost entirely at my desktop so i would have gone with something like this instead: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T56CM/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1500654678&sr=8-7&keywords=focusrite+usb+audio+interface .

you could technically accomplish the same thing by getting a converter for 1/4"->1/8" jack and plugging it into your soundcard, but it has a lot of issues and sounds shitty. The audio interface essentially takes the signal from your pickups and makes it clean and readable for your computer. With this (often called DI or direct input) signal, you can use software that emulated the circitry of tube amps to produce very very accurate replications of tones.

https://www.positivegrid.com/bias-fx/ here is the sim i would recommend. I played around with a few others but this is the best sounding, and most straight forward one (others try to nickle and dime you all over the place). it's nice because you can get a week trial of it before u have to buy too! Basically you only need a guitar, instrument cable, audio interface and a computer. you can get free trials of everything else before you buy to see what suits your needs.

there's a million demos of it, but here's a good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D00Xn1vfyU

The beauty of all of this is that these all interface seemlessly with digital audio workspaces (DAW's), which are used for recording. You can setup each track to have different amp/effects/ect and can also play around live with the effects for practicing. I often use these for writing too, because i can record a rhythm section, then loop it and noodle around with leads or harmonies (essentially making a looper pedal that sounds way better than any pedal on the market). there's a ton of videos that can help with all of this, I would suggest checking out Ryan Bruce (aka fluff) on youtube, he has a couple entry level recording tips videos! I'm happy to keep talking about this if you have any questions! break through that bleek streek!

As the saying goes, the juice isn't worth the squeeze.

You may get a DAC that locks onto higher sampling rates from the source, but it's probably not worth sinking more money into, especially because you're streaming normal bitrate audio from iTunes, or playing locally from your own compressed music files.


Right now, you're using the Core Audio Apple driver in conjunction with the iMac's sound chip, then you're taking an optical signal out and decoding it externally with a cheaper DAC (I assume you're using a mini-toslink optical connector in the 3.5mm "headphone" port?). So you're using two devices.

Honestly, I'd be curious to see if you can notice an improvement (or difference) using the iMac's internal DAC by using the actual 3.5mm analog output from your iMac vs. using the external DAC with SPDIF. This way, you'd be using the DAC inside the iMac instead of a cheapo external one. Macs have decent audio onboard. You should try it!

If you were to step it up from that, and use something like Spotify HiFi or play high res 24bit 96KHz (or higher) lossless audio files as the source, then perhaps a USB interface/DAC would be a worthwhile investment. USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt (which it doesn't have) is the best way to completely bypass the internal audio on any PC/Mac. A USB interface / DAC become the audio "card" with its own power supply and dedicated circuits.

The easiest, and least inexpensive one would be a Focusrite Scarlett solo interface... it can do 24bit/192KHz just fine, and works wonderfully with macOS, plus gives you a volume control, an amazing mic preamp, instrument level input and a headphone amp, in one box.

Usually under $99 from most pro audio retailers:

• https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T56CM
  
  
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJWLjCv4MlE
  
  
  There are more expensive ones to recommend, but for $100, that's probably a good place to look.

What they are using is an interface, a DAW and possibly an amp simulator on their computer.Basically an interface is a box that you plug your instrument or mic into that goes into your computer. It turns the analog signal of the instrument or mic into digital information that the computer can read. These can be worth a hundred dollars to thousands of dollars depending on your needs.

The bass signal would then have to go into an amp simulator for the direct input signal to be heard like it's played through an amp. These amplify and change your signal just like an amp would do, providing a full sound for your guitar/bass. These are can be worth anything from 0 dollars to a couple hundred and each has its own sound and quality.

DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation and allows your instrument or mic to be recorded along with other tracks and instruments. These allow you to record songs and covers but also allow you to use tons of effects including compressors and eqs, amp sims and midi instruments.If you simply want to play and/or record your bass through your computer I'd recommend getting a simple 1 input interface like a Steinberg UR12 or a Focusrite Scarlett Solo. The Focusrite would have a higher quality build and sound, but the Steinburg will still get the job done. A great DAW would be REAPER, as it is completely free to use but will request a licensing of $60 that you do not have to pay. And there are tons of great free amp simulators online, but there are some really nice amp sims for a bit of money. I'd suggest checking out This list of free sims and checking out the other paid amp sims including Bias Fx and Amplitube.

Good Luck!

So as another 29yo musician figuring out reaper over the past few weeks. Definitely watch tutorials, how to's, and basic use videos from youtube and stuff posted here. You'll learn way more from doing that faster than you will from poking around. Most of the time i just google something like "Reddit Render Midi track in reaper" and i'll get a link to this sub with a video.

Definitely get an audio interface, i'll help tremendously with overall sound and latency. I think something with two channels will work well for you. You'll most likely only be recording one instrument at a time if you're doing this solo but the option of the second channel will let you record an acoustic performance if you ever want to. I have no brand loyalty so here's a few options, you can do research on them as you see fit or search some out yourself:

UMC202HD , Scarlett 2i2 , AudioBox USB 2x2

Or if you need to be more budget friendly, this guy is a great bang for you buck, however it is only one channel:

Behringer UM2

If you dont have any 1/4" headphones, pick up a 1/4" male to 3.5mm female adapter as well so you can monitor your sound and for playback through the interface. You can find these at bestbuy or somewhere local pretty easily.

You'll want to look at some 3rd party VSTs for effects instead of your phone. I'm currently in the process of trying different free things out, so i don't have too many suggestions unfortunately, but maybe some other people can chime in with their favorites. I'd watch youtube tutorials to learn how to setup and use these. two I could recommend so far are:

MT Power Drumkit 2 - Simple drum VST that allows you to pick from a select of beats in different styles, then once you import them into reaper you can change the beat with the MIDI editor as you see fit. Watch some youtube tutorials on it to get going using it.

AmpliTube Custom Shop - Comes with a few amp, cab, and effect options that should get you going with some guitar sounds. You can also get the demo version of AmpliTube Full and it will run for 30 min, then you have to close and reopen it for it to work again (seems to be a common setup for demo versions of VSTs), but you can get a good bit in 30min if you know what you want going in.

+1 for being in the same boat as you! 31/F/originally from NY. Professional singer of 10+ years; have always been told I have a very unique and soothing voice. I've honestly been stewing on this for over a year and hadn't pulled the trigger until last week. I sat down and figured out what it would ACTUALLY take me (financially and space-wise) to give it a real try.

I have a closet in my current "studio" with all of my guitars and what not; I figured I could commit to turning this space into a booth. I did the math and realized I could treat the space acoustically for $179. eBay had 2" foam panels for way cheaper than anywhere else. Is it the BEST product out there? Probably not - but it will definitely get the job done.

Equipment wise, I figured out that I'd need an updated USB interface and a dedicated VO microphone. I ordered both of those things for $130. Here's what I ordered:

Mic: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007NQH98/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

USB interface: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QHURUBE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Again, not top-of-the-line products, but I did my research and these both seem to be solid choices for beginners. I've cleared out the closet and I'm currently waiting for the panels to arrive. They get here tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to install them on Thursday or Friday morning. They need to "sit" for a bit to uncompress. Haha.

Anyway, I hope my story has helped you! As soon as I get my booth set up, I plan to take webinars and learn, learn, learn. I'll also spent a significant amount of time just recording practice scripts. I learn by doing, so there will be a LOT of doing going on. Haha. I feel as though I could be a tiny bit ahead of the game since I have experience recording and I'm comfortable with recording software and gear. I've also been using my voice as a tool for over 10 years..but in a different way.

Good luck and feel free to hit me up if you need some motivation! I know I've doubted myself multiple times since committing, but I've gotta go for it.

If you're interested in music and audio like I think you are, a hardware solution will also allow you to do some cool stuff, like hook up a turntable and get good recording quality to play old LPs and digitize them.

Looking at some of the audio interfaces (not amps, those are different. Audio interfaces hook up to your pc via usb and control audio there) it looks like you'll be hard pressed to find decent ones under the $100-150 range.

behringer, $50, mixer

I have the big brother for this one so it shouldn't be too noisy. If you're recording try to use a denoiser afterwards, but I don't notice too much of a difference (could just be my room creating the noise)

Focusrite, $150, audio interface

I keep hearing about the scarlet from other producers. I don't know why, maybe it's pretty good. Also look at the itrack solo for $80

Steinberg, $100, audio interface

Look at the 2 in, 2 out version as well, it's more in line with the focusrite

Mackie, $99, audio interface

presonus, $79 (ione), $150 (itwo), audion interface.

Check amazon for "itwo presonus" and you'll find a couple of bundles that may pique your interest.

My mixer, behringer, $150, mixer

I like this thing alot, it's got plenty of inputs, and while it is a tad noisy it's not enough to notice. Could just be my ambient room/computer noise that I don't hear. Anyway, with some cables and advanced routing it's turned out pretty damn good for streaming and chatting at the same time, you just have to use multiple inputs to your pc to have separate audio outputs it only took me a week of poking around (no manual) to learn and figure out everything. The compression and eq settings are also a bit nice to have.

BTW if you're getting xlr mics, some of the best ones are sm57's/sm58's by Shure. Usually $100 and they're solid enough to last you a while. I have a sm58 and it's ballin'.

Hope I was of help!

A desktop is going to be more robust and upgradable - more powerful cpu for the money, more max ram, more inputs, more storage, etc.

A laptop is portable. That's really the only advantage, but it's a huge one. From gigging to sitting on the couch to field recording, never underestimate how big portability is.

Realistically you'd want both, which one you pick would be how you value your tradeoffs. If you already own a laptop (most people have something these days), that might be plenty for the few times you'd need to move around. Or if you already have a pretty great desktop, maybe you'd rather do a cheap ram upgrade and then put the rest of the cash in a nice laptop.

For specifics: ram, cpu, drive, connections. Those are going to be your main concerns with a computer. RAM is going to allow you a larger buffer for things like samples and simultaneous tracks. CPU will determine the amount of real time processing for VSTs and plugins. Drive space is where you keep it all. The faster the better - an SSD for actual working storage and a large HDD for long term project storage is ideal. Connections are just things like USB, Firewire, whatever. Not hugely important unless you're using outboard equipment that requires it. Most everything is USB these days.

For a real basic outline: any computer made in the last couple years is probably ok. i3 or i5 cpu, 4-8GB ram, 250GB SSD/1TB HDD would be a really cheap, basic setup, and will work just fine for Ableton/FL/whatever. Ideally, you're going to want the fastest/most crap you can jam in there - i7 cpu, 16 or 32GB RAM, 500GB-1TB SSD/2-4TB HDD (or combo thereof). It's super easy to add drives and ram after the fact, so there's that. Don't feel like you have to do it all at once.

You're also probably going to want some kind of audio interface. A Focusrite 2i2 is a basic USB audio interface that will get decent quality sound in and out of your computer for a low price. If you want MIDI, you'll need a different/beefier unit. There's lots of USB interfaces out there. Check out M-Audio, Behringer, Presonus and a bunch of others.

Here's a short lists of what you need to start recording:

• Computer
  
• DAW
  
• Audio interface
  
• Microphone/instrument
  
  Computer: I'm assuming you already have this, it allows you to do work.
  
  DAW: stands for Digital Audio Workstation, and this is where you'll be doing most (if not all) of your work. A popular and cheap option is Reaper, but you can also use a less powerful (and free) program like Audacity. I would recommend starting off with a "full featured" one like Reaper (which I believe has a 30 day trial period?) because if you do end up getting really into it you'll be glad that you have a bit of background knowledge. Some might argue that certain DAWs are better than other, but it really boils down to personal preference. All DAWs can allow you to have multiple tracks going on at once, for instance, overlaying lyrics over an instrumental track.
  
  Audio interface: this is the hardware that sits between your computer and your instrument/microphone. It allows the signal from the microphone to be converted from analog to digital which the computer can interpret. If you're just starting out, go with whatever you can find on eBay or Craigslist, but make sure it has what you need (correct number of input/output, USB or firewire connectivity, phantom power if you're using condenser mics).
  
  Microphone/instrument: without this, you won't get far. The microphone you linked above I think is generally used for vocals, as most condenser microphones are. A solid recommendation that a lot of people give is the SM57 dynamic microphone for micing cabinets or instruments; some people even use it for vocals (myself included, 'cause honestly, it gets the job done).
  
  The link that you gave looks like has a microphone and a DAW, but no audio interface. I think this might be because the microphone itself has some kind of hardware on the inside to be a plug-and-play, using your computer's motherboard as an interface. So for now if you wanted to use that package for recording instruments and vocals with that specific mic, you're good.
  
  My personal recommendation to start writing music without breaking the bank that will leave you a lot of flexibility going forward:
  
  Interface: some random 2-input audio interface with decent reviews Keep in mind that you would only be able to use dynamic microphones on this, as condenser require 48v phantom power.
  
  Microphone: simple dynamic mic
  
  DAW: I highly recommend trying out the 30-day trial of Reaper, but like I said, this is all your preference.
  
  
  Bottom line: the Blue Yeti All-In-One can get you started, but it has limitations (no audio interface) if you want to start getting deeper into it.
  
  Sorry if this is a bit rambly, I'm at work and kept getting distracted while writing this, let me know if you need any more info or clarification.

I need advice.

 

A bit of exposition,

 

I've been searching for a new pair of headphones a few weeks now since my previous pair of Skullcandy IEM's were damaged by my cat chewing through the wire.
 

It's been an overwhelming experience searching for a pair, as this will be my first set of "quality" cans; and, admittedly, I'm not very knowledgeable in this hobby as many of you on /r/Headphones seem to be. Asking here is a last-ditch effort to get a bit of support and questions answered.


 

• Budget: I'm working with a budget of about $100. $120 being the height of what's able to be spent currently.
  
  
• Source: My source is going to be standard PC on-board jack. Nothing fancy. However, I am looking into buying a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2 In/2 Out USB Recording Audio Interface to go with my new microphone. I'm not certain if it is are compatible with headphones or not. Still learning and researching.
  
  
• Isolation: I'm often alone, so, sound leaking isn't a serious issue for me. There also isn't very much noise around me beside my PC cooling fans.
  
  
• Form-Factor: I'd like a full-size headset the best, a small form-factor isn't that important to me.
  
  
• Tone: I'd like a balanced set of headphones tonally.
  
  
• Past Phones: My previous headphones were nothing of note and quite cheap. The nicest pair I've had was this previous set of Skullcandy IEM's... but I wouldn't consider them to be audiophile quality, as I am looking for now, since I can finally afford something of that nature.
  
   
  
  
• Uses: My main hobby is gaming. It's likely that will be the main workload of these headphones. Extended wear-comfort and positional sounding is very important to me.
  
  Very limited voice and instrument recording monitoring would likely be a use as well, if possible.
  
  
• Preferred Music: I also greatly enjoy listening to music and I have quite an eclectic taste; finding headphones that are not very fatiguing for long listening sessions and are flexible in their music profile are important to me.
  
  
  
   
  
  In all things in life, I value versatility. I have limited funds, so having a jack-of-all-trades set would be ideal for my needs. It doesn't have to be the best, that said, quality and clarity are still substantial qualities I look for.
  
  Research has pointed towards three sets of headphones that I am currently considering, which are the Sony MDR7506, Audio-Technica ATH-M40x, Beyerdynamic DT 235.
  
   
  
  Pros and cons of these pertaining to the roles I'd like them to fill?
  
   
  
  Any input on them towards my needs would be wonderful! Any other suggestion within that price range is also very welcome.
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
   
  
  TL:DR; Need versatile and comfortable headphones that are within a $120 range.

I prefer Reaper to Audacity, but that's just personal preference. I find it waaaay easier to edit. It's not free, but it has a pretty much unlimited trial with no restrictions other than a box telling you to buy it when you open the program. Should you get use out of it though, you totally should buy it. It's cheap as hell for a DAW and worth every goddamned penny.

I use an Audio Technica AT2020, which should be a decent step up from your ATR2100. If you want a leap up, the Shure SM7B is one of the best mics you can get, but it requires a shitload of gain so you have to make sure you get a mixer or audio interface that can support it. Since I can't afford to get both a new mixer and a new mic, my next mic will likely be an Electro Voice RE320 dynamic microphone, which seems like a great mic for the price.

Making your audio sound better is not a cheap venture. Once you start your way down this rabbit hole, be prepared to spend a lot of money over the years on it. I'm a voice-over artist, and most of the money I make doing that goes right back into my setup. This room needs audio treatment, I need a better mic, I need better isolation, maybe a full recording booth, but god damn I could build that myself for a fraction of the cost, but will my mediocre craftsmanship be worth the savings? etc etc etc.

If you're just looking for a good setup for a podcast, an XLR AT2020 and a Focusrite Scartlett 2i2 should keep you satisfied for a while. Make sure you also get a pop filter, and good XLR cables.

I'm guessing you mean hardware, but there are some fantastic software synths out there. 80's pop music is largely made from FM synthesis, which is completely out of your price range for hardware.

Dexed is modeled after a series of popular Yamaha FM synths and is free https://github.com/asb2m10/dexed

FM8 is a top-tier software alternative http://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/komplete/synths/fm8/

If you really want hardware, the Microbrute is a good option. They're great, some people on this sub hate on them for no good reason. If you watch studio tours of famous electronic musicians the Minibrute is probably the most common instrument in them.
Microbrutes are capable and fun. They're also pretty much one knob per function which is particularly good for beginners.

Another option is the Waldorf Streichfett http://www.juno.co.uk/products/waldorf-streichfett-string-synthesizer-with-the-waldorf/526565-01/
This synth was designed to emulate 70's and 80's synth pop sounds and falls into your price range nicely. It does not come with a keyboard, however, so you'd have to get one of those (small ones are really cheap/easy to find) or play it with your computer.

I'd go with the Streichfett. And this http://www.guitarcenter.com/Keith-McMillen-Instruments/K-Board-USB-Keyboard.gc or this http://www.amazon.com/midiplus-AKM320-MIDI-Keyboard-Controller/dp/B00VHKMK64/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1454053448&sr=8-1&keywords=mini+midi+keyboard but used so it's a bit cheaper. That should be close to $300.

He's 16, so this advice is probably somewhat less relevant to him than it is for most people who ask this kind of question, but I'll give the advice anyways because everyone else seems to be suggesting normal things a singer wants.

When buying a gift for a hobbyist, one of the riskiest decisions you can make is buying them something they might need for their hobby. First of all, odds are they already own it or something like it that they prefer (singing/being 16 doesn't fit very well with this advice, but bear with me). Second of all, even if they don't, it's better to let them pick it out. Consider a grandparent buying a Lego set for a grandkid. Odds are, the grandkid knows exactly what they want, so the best possible scenario for a grandparent guessing and choosing has the same outcome as the normal scenario for just giving the money straight to the kid.

Obviously, gift-giving is usually more sentimental than that, so there's an art and a nuance to it better than just "take some cash, go see a Star War", but I'd say actually buying them something you think they might need is categorically worse than either giving them something personal that will affect them in other ways (unrelated to the hobby -- something you know as much or more about than they do) or just a gift card or cash or similar.

In this case, 40 € probably won't go far. A microphone might be the obvious choice (assuming he doesn't already have one), but it will either be sufficiently low quality it will be worse than his phone or a computer, or it will require other equipment (speakers and/or an audio interface) which he probably doesn't have and will cost more than that. It's probably safest to look outside of the realm of music-making, but if you do want to get him something related to singing, your gift could be taking him to the music shop and buying something he wants, or just giving him a gift card to an online store so he can save up for something bigger like an audio interface and microphone combo.

