Seeking recording advice

[Jeffelele]

I want to up my audio recording. I have an audio technica 2035 I just got through Reverb. Great deal. They go for $150 new everywhere I checked and for $120 on Amazon “renewed” which means checked and cleaned. Checking used on Reverb I found one listed for $75 in “used mint” condition. I figured that should mean open box or barely touched or price adjustment or return. It arrived in less than a week in absolutely mint condition.

I’m pretty sure next purchase will be Audient Evo 4 interface and then into my iPad or iiPhone which can be done with an adapter.

Seeking advice on what app from the App Store I should get for a DAW. Must be from there to work with iPad.

For the foreseeable future I’ll only be using one or two tracks and no virtual instrument. Basically one mic and uke and compresso etc. for mastering.

Cubasis 2 seems good but I want to avoid learning curve that seems to be weighted towards virtual instruments and enough instructions to render me unconscious. I will want to use included fx like eq, reverb, etc and mastering with onboard stuff or plugins.

Input will be appreciated.

 

[KohanMike]

GarageBand is free with the iPad, either installed or download from the App Store, is a very good DAW. It is not a light weight app, it's very capable, and includes effects. I use it on my MacStudio for adding bass to the tracks the leader of my group sends me. I actually have Logic Pro but prefer GarageBand. All DAWs have a learning curve, no getting around it.

 

[Jeffelele]

Thanks Mike.

I’m leaning towards Cubasis 2. It’s $24.

Since I know nothing to start with I feel I might as well start a step up from GarageBand.

Given enough time I’m sure I can explain the logic behind this move.

 

[DuckyI]

Just a quick tip for using the Audient audio interface. Your microphone, like most condensers, needs phantom power which your Audient supplies. HOWEVER - its ability to provide said phantom power works best when you have an independent power supply for the audio interface. Don't just rely on Thunderbolt/USB to power it (which is limited at best), give it its independent power feed as well. This gets rid of weak signal, static, etc. My Audient came with a power supply btw.

(speaking from experience as an Audient owner)

 

[Jeffelele]

Thanks Duckyl.

I’ve seen vids suggesting using an Apple MiFi certified Lightning to camera adapter with a charging port.
Amazon has it for $16.

 

[anthonyg]

Oh man.
I apologise up front for the snarky comment I am about to make, yet this has all the hallmarks of some guy bolting a Roots Supercharger onto a Honda City and expecting to win Le Mans.

Great recording is a skill that you really should do tertiary training for, and people spend years mastering it.
Long before you worry about the equipment, you should experiment with room acoustics, where you place the microphone, how you position yourself in the room and then how to set the gain structure for the mic.

I will also add a vote saying that using a professional large diaphragm studio condenser mic is pointless if you're not going to power it properly.
You would be FAR better off, using a simple yet quality electret pencil condenser microphone.

I suggest you take yourself over to www.gearspace.com/ , and do a fair bit of reading first.
Read first and ask questions later if you need to.
It's the best resource, yet people will be really snarky over there if you don't do your homework first.

 

[DuckyI]

Oh man.
I apologise up front for the snarky comment I am about to make, yet this has all the hallmarks of some guy bolting a Roots Supercharger onto a Honda City and expecting to win LeMans.

Great recording is a skill that you really should do tertiary training for, and people spend years mastering it.
Long before you worry about the equipment, you should experiment with room acoustics, where you place the microphone, how you position yourself in the room and then how to set the gain structure for the mic.

I will also add a vote saying that using a professional large diaphragm studio condenser mic is pointless if your not going to power it properly.
You would be FAR better off, using a simple yet quality electret pencil condenser microphone.

I suggest you take yourself over to www.gearspace.com/ , and do a fair bit of reading first.
Read first and ask questions later if you need to.
It's the best resource, yet people will be really snarky over there if you don't do your homework first.

This is totally unnecessary gatekeeping, in my honest opinion. The OP is proposing a basic home recording setup, and asking for tips. There is no talk of a professional quality large diaphragm mic, where minute differences do matter. A budget setup like the one he is after is great for learning by doing. Tertiary training? Come off it.

 

[anthonyg]

This is totally unnecessary gatekeeping, in my honest opinion. The OP is proposing a basic home recording setup, and asking for tips. There is no talk of a professional quality large diaphragm mic, where minute differences do matter. A budget setup like the one he is after is great for learning by doing. Tertiary training? Come off it.

Yes. I'm afraid I was being a little snarky, yet right in the first line, the OP has bought himself a audio technica 2035 large diaphram studio condenser mic, yet want's to plug it into his phone.
If you think I'm being incredulous, wait until he posts this on a studio recording forum.

Anyway, if you're recording onto a phone, and I'm not telling you not to, then there is MUCH to learn, before you go out and buy an external microphone.

 

[DuckyI]

Yes. I'm afraid I was being a little snarky, yet right in the first line, the OP has bought himself a audio technica 2035 large diaphram studio condenser mic, yet want's to plug it into his phone.
If you think I'm being incredulous, wait until he posts this on a studio recording forum.

Anyway, if your recording onto a phone, and I'm not telling you not to, then there is MUCH to learn, before you go out and buy an external microphone.

