Help Me Build A Little Recording Studio

J

jaydon34

Guest
Im trying to build a small recording studio whether it be computer based or hardware based. Money is an issue being that I dont have thousands of dollars to invest. Basically All that I am trying to acomplish is laying down vocals over a live dj set. I want to have my studio set up like funkmaster flex. I know everone has heard when jayz and the rest of the roc come on the funk flex show. They lay down freestyles while hes cutting up live an it gets recorded. The only problem Im having is how to keep the vocals seperate from the live dj set. If anyone can help id like to know the easiest way to do this and the best equipment/software to get the job done.

Thanks also this is my first post being that Im new but I followed the forum for a month now as a guest.
 
yeah but what type is there something special that I have to use when im recording the mix and the vocals to seperate tracks. I just dont see how an anolog mixer is gonna help me.
 
Sorry, my answer was bad.
You want to record the vocals on a separate track as the DJing?
Then you need a multi-track recorder.
Software - Cakewalk is pretty easy to use.
If you want to record them live to separate tracks, you can do it a couple ways:
Assuming you don't have a soundcard with a mixer included, you can:
1. buy a soundcard that has that multiple inputs
2. record the DJing into Cakewalk (or whatever software you use), and have the vocalists not go through the computer, then repeat, but record vocals.
3. get a hardware sequencer.

J
 
Whay not get one of those yamaha 4 track/8 track MD recorders.All you really need is 4 tracks.They can be had really cheap on ebay etc. and will fully do the trick.Minidiscs are cheap as heck,re-recordable,usable in portable players,and consumer home-theater type players(which are also really cheap,like $100us)They are encoded at 20 bits,so you always get a good copy to a cd.Even a regular home model can make really good recordings,and freestyles are supposed to be one-shot anyhow,so even two tracks would work.If that's all you wanna do,no need to get all technical,spend you're money on a better mic.,and an extra pair of m447's
 
If you've already got a PC, you might consider a cheap or the free version of ACID. Most people think of ACID as strictly for loop-based production -- but it can also be pressed into service as multi-track recorder software. But if you're looking to freestyle over a live DJ track, that would mean you'd have to use some sort of mixing board to mix the DJ output (presumably two tracks for stereo) with your live mic. You would gain more control (but lose that live thing) if you recorded the DJ track and then went back and overdubbed the mic. But even doing it this way you'll need either a mic pre-amp or some kind of mixer (with a built-in mic pre-amp). If you try to plug a proper mic into the "mic input" of your soundcard you'll get a tinny, distorted sound in all likelihood -- since that input is really designed for those little white plastic "desktop" mics that you buy at the computer store. (Keep in mind that you can probably use a DJ mixer, too.)

If you don't already have some kind of mic preamp or mixer with a mic input, you might consider going the 4-tracker route. There are a new generation of cassette-based 4-trackers that start as little as about $100 (although the bottom end usually only accepts two inputs at once -- which might put the kibosh on your plan to record the DJ and the MC at the same time. (Unless your DJ just uses a mono output...which, after all, is what a lot of clubs put over their PAs, anyhow.)
 
there are also the roland vs systems.....i'm personally watching ebay for the Roland VSR-880 as i don't want a desktop wart to deal with and want the ability to multitrack record myself live via the 8 outs on my board.....the VSR-880's are basicly a rack version of the VS-880s so can slap it in the rack and not think about it for the most part......you can go with bigger VS units as well, but if all you are looking to do is seperate out the dj for the vocals, the rolands will work nicely for you...i've used the 880s and 1680s before and once you get past the initial hump with using them they are nice machines.
 
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