Home recording equipment advice.

XXVoid MainXX
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XXVoid MainXX
Edited Date/Time 2/11/2019 8:09pm
I know there are several people here with a lot of experience in this area so looking for a little advice. Back in the 90s I had all the equipment including 24 channel Mackie mixer with a bunch of mics, processors, gadgets, etc that worked great for recording my band. But, that was MANY years ago and all that stuff is long gone. My guitars have been packed away in my closet for a few years without being touched but lately I got the bug to maybe record some stuff to mix in with some motorcycle videos.I feel like a complete n00b because I am sure there is a lot more out there today than when I left off.

I pulled a couple of guitars out a couple of days ago and low and behold I haven't completely forgotten how to play. I would like to be able to do some multi track recording without breaking the bank. I am not looking for the highest sound quality as everything I do in life is mediocre at best. I have a couple of accoustics with no pickups (don't know what happened to my pickup). I'm thinking a couple of mics for acoustic and vocals. I have electrics and a couple of portable sound processors. I would like to be able to record several tracks, and maybe do a little computer based post processing like add reverb, a little chorus, etc to the acoustic and vocals without necessarily going through a guitar processor.

I am thinking something along the lines of the Tascam DP-03SD 8 track portable:
https://tascam.jp/us/initial/D-F

Thinking that would allow me to record and mix something down without even needing a computer and it's only around 300 bucks. But it may be a piece of crap for all I know and maybe it wouldn't be what I need. I also might be interested in a drum machine. What's good for reasonable price these days?

Thanks for any suggestions!
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borg
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borg 2/10/2019 3:27pm
2/10/2019 3:27pm Edited Date/Time 2/10/2019 3:42pm
I never knew you were a playa. I would think that any digital recorder is going to be as good soundwise as the computer stuff like Pro Tools and Reaper but I could be wrong. Have you checked to see of any of the regular DAW's have a Linux version? Reaper does but it's experimental and I know nothing about it.
borg
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borg 2/10/2019 3:42pm
2/10/2019 3:42pm
Article for Reaper and Linux

There is some youtube stuff too if you want to look into how others are using it with Linux.

I think there was an older thread on this subject by someone that wanted to do the same thing as you.
XXVoid MainXX
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XXVoid MainXX 2/10/2019 4:02pm
2/10/2019 4:02pm
As far as Linux software I do have a few things installed like Ardour which I have used in the past. I haven't tried to record anything with it recently though:

https://ardour.org/

I mean I wouldn't need multi track hardware if I do it all in software. Would need a computer hardware interface (something more than just a mic input I think). Back in the 90s I used an Echo Layla PCI device that came with multitrack software (can't remember what the software was). I was actually able to do some pretty cool stuff with that setup. Like today I would think there would be something that would hook up through USB3 but would need Linux compatibility of course.
borg
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borg 2/10/2019 4:30pm
2/10/2019 4:30pm
Sounds like Ardour is a full on DAW. If it is then yes, you need an interface. I use M-Audio M-Track. It takes mic, line and guitar inputs and sends it to your computer via USB. I just don't know if Linux will detect and enable it.

M-audio

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XXVoid MainXX
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XXVoid MainXX 2/10/2019 5:26pm
2/10/2019 5:26pm
Cool beans. I do see discussion about using M Audio 2x2 with Ardour on Linux. Price looks good as well.
borg
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borg 2/10/2019 5:41pm
2/10/2019 5:41pm
XXVoid MainXX wrote:
Cool beans. I do see discussion about using M Audio 2x2 with Ardour on Linux. Price looks good as well.
Yeah, people tend to go overboard on interfaces. They're just signal/connection converters. No need to get extravagant.
Falcon
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Falcon 2/10/2019 5:47pm
2/10/2019 5:47pm Edited Date/Time 2/10/2019 5:47pm
https://www.avid.com/pro-tools-first

That one is free. All you will need is some sort of A-D converter like Borg mentioned, which you can find at any Guitar Center. (You plug your mic or guitar into the converter.)
The good news is that you can use the Pro Tools tracks in any digital audio workstation system if you upgrade later.
JAFO92
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JAFO92 2/10/2019 6:44pm
2/10/2019 6:44pm Edited Date/Time 2/10/2019 6:48pm
Getcha an 8-track Studer and ixna on the igitalda ! Wink

You can get all the media you need at USRecordings. The new ATR shit can go +10dB and not saturate. Can you say full dynamic range in original sine wave??

Seriously though, keep us posted what you get !
XXVoid MainXX
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XXVoid MainXX 2/10/2019 7:24pm
2/10/2019 7:24pm
I don't think Pro Tools works with Linux? But Ardour is pretty cool and seems to work great, and totally open source. I just recorded through the 1/8 mic input on my computer and actually got really great results. Might just play around with that while I research. Here's an incredibly blurry picture I just took. Smile


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early
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early 2/10/2019 7:33pm
2/10/2019 7:33pm
Falcon wrote:
https://www.avid.com/pro-tools-first That one is free. All you will need is some sort of A-D converter like Borg mentioned, which you can find at any Guitar Center...
https://www.avid.com/pro-tools-first

That one is free. All you will need is some sort of A-D converter like Borg mentioned, which you can find at any Guitar Center. (You plug your mic or guitar into the converter.)
The good news is that you can use the Pro Tools tracks in any digital audio workstation system if you upgrade later.
This. If you haven't recorded on a computer it will blow your mind how much easier it is to noodle around yourself. Any halfway decent computer should be able to run 8 tracks no problem.
XXVoid MainXX
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XXVoid MainXX 2/10/2019 7:43pm
2/10/2019 7:43pm
I have recorded on a computer, back in the 90s. Smile I had a pretty good setup for back then. This Ardour seems to be just the ticket. Just need to find the right input device now. The one I had back in the 90s was a PCI card with an external box with 8 1/4 input jacks. I don't need t hat many for what I am planning on doing. I think that M-Track that borg mentioned might be just the ticket.
Mr. G
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Mr. G 2/10/2019 8:52pm
2/10/2019 8:52pm
I think you guys covered it all.
XXVoid MainXX
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XXVoid MainXX 2/10/2019 9:05pm
2/10/2019 9:05pm
This video is 2.5 hours long but it has some pretty advanced capabilities.

borg
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borg 2/11/2019 7:33am
2/11/2019 7:33am
XXVoid MainXX wrote:
This video is 2.5 hours long but it has some pretty advanced capabilities. [embed]ziframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UBQBOLuB8uQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen>[/embed]
This video is 2.5 hours long but it has some pretty advanced capabilities.

I watched the first part of the video while he was trying to program some drums on the MIDI editor. That's one of the first VST's you are going to want to get. I cant help you with which one because my Son set me up with the one that he bought. You should be able to find one here as well as a bunch of other ones.
FLmxer
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FLmxer 2/11/2019 9:55am
2/11/2019 9:55am
Cool tips. I am pretty sure no one else wants to hear me but me no matter how much my wife humors me. Lol but I have the little hand held Tascan DR-05 and I am not really impressed on stand alone playback. I use my line6 amp to layer tracks and then delete because, well I dont know what I am doing but good fun every time.
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