Just my two cents as a hobbyist who sees a lot of well-intentioned but practically guaranteed-to-misfire advice out there. =)

If I had to give an exact product (or product type) recommendation and if he's technically inclined and wants to record, I might recommend a cheap MIDI piano. Something like this, maybe. This will allow him to plug the keyboard into his computer and use GarageBand or another DAW to actively create recorded music.

XLR mics with phantom power for the win! If you're going for professional quality sound, save your money and invest in a good XLR mic.

​

The problem with USB mics like Blue Yeti is the fact that they use the integrated sound on your computer's motherboard. If your motherboard's sound system is older (2 years or older), the voice from the USB mic could sound robotic or it might not capture your entire voice range. This is especially a problem for folks with deeper voices. On older computers, you might sound far away or your voice could break up. If you have a brand new computer, feel free to use a USB mic until you can afford an XLR microphone.


XLR microphones require phantom power. Scarlet Focusrite (https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T56CM) is a good product for phantom power, but there are affordable, good quality sound mixers that provide phantom power as well. Alot of streamers have used Berhinger Xenyx 302 ( https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B005EHILV4) or Berhinger Xenyx 502 (https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B000J5UEGQ). I personally use Roland VT-3 (https://www.amazon.com/Roland-AIRA-VT-3-Voice-Transformer/dp/B00IGDXK9Q) because it's a voice changer, sound mixer, noise gate, and phantom power all mixed into one machine.

​

For mics, I admit I'm using a cheap Pyle PDMIC58 . (Hey, I got this XLR mic for free with my Best Buy points. I didn't have enough points for a good mic). My problem with the mic is that it's too bright for my voice, and I have a low voice for a woman. I need something that captures my full voice range alot better. I'm planning to upgrade to a RODE NT-1 mic (Not the Rode NT-1A) before the end of the year.

Like others have stated, take your time and do research. Don't rush! Find the mic that fits your voice best. Good luck!

I personally recommend the Klipsch ProMedia as the best sub-$200 option. Sound is really solid and it's definitely got the bass. Plugging your computer in is straightforward and I believe the newest version has bluetooth as well. Best Buy used to have it as a demo with their computer speakers, not sure if they do anymore.

A better option might be studio monitors like the JBL LSR305/LSR30X which are also an insane deal. You'd need to get a bluetooth adapter and you'd need to worry about inputs (many studio monitors take 1/4" or XLR, which would require janky adapters (probably won't sound great out of a headphhone out without something like this) or a dac/audio interface like this or this. The JBL approach will get you a better sound (more accurate to the music, more balanced sound, magical amazing beautiful and perfect imaging) but will probably be a bit above what you'd like to spend. Most of that stuff can also be bought used if you are okay with that.

I would try and stretch or save up a bit for the monitors. They're a pretty solid step up from most all "computer speakers," and the JBLs in particular are one of the best bang-for-buck deals in audio that I've seen.

Best of luck, and feel free to shoot me a PM with more questions or what you decide to do!

Awesome; then /r/JohannesVerne 's suggestions would be great...and you could upgrade to the umc22 (less self-noise, I'm told).

Also, you'll need better headphones. Your Logitech are probably fine for gaming and pleasure listening, but not mixing VO work. I'm learning that most gaming headphones really boost the bass, and you need headphones with a super flat response for mixing your VO work. Look up a video where they compare a raw VO track with a processed one and listen with your Logitech cans...you probably won't hear much of a difference. Then buy a pair of Sony MDR7506's and listen again. Wow...what a difference! You won't use the Sony's for "pleasure" listening, so keep your Logitech set for that.

A better mic could possibly give you *worse* sound quality, because it'll pick up *everything*. So you'll also need to tighten up your performance and your room if you want a better mic to help you sound better. "With more mic comes more responsibility", or something like that! :-)

All that said, I think it's awesome that you have a budget and a passion, and I say "go for it"!

Heya guys, I dug through the faq and even did that website but Im still a bit lost.

I work in an office where I'm not allowed to have a computer or a phone at my desk; and I'm not allowed to connect anything to the work systems.

Apart from that I'm pretty much allowed to do whatever I want while I idle waiting for work to happen.

I've decided that I wanna try and learn to play some keys and maybe make some beats while I idle; with that in mind I have some requirements on a synth/keyboard.

• It needs to work without needing to be plugged into a computer while I play (putting sounds on it from a computer before I play is fine, since I can do that at home)
  
  
• It needs to have a headphone jack so that I can jam without upsetting people around me/distracting people.
  
  
• It needs to be compact and not a full sized unit.
  
  Apart from that here are some things I'd like for it to be able to do also, but wont fuss over.
  
  line in would be cool, so that I can play along with music from an MP3 player
  Drum pads would be awesome.
  
  I was looking at something like this but Im not sure if that will run without having the comptuer plugged into it.
  
  That thing is just about the perfect size and layout for what I want; Quality isn't so important since this is going to be mostly a time waster and quick try at something. If I find I like it, I will get something better down the road. I also realize my needs and wants are pretty specific, so I'm not opposed to spending some money.
  

1. Microphone
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2020-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B0006H92QK
   
   
2. USB Audio interface Option #1 (Has RCA + 1/4 inch balanced)
   
   This is the golden standard for high quality Mic input as well as output. The audio drivers on the Scarlet models are simply crisp and clear. There are other options that work, but like a bicycle...they all ride different. This is simply the very best without a doubt at your price range. You could easily spend $500-$700 on an audio interface, but for youir streaming needs, this is literally perfect
   
   Note, this is what I utilize for my Stream, and get compliments on the professional audio quality of my Mic almost daily.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T56EA/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1525297509&sr=1-1&keywords=scarlett+2i2
   
   
3. USB Audio Interface Option #2 (Has RCA outputs only)
   
   *Next best option, if you do not plan to run to Speak Monitors like KRKs or Mackie's. This will give you the same quality of audio input from your Mic. But if you are planning to use Monitors, the 2i2 above will give you the best output audio quality being that the 1/4 inch is balanced audio.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T56CM/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1525297603&sr=1-3&keywords=scarlett+solo
   
   Trust me. Anyone who knows what they are talking about when it comes to audio, not just streaming...will agree. LMK if you have any questions...happy to help.
   

You can have a killer setup for under $500.

Mic: Audio Technica AT2005 - A great mic that a lot of let's players use (draax, zueljin, kingdaddydmac, etc.). It also accepts xlr or usb inputs (more on that at the end). I use the atr2100, which is the same mic, just different color and warranty. The at2005 is cheaper by about $25 right now, so buying today, that's the one I'd get. It's a dynamic mic, so it blocks out sound that's not in front of it. Much better for noisy environments. Condenser mics like the blue yeti will pick up a lot more background noise. Other mics I've used are the V-Moda Boompro, which works with most headphones that have detachable cables (in my case the M100s) and sounds good, but changing the cable for when I didn't want to use the mic became old pretty fast. You can leave it attached, but then the boom mic is there all the time. I've also used the antlion modmic 4.0 and can't recommend it. It has white noise unless you use a usb soundcard, the cable is stiff and it's kind of expensive compared to full fledged mics. $56

Stand: Pyle PMKSH01 Suspension Boom Scissor Microphone Stand - A decent cheap stand. Nothing special, but it comes with an integrated xlr cable. I use this one, but may upgrade to the Rode PSA1 ($100) later on. The shock mount will not fit the at2005 however. $21

Shock Mount: On-Stage MY420 - A great shock mount that fits the at2005/atr2100. Shock mounts reduce noises from bumping your desk or tapping on your keyboard; things that may reverberate to your mic. It might not even be necessary if you're not a heavy handed gamer or if your desk is made of a thick, dense material. $25

Wind Filter: On-Stage Foam Ball Windscreen - Reduces wind/breathing noises as well as minimizing plosives. Not a complete necessity, but extremely cheap and it does help, so why not? $3

Cable management: Velcro One-Wrap Cable Wraps - I use these for keeping the usb cable for the mic attached to the stand. Extremely useful and cheap. $6

Headphones: Very subjective to user preference. I prefer closed vs open for noise isolation. Here's what I've used:

Audio Technica ATH M50: Good (not great) headphones for ~$100. Considered the standard by many, but to me they're just good. $155

V-Moda M100: Excellent sound with very potent bass. They make the M50s sound muddy in comparison. HOWEVER, the M100s have a design flaw where the "wings" (the parts above where you adjust the headphones) will crack over time. It happened to two pairs of my M100s. Unacceptable for the price of these headphones, regardless of how good they sound. $222

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohm: Amazing. Potent bass like the M100s, but even a bit clearer. Very wide soundstage for closed headphones. I paid $219 for mine and don't regret it a single bit. I might grab another pair at the price they're currently at. $150

All that adds up to around $261 + tax choosing the DT770s, and will be a killer setup for gaming. Far better than any "gaming" headset, and it even opens the option of streaming or let's play videos (the reason I got my setup). There is one more thing I'd add though, given the budget if you're serious about mic quality, and that's the $99 Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2nd Gen. It's a usb audio interface that accepts xlr mics. It gives you a bit more control over the audio coming out of your mic and cleans up the signal so you get less "noise" from the usb interface. Quality is good without it, but with it, it's noticeably better.

Hope this helps some! I spent quite a while researching things when I put my own setup together. :)

I have Reason 7 and a Mac Book (13 inch, non retina, 2012). Everything is just fine and projects from Reason 3 can be used with no problem.

When I was buying a Mac Book the retina was like $600 more than the base model so I went with that, and I'm glad I did. You don't need a retina display to make music.

Also I use an external display, so I never even open the Mac (actually I could probably have just bought a mac mini and it would be the same).

So, you're an engineer...be careful - just get a limited rig and then start making music. Do NOT start reading about everything that's available, your engineering brain will take over and you'll never get around to making music - instead you'll just fall into gear acquisition syndrome.

I would also advise getting the following:

A bluetooth Mac keyboard, a blue tooth mouse, and 4 or 8 rechargeable AA batteries (the batteries are key), and an external display.

For monitors a pair of Jbl LSR305. These seem to be the best "bang for your buck" monitors and in online reviews people will not shut up about how good they sound for $150. Avoid Rokits.

As for midi, I'd say get a good midi keyboard and a good set of drum pads. If you want cheap and easy I'd go for a nanoPad2
If you want something a bit more involved (and actually this is what you should get) go for the padKontrol

You'll need keys. Since you say you're a composer you'll need at least 49 keys (61 and 88 are obviously better, and best). When I was buying stuff the MPK49 was pretty much the best thing you could get (except for the pads). The MPK249 is coming out soon and supposedly has better pads, but we'll see.

And finally an audio interface. I have an Echo Audiofire4 which isn't made anymore (btw it's fucking awesome so if you can find one used, do it). It seems the focusrite 2i2 is the most popular choice among newbies...personally I'd go for something with more inputs. RME and MOTU seem to the best but you'll pay a lot more (though in the long run it's worth it).

I would also say, go slow. There are a ton of cheap midi controllers (like $50-$100) so just get one, see what you like and move on from there. DO NOT cheap out on your audio interface. Your audio interface is the most important part of the whole chain.

So, Reason 7 on a Mac and an external display/mouse/keyboard, some keys and pads, an audio interface, and a good pair of monitors and you're set.

Hope this helps.

Since I saw other people wanting to do voice acting and you yourself might be unsure about what gear to buy, here is advice from a musician:

Try to practice with what you have, when you start to feel more secured about your skill, try to buy a better microphone, do NOT buy a condenser microphone, those are too sensitive if you are starting out, buy a dynamic microphone instead!

Recommended microphones, both made by the brand 'Shure':

SM58

SM7B (If you really can afford it)


To be able to use a microphone that is from an XLR cable to maintain quality you need an audio interface, there is a market solution that brings you to a prosumer level very cheaply and it is called a 'focusrite scarlett solo' it is one of the cheapest but also most durable and stable interfaces in the industry that is worth having! You can hook your electric guitar too if you want to.


The interfaces:


Focusrite scarlett Solo

Focusrite scarlett 2i4 (If you really can afford it, options like the Pad button make it amazing for general use outside of recording)


Now you need a DAW if you want to upgrade from audacity, a DAW (Digital audio workstation) is your workfield, it is what provides you what you want in terms of FX or samples (if it delivers them)


Good cheap DAWs:

Reaper by Cockos

Ableton live 10 intro (more expensive but you get more fx to it, it is less userfriendly for beginners from my experience though)


VSTs are what you will be using in your arsenal for FX and voice processing, you got tons of free VSTs that work like a charm and you got tons of paid ones that obviously work better but you can get them for cheap at plugin boutique! or sign in for emails of the sellers! PM me to request the list for free VSTs, if the demand is high, I'll make a list for it here and edit the post!

The plugin boutique website

Kyle's Setup

Microphone (Shure SM7B) - https://www.amazon.com/Shure-SM7B-Dynamic-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B0002E4Z8M/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=shure+sm7b&qid=1549674292&sr=8-2

That runs into a clean gain booster, Cloudlifter (I didn't know he wasn't running this since he got his Shure in 2014. Once I learned that, I had him get one and he's been running that for about a month and a half now) https://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Microphones-CL-1-Cloudlifter-1-channel/dp/B004MQSV04/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=cloudlifter&qid=1549674274&sr=8-5

Which goes into his mixer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CTKI10A/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now if someone wanted to run this setup, I would say don't get the Behringer, they have problems but most of the time they're fine. But you want to get a Focusrite Scarlett https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T50LY/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=cloudlifter&qid=1549674274&sr=8-12 or Mackie Onyx https://www.amazon.com/Mackie-Producer-Interface-Bundle-Polishing/dp/B07GJWQQM3/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=mackie+onyx&qid=1549674443&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1 (I recommend the Onyx but they're both fucking great, used both, currently running the Mackie in my new studio setup)

Taylor's Setup

Same exact setup as Kyle, even though I told them to get him this Blue Micrphone TUBE arm: https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Compass-Premium-Tube-Style-Broadcast/dp/B078MLBGRM/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=blue+microphone+arm&qid=1549674585&sr=8-5

It's a way better arm. Kyle is using the standard Rode arm & either that's what Taylor's got now or he's using a super cheap ass one. But no way that cheap ass one would work with the Shure's weight, so he probably got a rode. But I recommended they both get the Blue tube arm.

Woody's Setup

Microphone (Electro-Voice RE20):

His preamp/mixer is all in his rack that's mounted with his PC which is down by his knee. I forget what he's using cause it's been many, many years since he built that thing.

The microphone arm he is using is the cadillac of microphone studio boom arms the K&M 23860: https://www.amazon.com/23860-Microphone-Desk-Arm-Black/dp/B00AXMM0L2?tag=paidinsi-20

-----------------

The Shure SM7B and Electro-Voice RE20 are the gold standard for radio and podcast production in studios. You can't go wrong. But if you get the SM7B then you need a pre-amp or something that's going to give you an additional 20-40db of clean gain.

If you don't have that Cloudlifter and just use it with that mixer, then you have to crank the fuck out of the gain which greatly increases and raises your noies floor. So you'll be audible and sound good, but you'll still get lots of white noise/background noise.

In my setup it's the Shure SM7B, Mackie Onyx, Cloudlifter, Blue Mic arm and quality XLR cables. When I plan to expand and add more microphones to do several people in studio productions. I'll create a rack unit VERY similar to what Lefty is currently running. With an electricity conditioner and the same preamp he has that I researched on my own and it's perfect for getting the clean gain added that you need so you don't need the cloud.

I need a phantom power supply for a Beringer C-1. Right now the Behringer U-Phoria UMC22 looks pretty good, but if I could save $20 and be good with something like the Neewer that be great. I have already had this C-1 for a while now (traded my blue snowball for it and a mixer) but after some research I have found out that my mixer only supplies 15v of phantom and the C-1 needs 48v. I am only using this mic to talk on discord with some friends so nothing too crazy.

What recommendations do you have for something between $20-$40? For my situation I'm looking for the best bang for my buck type of thing. I'm pretty good with tech but audio is just another beast that I don't really want to tackle myself so any help would be very appreciated!

So I'm relatively new to both (producing for about a year and DJing for a few months). Put out one song and done a couple mixes, hoping to play a show soon. In my brief experience, DJing is way more immediately gratifying. It's a lot easier (imo) to throw down a mix that sounds pretty good and just experiment when the songs themselves are already there for you to play with.

Producing, on the other hand, has a much steeper learning curve; you will probably have to put a lot more time into it before you enjoy what you can do with it. But at the same time, I find finishing a song or even making a nice-sounding beat that never gets finished more deeply satisfying since it feels very original.

So what I'd recommend is:

1. Learn the basics of DJing. Beatmatching is the essence of this, but learning good transitions and song choices is another skill that will take some time to develop.
   
2. Spend most of your serious work time on production. First step is getting a DAW e.g. FL Studio or Ableton. Then I'd recommend picking one synth and learning it very thoroughly; I'm a big fan of Serum because of its rent-to-own plan through Splice. Honestly, you don't need much equipment to get started; my best investment was a small MIDI keyboard that helped my creativity.
   
3. Any time you want to chill or aren't feeling as into the whole sound design/composition/arrangement side of things, go do some mixing.
   
   This is just what works for my workflow though. If you've got any other questions, I'd be happy to answer from a relative beginner's standpoint.

I'll give this a go, open for suggestions from others to improve. This is obviously higher than you asked for at $833 after rebates, but it's good value. You can save maybe about $130 by going down to 8gb of ram, GTX 950, and dropping the SSD. It would still be a great pc.

You can easily add RAM later. I really like the speediness of putting the OS and your main software for production on the SSD, and using the HDD as storage for all your recordings. It's slightly more involved if you add an SSD later and move your OS/software over, but doable.

For using your digital piano and MIDI, I highly suggest getting a good interface like this Scarlett which is basically an external sound card with excellent preamps and midi in/out.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-6600 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor | $209.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-B150M-D3H DDR3 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $73.99 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $66.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $77.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $45.99 @ SuperBiiz
Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card | $179.99 @ SuperBiiz
Case | Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case | $44.99 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply | Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $52.99 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) | $80.89 @ OutletPC
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $863.81
| Mail-in rebates | -$30.00
| Total | $833.81
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-02 15:15 EST-0500 |

Can't go wrong with a Behringer. They're specifically what I use. I originally started with console capture, having both PS3 and 360 so I sprung for the xenyx 802 for the extra channels. This is a list of their small mixers. I know a couple people(larger streamers) Running the 502usb...it seems nice. I'm using a 1622fx atm but that's big. I got it second hand at guitar center, it's fairly safe to check what they might have that's small, you might get something cheaper than online, or something better for the same price, but you ARE taking a chance.

Another option if you're going for a traditional XLR mic(since windows mixer w/ OBS/Xsplit is strong for PC gamers) you can get an audio interface. This basically is a piece of equipment that turns your XLR into a usb device. The Behringer 302usb is just an interface/small mixer that looks like it might be nice to use. There are also things like the babyface that is expensive as shit but absolutely wonderful, or the much more budget focusrite that are both solid devices. These are actually best as you're taking balanced audio directly translated into a digital signal through a device designed to eliminate interference, but they can get expensive.

Good audio costs money, but you can alleviate the cost some. Don't by a snowball...get something you can shockmount and popfilter and boom to eliminate ambient noise...that is if you don't have a good mic yet.

