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t0lkien · 8th May 2007

I know many have asked similar questions, but after a day or more of reading these (excellent) forums, I still have some questions.

I need a very portable solution that will allow me to record demos of song ideas using just my acoustic guitar and voice at first. My intention is to also mess around with loops, and fill out the songs that work with drums etc. (I've used Reason a very bit), as well as electric guitar via my PodXT Live. I've been looking at the Mbox 2 Mini for this purpose, and possibly a Shure beta 57. My reasons are these:

1. It must all be very portable.
2. Because it will travel, it must also be as durable as possible.
3. It must be USB powered (unnecessary power chords overseas get painful fast).
4. I don't want to spend more than $1000 if I can help it, hopefully less.

My questions are these:

1. Is ProTools worth dealing with the limitations of the Mini (the pres worry me after reading posts here - I have a very fussy ear; plus the USB 1.1 bandwidth/latency limitation seems totally unnecessary in today's world of USB 2.0 and Firewire). ProTools is the industry standard and that means I can bring my sessions into bigger studios if I want to. That is attractive to me, but not essential.

2. If I don't go with ProTools, what is a quality alternative - I'm seeking advice here on what is easy to get around and yet deep enough not to disappoint down the track. I know it's subjective, but anecdotal information is very useful at this point.

3. Will a Shure beta 57 be adequate for acoustic guitar and vocals? If not, could anyone suggest an alternative that will travel well (and so size matters as well)?

Many thanks for any replies.

P.S. I'm also look at a set of Sony Pro MDR-7506 headphones for recording/mixing. Any opinions on these would also be very welcome.

8th May 2007	#1
t0lkien Gear interested Joined: May 2007 Posts: 26 Thread Starter	Singer Songwriter demo setup help I know many have asked similar questions, but after a day or more of reading these (excellent) forums, I still have some questions. I need a very portable solution that will allow me to record demos of song ideas using just my acoustic guitar and voice at first. My intention is to also mess around with loops, and fill out the songs that work with drums etc. (I've used Reason a very bit), as well as electric guitar via my PodXT Live. I've been looking at the Mbox 2 Mini for this purpose, and possibly a Shure beta 57. My reasons are these: 1. It must all be very portable. 2. Because it will travel, it must also be as durable as possible. 3. It must be USB powered (unnecessary power chords overseas get painful fast). 4. I don't want to spend more than $1000 if I can help it, hopefully less. My questions are these: 1. Is ProTools worth dealing with the limitations of the Mini (the pres worry me after reading posts here - I have a very fussy ear; plus the USB 1.1 bandwidth/latency limitation seems totally unnecessary in today's world of USB 2.0 and Firewire). ProTools is the industry standard and that means I can bring my sessions into bigger studios if I want to. That is attractive to me, but not essential. 2. If I don't go with ProTools, what is a quality alternative - I'm seeking advice here on what is easy to get around and yet deep enough not to disappoint down the track. I know it's subjective, but anecdotal information is very useful at this point. 3. Will a Shure beta 57 be adequate for acoustic guitar and vocals? If not, could anyone suggest an alternative that will travel well (and so size matters as well)? Many thanks for any replies. P.S. I'm also look at a set of Sony Pro MDR-7506 headphones for recording/mixing. Any opinions on these would also be very welcome.