so i work at a restaurant full time and im getting paid by-weekly so i'll be getting a shitload of money on my next paycheck... let me know what you think i should blow it on... a PA system which i can use since i never really had a nice one, or a recording module, something for a USB port so i can run through a computer... it's still really up in the air.

pa....and then use a computer program for recording.

recording equipment will make you money... PA wont

yeah but the USB controller is so i can get static and sloppy sounding shit out of computer recording stuff so in order to use my comp i'd pretty much need the USB recording gear, get what im saying?

I selling my digi oo1(protools) at a fair price. Send me a email and i can send you pics and info: handinjury@aol.com

id have more fun with the recording gear

TheGreatSpaldino said:
couldnt be more wrong.


Every jackass in a band thse days seems to have a mic and a computer program. they record and fiddle with knobs or buttons till it sounds ok. there is often times a complete lack of understanding audio.this is great for just dicking around but unless you get real serious about it you recordings will still sound like crap. it takes a real long time to get good at recording and or running a PA well. in all seriousness it will take you longer to become a recording engineer than it did for you to learn your instrument. if you realy need to use it for songwriting purposes, go for it. you can do everything you basicly need to do for $100 if you already have a computer. you could make demos this way as well. if you want a real good recording you are better off spending a a few $100 at someplace where they already have $25000 worth of preamps(yeah a good preamp for a mic is well over $1000). to make a living these days from recording is damn near impossible with the birth of digital recording for the home. recording studios are closing down real fast. and alot of shitty music is coming out.... for the record i have over $5000 worth of recording equipment that just gathers dust.


a PA on the other hand......... alot less people these days have their own PA. these are often times big setups that people dont want to deal with. most times at most shows you dont even need one. because it is provided by the club or another band. there are few places that dont have a PA. most small shows in hall end up just playing out of their instruments and just mic the vox. unless you just want to hear some singer a PA is useless unless you are going to be playing for more than 200 kids or so but at that rate get a good PA with a seperate mixer from the amp.learn about BI-amping or tri-amping even. get an external crossover. but if you set up shows and have a PA system that is one less thing to pay for. but then you need enough mics. cables. never enough cables. outboard EQ. compressors.

either way spend about 2 weeks reading up on both subjects and see which one you think you or your band would benefit the most from. i suggest just keep practicing.

is the pa for your band as in a live rehersal thing or just for noises in a room to record. if its for the band you must have a pa. otherwise you have to have a recorder to get your ideas across and you can be way more creative with a recorder, thus fuck the pa you can get way more abstract sounds from a guitar,keyboard sampler or whatnot. so i guess it depends on what you intend to do with them!

i think im going with the PA and i'll just buy a cheap mixer, i know a way to record with the mixer and just hook it up with a four track as a middle man.

PA little brother. You can always record on your comp. And you can't have a band with vocals that sound good without a decent PA.

hybrid said:

if you have a cheap mixer why bother with the 4-track??

if you have a 4-track why bother getting a cheap mixer to feed the PC or the PA? Just use the cheap mixer on the 4-track they use the same low end mic preamps. unless you want to record more than 4-sources at a time.

im selling my pro tools rig, its the Mbox, comes with Mac and PC software. for $300

Dude, you didnt tell me!

Josh_hates_you said:

Simple. Submix the drums live through the mixer into a stereo out, then bounce the remaining tracks on the four track for guitars, bass, vox, etc. Not enough inputs on most four-track units to mic a full kit.

By the way, while a good mic pre-amp can cost thousands (easily), some of my favorite recordings of all time were done with shit gear. In fact, usually the price on the current pre-amps and other analog gear is so high because someone made a name for the company along the line. Just look at the current trend with NS-10's. Everyone seems to think their the be all - end all of nearfield monitors, even though we've all got different ears attatched to our heads.

exactly what arrowhead said, i record with 3 or 4 mics usually... if i have a mixer i'd do 4... bass, snare, 1 overhead for cymbals and one overhead behind the drummer for a complete collective sound, before when i didnt have a mixer i used one track on a 4 track and used mic splitters... it was a pretty nifty idea

Instead of one overhead, and one random unneeded mic behind the kit, use two same-model mics and go for stereo overheads. You'll get the same result you're looking for with the mic behind the kit, with a much stronger stereo orientation (which you'll need from the start since you're submixing to 4 track).