^_^

You might not have looked hard enough. EZDrummer and Addictive Drums both have demos:

https://www.toontrack.com/ezdrummer-2-10-day-demo-version/

https://www.xlnaudio.com/demos

​

I personally prefer AD2, but I haven't tried Superior Drummer. If you can afford it, SD3 is likely going to be the best sounding with the uncompressed samples, however AD2 still sounds good to me (and any of them will be much better than your module). The other thing that AD2 has above the others is a very easy to use midi mapping interface. Depending on the module you have, the right inputs might already be supported, however if not you can easily map your edge and bow inputs to their correct sounds.

For latency, you'll need to have an AISO driver installed. AISO4ALL is a common windows app to enable AISO on a built in sound card. Not sure if there's a mac equivalent option. Still, even with AISO4ALL I felt that the audio quality wasn't great. The latency was okay, but the sound quality just wasn't there. I would recommend you get an audio interface which will give you the low latency with higher sound quality. If you can swing it, I just got one of these and it's fantastic: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B07QR6Z1JB/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=audio+interface&qid=1566322232&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Basically the interface will act as a dedicated sound card. You'll set up EZDrummer or Addictive Drums 2 to use the interface as the audio output device, making sure you select the AISO drivers in the settings as well. You'll plug headphones into the interface itself instead of your laptop.

​

My suggestion: try the EZDrummer and Addictive Drums 2 demos (they're free) with what you have now. See if you can find AISO drivers to install on your mac, and just see if the sound quality and latency is tolerable to you once you have it all set up. If not, it might be time to splurge on an audio interface like the one I mentioned.

Once you get that, you'll be able to try the interface with the AD2 demo (there's no time limit on that demo, the EZDrummer demo will likely be expired by then). If the sound quality and latency is much improved and you're happy, you can probably be safe actually keeping the interface and then buying software at some point. If it still doesn't sound good, you can return the interface.

for a build JUST for audio production, you could honestly probably get away with a pretty barebones motherboard. This is because the main question will be what outboard audio interface you will use with it. The audio interface will completely bypass the motherboards audio chipset, and if functioning properly, will provide far higher quality audio and much more routing options/customization than any motherboard chipset can claim. Fortunately you don't need to spend much to get something like that. This focusrite scarlett series is a particularly popular choice: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-2i2-GENERATION-USB-Recording/dp/B005OZE9SA/ref=sr_1_12?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1491458677&sr=1-12&keywords=audio+interface I don't really recommend something like this though since it has no external power supply - if your friend intends to power and record a microphone that requires phantom power this interface will both transmit the data and 48 volt over usb 2.0. It works, but seems like people have mixed results with it. This Behringer Umc404hd is outrageous value for the $99 dollars its currently priced at. https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC404HD-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00QHURLHM/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1491459101&sr=1-1&keywords=umc404hd. Pretty sweet with those 4 inputs and all those output options on the back.

I would say as long as the mobo has enough usb and sata connections you'll be fine. Just depends on whether your friend is interested in overclocking or gaming which will definitely increase the cost. For an overclockable motherboard Id get something like this https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130993&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID= If not overclocking, you could go as cheap as this $46.99 ASRock H110M-HDS LGA 1151 Intel H110 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard and not run into problems as long as it has enough I/O for your friends needs. https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157685&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-PCPartPicker,%20LLC-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

Definitely understand being new to the game, took me a while to figure out what I needed for live use.

Here's my 2 cents:

• Free/low cost synth samples: You could check out the free Proteus VST, which includes tons of 80s and 90s style synths, basses, horns, strings, etc. sampled from the 90s-era Proteus 2000 rompler. http://www.creative.com/emu/proteusvx/ Check out sample videos on YouTube to see if you like the sounds . . . it is FREE, so that's a selling point. I've heard good things about Arturia's Analog Lab software, I think it's relatively cheap . . . you can get the software bundled with a keyboard controller for $99 (or less if you shop around).
  
  
• I don't know about PCI, but if you're trying to use USB to go to a PA, there are lots of choices available. A standard USB audio interface with one set of L and R outs to a PA board would probably run you $50 at lowest on Amazon. You can also find some small mixers that have a USB interface built in, like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Alesis-MultiMix-USB-Four-Channel-Mixer/dp/B001T9O5VG/ref=sr_1_11?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1421427469&sr=1-11&keywords=usb+interface
  
  I haven't used this mixer, but I've had good luck with Alesis mixers in the past. Using these interfaces would require you to run cables from the outs of the interface to the ins of the PA's mixing board.
  
  If you've got the money to spend, a better-than-lowest-rung USB interface might be a good investment. I bought the Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 for home recording a year or so ago and LOVE it . . . you can find smaller/cheaper interfaces in that range and they're all great - it just depends on the number of ins/outs you need: http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Solo-Compact-Interface/dp/B00MTXU2DG/ref=sr_1_4?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1421427916&sr=1-4&keywords=usb+interface&pebp=1421427921645&peasin=B00MTXU2DG
  
  
• Not sure about Chromebook . . . I don't have one. Does it allow you to install windows-based applications at all? Software apps on the Android platform are limited as compared to iOS because of the latency common in a lot of Android devices . . . but I'm not sure the line between Android and ChromeOS, having never owned a Chromebook.
  
  You could check out AudioTool: http://www.audiotool.com/
  It's a browser-based music studio with bass synths, key synths, samplers, sequencers, drum machines, etc. I believe it'll let you connect an outside MIDI controller keyboard and play the synth modules.
  
  Hope this helps!

Well, you have a massive leg up on a lot of people in terms of music theory and chops. I'm going to assume you can read a fake book, a chart and are probably a better player than me. Jazz especially will align with composition, voicing and other stuff. Even though classical gives chops, I think (without explicit work) it leads to something that synths or production might not use.

The good thing is, it's not as much practice. It's a lot of toying around, reading and learning. But it's not like playing. You see the opposite problem with people that make a lot of noise but then want to start on composition or music theory. They have all this gear but they don't finish stuff. That's fine for some, just fool around but then there's not much growth. That's pretty much the end game. So what you're going to discover is a universe of TIMBRE. New sounds that are very dynamic. Modulation, timber over time. The problem is, a lot of this stuff won't exercise your chops. Maybe that's ok with you.

Do you have a DAW or a computer to record with? The cheapest way for almost anything is software. U-he makes great plugins and they have Hive as an intro synth. It's no toy either. It just has "
"accessible" priorities. They are releasing a new version soon so maybe wait on that. You're going to need a VST host to go that route. Maybe you have something already. Reaper is free to try. And you'll need a sound card. Almost anything is fine. Behringer has a cheap USB thing for $130: https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC204HD-BEHRINGER/dp/B00QHURLCW/

That'd be fine for a while. You'll want to upgrade it if you want to improve recording sound and/or complexity in projects (latency).

Barebones for a software synth:

• midi keyboard for input, you'd probably want 61+ keys for two hands
  
• a computer
  
• a DAW program like Reaper (free to try forever), $60 to buy it
  
• a synth like Hive
  
• a soundcard
  
  Otherwise, you could go hardware. In which case, getting the Korg Minilogue is a great intro synth. It only has four voices which might be frustrating. It would teach you the basics of oscillators, filters and ADSR envelopes. Almost anything synth will (including software). If you want more voices, maybe an 8 voice Korg prologue.
  
  Flying Lotus and Jon Hopkins is more about production and layering in which case you probably want to learn a DAW pretty well. That's heavily produced and processed music which might not have a lot to do with "the synth". The sound you're after might be many layers of drums and effects. Hard to say. You'll need to learn plugins, mixing and how to work quickly.
  
  For playing with a live band, I'd only use a hardware synth.
  
  Another way to practice textures and having control over it is something like this.
  
  
• Make a laser sound. It would be used in a sci-fi movie.
  
• Make an ocean wave.
  
• Make a bass drum and a bad sounding snare drum. Now make a decent electronic hi-hat.
  
• Now find a gif (meaning silent) on the internet and layer many new sounds to create a sound effect track to go along with it. It might be footsteps with breathing and keys jingling.
  
  That's kind of the practice type material/goals you might take on. Then making "that bass sound you heard" is going to be way easier. There's also another synth subreddit /r/synthrecipes/ where people ask for tips on things they heard. I don't know much about that subreddit. Hope this helps ... ask questions ...

Most DAWs like Ableton and FL don't really require an equipment thanks to VSTs and plug-ins (been using nothing but my laptop's keyboard as my main input for years now), but it does help if you have a controller to work with.

If you're new into the production scene, I would recommend this. It already has a few drum pads there, so you won't need to spend more money on another drum pad. Borrowed it from a friend a while ago, and it's pretty good for its price.

That one works with pretty much any DAW, but it works best with Ableton. Another alternative would be this. Best thing about this one is that you can practically bring it with you anywhere (perfect for the road)

If you only want a drum pad, get this. It's the most common drum pad out there, so if you need any tutorial on how to use it, you won't have a hard time finding one.

Linux MultiMedia Studio (LMMS) is another option, despite the name there's also Mac and Windows versions. It's more like Fruity Loops so there's support for audio tracks and loops but also sequencing for MIDI and virtual instruments, it comes with a bunch but then there's also hundreds of free plugins available on the net and hundreds more paid in VST format. It's a little more fun than Ardour I think and you can get a song started up pretty fast in it.

As far as a mic goes, Shure SM58 is pretty much the industry standard vocal mic but there are lots of clones too available for cheaper. With that you'll need an audio interface the Focusrite Scarlet Solo is pretty solid assuming he only needs to record one thing at a time. There's lots of bundles available though for cheaper if you look at the related products.

For a keyboard something like this Nektar 49 key controller should be good, there's of course more compact ones for cheaper or fuller sized ones for more. There's ones with more controllers like knobs, sliders and drum pads for a bit more, for controlling and automating plugins etc. If you have a second hand music store anywhere around you can probably score one for a lot cheaper.

Get one of these, it is inexpensive. I use it with Audacity. My difference is that I record out of a home tape deck, not a box like yours. I think I can help you up to a point. The Behringer has a ton of reviews and very high ratings. I have the one in Red also, it came free with another device, a guitar effects pod.


https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-BEHRINGER-U-CONTROL/dp/B000KW2YEI/



I've read your manual, although they combined it with ES23 model. Cycle through the Sound settings to EQ Off when dubbing. Turn off or Cancel the sound virtualizer effect. On this Panasonic you have an advantage in that you can control the volume digitally. Start at 6. Level 7 might be better. You will be able to figure out which is best, but adjust it depending on the volume of the entire tape when you move on to another tape. Simon and Garfunkel would be a different setting output SLIGHTLY than Metallica, etc.


On your computer, reboot. Don't have the jack plugged into the computer. Do have the playback Panasonic prepared. You want to test one song. You want to monitor at the end of the chain, so you want to use your computer speakers, or connect via bluetooth to speakers or headphones, somehow.


My laptops now only have one port for sound In and Out. When I plug into the jack it opens a box with a question of how I want to use it. I'll go see the options on mine after I post this, but you don't want Microphone in, you want recording in or something else if you have a choice. If the Audio Device selection doesn't pop up, google it, there is help "How to get a popup when device is plugged into audio jack" - Or if you know your computer pretty well, open the sound panel options for the input/output to see what options are there.

You want LINE IN.

>Here are the options in the sound panel on my Acer with one jack:

>The current connected device is:

>Which device did you plug in?

>Line In [this is the one you want to use]

>Mic In

>Headphone

>Speaker Out

>Headset


This is where the Behringer USB device will come in handy. Audacity will find it, and you can simply monitor via the interface or on your computer.


Audacity, if you are new to it, it defaults at fresh install to 48khz sampling rate in my experience. You want to set that to 44.1 khz, the CD Audio standard. You can google that. I personally record to WAV file on a clean partition, but recording to high rate MP3 or something else might be what you want to do.


Your cables need to be good, and you need to notice if there is dust affecting the signal in the headphone port or the port on your computer. When you are monitoring at the business end DURING A SILENT PAUSE MODE, you can rotate the plug that is in the jack, you will hear if there is a crappy connection. You can clean the mini headphone jack ports just google it.


I hope you have got a way to monitor what is coming in to your computer after you do all this, it is really the only way to go. Like I said, considering the disadvantage of recording from a boombox headphone output, your advantage is that digital level control on the output, so you might turn out a fairly good recording.

Very new to the microphone world, but I am curious as to what you guys might recommend to fix the noise/static issue I'm getting.

My headset microphone was dieing and I decided to upgrade to a microphone that isn't just a headset mic. The intention is to use it as my mic for gaming as well as giving me the option to record guitar/vocals, and possibly to do some streaming. Over black friday I got a pretty good deal on a Floureon BM-800 Condenser mic (nothing fancy, I know). I also picked up a phantom power supply for it as well.

So my current setup is XLR to phantom power supply, and XLR to 1/8" into my PC.

I had to turn the gain way up to get a decent volume and I'm guessing this is to do with not having a preamp. With the gain this high, I get a lot of noise from a fairly quiet room (even if I move the mic into the hallway the noise is constant). I was looking at the following preamps.

ART TubeMP Tube Microphone Preamp


Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface

So, my questions are...

1. Did I just buy too low of a quality of mic in that, even with a preamp, the noise/static will still be there?
   
   
2. Would either of those preamps cleanup the noise/static from the mic? (The Scarlett is appealing with the 1/4" hookup for my guitar as well)
   
   
3. Is there any software I can run my mic through to filter out noise? I would assume this would not be the ideal way to deal with noise though, and that a preamp would be a better solution for this.
   
   I can provide an audio sample when I get home from work. Thanks!
   

I have had a fair bit of experience in the field of audio engineering, and so hopefully I don't talk out my ass when I say this but:

If this build is audio-orientated, why haven't you included a sound card or other audio interface? This kind of equipment is pretty much the most important part of your setup if you are seriously seeking to create high-fidelity recordings.

Unless you already have an external audio interface or a decent sound card that you're planning to recycle from a previous build, I would highly recommend investing in one. A mid-to-high end sound card will reduce hiss/buzz/interference and will allow you to sample audio at much higher bit-depths.

When it comes to the actual gear (as per usual) your budget dictates the hardware you should purchase, but I give some general guidelines. If you are only planning to do simple recordings (guitar + 1 or 2 vocal mics), I would go with an external soundcard like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. If you're interested in richer recordings of perhaps larger scale (drum kits, bands, etc), something similar to a Focusrite Clarett 8pre X or other rack gear would probably suit.

At this stage, we're talking about spending more on an interface than your actual PC, and I'm guessing you came to this sub to find computer advice. Nevertheless, I hope what wrote helps in some way. Good luck with your auditore endeavours!

The best microphone I know of for this type of use would be the Sennheiser MD-46. It is one of the best if not the best interview microphone around. It has low handling noise and is a dynamic microphone with a super Cardioid pattern. It was specifically design by Sennheiser at the request of NBC Sport for their Olympic coverage a few decade ago and is the favored microphone for many NFL sideline reporters.

However, the Sennheiser MD-46 is an XLR microphone and not a USB microphone. So you'd either have to pick up a portable recorder such as the Zoom H5 or a USB Audio Interface such as the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 to make it work.

If you are thinking of just a USB microphone one of these microphones I tested would be my recommendation. The Knox Podcast Microphone is currently running for $40. But you can also pick up a Audio Technica AT2005, a Audio Technica ATR-2100 or a Samson Q2U. These microphones have a higher handling noise but do record great sound in a stable environment. They are also dynamic cardioid microphones but will pick up a bit more background noise than the Sennheiser MD-46. The bonus with these microphones is that they have both USB and XLR capability and output with both simultaneously so are extremely useful for any podcaster.

Let me know if you have any questions and good luck!

So when recording vocals and guitar at the same time, like you'd like to do, the debate on what to do is really about how much control you want over editing in the end process.

- If you don't care about control on the individual levels of guitar and vocals AND want to record in one take with both instruments, all you need is one mic, XLR, Mic stand, headphones, and an interface to get the signal into your computer.

In this situation, you need A. and Interface that is cheap but not a POS because it really affects the sound of your recording. Behringer makes a cheap interface for 1 Input (microphone) and actually has a decent Preamp in it. B, you need a microphone and cable (XLR, Balanced) to capture the sound and send it to the interface. This area people could talk forever about, but for just getting the job done and a decent sound, AT2020 Condenser (Currently On Sale) is a great option for capturing both your voice and guitar. any XLR will do $10 or something like that.

- If you wanted to track the guitar and vocals separately, one at a time, the only change I would make is the microphone. Shure SM57 would do great for vocals and guitar individually. There have been many singles and albums in the rock, acoustic, and folk category recorded on these mics alone with fantastic results.

​

- If recording the guitar and the vocals at the SAME TIME is the route you want, it's definitely possible. 2 Input interface, Two mics, Two XLR's, Two Mic stands, headphones.

- a change in interface is needed from the first behringer to this one because they have the same sound only difference is the amount of inputs for ~$50 more. Next would be buying two microphones, both options listed above are probably going to be the cheapest you'll find with a decent sound. You can find packages like this on guitar center and other audio retailers, but the mics come with a lot of bad frequencies in my opinion, but hard to argue $99 for two microphones. get the cables, plug everything up and record enable two live tracks in you preferred DAW.

​

As far as the computer goes, Ableton hands out free versions of its "lite" program, and I believe you can record in that version. That would be the best route in my opinion for DAW, Reaper is a good option, I'd stay away from fruity loops if you are mainly just going to be recording audio.

Most of these solutions will put you under or around $250 so I hope this helps, if you have more questions let me know.

I would say that the Klipsch is a lot better and worth the extra $216, but then again, you would also need an amp and that would cost you a lot more. You just need to really determine if you want to go the passive route and have the ability to upgrade more down the road or get a simple powered system that will work just fine for what you need and sounds great, but not have the ability to upgrade components.

​

Here a few good options in either category though that would fit your budget:

​

Passive Setup:

Speakers:

Fluance Signature - $269 CAD

Polk S20 - $350 CAD

Elac Debut B6.2 - $343 CAD

Elac Uni-Fi UB5 - $522 CAD (Considered to be just as good as the Klipsch RP-150M)

Klipsch RP-150M - $289 US (plus shipping and taxes to Canada [$unknown])

SVS Prime - $629 CAD (Can’t tell if this listing is for a pair)

Amps:

SMSL AD18 - $174 CAD

Yamaha RX-V385 - $279 CAD

Denon AVR-S540BT - $377 CAD

​

Powered Setup:

Fluance Ai40 - $225 CAD

Fluance Ai60 - $403 CAD

Edifier S2000 Pro - $500 CAD

Vanatoo Transparent Zero - $359 US (plus shipping and taxes to Canada [$unknown])

​

Studio Monitor Setup:

Monitors:

JBL 305P MKII - $440 CAD

Interfaces:

Behringer UMC202HD - $104 CAD

Focusrite Solo 3rd Gen - $159 CAD

Steinberg UR22MKII - $180 CAD

​

The studio monitor setup is one of my favorites. The JBL’s sound amazing on a desktop, but I would not get one without an audio interface with balanced inputs to help reduce noise.

My current go-to in this price range is a mix of a Yamaha MG10XU mixer or Scarlett Solo interface with a Shure SM57.

SM57 is a really nice sounding dynamic mic for $100, and sounds pretty much equal to the SM7b and 58 in some videos I watched. This fuzzy thing will also act as a nice pop filter for it and is pretty cheap. I've got one of those big round mesh ones and it still lets some heavy Ps and Ts through, so look at some videos if you go that route.

I personally like to tweak with things in hardware, so i'd go with the Yamaha board since it has a ton of features, but if you just want to plug in the mic to something nice then the Scarlett is also fantastic. I've also been using this Neewer arm for about 6 years, and it does the job.

