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Posted by: Hajduk Sep 23 2013, 12:28 AM

I am very new to recording videos for YouTube then posting them here and I'm sure the sound quality and other things are not great I am looking at the Focusrite 2i4 for audio interface I think it comes with Pro tools. Any suggestions would be great and I have to do this on a budget spent waaaaay to much money on guitars and amps the last 2 mos I also have a great pair of Sennheiser HD215 headset so I don't think I need monitors or maybe I do?? Any help would be awesome. To add to this I am also getting a mic!

Posted by: Taka Perry Sep 23 2013, 07:53 AM

Hey man, I think the Focusrite is a good idea. Personally, I don't Pro Tools would be the best idea. The version that comes with the interface is probably a lite edition with a lot of limitations. Also, Pro Tools has their own proprietary plug-in format (RTAS) as opposed to the more standard VST format, meaning you won't be able to use the plethora of great http://lepouplugins.blogspot.com.au/. You'd probably be better off with something like Reaper or Studio One for the software side.

About the monitors, it really depends on the seriousness of quality you want. The basic idea of monitors is that is accurately plays the frequencies of music, as opposed to headphones that already have some processing stuff inside them. I use big stereo speakers which I already had, and I have been happy with them. If you're doing YouTube videos for REC takes at GMC, I think you won't really need the monitors. I think the important thing is to just draw a line financially, because you could end up getting more and more stuff for the sake of having a 'better' setup (and there will always be something better than what you have)

Finally, what will you be recording with the mic? It's hard to give recommendations without knowing if it's for vocals, guitar, saxophones etc. I am by no means a mic expert, but I'm sure other people here know a lot about them.

Let me know what you think man

Posted by: Hajduk Sep 23 2013, 10:57 AM

Hi Taka, thanks for the response, great advice there. I actually do have Cubase 4 software, I am starting to look at tutorial videos on how to use it, The mic is for the guitar no singing although have been practicing a bit. I also have to learn then how to synch the video with the audio afterwards the music stores here have lessons on how to make videos and use software so will be taking a course soon.

Posted by: dark_dude Sep 23 2013, 02:13 PM

I use a very cheap setup, take a look:

*Audio interface: Line 6 GX (comes with the Pod Farm VST)
*DAW: Reaper (free, if you need/want a licence, it's relatively cheap)
*VST: Use the Pod Farm you got with the GX above

I plug into the GX with cheap ~£10 Sony earphones

Should be ~£60 total? So ~$95?

Posted by: Hajduk Sep 23 2013, 06:20 PM

Thank you will definitely look into that!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Sep 30 2013, 09:19 PM

I'd say download REAPER and try to get used to it since it's free to download and work with (will give you a nag screen if you keep it free). Everyone generally has a copy of reaper so it's the most compatible IMHO. Mac and PC. Not to say you shouldn't use the cubase or any other daw, just that REAPER will provide great compatibility and sounds great.

For monitors, you can get by with a nice set of headphones to keep the budget down at first. I use the AGK MKII 240 which work great for not lying to your ears too badly

You can get a really cheap interface these days. I'd say STAY AWAY from M-AUDIO gear for one simple reason. They routinely drop support for their gear (not in every case of course, but often) so that you can't get drivers past a certain point. TASCAM does the same dirty tricks.

For $120 you can get the smaller FOCUSRITE iTRACK input interface which is a great box that works with PC, MAC and Ipad/Ipod/iphone etc. Very flexible, and they actually keep supporting gear so you don't get the "legacy" problem when they drop driver support. For the price this is IMHO simply unbeatable. It it flat out a better box than anything else I'm aware of in the price range. I'm sure there are wads of folks very happy with whatever they are using. But if you have not bought it in yet, check this out before you do

http://global.focusrite.com/ipad-audio-interfaces-usb-audio-interfaces/itrack-solo

Posted by: tonymiro Oct 1 2013, 08:28 AM

Sort of. If you want to use PT then you can get around the vst compatability issue by using a vst-rtas wrapper. Having said that I don't think there are actually not that many vsts that are so unique that this is a major deciding factor; there'sa fw but not many.

Also having said that personally I've never been impressed with the home/project version of PT. It's always seemed like the workflow and performance are a bit behimd the latest Cubase/Sonar/Reaper/Logic versions. This may be because it lags a bit behind the full pro studio version in development. Too many project studios use it because they believe the hype that it's the choice of pro studios - one reason why a lot of pro engineers call it 'pro fools'.

Ultimately what daw you use for home/project recording and mixing really depends on workflow. Reaper has the bonus in that you can download and test the full version. It also has a veru good user base who interact with the development team.



Not sure what you mean. Studio quality headphones don't have 'sound processing stuff inside them'. The issue is that you can't get a proper sense of stereo when mixing on 'phones and that most of them over emphasise stereo depth and don't present the bass accurately. Otherwise yes, decide how much money you have and at least at first invest in the audio interface and a good set of studio phones and use Reaper as the DAW. Ultimately like Todd says you can start with 'phones but at some stage you'll probably have to get a set of near field monitors. At that point you shoudl also invest in sound treatment for the room but that can wait for the future.

Just with the interface - think carefully how many ins and outs and what types you need. If you get one with only 2 ins/outs you will be very limited as to what you can record. If you think you'll want to record your band playing live or a drum kit you really need 8 or more ins. Recording an electric guitar direct for reamping needs a HiZ input - this isn't the same as the mic or line input.

Mics - a dynamic like a Shure SM 57 or 58 is a good, basic general mic for a home studio. After that look at condenser mics whe you have more money.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 1 2013, 09:09 AM

Todd is right about the M-Audio. I had the Lexicon Alpha 2.0 as a gift from my band mates and it works excellent for me Simple and efficient and later, I found out it's not that expensive either. For home usage, it's perfect - 2 in/ 2 out is everything you will need. I also suggest you to get a pair of monitors as well. But you haven't mentioned an estimated budget for this whole thing What would that be?

Posted by: Taka Perry Oct 2 2013, 08:09 AM

What I meant is that monitors generally are much better at accurately reproducing sound frequencies than headphones. I guess high-end headphones would be good, but generally monitors help bring out the mistakes in mixing, whereas consumer speakers/headphones try to make the music sound 'nice'.

Posted by: Hajduk Oct 2 2013, 11:13 PM

I just ordered and got a deal for the Focusrite 2i4, Have a good pair of senheiser Headsets. My budget is maybe 400 dollars at most I will also give reaper a try. I would buy monitors but that would put me way over, Later on I will buy them.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Oct 3 2013, 11:12 AM

Sounds fair enough man Looking forward to hear your impressions once you get your hands on the new gear!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Oct 5 2013, 04:44 AM

Put up a recording and let us see how it goes! that's a nice interface and senheiser makes good cans so you should be in good shape later on , add some near field monitors, (KRK, ALESIS, etc. can be had for about $300 a pair for the 5or6 inch woofer version) and a sub woofer later on maybe.

Congrats on your new home studio!!!

Todd