Friends,
Below is text from my brother. Please read through and for those with recording experience, do post your replies here. I am sending him the link to this page as well (or you can reply directly to his email address (zozzy_stockholm@yahoo.com).
Thanks,
AJ

From :
Zozzy Stockholm

Subject :
Novice Setting up home studio - Help!

Date :
Thu, 5 Sep 2002 09:13:23 -0700 (PDT)

Hi guys:
I am seeking some advice on setting up a home studio - from scratch.

So far I have researched and settled on the Tascam 788 and burner for starters, as I am getting them for an incredible price.

But I might need another workstation, though, if cutting and pasting is not possible on the 788, i.e., say you record the chorus section of the song once, and just cut and paste that whenever the chorus occurs in the song, so that it's exactly the same sounding each time.

And will anyone recommend combining 2 workstations (e.g an 8 track and a 12 track) and recording on both then playing back and mixing through a mixer? - Is that possible, to begin with?

I am trying to build the cheapest studio ever put together : ) - but with the tightest end-result possible for the low budget.

Does anyone have any ideas if the Tascam has cut/paste capabilities?

Also to get the final master and mixing, I will want to get normal CD volume; cause sometimes, amateur recordings sound lower than the CD you buy in a store - would anyone recommend a decent mixer? - and does digital vs. analog matter for mixing?

And to be able to get each track at the volume level I want it, is it better to mix through a mixer than to rely only on the mixing capabilities of the recording workstation?

For mics, I've setteld for and recommend the C-1 from Studio Projects - for about $250 you can't get any better.

Please help with your ideas from your experiences.

Thanks a million. Nkeng

There are too many questions asked here to be answered easily. Everyone wants the cheapest/best home studio. My advice is to find a digital multitrack recorder that you are comfortable with, then put some money into a decent computer if you haven't already done so. A good multitracker will allow you to record tracks without the technology bogging you down, and then the computer will give you the power and versatility to run software apps like Sound Forge for final mastering that will go beyond what any hardware can do. SF allows very precise cut-paste editing and it has compression tools that allow you to get the maximum volume from your music without clipping for CD.

The Pro is VERY right Nkeng !!

Roel