Headphones wise, I've used the AudioTechnica M50x a few times before and honestly they're the best headphones I've ever heard myself. I also see a lot of people praising the Beyerdynamic DT 990s too.

Here’s my personal recommendations:

For an interface, this is the best bang for the buck on the market right now (again, in my opinion), especially if you’re just starting out :
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QHURLHM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520813639&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=umc404hd&dpPl=1&dpID=41q-puettzL&ref=plSrch

For a mic(s), it really depends on how extensive (and what) you’re going to be recording, and specifically if you plan on recording real drums or not. I’d recommend just getting one or two mics to start with, and getting more slowly over time, because if you use sampled drums in the beginning (which is a reality for many small home studio owners), you can do quite a lot of work with 2 mics. I’d recommend the following:

Any large diaphragm condenser in this price range will get the job done, but here’s what I use:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D6RMFG6/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1520814113&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=condenser+microphone

An SM57 is a standard in many studios, and is also versatile and good to have around:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0000AQRST/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520814292&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=sm57&dpPl=1&dpID=31KR2%2BJ86GL&ref=plSrch

Now, for a monitoring situation (a.k.a. How you’re gonna actually listen to what you’re recording and mixing), it’s not the smartest idea to invest in monitors (which will eat up a substantial amount of your budget) without investing in treatment for the acoustics of your room. You could easily spend $500 on these two things alone, so I’d recommend just getting a pair of decent headphones for starting out. I know mixing on headphones is a whole can of worms on its own, but while you’re learning, it’s really not gonna make a difference, as long as you have something better than apple Earbuds (not that they aren’t useful). Just get something where you can really understand the sound of it, and reference on a lot of different systems, especially your car. (Disclaimer, I wouldn’t recommend spending more than $100 on headphones, and try to look for something with a relatively flat response, instead of something with cranked bass and hi end, so you can hear as accurately as possible)

As far as DAWs go, I know how appealing it is to buy the same program that people at the top of the industry might be using, but the truth is that most DAWs nowadays can essentially do the same thing. If you only take one of my recommendations, let it be REAPER. You can use a fully functionally demo for as long as you want, and chances, it’ll do everything you need, especially while you’re starting out. Hell, I know professionals that swear by it, and for good reason; it’s insanely flexible and useful, and for the price point (basically free, but if you end up sticking with it, you really should buy a license, it’s only like $60), you just can’t go wrong.
http://reaper.fm

Edit: Unless you’re gonna be mixing 50 track songs right out of the gate, your MacBook will probably be just fine for the time being

Hope all of this helps, good luck!

Honestly, the Blue Yeti is actually a slightly better mic but it is USB and thus gives you no options to expand when you realize that recording guitar and vocals separately is so much better.
The XLR version of the Blue Yeti is twice the price, making it not worthwhile. Since you're already saying you want to record two things, you should discount the idea of the Yeti immediately.

What is your price range?
The best recommendation is the Focusrite 2i2.
This is easily worth the $50 more than the next option worth considering, the M-Track, even though the Focusrite 2i2 does not allow you to plug in an electric guitar without going through an amp or DI box and the M-Track does.






If you're wondering what the best use of your money is to get the sound you want to get, I can't tell you. If you're wondering if $50 for the AT2020 is a good investment, the answer is yes and you should buy two for stereo.

Look it up on YouTube, see if you like what you hear. I have 3 of them and like them but you can hear that they are rather "bright" almost in a tinny metallic way.

If you want to get the most out of your new gear, you should buy a DAC. On-board sound cards are not high quality and you'll be better off getting your DAC chip out of the electrical shit storm going on inside your computer. You can spend anything from $30 or so up to the price of a new house on a DAC. The Behringer UCA202 is popular at the $30 range. If you want a nicer one, I'd recommend the Schiit Modi. And it goes up from there.

As for an amp, opinions vary. Most audiophiles will tell you an integrated amp is better than a receiver, and separates (a power amp and a preamp) are better, and dual mono all the way through is even better (separate amps for the left and right channels).

You could get a craigslist or eBay special and be perfectly fine. If you want a popular and solid integrated, the Emotiva Mini-X a100 is on sale for $170. Emotiva is the kind of the go-to for a lot of budget-minded audiophiles.

Lastly, while those speakers are going to sound very nice, "absolute best" is not only a relative term, it costs a lot more to achieve. Check out /r/zeos/ for a lot of good information.

Okay then what I would do is buy a guitar headphone amp they are cheap like less then $20 USD, and plug it into the out for the fx loop, and your headphones into that. This only utilizes the preamp portion of you amp but it is probably the most cost effective. If you do this and the guitar headphone amp has a gain option turn that all the way down. A similar option to this would be to plug your fx out into a DAW or some kind of audio mixer this would also give you the option to record yourself on a computer without being effected by room acoustics. If you want to you can use the other output but that will damage your headphones unless you buy a line level converter. Then the analog from the converter to a headphone amp, and from there to your headphones. This would require you to do some simple wireing, but hey if your up for it why not try.
I also want you to make sure you know the people on this thread including me are NOT professionals and you should do you own research and only do what you feel comfortable doing with your money and equipment.
If you would like to do more research here is a good place to start.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Line_level
Also here are links to example of the things I mentioned
Guitar headphone amp - Monoprice 611500 Mini Headphone Amplifier for Guitar, Clean https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AJHE5E6/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_95ZExbPNDRWFP
Electro-Harmonix Headphone Amp Portable Practice Amp https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003UIBQEI/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_E6ZExb9S9N2V7
DAW - Focusrite Scarlett Solo (2nd Gen) USB Audio Interface with Pro Tools | First https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01E6T56CM/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_N7ZExbDTYTZC7
Mixer - Behringer Xenyx 302USB Mixer https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005EHILV4/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_58ZExb4RMVW9V
Line level converter - PAC SNI-35 Variable LOC Line Out Converter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EAWS3W/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_O9ZExbPEZPHXN
Hope I helped in some way and hope you find your solution!

Like /u/ulgreswo, I used a different card; the Xonar DG. In my case, it did work under linux alright, but I'd always have to tamper with a setting under alsamixer in the terminal to get it to output sound on any fresh install of linux. Not sure if the DGX would be any different in that regard.

Also the audio-quality wasn't really all that spectacular, as I would still get buzzing and beeps due to interference from the LAN port.

In the end, I sold it and instead replaced it with this external USB DAC (Digital to Analog Converter), which was very affordable, and put out excellent sound. This particular DAC interested me due to the well written review on the Amazon page from Jayteck, where he describes replacing the capacitors on the board for even better sound quality. I followed the instructions contained in the comments, and found that it does indeed sound quite superb when these modifications are done (though it sounded better than the Xonar DG even without the mod).

Alternatively, I've also read great things on various audio enthusiast forums about this Behringer DAC, which is also quite affordable.

Due to using USB, both of those DAC's are plug-n-play with Linux, and require absolutely no configuration to get working. The only potential downside is that they do not have microphone inputs, and only output stereo audio.

I use Shure SM57 running through a Forcusrite Scarlet 2i4 2nd Gen. My oldest technique was using Voice Record Pro 7 on my iPhone, and strategically recording in certain rooms, or setups. Afterwards, I edited in Audacity, but I've since moved over to Reaper.

Some mistakes I made along the way (and extra):

• Smartphones are perfectly acceptable and money conscious way too record. The catch is you'll need to be good at editing to get the sound quality your probably looking for.
  
  
• I researched a ton, before I bought, and when I finally had the money to purchase it, I still didn't feel comfortable (there's a reason why). Even if you think you're done, research it more. Be absolutely 100% with no maybes, while also being realistic.
  
  
• What I was paranoid about what the Scarlett 2i4 having some sort of issue of being quiet/compatibility issues, or the mic would break easy. Well it turns out neither of those are true. That is unless you pair them together and then everything seems true. The SM57/58 don't work well with the Scarlett 2i4 without a preamp to run between the DAI and microphone, such as a Cloudlifter CL-1 or CL-2.
  
  
• Know what your mics do, and what they excel at. Seriously, know your microphones well.
  
  
• Don't cheap out on a stand; buy something of quality. You don't want to drop a $500 condenser mic, because you wanted to save $20 on a stand.
  
  My wishlist is annoyingly long, so I'll refrain from posting it.
  
  E: I'm not sure if many will see this, but it's still worth posting. I did a walk through of my house using my iPhone 6+ and Voice Record Pro 7, showing off how different rooms sound, as well an unedited recording can be (you should always edit). Blanket monster is your friend.

I commented about this in a thread about the new Razer mic... not really a big deal but here goes.

If you are looking for truly good audio, these USB mics wont cut it. It's not that they sound bad, it just bugs me that they are marketed as "studio grade," when they really are not. It is like buying a "Gaming PC," from HP.

If you plan to use it for any real content creation, you'd do yourself a favor by buying an inexpensive interface and inexpensive mic. Yeah, this option puts you over $200..... but those are two very cheap options considering that they are viable for pro audio. And they specifically are strong in features that people in this thread would use. The Focusrite Scarletts have amazing (for the price) microphone preamps, and the MXL condensers are amazing (for the price) VO mics.

Everyone in this subreddit is familiar with the price/benefit curve of buying video cards etc... this setup is probably 4x better than a USB mic at 2x the price. From here, you'd have to jump to $800 before you saw any real benefit.

That has a single XLR input, and onboard effects. Doesn't seem very flexible to me. For the price, I'm not at all interested.

Unless you are specifically wanting an 'all in one' outboard solution like that, which requires quite a bit of compromise in terms of price, flexibility, and usually quality... I personally would rather go with a modular solution and software effects, as that would remove all limitations and be more easily upgraded at a later date... Not to mention it would be cheaper.

Free effects are abundant on Linux. A nice all-inclusive option would be something like Guitarix. It's a full suite of 'guitar' effects (which would work fine for vocals as well.)

You'll need the following hardware (examples included:)

1. XLR input:
   

• Scarlett Solo has 1 XLR and 1 line in. Great sounding preamps.
  
• Behringer UMC22 is similar in features, very inexpensive.
  
• Depending on what you'll be using this for, you may want to consider an option with two XLR inputs in case you want two people (or just two mics) simultaneously.
  
  

2. Control surface: These have knobs/buttons/sliders that can be assigned to anything in your software.
   

• Akai MidiMix - Lots of sliders and knobs.
  
• Behringer Xtouch Mini - Inexpensive and portable
  
  So if you went with the Scarlett Solo + Akai MidiMix, you'd have more flexibility, better preamps, and more easily portable setup for less than half the price.
  
  With the Behringer options listed above, it would be 1/4 the price, again with all the benefits I listed.
  
  FYI, the example products in this comment are just that: examples. There are dozens of other options available.

Depends on what you want to do. This seems to be a great consumer product but I wouldn't be sure that this is a right choice for a producer. From all the reviews I've read, it sounds good, but that's not what you want as a producer, you want it to sound true. It's the same case as with the bass in your headphones. You want a true sound, not something that is made pleasing to the ear. You need to hear your mix clearly without boosts in certain frequencies, you need to hear your mistakes so you can fix them. Plus when the bass is artificially boosted in your headphones, it makes by default the low mids and mids distorted and muddy, thus hurting your ability to truly hear what's going on in the music.

Second thing is that this interface doesn't have any inputs, so you can't use it for recording at all. But if you don't ever plan on using microphones for recording vocal lines, samples of whatever, talking, perhaps collaborating musician's instruments, then it shouldn't bother you. (I'd recommend having them just in case anyway)

One more thing that you might appreciate in the future is a separate output for headphones and for monitors. Once you get them, you'd be glad you don't have to unplug them every time you want to use headphones.

In the end, I'd recommend going for a traditional audio interface. Those things are made for producing music so they deliver a sound as uncolored as possible with I/O and features that are practical for a producer and a musician.

In the same price, category check out these for example:

Focusrite Scarlett Solo

Behringer U-PHORIA UM2

Presonus AudioBox

or simply type "audio interface" into the search bar and look for yourself. Hope this helps.

Sure!

So I'll assume you guys have the absolute bare bones in equipment and work from there. Since these are voice recordings from the 60s\70s there won't be much fidelity to capture so you should be pretty safe.

I've only done this with a Windows machine but I think there are similar settings on Mac. If not this will at least give you an idea of what to Google.

You'll need to get the audio from the tape deck to the computer. Technically you should use a line input. If you have a desktop computer it might be the blue connector. If you have a laptop you can use one of these things or something similar. If you're a cheapskate like my Dad you can just use the microphone input (if you have a headphone/microphone combo jack you'll need this doo-dad).

Note that the Mic input is "hot" in the sense that it's very sensitive to the noise coming into it and a line level input from a tape deck with clip out all the audio. You'll need to dial the mic sensitivity down. In Windows 10 right click the audio icon>Sounds>Recording>Select your default mic input>Properties>Listen>✔Listen to this device (to monitor)>Levels>Adjust levels. How to adjust levels should be apparent soon.

If you're using a Walkman type player you can connect with a simple auxillary cable (double sided male headphone jack). If you have a big tape deck just hook it into the Mic or Line jack with one of these. Toss a tape in there and let it play. Check to see if you can hear it with the "Listen to this device" checked. Adjust the levels to where it sounds normalish. You'll fine tune it next.

Install Audacity. In the top bar you'll see a mic input drop down, select your line in or mic input. Click the audio meter for the mic next to check your input levels. Advice on this varies but in general keep the green bar bouncing on the low end between the -12 and -6 during normal audio levels on the tape. This gives some wiggle room when people on the tape get antsy. You can adjust that with the OS input levels and fine tune it with the Audacity mic levels.

Restart your tape, hit record, and play it through.

When exporting I like to use FLAC for lossless audio but if you're looking for something more practical just use a high quality setting for MP3. FLAC is built in but you'll have to install the MP3 exporter (which I just linked wiki instructions for). You can also use WAV but its a lot bigger and doesn't support tags. When you export you'll have options to tag the artist data. I like to input as much data as I have about the tape in these fields. It will display in any compatible media player and it keeps things generally more organized.

If you don't want to bother with any of that you could try visiting local music shops and recording studios and I'm sure there's someone there that you could pay to have it done. I've never tried that though.

Hope that sets you down the right path. Preserving old audio like that of our parents is important. I have a box of old "love tapes" my Dad mailed to my Mom when they were dating. I should digitize them... but it's really weird to hear. Maybe I'll send them out.

Hey guys, I hope this is the right place to ask this.

To make a long story short, I'm looking to buy a mic to use for Skype/TS/VoIP type stuff, mostly while gaming. I'm also looking to try something nicer than the low grade desk mics that I've used in the past. I was previously planning to just buy something like the Audio Technica AT2020 USB, but I'd like to try to find a solution that will allow me to reduce the level of sound that my mic picks up from other sources, primarily my mechanical keyboard, which is loud as hell.

To this end, I was thinking about picking up a fairly cheap shotgun mic and hooking it into a USB mixer that I could plug into my computer. I think the shotgun mic's directional nature would be an improvement on the mics I've been using (and that my friends have been complaining about) and would have less sound picked up from my keyboard (although I know it won't go away entirely).

Keeping in mind that I'm on a college student budget, and that this isn't for any kind of recording/voice over work for music or anything, here's what I had planned:

Audio-Technica ATR-6550 as the mic. It's low-cost and has reasonably good reviews. I've owned a few different pairs of AT headphones before and never had any complaints about their build quality or performance, so this seems like a good pickup at my price point. If this setup works, I could consider picking up a nicer mic later on in time.

Behringer Xenyx 302USB as the mixer. Again, low cost and obviously not stellar in performance or options, but I don't need it to do very much.

My understanding of it is that I can hook the mixer into my computer via USB, and it will register it as a recording/playback device. Then I can hook the shotgun mic (with a 1/4in adaptor on it) into the XLR/TRS mic input and that will serve as the new mic. I also should be able to plug my headphones into the headphones jack and my speakers into the output of the mixer, so that all of the recording and playback devices are handled by the mixer.

Ultimately, however, I don't actually know anything about audio equipment, including the mic and mixers. So if anyone has any advice to offer or suggestions to make, that'd be greatly appreciated. Also, if I'm completely wrong about how the inputs/outputs or something like that on the mixer works, then it'd be awesome if someone could help explain it to me.

I run a project studio that I built the PC for myself. From my research, for music production, intels are recommended. As usual, people will/can argue about this, but i7s have worked great for me. I ran an i7 2600 for a 3 years without even hitting the limit of its capabilities. Ditch the video card, use onboard i5/i7 graphics. Cheaper, quieter.

Like others have recommended, an external sound-card with ASIO support will be a big help in reducing latency (delay of sound being played on your speaker/headphone). You can always get one later though. It's more important if you're doing real-time recording, rather than electronic production.

I threw together a quick build, but I'm by no means an expert, so maybe there are better motherboards/RAM sticks at the price, but this should be a good starting point. Sound card is not included, so add from below:

A basic sound interface would cost $80, and a decent one $150.

If you can afford to, throw in another 8 GB of RAM and you should be golden.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor | $224.99 @ SuperBiiz
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-Z97X-SLI ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | $114.99 @ SuperBiiz
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $59.98 @ Newegg
Storage | Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $64.95 @ SuperBiiz
Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $44.99 @ Best Buy
Case | Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case | $59.99 @ NCIX US
Power Supply | Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply | $49.99 @ Amazon
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) | $91.71 @ NCIX US
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $711.59
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-19 12:52 EDT-0400 |

Edit: Had used PC1333 RAM by mistake, replaced with 1600.

I really have no beef with AMD, but have always been the guy who wanted to invest in what shows the results; and Intel has always done that in my opinion (Not to knock AMD).

Interface wise, I have the perfect solution for you. It's what I have, as well as many others and it's very affordable and reliable. The Focusrite 2i2

Small, sexy looking, and great audio quality. I suppose you can say it doubles as a soundcard, because I just run all my audio through it, meaning when I launch Live, I select the Scarlett as my audio device, and it takes care of everything for me. No latency, and great audio. Check it out man!

the "Devil's Canyon" versions of the Haswells allegedly have better thermal design, though the i5-4460 is probably good enough, but spending $40 for the ability to upclock to 4GHz if & when I feel like seemed like a wise investment.

Stay with the socket 1150 generation, 1151 is too new still.

Getting an H vs. Z motherboards are fine (if you don't want to OC). tonymac has a thing for Gigabyte over other mfg choices, and maybe that preference is justified.

Gigabyte BIOS does seem pretty compatible, and I didn't run into the USB issues people were seeing with 10.11. I don't have any fancy SSDT stuff, just some config.plist settings and the EFI drivers.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i07ofpvfz8agl20/CLOVER.zip?dl=0

is a link to the Clover files I have for my Gigabyte Z97-UD3H-BK w/ i5-4690K w/ no GPU.

>After initial setup do you face any issue in hackintosh?

Very smooth sailing since June when I installed 10.10 and the 10.11 beta. Gone MUCH better than I was even hoping.

I installed Windows 10 again recently and that took out Clover on my O X boot disk (I forgot to detach the OS X SSD first), but I was able to boot from my Clover USB OS X installer and reinstall Clover onto the EFI partition of my main OS X boot drive with no issues.

10.11's security addition is something of a pain but I guess Clover has that sorted out for new installs too.

Note I have a BCM94360CD-based PCIe 802.11 wifi / bt4 combo card I got for $65 from Hong Kong via eBay. This has been working great OOB. I also spent ~$20 on a Behringer USB sound dongle to not have to futz with the onboard audio driver install hassle.

