HOW TO BUILD A RECORDING RIG, PT. 1 BY MITCH GALLAGHER
In last month’s column [“The Best Gear?,” February 2012],
we started investigating how
to find the right gear for your
studio. We began by looking
at what we wanted to do musically—be it tracking guitar, capturing vocals, recording drums,
mixing songs, or something
else altogether. Here’s the idea
we arrived at: Once you know
what you need to do, you can
more easily target what gear
is required for the job. This
month, we’ll continue down
this road by looking at ways to
narrow down your choices and
make your specific selections.
The first step is to settle on
the centerpiece for your rig and
the “support” items that will
surround it. Only then can you
move on to the other items
needed to complete the tasks.
For most of us, our recording
device—the centerpiece—will
be a computer paired with an
audio interface. But a computer
isn’t the only choice. Depending
on what you are doing, another
type of recorder might serve
you even better. Let’s look at
some of the options, beginning
with the simplest.
You shouldn’t dismiss this
option until you try it. Two
great mics through a nice stereo
preamp and into a straight-ahead stereo digital recorder is
a super-clean, super-simple system for recording. And it allows
you to keep your mind on the
music. At a later point, you
can always transfer your stereo
recording into a computer for
overdubbing, polishing, editing,
processing, and cleanup.
2. Hardware Multi-track
Recorder/Mixer. Not too long
ago, the only real option for
home recording was a cassette-based, multi-track recorder/
mixer—often generically
referred to as a “Portastudio”
(the Portastudio is a product
line from Tascam). Thankfully,
cassettes are long gone, but
the concept of a self-contained
multi-track recorder/mixer
survives in units from Tascam,
Roland/Boss, Samson, and others. If your multi-tracking, editing, and mixing demands aren’t
too heavy, these can be a great
option since they are fast and
easy to operate. Simply plug in
your microphones and headphones or speakers, and voila,
you’re recording!
There are some drawbacks
with these systems, such as the
number of simultaneous inputs
and outputs, limited headphone
monitoring for multiple musicians, and the fixed number of
tracks. But for many projects,
a good standalone multi-track
may be just the ticket. Many
even include onboard effects
and processing for creating a
final stereo mix.
3. Computer. If you’re working with multi-track recordings,
then it’s tough to argue with the
power of a computer-based system. The trade-off is that a computer system can be more complicated to operate than some
of the other options. But once
you master the basics, flexibility,
A high-resolution stereo recorder
like the Tascam HD-P2 can capture amazing sound quality. Just
plug in a pair of microphones.
A multi-track hardware unit like
the Boss BR-1200CD can take
you from a raw idea to
a finished CD.
Maximize Your Computer Power
• Load up the RAM. RAM is the computer memory used to hold programs
and data while they are in use. Most computers ship from the manufacturer
with just more than the minimum required for the operating system and for
non-demanding applications. You’ll be surprised how much your computer’s
performance will improve by adding RAM (my laptop has 8 GB and my tower
has 16 GB). Some DAWs—such as certain versions of Pro Tools 10—allow
you to load complete projects off your hard drive and into RAM for ultra-fast
response. However, this requires a significant chunk of RAM.
• Have a dedicated audio hard drive. While you can record direct to the
computer’s internal drive, you’re better off having a dedicated, second drive
for storing audio—whether external (USB or Fire Wire) or internal (mounted
inside the computer). One of the things that cemented my use of a laptop
for audio work was finding an adapter that allowed me to replace the internal
CD-R drive with a second hard drive. My Macbook Pro now has two internal
750 GB hard drives, and as a bonus, I mounted the removed CD-R drive in
an external case and can still use it when I need to—all for less than $18.
My tower has four internal hard drives: one for the system and programs,
one for audio, one for drum and virtual-instrument libraries, and one for
backing up projects. I also use external Fire Wire 800 drives for back up and
archiving, and for hauling projects to outside studios.
editing power, processing and
mixing power, and the ability to
take a project from beginning to
end all “in the box,” the benefits
are tremendously attractive.
These days, just about any
reasonably modern computer,
Mac or PC, can handle relatively demanding projects. Even an
uber-portable machine—such as
a Macbook Air or an iPad—can
be used to create a surprisingly
complex, multi-track arrangement. Though if you’re working on “serious” projects, I still
recommend the most powerful
laptop or desktop computer
you can get. Regardless of what
computer you choose, check the
sidebar for tips to ensure that
your computer will be as powerful as it can be. That’s all we
have room to cover this month.
See you back here next time as
our journey towards the perfect
recording rig continues!
• Expand your monitor. You can certainly work on a project using the laptop’s screen, but it’s so much easier with a larger monitor. I often connect
my laptop to a bigger screen, and for my tower, I use a pair of 22" monitors.
One displays the mixer and the other shows the audio editor or other windows. Be forewarned—once you work with a large amount of monitor real
estate, you’ll never want to go back to a small screen!
MITCH GALLAGHER
has a new book called
Guitar Tone: Pursuing the
Ultimate Electric Guitar
Sound. He is the former
Editor in Chief of EQ maga-
zine. In addition to being
a writer, he teaches music business and
audio recording at Indiana University/Purdue
University, is a freelance recording and mas-
tering engineer, and is Sweetwater’s Editorial
Director. mitchgallagher.com