Yeah but to be fair, it is very much a budget condenser mic. And I agree it needs to be powered properly, but that's what I suggested in my post above where I advised powering the Audient independently. I have never recorded onto a phone or Ipad using an external DAC, but these handheld devices are getting pretty powerful these days, so if they have the storage, software required and the available memory, I can't see why it would make a big difference compared to a laptop.

I know what you are saying, this is a field with a steep learning curve, etc - I agree, but there is also value in experimenting with simple tools and learning them well. And also some of those audio gear forums are full of people with $10,000 home studios who don't have a clue.

 

[AZChris]

I asked a friend of mine about setting up a home studio. He graduated from a local recording school. (conservatory of recording arts and sciences). I was discouraged as he talked about "the recording chain" and had me thinking I would need to sound treat the room, buy compressors, mic preamps, put bass traps in the corners etc.

For what most of us want, an interface, a mic and a DAW will get you into multi-track recording. Get into it and have fun.

 

[UkingViking]

I have no experience with DAWs for Apple devices, so I cannot recommend anything.

Regarding connecting to a phone/tablet, I think the separate power supply is a good idea.
I once tried with an ShureMV5, a USB mic that even came with a lightning cable and hence should be designed for device use. The recording could not get acceptable gain. I tried on an iPhone, an Android tablet and an Android phone using an adapter. Not satisfactory.
I have not tried connecting my Audient Id14 to my phone, but I can only expect it to need more power. Plugged into my laptop it is OK though.

I am one of whose who fell in the trap of getting nicer gear than I know how to use.
My journey involved:

ShureMV5 usb mic, PC with Audacity.

Upgrade to BlueYeti USB mic. Noticeable improvement.

Upgrade to Reaper DAW. Recordings made using a fancier DAW doesnt sound better. The Metronome functions makes it easier to do a couple of tracks. The possibility for compression etc. is an upgrade, but since I was very clueless, most knobs I turned made it worse to begin with. I am still a noob, but at least I dont think I make things worse any more

Upgrade to an interface, Audient id14 and a few second hand condensed mics:
With the room acoustics I have, the sound really hasn't improved drastically. Compared to the extra settings you need to learn to use it, and the extra gear etc, I am not sure it was worth it with my limited production skills. But once you have it, you dont go back either.

Now you got the mic, go get an interface and play around with mic placement etc. But dont worry too much about how fancy the DAW is. Acoustic uke recordings without a lot of tracks have a kind of sparse sound, with a lot of dynamics. I might be wrong, but I think the post processing should be subtle, and that you should not do too much. Also, having tried to record stuff with a tablet DAW, you probably dont want to do too much editing on a tablet.
If I am wrong, I would like someone to start a thread on what post processing they like on ukulele recordings. I am but a noob willing to learn

 

[KohanMike]

Thanks Mike. I’m leaning towards Cubasis 2. It’s $24. Since I know nothing to start with I feel I might as well start a step up from GarageBand. Given enough time I’m sure I can explain the logic behind this move.

Jeff, when you reply to a specific post, be sure to either use the quote button and place the quote in your reply, or use an @ before the person's name so they know you've replied to them. @KohanMike., @Jeffelele.

 

[Jim Hanks]

I’m leaning towards Cubasis 2. It’s $24.

Since I know nothing to start with I feel I might as well start a step up from GarageBand.

Why Cubasis 2? It still works but won't be getting any updates. Cubasis 3 is the current version. I've used it for years and it certainly has a learning curve but can take you a long way.

You may also want to look at Logic Pro for iPad which is just released. I haven't tried it and don't really intend to as Cubasis is meeting my needs. But Apple is behind it so should get lots of support going forward

 

[peanuts56]

While I haven't recorded anything in a while. I do use a Tascam DP 02 with M Audio monitors. I picked the brain of some friends who have been into home recording for years. One guy has put out 3-4 albums/cds under his own name. I also have a young gal I know who has a degree in audio engineering to go to for advice. They've all helped me with a few tricks of the trade.
I've never recorded myself on ukulele. I mostly used the equipment for recording accompaniment tracks for chorus and string ensemble during my years teaching school. When I had time, I did record a few original compositions. All of that was done with a digital keyboard and drum machine.

 

[Brouk]

I have recently gotten into recording. I wrote enough songs for an album and the next logical step was to try to do arrangements. I ended up picking Pro Tools to do it right. It was a steep learning curve but well worth my time. I now feel comfortable in this DAW

 

[AZChris]

I have recently gotten into recording. I wrote enough songs for an album and the next logical step was to try to do arrangements. I ended up picking Pro Tools to do it right. It was a steep learning curve but well worth my time. I now feel comfortable in this DAW

Really cool. Have fun. You've stayed with the industry standard DAW which if I were starting again I might do. I was turned off by dongles and subscriptions. Getting comfortable with a DAW changes your world regardless of what the DAW is. Are you fleshing out arrangements of original music?

 

[Brouk]

Yeah I started writing my own for real about 6 months ago. I released an album a few days ago, it will go live in a week or do on major online platforms.