Not that I can think of. I just took mine out of the case, just the device and the USB cable. It draws power from the USB, so no power cord. Comes with some software too, but it's not a real DAW or anything really good tbh.

----

FYI-
The Akai MPK Mini pretty cheap (new) on amazon, btw ($100). Goes on sale sometimes (was @$80 at xmas IIRC). Same price on sweetwater.

https://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-MPK-Mini-Controller/dp/B00IJ6QAO2

White limited edition is back in stock too ($100). Only differs cosmetically, but some people like it.
https://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-Mini-MKII-White/dp/B01M13A6JT

Also, for the sake of diversity, the Launchkey Mini 25 at @$100. (New) Launchkey comes with Ableton Live Lite (a DAW). They make quality stuff, too but it's Ableton oriented. That's a plus because you basically get a free version of the introductory version of a great DAW. That's a minus though if you try Ableton and decide it's not for you (the major DAWs are all good, it's really preference at the high levels of stuff like Ableton, Logic, FL, etc).

https://www.amazon.com/Novation-Launchkey-Keyboard-Controller-LAUNCHKEY-MINI-MK2/dp/B00VVNOMGI

> arturia minilab

Is there something particular in the Arturia that you are looking for or is it one that you have settled upon? They make amazing gear, but there are so many products out now that you can find one that directly fits your needs.

For instance:
http://www.amazon.com/Novation-Impulse-25-Controller-Keyboard/dp/B005M02VJG

This is a bit more, but has transport controls and rocker-style pitch and mod wheels and some extras. It can be found used but new for $139.90.

I personally was at Musik Messe in Germany last year; Largest Electronic and Audio Expo in the world. There are so many people making gear now that you really can find pretty much what you are looking for. Additionally there are tools like

http://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-MPK-MINI-MKII/dp/B00IJ6QAO2/ref=pd_cp_MI_0

Not trying to sway your vote one way or another. I just have spent thousands over the years on all sorts of controlers over the years, have been doing this for a very long time, and want to help educate those who are pursuing similar paths.

One word of advice, having a hopped up gaming computer is great. However, the "tuning" I was speaking of in the thread pertaining to digital audio recording is a lot different than how one would tune a computer for gaming. Both can still be achieved well on a single computer, but there are some major differences that have to be lived with on the gaming side to ensure best recording experiences possible.

plug something like this into this and then run it via USB to your computer. any mic and interface will do, but those 2 happen to be pretty basic and easy to handle. as for software, i recommend Reaper as you can use it for free for awhile and pay once you've decided it's worth it (which it will be, so make sure at some point you throw 'em the cost).

point mic at amp speaker, select track on Reaper and press record. rock out like the glorious rock god you are, and then press stop. File menu>render (i think, can't remember right now)>pick format and save.

very, very rough walkthrough!

Why not both! The theory is the same, it's just the hand skills that are different. You'll probably find yourself gravitating to one or the other which is fine. Practice 30min - 1hour a day and you should pick it up pretty quickly. Tons of online tutorials for both instruments, just make sure you actually play along and do the exercises because just watching isn't good enough. Money wise you could get both a uke and mini keyboard for under $200 total.

​

Kala makes cheap ukuleles that sound pretty damn good. Their more expensive ones are good too, but no need to spend that much yet. Lohanu's are super popular and sound good as well.

Soprano is the more traditional size, Concert is a little bigger with a bit more fret spacing which is nice if you have big hands.

Ukes:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F543PAW

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015XD4YLY

Useful accessories:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JI3XDDK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001QL1EZC

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MC5TMJB

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D1N49MC

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004RALL

​

Midi Keyboards (Note: these connect to your computer):

Komplete Kontrol M32 (best software bundle by far)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N2VQ1NH

Arturia MiniLab MkII 25

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSNIVKE

Akai MPK Mini MKII

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IJ6QAO2

Novation Launchkey Mini 25

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VVNOMGI

​

Too lazy to do useful accessories for this at the moment.

IF you arent trying to spend too much money on it, I'd recommend just heading to a local studio and renting some time to record what you need. That is, unless you are trying to make this a regular thing.

I'll go ahead and throw some links up on what I list as good, low-budget options to get you going.

I'd recommend getting a cardioid condenser mic (AKG AT2020 ~$100), an audio interface with at least one mic preamp and phantom power (Scarlett Solo ~$100), and a pop filter (Audio 2000s AWS4071 ~$10). You'd also need a DAW to edit the tracks, such as cutting out long pauses and words you didn't intend to make into the final cut, and adding a bit of compression and EQ changes. Most likely the audio interface will come with an intro DAW that'll do just enough for what you want to do. For better results you can also pick up an acoustic shield (Monoprice 602650 ~$65) to help isolate the sound, which doesn't seem important just getting into it but once you hear the difference you'll see why its important. Oh, and you'll need to get an XLR cable (~$8) to plug the mic in, but you may or may not want one that's a bit longer than the one I linked.

Something I want to throw in there as well is you'll also probably want to learn how to get on de-essing. In a vocal take, often times an "s" sound will come out very harshly if left unedited. A method to avoid this is to not talk directly into the mic, but slightly off center. Alternatively, you can buy a VST or program that can do it automatically for you. Also, a good thing to do is to reduce noise either through careful automated eq cuts or by using a program such as reafir which can be downloaded for free from the developers here.

If you do get involved with all this craziness, and I know its all pretty intimidating, I'd be happy to help you get on your way to making some great recordings. Just send me a message any time.

hey, i enjoyed the report. Good to know that even with a stomach full of food the DXM works. I listened to your song, trippy haha. What program do you use to create? I am not a well versed in midi keyboards/pads but I did do a bit of research before buying the one I did and I love it. https://www.amazon.ca/Akai-Professional-MPK-Keyboard-Controller/dp/B00IJ6QAO2?th=1&psc=1&source=googleshopping&locale=en-CA&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_8ui5vlk1ju_e. It comes with some free downloads for sound banks and had its own DAW. I've hooked it up to FL studio and it worked. I think you'd like this keyboard for many reason but mainly the little knob/stick in the top left corner is able to distort sound by pitch and speed, is super satisfying warping sounds while baked. Also everything including pads are really sensitive to the pressure you are trying for and play well with real time sound.

Hmm... To clarify, my set up is as follows from input to output:

electric guitar (Epiphone Casino) -[TS cable]-\> Behringer U-Phoria UMC22 -[USB output]-\> MacBook Pro 2013 Laptop -[Software: Garage Band]-\> output audio jack from Laptop to Headphones (Audio Technica ATH-M30x)

My original comment was intended to inquire about the OP's Behringer UMC204HD (better version than mine) to see if it also experienced the issues I was experiencing with the cheaper alternative (Mine was $40). The UMC22 only has one Mic/Line, along with 1 Inst port. Both of those ports with their own Gain knobs. Then there is the Monitoring output with its own output knob and Direct Monitor button which I referenced earlier. That monitoring output knob does nothing to the USB output.

So I do not have Pad switches on those ports, a Mix knob, or a main output knob. With my set up of all the knobs turned down, I do get an input from the guitar (along with the static), the guitar is pretty quiet though. This input is visible in Garage Band's audio input visualizer measuring the Decibels.

Thank you for taking the time to help me out with this.

To Clarify my experience for any and all people looking at the cheaper option of Behringer U-Phoria UMC22:

This noise is not Ground Noise due to my Laptop because I do not have my MacBook Pro grounded/connected to an outlet. I have read other comments around on this product that mentioned it may be some sort of Ground Noise within the unit itself due to lesser quality, but nothing definite.

The tests where I found increasing the gain knob (this was the gain to the Mic/Line1 port with Midas PreAmp) was what I mistook for the increase in the volume of the static. That is the fuzz/noise of the typical increased gain. However, this does not increase the noise/whine of the unit. That is simply constant. I can tell the frequency and pitch of the two noises are different now when listening close. My other comment about the change in the whining noise of the unit on by itself when the gain knobs are turned still holds true.

This is probably a question for /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers - They're usually pretty great for answering music production questions :)

That said, Logic, Reason or Pro Tools are your 'staple' DAWs - They are all equally powerful (for your intents and purposes), and Logic is the cheapest, so Logic is a good idea. You're also going to need a USB Audio Interface (I recommend the Scarlett 2i2 for small projects, or the Saffire Pro 40 if you plan on micing a drum kit) to get signal from mics/guitars into the computer. Look into getting some cheap-ish mics (AT2020 for acoustic guitar/vocals/overheads, and the SM57 and SM58 for whatever else, at least for starters).

There are oodles of great Youtube tutorials that will teach you how to use Logic, and eventually you'll want to invest in studio headphones and studio monitors (unless you already have them), which are built specifically to give you an objective sound to accurately mix.


I'm not an expert producer, but I do freelance stuff locally out of my home studio - My work for reference

Feel free to PM with questions, and you should definitely post in /r/WeAreTheMusicMakers! They'll probably have better answers than me, but I hope this helps.

To build a system using the minimum recommendations from this sub, let's start with this diagram: http://i.imgur.com/Z8FMJ.png
DAC is optional, so is a subwoofer but I recommend one.

DAC: Behringer UCA202 $29.99 Link: http://amzn.com/B000KW2YEI

Amplifier: SMSL SA-50 $68.99 Link: http://amzn.com/B00F0H8TOC

Subwoofer: Dayton Audio SUB-800 $99.00 Link: http://amzn.com/B0063NU30K

Bookshelf Speakers: Micca MB42X $89.00 Link: http://amzn.com/B00E7H8GG2

Wire: 16-gauge Speaker Wire $8.00 Link: http://amzn.com/B006LW0WDQ

With DAC, this cable: Stereo Male to 2 RCA Male $5 Link: http://amzn.com/B00I0HPK6O

Without DAC, this cable: Monoprice 105597 3-Feet Premium Stereo Male to 2RCA Male $5 Link: http://amzn.com/B0094A1F3S

This is a great starter system, I would have loved to had something like this starting out.
All of these pieces can be upgraded, do your research. Look for sales etc. Good luck and have fun.

If your budget is a little flexible, my recommendation is to grab an MXL 770 and a [Steinberg Ur12](https://www.amazon.com/Steinberg-UR12-USB-Audio-Interface/dp/B00QY4RLRQ/] or Mackie Onyx Blackjack. They are very similar, but if you think you'll also do audio editing at any point, the UR12 offers higher sampling rates, which means you can edit at higher quality; otherwise, the Mackie may be the better option just because it lets you control monitoring from your voice with with a knob on the interface. If you need a mic stand and XLR cable, check out this ebay listing for the MXL 770. These sub-$200 combos would last you a long time, and sub-$200 is very cheap for a complete new audio setup.

If you can't/won't pay that, you can keep the great mic and go for a cheaper interface; the Behringer U-Phoria is $30.00 on B&H (see the link). It's out of stock right now, but it should be back by the end of the month. It's also $50 on Musician's Friend. It's not as good as the Steinberg, but it gets the job done for audio at a very low price. So that's $130-150 for solid entry-level audio recording. If you got this setup and wanted to upgrade in the future, I would replace the interface first, probably to a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2.

If your budget is really flexible, I would spring for the 2i2 from the outset, personally. You could also invest in a better mic stand or mic cable, but any of these builds will get you started at a good price.

Of course, getting any of these used would result in better deals. If you're looking used, you should also look for the Focusrite Scarlett Solo on eBay; it has a pretty good resale market, so you may be able to find a deal. The Scarlett is comparable in quality to the Steinberg UR12.

my boyfriend has been really into music (mostly hip hop/rap) since he was a kid and has recently expressed an interest in the producing side of things. he’s mentioned a couple of times that he’d like a keyboard or synthesizer, so i thought i’d get him one for Christmas this year.

i should emphasize that he’s never played an instrument before; i’m sure he doesn’t know how to read notes or anything. i played the piano for about 10 years growing up so i at least can help him out with some of the basics, but what i don’t know anything about is keyboards or synthesizers.

i just want to get him a solid option for beginners. i don’t want to spend too much money (hopefully $150 or less?) in case he tries it and isn’t into it. i don’t know if a keyboard or a synthesizer would be a better fit for him and his interests. below are a few options i pulled from amazon, but again, i don’t know anything about any of this so if you have suggestions please let me know! i really really appreciate all your help in advance, i’ll send gold to a few of those who reply later this evening :)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Well the HD600 is the most obvious upgrade choice.

They need amping, but they're not hard to drive and they scale well with amp quality. This means you have some flexibility when it comes to the amp. If you plan on upgrading to a better amp in the future, grab an UCA202 for the time being, and save for a $100+ amp for later. If you want an amp now and are not looking for an upgrade in the near future, get a FiiO E10K or SMSL SD793-II.

You can also try simply using them straight out of your PC for starters, if you happen to have a higher quality motherboard by any chance you may be pleasantly surprised by its ability to drive them, and you can postpone getting an amp and save the $30 for the UCA202.

Mod mics? You mean something like this? Those aren't going to be amazing, but honestly I've known people who record their show using their laptop's internal microphone and it sounded okay. It's more important to use what you have and produce something rather than sit on your hands and produce nothing.

That board you linked claims to have 8 inputs, but it actually has 4 stereo channels, two of which are mic-level and two are line-level. If you have more than 2 people, that's probably not a great option. I also wouldn't recommend that particular mixer because it has no USB-out. It's also going to be outputting stereo, which is to say two audio channels. You can record in stereo, but it will give you less control when editing. If you want to get a board like that, I'd recommend this one from Behringer. It's substantially the same, but has USB.

Incidentally, how many people are you going to have on your show? If it's more than two, what I'd actually recommend is something more like this 4-channel audio interface. To use those mod mics you'll need some adaptors for the 1/4" microphone plugs. But it will let you record up to 4 individual audio channels, and if you decide to upgrade to better microphones in the future you'll be able to use the same device.

You might be able to find it for less than $100, but that's the first one I came up with.

If you have more than 4 people, I think you'll have a hard time finding an effective solution for less than $100. But again, I think the quality of your show is more about the content than the fidelity of the audio.

Hi everyone. I want to start collaborating with my brother in law who just moved across the country. We plan to record stuff (he is an EDM guy, I'm a rock guy) on GarageBand or the like and send it back and forth to modify, add to, etc.

TLDR: What gear should I get to start recording music onto my computer??

I want to record my acoustic-electric and electric guitar. What is my best option? I have an ok USB mic, but I'm sure it would sound much better with a direct clean input. I am debating between these two devices, but don't really understand the difference:

• Steinberg UR12 USB Audio Interface
  
  
• Apogee JAM Guitar Interface Input or the higher end version
  
  
  Any advice or other gear suggestions would be really helpful! For example, I have a Fender Mustang II modeling amp... is there a way to use that to record into a computer? Or just better off using build in tones from whatever software I use? THANKS!

So you have some options, and ultimately it comes down to future ability.

Starting out, you can buy a SM58 for cheap, and it'll have pretty nice quality. It outputs mic level signal though, so it will need amped by something, which is where your choices come in.

If you're looking to keep it cheap, you can pick up an audio interface to get the mic up to a reasonable level and into your computer. Something like this. This setup will run you ~$200 in total (mic and interface), but will limit what you can do with the equipment you purchased.

If you're willing to shell out just an additional $100, you can grab a mixer like you said. This would be my recommendation. It gives you 4 mono inputs and 2 stereo inputs, opposed to the 2 mono inputs the interface above provides. It's also a fully fledged board, so you can use it for more than just getting audio from your mic into your computer. Its USB interface is pretty handy, too. It'll send 4 channels to your computer and your computer can input 2 stereo channels back to the board.

Initially I only used my board for getting my mic into my computer, but I've ended up using it for mic and guitar input into my computer, as well as computer audio & DAW output to my monitors.

The board's pretty handy, but if you don't need it there's not much reason to buy it. If you're only ever going to use one channel to get your mic into your computer, you're probably better off with the interface, as setting up the board can take some time. Plus, if you don't have studio monitors / speakers that take analog input, the board isn't going to help you in getting signal to them.

So it pretty much depends on what you need, and if you plan on expanding or not. Rule of thumb, however, is to plan ahead so you don't end up spending more buying something you could have bought earlier. And if you plan on getting serious, you're going to want to pick up some studio monitors.

But again, if you're just going to be recording some covers every now and then in your room and not much else, I'd recommend going the interface route opposed to the full on mixer route.

The Arturia Minilab Mk2 isn't bad, but I think the Launchkey Mini Mk2 is better. I've found I don't use the knobs as often as I'd thought, the extra pads are a more than welcome exchange for it. Plus, it has easy-to-install drivers, works with most DAWs, and great feel on the keys for the price, too.

Make sure you get what works for your workflow. If more knobs are better, then go for that. If having more pads readily available without having to press any buttons is better, go for the Launchkey.

Another option is the Akai MPK Mini Mk2 but I've heard it can be really wonky with certain software.

I mean, the sky is kinda the limit. For a basic introduction into this whole recording thing, you can get something like the Blue Yeti USB condenser mic. Being a usb mic, it's a little limiting because you can't plug other instruments or mics into it, but it does pretty well.

I know Julia Nunes has been using a Yeti lately for her youtube stuff, and it sounds pretty good to me.

If you guys want to get more in depth, you can get something like a Focusrite scarlett 2i2 which seems to be the big thing that's going around and is well liked, and they even have a two tiers of starter kit, the better of which comes with a mic, pop filter, mic stand, cords, a copy of cubase, and headphones.

It depends on your recording environment. If you are just starting out and are recording in a bedroom or office I recommend a cardiod dynamic. Cardiod refers to the pattern around the mic that it picks up. Cardiod mics are most sensitive right in front of them in contrast to omidirectional mics which are sensitive to sound from any direction. A dynamic mic isn't as sensitive as a condensor mic and doesn't pick up a lot of background noise.



If you are just starting out I recommend one of the following:



One Person w/ USB mic:

Audio Technica ATR2100 -- ($69)
https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATR2100-USB-Cardioid-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B004QJOZS4/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3VSBIQQ3JBF11&keywords=audio+technica+atr2100&qid=1551358784&s=gateway&sprefix=audio+technica+atr2100%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-5



Neewar Boom Arm -- ($14)
https://www.amazon.com/Adjustable-Microphone-Suspension-Broadcasting-Voice-Over/dp/B00DY1F2CS/ref=pd_bxgy_267_3/130-3630075-7767759?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00DY1F2CS&pd_rd_r=bbd378dc-3b58-11e9-bd63-17b75475049f&pd_rd_w=hAX4Y&pd_rd_wg=0cwDw&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=THVQ9RCXBFP8QTKXH408&psc=1&refRID=THVQ9RCXBFP8QTKXH408



On Stage Foam Wind Screen -- ($3)
https://www.amazon.com/Stage-Foam-Ball-Type-Windscreen-Black/dp/B0002GXF8Q/ref=pd_bxgy_267_2/130-3630075-7767759?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0002GXF8Q&pd_rd_r=bbd378dc-3b58-11e9-bd63-17b75475049f&pd_rd_w=hAX4Y&pd_rd_wg=0cwDw&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=THVQ9RCXBFP8QTKXH408&psc=1&refRID=THVQ9RCXBFP8QTKXH408


(Total - $86)



_____

One Person - w/ XLR interface:

BEHRINGER UMC22 Interface -- ($60)
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC22-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00FFIGZF6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=umc22&qid=1551358965&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-1



Behringer Ultravoice Xm8500 -- ($20)
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-Ultravoice-Dynamic-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B0002KZAKS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DW4EVX2PF5KX&keywords=xm8500&qid=1551358987&s=musical-instruments&sprefix=xm%2Cmi%2C192&sr=1-1


Audio-Technica ATH-M20, Can use any headphones -- ($50)
https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M20x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR18/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2B8B1B60ZJQ7U&keywords=ath-20x&qid=1551359014&s=musical-instruments&sprefix=ath-20%2Cmi%2C195&sr=1-1-catcorr


Knox Boom Arm -- ($50)
https://www.amazon.com/Knox-Professional-Microphone-Snowball-Microphones/dp/B07D7JTR5M/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=knox+boom+arm&qid=1551359032&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1


On Stage Foam Wind Screen -- ($3)
https://www.amazon.com/Stage-Foam-Ball-Type-Windscreen-Black/dp/B0002GXF8Q/ref=pd_bxgy_267_2/130-3630075-7767759?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0002GXF8Q&pd_rd_r=bbd378dc-3b58-11e9-bd63-17b75475049f&pd_rd_w=hAX4Y&pd_rd_wg=0cwDw&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=THVQ9RCXBFP8QTKXH408&psc=1&refRID=THVQ9RCXBFP8QTKXH408


(Total - $189)



The first group is "as cheap as you can get" and still get decent quality. The second group is definitely a better setup.

Ethan cohost of the Shieldwall Podcast https://shieldwallpodcast.podbean.com



EDIT: The second group is definitely a better setup in that it allows you to upgrade down the road with better gear. If you have the money an Audio Technica ATR2100 or AT2005 would sound a good bit better in the second list than the XM8500. But do these sound 4 times better considering them being 3-4x the price? Hard to say.

OK, so my recommendation:

Zoom G1on ($50): http://www.amazon.com/Zoom-G1on-Guitar-Effects-Pedal/dp/B00IOSJ68C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421777443&sr=8-1&keywords=zoom+g1on

This will give you SO much great stuff. Loads of amp+speaker simulators for recording direct (vox, fender, marshall etc.), as well as loads of distortion, chorus, reverb, echo synth, wah, filter etc. effects that can be linked together in a chain. I have a lot of experience with guitar effects, and this unit is by far the best way to spend your money.

You still need a better way to input from that pedal into your computer. If you want to be able to use stereo effects (recommended), meaning the reverbs will be wider and more spacious, then you will need to go for a 2-channel USB interface. Something like this might work for you:

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-Audio-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1421777678&sr=8-7&keywords=2+in+audio+interface

...however I have no experience with that so I can't vouch for it. You could try to find one a little pricier that might work better, I don't know. Look around for reviews etc., but if that works fine then you should have pretty much all you need to record a good quality sound in Audacity.

For drum sounds and others such as piano and strings, check out this software:

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/sampletank3free/

I use it myself. It should work as a plug-in with Audacity but I haven't tried that myself. Either way it's free and has some good sounds in it.

get an audio interface and monitor speakers. the audio interface will allow you to record any instrument/mic that uses an instrument cable or an XLR cable. make sure you get one with the right amount of inputs u want. if you JUST wanna record vocals, you can get a pretty cheap single-input interface on amazon for like $40. here's a pretty good cheap one that you can also hook monitor speakers up to with the Left and Right outputs in the back.
(https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC22-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00FFIGZF6/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1519988949&sr=8-8&keywords=behringer+interface). For monitor speakers, I've only ever used KRK rokits. I have the 8" and the 5" ones. Obviously I like the 8" better but the 5" ones are still very accurate and impressive. you can go to a guitar center or whatever and listen to a bunch of different brands though if you wanna hear for yourself before you buy. and if you have any leftover money, save it for after you find out what your ideal production workflow is. i personally use maschine and it does everything i could ever want and more, but it might not work out for you. i'd say the interface and speakers will elevate your game instantly and will lead to producing better quality music.

Hey man, don't worry about asking "stupid" questions, there's no such thing, and we've ALL been there before. I still seem to ask stupid questions at least once a day, and I've been doing this for some years now.

You have two options here bud. You can buy something like this which is a USB microphone, (similar, but not the same to what the last guy said) a really common choice for beginners looking to just experience recording into their computer, but the quality is still surprisingly great. It can work on ANYTHING. Guitar/vocals/drums/farts whatever.

The second option is to get something with some "upgrade" capability if you plan on doing this for a long time. That would be to buy TWO things, one would be an audio interface (which has preamps built in) which can connect virtually ANY microphone into it, which goes into your computer via USB. This is a great one of those, simple and doesn't break-the-bank But then you'd also have to buy another microphone, like the sm57 or whatever. If you did it this way, your interface could last you many many years and it will provide usually a headphone output, one of two mic inputs, as well as gain control and leveling. A little more professional, but an extra thing to buy.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Yeah i mean i wouldn't fight your creative process but embrace it. Only try different approaches when you get stuck. If electric works, use it.

If its a noise issue, i recommend buying a digital amp that you can use with headphones. The Fender Mustang Amp is hella cheap and lets you model a ton of amps- the twin reverb setting is the best though. You can even plug in your computer to experiment with modeled effects pedals for more inspiration.

Or what I really like to is use an audio interface like this and plug my guitar directly in. Then with certain DAWs that have it like Logic you can use the amp modeling and effects modeling and listen through headphones also.

I've personally never used that interface, so you'll have to rely on the Amazon reviews (or hopefully someone here has had experience with it). The preamp (what you plug the mic into), and the mic you use, determines the sound you're going to get. Again, you're gonna have to read the reviews. You're just starting off, so I wouldn't stress it too much. You'll get a better sound than just plugging a USB mic into your computer.

If I were in your position, with a small budget, I'd save up a bit more and buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Solo-Compact-Interface/dp/B00MTXU2DG/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1452061607&sr=1-1&keywords=scarlett+solo

The Scarlett series, in my opinion, is the best in terms of budget audio interfaces. Their preamps, and the system, overall, is of great quality.


When you're ready for that mic - put enough together to buy sayyyy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT2020-Cardioid-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B0006H92QK/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1452061954&sr=1-1&keywords=Audio+Technica+AT2020

...and you got a good little startup.



The mic stand should fit pretty much any mic. It has both the clip, and a part to screw in the mic's shock mount (look up "shock mount").


I always recommend that you get warranty with your equipment, cause, you know...shit happens, so you should check if there're any music stores around that sell whatever you're interested in, and offer the warranty, as well.

Hey Tony. That's a great question.
My Credentials: I do 2 podcasts (Well Met! and The Payload) and live stream. I have thousands of dollars in microphone equipment.

 

Your Answer: You'll need something else to power it. The AT2035 requires +48V Phantom Power. Meaning, your 3.5mm jack wont power the microphone. The good news: These aren't that expensive. I personally recommend FocusRite interfaces. I use a Scarlett 2i2, but you'd be totally great with a Scarlett Solo. The only difference is that the solo has 1 inputs, while the 2i2 has two inputs. This wont only just give you phantom power, but the digital-to-analog converters (often called DAC) are REALLY good for spoken word and vocals... Like REALLY good and it's a preamp so it'll amplify the signal to the proper amount.

 

Disclaimer: There are some XLR to 3.5mm adapters that you can plug in to a standard plugin or USB to get phantom power, but I highly recommend in investing in an interface. It's one that, no matter your microphone, you'll be able to use for a long time. If you need other options in different budgets, let me know!

I would recommend staying away from audioengine, there are better options for the price.

$120 - Micca PB42x: These will sounds better than the Audioengine A2+R, but the build quality is not the greatest. These are 'the baseline' for cheap speakers that sound decent.

$200 - PreSonus Eris 4.5: These will provide more bass and sound better overall than the Audioengine A2+R. Build quality is very good on these as well.

$283 - JBL LSR305 + $120 - Scarlett 2i2 + $16 - 2x(XLR to TRS cable): This setup is amazing for the cost. I have been using the JBL LSR305 for quite a while now and they never disappoint. I've heard better, but those speakers are way more expensive. These can be connected directly to your computer through a 2xTRS to 1/8" cable, but I don't recommend it. When I tried that the speakers produced a terrible hissing noise. I recommend the Scarlett 2i2 over other audio interfaces due to its reliability, balanced speaker outs, and great mic pre-amps if you ever decide to get a XLR mic down the road. The cables are needed to connect the speakers to the interface.

Sorry for the delayed response: Yeah, step one is to usually invest in a decent cardioid mic and an audio input. Here are the ones I'd recommend for getting started. Good enough quality to be just under professional tier, though capable of producing professional quality sound, but not so expensive as to offer you features you don't need for years to come:
Mic: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QAUOKS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Audio Interface (to be able to plug that or any other professional mic into [XLR input]): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E6T56CM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and this is optional but can be helpful to understand the true sound of your recordings, monitors:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075QVMBT9/ref=twister_B07NDRK282?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
(either the 3.5 or 4.5 would be totally fine)

Aside from t hose t hings, the only other things you'd need to get set up would be soundproofing foam, either putting panels up around your space, or around the mic itself. Conversely, you could set up inside a closet full of clothes and accomplish the same task for free, cable length and space permitting.

Good luck!

Hello and thank you so dearly in advance for your time!I really need some sidetone so that I'm not screaming my head off and scaring away all the wildlife in 2 mile radius while playing games.

My equipment thus far!

♥ Blue Snowball Ice (usb)
♥ Audio Technica - ATH-M50x
♥ PC - Win10

For live mic monitoring, I understand I could use a mixer like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-Xenyx-Mixer/dp/B005EHILV4


My question is: Is it possible to get my Snowball to run through this so I can hear myself? (perhaps with a female usb to male 3.5mm jack converter? feel free to laugh if this is an absolutely ridiculous thought haha)if not, do you have any suggestions? (i really dont want to use any software as there is always a form of latency that jams my speech)

Thank you again for your thoughts and time and have a beautiful day!

That mic is great, but you can get something like an SM57 much cheaper, if she's recording acoustic guitar.

If you want a pretty good vocal mic, that will also be cheapish you can get something like this.

Or just buy an sm58 which is a cheaper version of the other one you just showed, and is good for doing live stuff if you want to do that.

You can also get a 4x4 input thing so that she can multitrack into a daw, or just a smaller one if she's only ever going to record like 2 tracks at once.

I got something like this.

The SM57 and SM58 are pretty much standards in the music world.

That being said, IIRC the SM7b (the mic you're looking at) is what Micheal Jackson recorded a lot of his stuff on ( the bad album at least), so it's def pro level.

Well, I like your list. I don't know that Rode mic in particular but Lefty had two different Rode mics during PKA and they both sounded great.

I'd personally point you toward the RE20. I love mine and you don't have to be right on top of it to sound great. I also love my Shure SM7B but more than one person has mentioned to me that they can hear me breathe so I'm either going to switch back to the giant foam pop filter or to the RE20.

This package is $500 but it comes with the mic, shock mount, cable, boom, etc. http://www.amazon.com/Electro-Voice-Microphone-Shockmount-Two-Section-Broadcast/dp/B00U1S4YY4/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1457378551&sr=1-2&keywords=re20

I don't like your audio interface. In particular it's analog and in my experience if you turn up the gain on an analog mixer you get a hiss. It's not a subtle hiss you think you hear either, it's a real problem. (Or maybe the one I had was just extra bad?)

Anything in the scarlet focusrite series will do, this one is $100: http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Solo-Compact-Interface/dp/B00MTXU2DG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457378874&sr=8-3&keywords=focusrite

For $150 you can get two inputs: http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-2i2-USB-Recording-Interface/dp/B005OZE9SA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1457378874&sr=8-1&keywords=focusrite

Let me know how to sound wedges do. I typically just count on curtains, shag carpet, oil painting and furniture to break up the sound.

Not OP but this is definitely the way to go and you won't even really need to upgrade after this. You can get some amazing sounds from an interface while those mini guitar amps can leave you very unsatisfied. The Behringer UMC22 is a great affordable option. The Focusrite 2i2 is the standard for most at home musicians and it runs at 120 dollars if you have the budget for it. You would also be needing some headphones, if you don't already have some there are good options for studio headphones as cheap as $40-50. As far as software there are free ones but most good ones run for about 250-350$. There's always the option of pirating and once you know that is what you like then actually supporting the developers and buying the software.

Couple things... first, add POWER to your lower register. You got very muffled and flat when you dropped down, a good example is around 0:40. Watch a few videos on budgeting your breath to help sustain you when you drop down.

You have a few pitch issues, especially around 0:30 "everybody look to your right" the everybody was off. There were a few more like that as well. A good exercise for this is arpeggios.... learn them, sing them, love them :) They will help an aspiring singer a ton.

Finally, if you're serious, and since you're putting yourself out here for critique I assume you are, go ahead an invest in a good microphone and an interface so you can record yourself better. You can do it on the cheap with something like an AT2020 and a small Focusrite for around $200'ish. It will really make a difference.

You have some uniqueness to your voice, which is what everyone looks for, and you're already taking steps to improve and learn which means you accept criticism which is crucial if you're going to do anything in music... so good for you and keep working at it!

So my old setup was the Behringer UCA202 > Dayton Audio DTA-100a > Dayton B652 / Beyerdynamic DT 990 250OHM

While I know this setup isn't the most ideal setup I was looking for an all in one solution for my speaker / headphone amp needs. However while I liked the Dayton DT100a amp, it was causing a humming/buzzing even at fairly low volumes (I think this was fixed in the new DTA120 version).

After some research, and even asking a few questions to /u/zeospantera I discovered that there are very few alternatives to the DTA (at that form factor). So before I invested in another amp I decided to go the very cheap route (Re. Free route) and give an old receiver I had laying around a chance at doing the double duty as headphone/speaker amp before I laid down more money for a different solution.

The amp in the picture is an old Denon DRA-365R. While I don't have a ton of experience with high end speaker or headphone amps it does sound MUCH better than my previous DTA amp and there is no hum/buzz.

I have no doubt that a more expensive DAC than the U202 + a dedicated headphone amp would be better, but I was very happy with my free solution.

As I understand it the quality of the headphone amp portion on receivers can vary very widely, but so far I'm happy with my "free" headphone amp solution.

I've got great news for you! I found a setup for 257 Euros that I think you'll love! Beyerdynamic DT 880@ with Dac! and Hybrid Tube amp@

This was my first real set up, and I loved it! The DT 880 sounds phenomenal with Classic Rock, Indie rock, Acoustic and classical, the Hybrid Tube amp has more than enough power for it and will REALLY flesh out the sound of the headphone, the UCA 202 is a dac I still use to this day [with my laptop and at work] all in all, I think you'd be VERY happy with a set up like this!

Additionally, here's some feed back about that little amp you can read through the thread if your curious about how amazing the DT 880 Pro is :3

Wow, 25? Don't tell anybody in the music business :)

Seriously, I thought your video shows promise, the best thing you could do is pick up a cheap USB audio interface and a "large diaphragm condenser microphone" and some headphones. Set it all up, then practice without recording for a few ways to get used to the feel of singing with your audio feedback in the headphones. Once you a re comfortable, hit record..!

Here's some gear that would worthwhile to look into... adjust to your budget and taste.
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC204HD-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00QHURLCW/ref=sr_1_14?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1496707506&sr=1-14&keywords=usb+audio+interface

and pair it with either a microphone like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Nady-SCM-800-Diaphragm-Condenser-Microphone/dp/B000R4LQ4S/ref=sr_1_12?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1496707358&sr=1-12&keywords=condenser+microphone

or get a pair of large and regular condensers like this:
https://www.amazon.com/MXL-550-551R-Microphone-Ensemble/dp/B002LASBS0/ref=sr_1_11?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1496707358&sr=1-11&keywords=condenser+microphone

Those are just suggestions, check out this guy's channel, he's got some great tips!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZRnrA5GOx0

Hey, I am also using a set of the MK1 version of the LSR305 with a PC. I think everyone is spot-on about the ground loop isolator. If you are looking for a cheap fix, try that first.


Beyond that, like many have suggested - the on-board audio from a PC can be noisy. An external DAC is also a good suggestion, but also a more complicated one, in terms of what all you will need to buy. If you wish to go this route, I will make a recommendation that I can confirm works very well (noise-free, even at high volume) with the LSR305's:

1. Lexicon Alpha - Currently $59 (regularly $49, track price on camelcamelcamel.com if you want to wait.) Yes, technically is a DAC, but is considered a USB recording interface. Think of it as a USB sound card. It is designed to be used with powered studio monitors like the LSR305's - and will take advantage of their balanced audio input capability to cancel out noise. Bonus capability - a physical volume knob (no reaching behind the JBL's, or trying to get to PC soft mixer while in a game, etc), and adds an aux input - you could connect your phone and mix phone+PC audio at the same time.
   
   
   
2. 1/4" TRS balance audio cable - get 2, one for each speaker, in the length you prefer. See the 3 contacts (between the 2 black rings)? Each speaker will get a balanced signal from the Lexicon Alpha - a positive audio signal, negative audio signal, and ground. The negative+positive balanced signal cancels out noise.
   
   
   Either way don't stress over it - the LSR305's are a great choice.

Let's start from the top.
____

• Here's my Handy Dandy Microphone Guide to get you started. I recommend you create a budget before you go mic shopping.
  
  
• Avoid any and all hardware mixers. If you mess up your EQ from the get-go, there's no fixing it later. Always record flat, and EQ in post. Digital EQ's are all but indistinguishable from their analog predecessors.
  
  
• If you want to use an XLR mic (read the guide) you'll need an interface. A Focusrite will be an excellent investment, if you choose to go that route. A Focusrite Scarlett Solo will be perfect, if it's just you, or your cohost won't be recording in the same house as you, but an 18i8 will be pretty much the max any podcaster will ever need (I use an 18i20, but I later realized it was definitely overkill)
  
  
• As for software, Garageband is perfect to start. I would recommend Mixcraft, or Reaper, but they're both Mixcraft is Windows-only (Reaper has a Mac version. Thanks for the correction @Cassinpants), and I assume you have a Mac, since you have GB.
  ____
  My personal setup is:
  
  -Focusrite 18i20
  
  -Electrovoice Re20 + Heil PR40
  
  -Custom PC (i7 6700k/ Fury X/ 16Gib DDR5 RAM, Hard drives for days)
  
  -Mixcraft 8
  
  -various plugins
  
  -Libsyn
  
  Hope this helps, for now! See you back, soon, to figure out RSS ;D
  
  
  
  
  Edit: Added multiple links
  

Here's what my setup looked like when I first got going. It was perfect to learn with...
Scarlett 2i2
Shure sm58 The mic is $99, but pay a few extra for the stand and cable.
Shure sm57 This is optional, but I had both. Remember the cable and stand. Honestly, if creative, you can make your own mic stand.
Sennheiser hd 280 as far as headphones, try not to get carried away with brands or prices. You can find plenty under $99. These I got on sale from GC for $79. Best bang for your buck imo. The main thing to look for in headphones are making sure they cup your ears.
Sony Music Studio Once again, I started MANY years ago when I picked up this DAW at a best buy. Don't spend too much brain power on which DAW to get. Some are WAY expensive, and some are "free". Look into Reaper too. Why I started out with Sony Acid was because they came with a quick reference loop library.

Despite the fact that both speakers seem to be a similar price, the Inclines will considerably cheaper and closer to your budget once you account for cables and a subwoofer (provided you actually need one).

Regardless of what you buy, I suggest first trying the speakers without a subwoofer to hear whether you actually miss the last bit of low frequency sound. Both of my suggestions produce fairly low bass, JBL 305 rated at 43 Hz +/- 3 db and who knows about the Inclines as Def Tech doesn't report frequency response using the standard +/- 3 db (most likely they reach somewhere in the 50s?).

For the 305s, you are less likely to need a sub. Also, connecting a sub to the monitors can be complicated and will depend upon your overall setup. A related issue is whether you will be using an external digital-to-analog converter (DAC) - I recommend you do so for the improved sound quality and that you get one with a volume control. I think the best value approach is buy a pro audio interface - these have a DAC, volume control, and the types of cable connections that would facilitate mating your monitors and sub, plus other features that are used by recording musicians. I have the Steinberg UR22 (paid about $115 shipped new off ebay) but you can do fine with cheaper options: Lexicon Alpha has been recommended https://www.amazon.com/Lexicon-2-Channel-Desktop-Recording-Studio/dp/B000HVXMNE/ref=sr_1_6?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1472738288&sr=1-6&keywords=audio+interface or the Behringer UCA202 https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-Audio-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI/ref=sr_1_5?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1472738288&sr=1-5&keywords=audio+interface

I went ahead and got the matching JBL LSR310S, but it is expensive ($400 usually but I got mine new on ebay for $279). It was worth it to me as I work from home and listen to some electronic music. Here are ebay listings now: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=jbl+lsr310s&_sop=15 Monoprice has a studio sub at $220 that would work (http://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=115&cp_id=11504&cs_id=1150401&p_id=605999&seq=1&format=2 For cable connections it will depend on what audio interface you get (suggest you buy cables from Monoprice for their support - don't bother with Guitar Center or similar places as their cable prices are very high), however, I think you need the following: for the Behringer you have to use unbalanced connections, qty 4 TRS male x RCA male cables, a) connect the interface to your computer with the supplied USB cable, b) then connect the interface input to the sub input using two (left & right) male TRS x RCA cables, and c) then two more male TRS x RCA (one each, L&R) from the sub output to the 305s input. For the Lexicon Alpha, you would connect in a similar manner but can use balanced connections, total of 4 male TRS x male TRS.

For the Inclines and in considering your initial budget goal, you could go with any of the budget subs. My son has the Dayton SUB-800 http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-800-8-80-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-627 ($99 - $5 Labor Day coupon + $6.95 shipping). I'd spend another $20 and get the Dayton SUB-1000 because it supposedly goes down to 30 Hz http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-sub-1000-10-100-watt-powered-subwoofer--300-628 You would need a subwoofer cable for the connection, such as https://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-ULTRA-Subwoofer-Cable-Feet/dp/B003FVYXY0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1472740255&sr=8-3&keywords=subwoofer+cable

As I mentioned before, one the nice things about the Incline is that it has a built-in DAC; however, the "manual" isn't very helpful - this review does a good job of explaining the source input hierarchy and how to engage the DAC (there isn't an input selection switch so you have to unplug cables to make sure the DAC overrides your computer onboard sound card - in any case, use the USB input or optical for DAC): http://www.audioholics.com/computer-speaker-reviews/definitive-technology-incline-desktop-speakers-review

Regarding FaceTime on the Mac, there was a bug in FaceTime Audio regarding mic selection where it would only use the internal or 1/8" jack for input. That was fixed recently. Unfortunately, I'm on the dev betas and I don't recall if it's fixed in the latest 10.10.2 release or in the beta releases. This was never a problem with FaceTime Video, however.

Also, there is a desktop application that will be leaving beta soon called PodClear. It will use a paid service but it will let you get double headed recordings regardless of the method you use to communicate and it lets you control the record button and settings to you don't have to trust the guest to know what they are doing. It will be pretty darn cool as it lets you have effectively unlimited guests using Hangouts or Skype and get pristine locally recorded tracks sent to you.

http://www.podclear.com

You can also of course just wire you Mac or IOS device into your mixer. The best hardware I've found for this that always works with the Apple TRRS single headphone port is a Tascam iXZ.

http://www.amazon.com/TASCAM-iXZ-Instrument-input-iPhone/dp/B005NZ05J8/

I've had luck with some RCA video to TRRS cables as well but occasional noise occurred. A Behringer UCA222 or UCA202 depending on your color choice is also well worth the cost if you are mix-minusing with a mixer.

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA222-BEHRINGER-U-CONTROL/dp/B0023BYDHK/

!

The established brands like Ditto, Boss, etc are going to be $100+. You might take a chance on something like this, but I've never heard of them before.

You might also consider getting a cheap audio interface like this. Though, again, you may actually get better value by spending a little more money. Many interfaces come bundled with DAW (Ableton Live, ProTools, etc) software licenses, like this Focusrite.

It's not as easy as plugging a loop pedal into your chain, but you'll be able to do a lot more with your investment if you climb the DAW learning curve. There's plenty of free VST plugins for pedal and amp emulations out there. Even some free open source DAW, but I haven't researched what's available in some time. Ardour appears to be the top google result at the moment, though I'm not sure how suitable it is to playing live (vs. only recording for playback).

First, head over to /r/guitar and we'll gladly help you out. Second, what's your budget? There are multiple ways to skin this cat. Generally, your cheapest, most efficient option is gonna be to go digital. That means you'll need three things:

• An audio interface like a Scarlet Interface that will allow you to hook your guitar up to your computer. ~$120

• A computer ~$0 if you have a computer, or else expensive

• Amp modeling software like BiasFX or Amplitube ~$60 to $80

All in all, if you have a computer, a decent digital setup will cost around $200 and will essentially act like an AxeFx, digitally simulating an amp head, cabinet, and effects. It's cheap, sounds good, allow you to endlessly tweak your sound, and makes it easy to record. The downside is that it's gonna be difficult, if not impossible, to transport that setup to a live gig.

On the other hand, you could invest a bunch more money into a tube amp head/cab or a combo. This will allow you to gig much easier but you're stuck with the sound of that one amp; not a bad thing if you love that tone! If you wanna go this route, there are a bunch of great intro options for a decent metal sound: Anything in the 'Metal' line by Blackstar, a used Peavy 5150/6150, anything by Orange in the 'Terror' line, a used Mesa Rectifier.

To get that 'chonk' and 'sproingy-ness' that you hear in modern metalcore, you're probably gonna need to tighten the low end of your high gain amp with an overdrive like a Tubescreamer. Now you got a stew goin'. My recco's? Get on Reverb and grab a used Orange Dark Terror ($400), a 1x12 cabinet with a V30 in it ($200) and a used Tubescreamer ($50). Go with a bigger amp or cab if you have the money for it. 5150 is a classic.

Ok.

If you want to pursue good audio I recommended the PreSonus Eris 3.5, they are good budget studio monitors. For headphones, I would recommend the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohm version. These are very good headphones for the price. Then I would pair the Beyerdynamic headphones with a good Audio Interface like Focusrite Scarlett Solo (3rd Gen) it's a good budget audio interface that doesn't break the bank. For a microphone, a Blue Yeti USB mic will do well. However, if you want an XLR microphone, which is better btw. A well-rounded XLR microphone is the Audio-Tecnica AT2020.

I highly recommend Apple Logic out of the box. It has a decent set of sounds, powerful synths (ES2, Alchemy..), and a great sampler (ESX24). Stock mixing plugins are great to learn and grow with before you start investing in the big dollar ones. Youtube tutorials exist for every aspect of the DAW with some really helpful tips on everything from beatmaking to sound design to mixing/mastering using stock Logic sounds and plugs.

Next grab a midi keyboard for starters that you can grow with. I recommend the Akai MPK Mini MKII as it's cheap, light, and portable. The drum pads are MPC-style sensitive and what you would expect from an Akai product.

https://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-MPK-Ultra-Portable-Controller/dp/B00IJ6QAO2

Lastly - grab a decent audio interface and some monitor headphones so you can hear your mix accurately.

You don't need to break the bank for this either especially since your just starting out. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a great interface and should last you awhile before you grow out of it as your studio expands. Audio Technica makes amazing studio monitor headphones. I use the ATH-50X and couldnt be happier. But don't take my word for it - check the reviews and comparisons on SoundonSound and you'll see what I mean

https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-2i2-GENERATION-USB-Recording/dp/B005OZE9SA/ref=sr_1_5?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1503990027&sr=1-5&keywords=focusrite+audio+interface

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1503990263&sr=1-3&keywords=audio+technica+ath-m50x

Hey guys, I hope it's okay to ask really basic questions here. Please direct me somewhere else if it's not.

I record a little music on my own (not even close to professional) and am learning about editing and producing it. I've heard people say that you want a good pair of monitors, to properly be hearing what you're making. I have a bit of money now so I'd like to upgrade to something that's budget but better than what I have now.

I'm sure you'll get a laugh from what I'm using now (and it should give you an idea of how little I know). I'm using these speakers that I just have left over from when I was in highschool ages ago. My headphones are these things. I record through, and have my speakers/headphones go through a Scarlett 2i2 audio interface.

I'm mostly looking at getting a new pair of speakers. Would that be the one thing to get to most improve the sound I hear? I'm sure the headphones are crap as well, but I'll get to those at some point. Is the Scarlett 2i2 okay for now?

One more really stupid question... My 2i2 has jacks at the back and a dial at the front for the monitor. What's the difference between the monitor and normal speakers? This says that monitors are supposed to have a really flat response and be high quality. Would they also be good for listening to music (not stuff I'm making)?

thank you, any advice is appreciated!

edit: shit, one more thing. I assumed the 2i2 had an internal amplifier for the monitor, but looking at the manual it talks about using an external one for the monitor, so I'm guessing I'd have to get an amp too?

I know you said under $100, but I've never known anyone to regret spending that little bit extra on a set of cans (except people who bought Beats™). Assuming you're going to be using them for mixing work as well as leisurely listening, I can highly recommend [Sennheiser's HD 380s] (http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-380-Pro-Collapsible-Professional/dp/B001UE6I0G). There are very few other products in your price range that compare.

When you have a little extra scrilla on hand, I also recommend picking up one of these so you can boost the output level to the 380s. The power, clarity, and control offered by this combination is an amazing value.

So I don't really know too much about setting up a system. Right now, I'm mainly planning on using it for music and some gaming/tv from my pc. Have a small room and not a big budget (college student), so following the recommended speakers above I'm planning on getting the Micca MB42X speakers (https://www.amazon.com/Micca-MB42X-Bookshelf-Speakers-Tweeter/dp/B00E7H8GG2).

Following this 2.1 setup (http://i.imgur.com/Z8FMJ.png), it looks like I'm gonna get this DAC (https://www.amazon.com/BEHRINGER-U-Control-Low-Latency-Interface-Digital/dp/B000KW2YEI).

The recommended amp from above, the SMSL SA 60W, is unavailable from most places. Out of these two options which one is the best for their value?

Pyle (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0036VO6G4/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza)

Dayton (https://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-DTA-1-Digital-Amplifier/dp/B001PNOH2I/ref=sr_1_17?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322387040&sr=1-17)

Feel free to recommend me any other amp you think would work for ~$75 or less, it just has to have a 3.5mm input as well as an RCA input. Thanks for the help in advance friends, means a lot.

Hey, I'm kinda in the same boat, I'm going to buy some Monitors, and I need something for the PC to make it worth it. I'm sure your PC already has some kind of sound card, but I'm guessing it's just got a 3.5 mm stereo jack.

You could get a splitter e.g.:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA8N23HS1217&cm_re=3.5mm_rca-_-9SIA8N23HS1217-_-Product

Then you need to convert the RCA to TRS (that's the only input, right?), you could use something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2E11AU1608&cm_re=RCA_TS-_-9SIA2E11AU1608-_-Product

• Or you could use some other combination of cabling to get your sound into the right jack format.
  
  So - this MIGHT work ok, but it might not as well. Two reasons:
  
  

1. If you have a basic PC sound card the sound quality is likely to be shit, and you might get white noise coming through the speakers all the time
   
2. Using unbalanced connectors in a balanced input might also give noise and won't sound as good.
   
   So you might find you aren't happy with the setup. The next step is to get some kind of Audio Interface (fancy name for sound card) that's designed for this kind of thing.
   
   Just getting a dedicated audio interface will improve the sound a lot. You could get one with unbalanced outputs - just RCA out. Since your monitors are so close it probably won't matter.
   
   Here's the cheapest I could find that does have balanced outs, but there's probably others:
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-2i2-USB-Recording-Interface/dp/B005OZE9SA/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1457608397&sr=1-1&keywords=focusrite+2i2
   
   The plus side is these things usually have a separate headphone output and volume control, which is super useful if you just want to listen through headphones for a bit and not use the speakers.
   
   Hope that's useful.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

You'll need two things to get going.

1. A TS-Audio Cable
   
2. An audio interface
   
   (Above links are just examples)
   
   Now, I do see that your YDP-142 has only Headphone out ports. I can't find a general consensus on whether these also double as Line-Out plugs, but it doesn't hurt to try.
   
   The worst thing that can happen is that it is too soft. Headphone out can be too low to be well recorded sometimes. At that point, you may need to buy a Headphone Amplifier as well to boost the signal. BUT! The Audio Interface, more than likely, should be able to boost it up to a level that a computer can record.
   
   
   For iPad, get Garageband. It's simple and easy to use and does everything you could want for standard piano recordings.
   
   Hope this helps, if anyone else knows if a headphone -> AI works well, feel free to pitch in.
   
   EDIT: PS - please note that this solution will produce a Mono output (because of the TS cable). If you'd like a stereo recording, some experimentation will be needed with a TSR cable instead.
   

Focusrite Scarlett Solo and Scarlett 2i2 (Link 1). On amazon for around a benjamen. I would also get a DI box like link 2 to be in front of the Scarlett. This setup is pretty cheap but more than capable of recording, or playing through a laptop at Church. THe scarlet has output on back. hope that helps. I have both of these, great value.

Link 1: https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-Audio-Interface-Tools/dp/B01E6T56CM/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1472744892&sr=1-3&keywords=scarlett+2i2

Link 2 : https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-DI400P-BEHRINGER-ULTRA-DI/dp/B000KUA8G6/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1472744729&sr=1-1&keywords=di+box

For vocals i'd recommend getting a Rhode NT1a. Pretty standard microphone and really versatile - http://www.amazon.co.uk/RODE-NT1-A-Condenser-Microphone-Bundle/dp/B0002PSCQM

You may be able to get a way with a Shure SM57 (for vocals) which is the industry standard microphone used for drums and guitars, etc... This will be your best option for guitar. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shure-Sm57-Unidirectional-Dynamic-Microphone/dp/B000CZ0R3S/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1452608377&sr=1-1&keywords=sm57

As for recording music into your computer, you'll need an audio interface. The majority of beginners on this thread are using Scarlett Focusrites. I'd recommend a Focusrite 2i2

If you want something a bit more 'all-in-one' then get yourself a Line 6 UX2 which comes with PodFarm 2.0 this will let you plug in your guitar and choose from a wide array of amplification emulation as well as pedals, modulations, effects, etc...

You'll also need a Digital Audio Workstation or DAW to record all of this into. I'd recommend [Reaper.] (http://www.gak.co.uk/en/line6-pod-studio-ux2/18736?gclid=Cj0KEQiA5dK0BRCr49qDzILe74UBEiQA_6gA-gBCk9lx0GnveFDFGFZYNA_DnIs7sX9ozCRg7TgEon0aAi1J8P8HAQ)

There's some great YouTube videos out there that will help you with all of this stuff. I'd recommend this guy: https://www.youtube.com/user/recordingrevolution

If you're solo-tracking, you only need a few things, along with your computer. I wouldn't get a four track.

Microphone

For your purposes, I'd go with the SM-57. It's considered the workhorse of microphones - it's durable, versatile, and can sound surprisingly good on vocals given the right preamps. It can also record drums better than a condenser mic. It won't sound as good on your vocals as a condenser would, but it has better long-term value.

Audio Interface

I don't know much about entry-level audio interfaces... but this seems good. I used to use a Fast Track Pro back in the day, and it was shit, so avoid that. Look for something without all the bells and whistles, and quality preamps.

DAW (Digital Audio Workstation)

The industry standard is ProTools, but because they don't have native support for VSTs (plug-ins), I prefer Cubase. Ableton is nice as well, and has a completely different workflow to it, but it just comes down to which style you like.

Good luck!

I recently setup my daughter with a budget recording rig. Here's kind of the basics:

Budget HP Laptop. Basically all you want is as much RAM as you can get (at least over 4GB). There's some good models to compare against yours here:
http://mscgr.com/best-budget-windows-laptop-for-recording-251711287

Instead of spending a bunch of money on an Audio Interface, I bought her a little Behringer Xenyx 302USB mixer that is also a USB interface. It gives her a few more options. I got her this one, which is under $50:
http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B005EHILV4/

I gave her one of my favorite budget mics ($100). It is also a Behringer, known for shitty gear. But, surprisingly, this mic is pretty much one of the best pieces of gear Behringer made in the last 10 years, and sounds better than many mics 8x the price:
http://mscgr.com/best-budget-large-diaphragm-condenser-mic-211238444

For a DAW, I got her a copy of Reaper. Tip: It has a trial period, but the trial NEVER expires and you only have to deal with a nag screen that last a few seconds. It's VST, VSTi, SFZ, compatible. It's super intuitive and GREAT!
http://www.reaper.fm/

Hope that helps!

Hopefully I did help. Sometimes a person can be put off by information overload. But you do have options from FREE to about $150.

It will depend on whether you want to record on a Stand-Alone Device like a Smart Phone or Digital Recorder, or whether you want to record directly to a computer using a separate USB Microphone.

There are also USB Interfaces that could be used. These are USB to the Computer, but use standard common XLR Microphones. If that interest you, I could explore that option. I would guess a simple USB Interface with a good XLR Microphone would in the neighborhood of about $100 to £150 for both.

Just to dgve you and overview, though there are many more options, here is a simple Single standard Microphone USB Inferface from Behringer -

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC22-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00FFIGZF6/

Here is a similar Behringer Model with TWO Standard Microphone Inputs -

https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC202HD-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA-2-Channel/dp/B00QHURUBE/

A Standard XLR microphone would be cheaper than a USB Mic. Here are some examples -

https://www.parts-express.com/cat/vocal-microphones/765

Going direct into the USB of a Computer, I would expect this basic setup to be pretty good, though you would need a microphone stand to mount it all on -

https://www.parts-express.com/talent-all-in-one-usb-home-recording-studio-vocal-booth-usb-mic-shock-mount-pop-fil--233-090

Microphone Stand - (not that expensive) -

https://www.parts-express.com/cat/microphone-stands/747

As to the noise, as has been indicated, you just have to work on finding an environment that has low noise, and record close to the mic, and if possible use Uni-Directional Mics, one direction or cardioid. Though in a quiet room with somewhat close mic'ing, an Omni-Mic as found in most Cell Phones and Digital Records will still get the job done.

Part of the problem is that there are so many ways to accomplish the same task depending on how complex and expensive you want to make the task. Hopefully, it nothing else, you understand the range of options available.

Let's us know what you decide and how it works out. That could be very helpful to others who might come along with a similar problem and read this thread.

Some people on here will tell you the HD598 improves with better gear. I don't think it does, but whatever makes you enjoy it more I guess.

A few people aren't paying any attention to what you actually linked to. The SA-160 has a headphone out. It's not super powerful (130mW into 32ohm vs. 1.5W into 32ohm from a Magni 2Uber) but the HD598s don't really need a whole lot of power.

So basically you need RCA audio cables to connect the amp to your source. If your computer doesn't have RCA line out then you'll want an external DAC for that. Examples include the ever popular Behringer UCA202 for a cheap $30 "Amazon prime to my door ASAP" solution, or $100-150 for a Schiit Modi 2 for a "really fucking good measurements for consumer gear" solution.

Once you hook the amp to your source, just plug your headphones into the headphone jack on the amp.

IMPORTANT: The advice you got that was "just use a 3.5mm to RCA splitter and plug that into your headphone output on your PC" was bad. You're double amplifying the signal, once in the computer and once in the SMSL amp.

If you need more advice, just post to /r/headphones .

Honestly, at some point you should get some unpowered speakers to hook up to this thing. That's where the bang for your buck will happen with this amp, as a specialized headphone amp would be better for just headphones. It's kind of a sunken cost fallacy, but it is what it is. This subreddit tends to recommend Micca MB42X with a similar model from SMSL to amplify, so just look at it as: you may have bought the wrong type of amp for just headphones, but at least now you're halfway to a functioning setup that will power both headphones and unpowered speakers.

Here's everything I bought for mine:

• Bench - $30
  
  
• Stand - $60
  
  
• [Garritan CFX VST] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KLFF91O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) - $170
  
  
• Audio Interface - $100 Comes with ableton which can be used to record the midi and also comes with a free addictive keys piano. Pretty nice for the price. There's about 7 ms of latency when I use this setup on my laptop which is completely unnoticeable.
  
  
• [VPC 1] (https://www.musicstore.de/en_US/EUR/Kawai-VPC1-Masterkeyboard/art-SYN0004258-000) - About $1400 dollars after shipping and a duty tax of $76 will be charged if you live in the U.S. Still cheaper than I was able to find it elsewhere
  
  You'll also need a nice pair of speakers or headphones. I use the Audio-Technica ATH-AD700x's which are open back and they sound pretty good. I actually got a set of Sterling MX5 studio monitors in addition to my headphones to set on top of the piano and they sound amazing. If you ever think you will be playing for anyone or performing I recommend getting a pair of the MX5's. It's about $200 and then $10 for a cable. They will hook right up to the audio interface.

lot of good advice here already but i'll try and toss out some personal experience:

• get OBS. it can be intimating to use if you have no experience but there's a youtube video for basically any problem you could encounter so don't be afraid to google around for your specific issue if/when you run into one.
  
  
• if you're using a 4/5 channel dj mixer, get a usb audio interface (something cheap like this will work just fine). this isn't absolutely necessary and you can actually get around audio issues with OBS without one (as long as your mixer has a USB connection) with some hardware routing but you'll lose out on an entire channel. this explains that perfectly and was the only video out there that actually helped me achieve this without the need of a secondary interface.
  
  
• if you're not using an external mixer/are using Serato or Traktor, using a secondary computer or even your phone would be a much better way to stream, as running stream software like OBS with another cpu intensive program like Traktor will result in choppiness with the stream. i have a late-2012 macbook pro and hit this issue myself, so if you've got a PC or alternative decent laptop you can use for dedicated streaming that would be ideal, another option is using your phone in conjunction with something like Facebook Live, without the need of OBS, but you'll sacrifice audio quality dramatically using a TRRRS line-in instead of USB.
  
  
• if you have shitty internet, you basically might as well not even bother trying to stream because it will usually not be a good experience. this is the camp i'm in for the time being, anything less than a 3MB upload rate is pretty much worthless, though you can sacrifice video quality for audio superiority within OBS and sometimes it can work out into a comfortable stream. this is something that will take some trial and error to figure out, as well as figuring out how much to delay your audio to sync up with your video, which will always be at least a little bit off by default until you adjust it within the audio mixer of OBS.

So it is the mic after all. I knew something was up!

I understand that a lot of the better gear is cost-prohibitive and it's not super realistic to dive in and buy a u87 or something. But you need to start with an XLR microphone and a pre-amp. Sounds like you have a good ear for what a good voice recording should be like—background noise isn't bad, the copy is free of mouth clicks and whatnot, and you're smart enough to steer clear of the blanket "noise reduction" processes that ultimately hurt your audio.

My advice is to save up a bit, if you're serious about this. Because your voice is awesome—it's versatile, you get the cadences, and the more time you spend with this imaging stuff the better you'll be. And it's so much fun. So save up a bit, get the Focusrite 2i2, an AT2020 (or XLR mic of comparable pricing if that's what's reasonable for you in the short term) and a better DAW than audacity. My recommendation is Adobe Audition, but Reaper is another popular option that is full featured for $60. About as affordable as it gets for the tools you'll need.

If you wanna send me some raw takes, I can run them through the processing chain I use for commercial/radio voicing. I've done that for a couple other people here on reddit and it seemed to help them out in getting some perspective on what good processing can do for a voice, and what ultimately comes down to the mic you use.

I did some testing with multiple USB microphones and was able to setup a virtual audio device in Mac OS and Windows. They were different microphones, but I would assume if they were the same make/model it would have worked as well. The quality was okay, but you've got a lot of room for interference and bandwidth issues on the USB bus doing it this way. What I did and what I recommend you do is move to XLR microphones and a USB audio interface. I have the Scarlett 2i2 but for more than 2 XLR inputs you'd need to upgrade to a 4 or 8 port version. This Behringer 4-port interface is only about $129. Then you'd just need 3 XLR microphones, I have the MXL 770 which goes on sale pretty regularly for about $65. The Audio-Technica AT2020 is also a great choice under $100. The ATR2100 is also a surprisingly good podcasting mic and has both XLR and USB output.

A 25 mini-key would be perfect for you. They're great for quickly adding in parts and they're highly portable, enabling you to produce on-the-go. I would personally recommend the AKAI mpk mini mkII. It's double the price but comes with encoders and drum pads. Pretty much everything you need in a super portable package (I used it to make music for the majority of a 15 hour flight I recently took!) Good luck!

Merry Christmas OP!

I'm trying to get DJ equipment to start my dream of being a DJ. It's kinda already started because through lots of legwork and thrift-store shopping I managed to get some barely-passable home audio stuff, but it can't take the strain of DJing and can't be used for anything larger than ~40 people. I've had to turn down gigs because of it and judging by how frickin' hot it gets after I play for a few hours, it's going to be dead soon.

I made an Amazon list of what I need to buy to be at a semi-professional level. The cheapest thing that's independently useful would be the microphone, I believe, but literally anything is greatly appreciated, even if it's just a cord for something I don't have yet or something. The speakers are the most important thing by far, but they're extremely expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QJOZS4/ - Dynamic microphone (the condenser mics pick up all the background noise and are way more prone to feedback)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006NMUJA/ - Pop cover that would fit that mic

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Q802USB - Mixer (without it the speakers and stuff won't work)

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/products/traktor/dj-software/traktor-pro-2/ - Professional software (the one I currently use is free software lacking a lot of the functionality of this)

https://www.image-line.com/flstudio/ - Production software

https://www.amazon.com/Akai-Professional-MPK-Mini-Controller/dp/B00IJ6QAO2/ - Cheap keyboard MIDI with a drum pad to use with FL Studio

https://www.amazon.com/JBL-LSR305-Professional-Studio-Monitor/dp/B00F1DEI8G/ - Monitor speakers

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000068NW5/ - Cords for the montiors (I'd need 2)

https://www.amazon.com/Mackie-Speakers-Speaker-Stands-Travel/dp/B00M0EHEJE/ - Mackie Thump15s w/ cases and stands

https://www.amazon.com/Male-Female-Cables-long-cables/dp/B01IDI5OE2/ - Cables for the speakers and subwoofer

https://www.amazon.com/Mackie-THUMP18S-1200-Watt-18-Inch-Subwoofer/dp/B00IN2WHFI/ - Subwoofer

https://www.amazon.com/Stage-SS7745-Adjustable-Subwoofer-Attachment/dp/B002M8GBT2/ - Stand for the subwoofer

https://www.amazon.com/Stage-LS7730-Lighting-Stand-Truss/dp/B00119MJM6/ - Lighting truss

https://www.amazon.com/LaluceNatz-Lights-Multi-effects-Control-Lighting/dp/B011QEVO44/ - Colored lights (it would need 2)

https://www.amazon.com/Roxant-Super-Bright-Activated-Adjustable-Control/dp/B01LVXCDKX/ - Strobe lights (2 as well)

https://www.amazon.com/Large-Stage-Light-Party-Lighting/dp/B012TZCJHU/ - Hooks for the lighting (1 per light, 4 total)

https://www.amazon.com/Security-JFDWOPHT-Stainless-Safety-Lighting/dp/B01CSO5IIY/ - Security hooks for the lights (to save the lights if they fall from the hooks)

https://www.amazon.com/Furman-SS6B-Plug-Surge-Protector/dp/B0002D017M/ - Powerstrip (I'd need 2)

https://www.amazon.com/MAGMA-75541-Control-Stand-Controller/dp/B01MFHGS06/ - Laptop/controller stand

https://www.amazon.com/Numark-NV-Intelligent-Dual-Display-Touch-Capacitive/dp/B00M85GCTI/ - 4-deck controller

https://www.amazon.com/Magma-MGA47982-CTRL-Numark-Controller/dp/B00RK9Z40K/ - Case for the controller


Not going for a sob story here, but rather explanation of why I don't have money to spend on this stuff - I've got no family and I've got Lyme's Disease which I wasn't allowed to treat back when I had a family (strictly against modern medicine) and now can't treat because of an error made on my government-provided health insurance that's so far been going on for 8 months and is yet to be fixed. Lyme destroys your joints, so standing and walking for a retail job (not yet out of college) is extremely painful for days afterwards. Once I get treatment I'm going to put my nose to the grindstone and get two jobs to finance it, but still, anything helps. If you go through my post history you'll see mention of a few Christmas gifts, specifically a set of headphones, and those are from friends. I really really really appreciate them because they put a lot of thought into them and read reviews and all, but I wound up not being able to use them, but instead returned them and spent the money on a professional set of headphones, which is why there are no headphones on that list of links.

I see a lot of people here recommending great builds, so I don't have anything to add on that from. However, no one here is mentioning the audio interface that will be needed to actually record his music.

There are a lot of different options available for those, and they definitely have a huge range in price. As an audio guy/musician myself, I use the Presonus Audiobox USB for home recording. It has the inputs I need to record with either a mic or by directly plugging in my guitar and using amp plugins.

If he's using large sample libraries, then he'll need a lot of ram. 16gb would be ideal, but he can get by with 8gb. It'll just limit the amount of libraries he can load in one recording session.

Also, I don't know if he already has a Pro Tools license, but that doesn't come very cheap. Currently, a Pro Tools licence goes for pretty much your entire budget (600$). If you want a cheaper solution, I HIGHLY recommend Reaper, which goes for about 10% of what it costs for Pro Tools (60$). I use it both personally and professionally for work and can say with some authority that it's an excellent tool for any kind of audio work that you need to do, be it music, sound design, or even scoring video.

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a really nice audio interface. This will allow you to use your headphones + plug nice speakers into your computer via a USB cable only. http://www.amazon.co.uk/FOCUSRITE-SCARLETT-Audio-interfaces-USB-Red/dp/B005OZE9SA

Ableton live does have operator and analog (internal synthesizers). You should learn these first if you can however sylenth1 and native instruments massive are good choices. Spire as well.

Ableton live is a solid choice. Go for the full suite version. Sadowick production does a very good tutorial series for ableton here -> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa9ASr8n5idArGa1uaBExM-lI-nO1P959

Not very clued up on speakers but you would benefit from getting monitoring speakers from the beginning. KRK's are popular. I have the KRK rokit 6s and they are pretty nice for the price.

Think about getting a midi keyboard for inputting notes into ableton. I use this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Korg-microKEY-37-USB-MIDI-Controller/dp/B007VQIGPW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413076010&sr=8-1&keywords=korg+microkey

Enjoy

I can help if you are using an iPhone. I believe garageband is free and records multitrack full quality with decent editing and mixing options. You can even use 3rd party plugin apps! You'll need an USB adaptor to connect an audio interface. you'd be best with this usb adaptor because it also get's power from your charger. This does two things for you, 1) your iPhone won't die on you 2) your iphone will have enough power for the interface. Then you can get something like this behringer. Then all that's left is grabbing a few SM-57 mics, or a shure drum mic kit](https://www.amazon.com/Shure-DMK57-52-Drum-Microphone-Kit/dp/B0002E51C6) to get a usable recording. Toss the big one on your kick, then one 57 on the mic, and then the other two over head pointing at your cymbals and toms. this set up will allow you to get pretty decent recordings, especially if your kit is in a good sounding space. Alternatively you can get an omni/stereo mic for iOS and mess around with placement to get a passable sound. This is cheaper, and still good enough for a more vintage vibe

Behringer UFO202 is only $40 but honestly it's a piece of junk.

302USB for $50 might be a little better. Never used it so I couldn't tell you.

This Lexicon Alpha unit for $60 looks decent for the price. Has balanced TRS outputs as well as a couple of inputs. Again, never used it so not sure how good it is.

Here's the thing, you bought a great pair of studio monitors, but any of these three options will likely output less than the potential quality of those Rokits. I really recommend spending the extra money on something comparable to the Audiobox I mentioned in my first comment to get the most out of your investment. If not, that third link would be my next choice. TRS will provide better quality than an RCA connection, hands down.

To find more options, just look up "audio interface." Add "usb", "firewire" etc to get more specific results based on your setup.

> looking to spend under $1,000 - thank you for all of your help.

So you have the PC.. You just want the sound to go with it. Ignore the pre-made PC setups for now. You didn't specify the room size which with a HTPC the HT(Home Theater) should mean you have an entire room for this bad boy.

Firstly, if you are looking at 5.1 you will need a surround receiver and that will have an internal DAC so that takes care of needing a soundcard or DAC. You will simply use the onboard digital out (Digital COAX or Fiber SPDIF) OR HDMI which is more likely with your newer video card.

UNLESS you go with a bigger stereo tower setup in which case there is no surround sound and a dedicated stereo amp can be used and therefore you will need the separate dac. Let me lay out both scenarios.

Watch me spend $1000 of your dollars.

5.1 setup - Receiver, 5 speakers and a sub

• 7.1 Denon 7.1 can be used as a 5.1 there are options to change it internally
  
  
• Dayton B652 You will buy three sets of these speakers. Two for the front channels, two for the rear and you can use one or two for the center. Why these speakers? If your feeling "spendy" you can substitute the Left and right pairs with one of the towers found below.
  
  
• BIC America More then big enough to satisfy any movie or bassline and a damn decent price. Why this subwoofer?
  
  Just grab some speaker wire and an RCA cable for the sub and that is a cheap and easy and GOOD 5.1 setup.
  
  2 channel setup - More music oriented and will still rock movies. DAC, AMP and Tower Speakers
  
  
• Behringer UCA202 As recommended by someone else in an earlier post this will do better then any internal sound card Why this DAC? More expensive DACs are available but whether they are better is questionable.
  
  
• Onkyo M-282 OR Behringer A500 OR HTD Stereo Receiver There would be an Emotiva in here but their lower end 2ch are out of stock until the new line comes in.
  
  Speaker recommendations will vary greatly.. I encourage people to reply to this with their ideal Tower/speaker. I will try and keep the total for a pair of speakers under $600..
  
  
• HTD Level 3's OR HTD Level 2's OR BIC Acoustech OR Cambridge Audio OR Mordaunt Carnival 6 OR Fluance SV10 OR Martin Logan MUST BUY TWO
  
  So a pair of decent RCA cables and some standard speaker wire and this would be good to go.

I'm not familiar with Massive, but I can help with getting your bass signal to your pc.

As a first option, there are 1/4" guitar USB devices sold expressly for this purpose. Behringer makes the cheapest one I know of: Behringer UCG-102. Ran across it while looking for a general purpose USB audio interface, but I didn't buy it because of the reviews complaining about the drivers. There's a $30 Mac cable I've seen used, too, but I don't know if anyone has PC or linux drivers for it. There are a lot of others, most of which start around $100 that I've seen. The Native Instruments one runs several hundred $$, I think.

I have a cheap jerry-rigged method that suits my needs, though. If you have a desktop pc, a DI pedal, or a better soundcard than usual, you might be able to do something like this more easily, but this is what I threw together one day after picking up the ground-isolator and USB audio interface for other purposes:

1/4"-to-3.5mm adapter into the headphone-out of amp, then a 3.5mm-to-RCA converter on top of that. Ground-loop-isolator (mine has RCA inputs and outputs, hence the converters) from that into the USB audio interface. I'm using the Behringer UCA-222. The interface connects to the PC via USB, or course.

Two things worth noting: 1) you'll probably want to install "ASIO4ALL" drivers to decrease latency times on this or similar USB audio interfaces and 2) you may not need a ground loop isolator, depending on your hardware. I'm using a laptop in this setup, and if it's plugged in then there's some interference. Easy way to check: while the pc's plugged in, if you can output your pc's audio to the Line In on your amp without hearing static, you probably don't need a ground loop isolator.

Hope that helps.

The headset that broke was the G35 headset from Logitech which goes for about $90 these days. It's a great headset but this would be my 3rd set in 4 years. The mic quality is average and often requires fussing with in post but overall it's a great headset.

While rocking this backup setup I've been using ear buds and I quite like it compared to the closed ear noise cancelling headset so I don't think I want to go the headset route again.

I've always wanted to go the XLR/Mixer route. This would allow me to manipulate any volume/noise issues with the mic on the fly and not touch it at all in post. I never settled on a solution that was afforable and always went with what I knew the G35.

This is the goal. It's not much more expensive than the G35 headset but is the correct tool for the job :Þ

• Audio-Technica AT2020 XLR ^USB ^version ^exists ^too
  
• Behringer Q502USB 5-Channel Mixer
  
• XLR Microphone Cable
  
• Microphone Suspension Boom
  
  A few notes about these choices. The 5 channel mixer is total overkill but this one functions as a USB audio interface meaning when you plug it in to your PC it shows up like a USB mic would. Behringer makes a 3 port USB mixer but I don't like the way it looks lol.
  
  Not all mixers have the ability to function as a USB device. On NON USB mixers you would have to run the output of the mixer into the input on your soundcard on your PC.
  
  I prefer the audio device approach. You plug your XLR mic into the mixer which is acting as the USB audio device. This allows you to control on the mixer what the computer hears on the audio device interface.
  
  Totally a long and involved answer but some might find it useful if in the market for audio upgrades :Þ

Another vote for the scarlet interface. As far as a controller, as the others have said, this depends on what you're interested in doing. I would recommend either the McMillen k board (has good ratings, good reactivity, and the soft keys can function well for a wide range of inputs. It is just a stripped down midi controller, no frills, no knobs. Supposedly indestructible and very low profile, small footprint.)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PRSMRVA/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_N.4TBb0BEJ5VK

Another option is an akai mpk mini. Feels a bit like old school casio entry-level keyboards, but it has both keys and a set of 8 pads. The pads are good and it's got some nice options for additional control of your DAW.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IJ6QAO2/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_Af5TBb712R4KB

I outfitted my entire studio (minus the push 2) for about 500 by getting equipment used off of amazon, offerup and craigslist. Be patient, get what you need to get started and spend most of your time learning your DAW and its core functions and stock plugins. Watch tutorials and read the manual. Experiment a bit and research when you run into an obstacle. Start with too much and you'll get overwhelmed quick. Take your time and you'll feel like a wizard.

edit: A quick afterthought. Both of these keyboards have smaller keys. If that's an issue, you may want to look at other options. I list both of these because they have good quality and versatility for the price, with a nice addition of being highly portable should you want to take your setup mobile.