"My future is comin' on, it's comin' on. My future..."

This week, while my Lexicon I-Onix U22 interface was at the factory being repaired, I decided now was the time to upgrade to a new, larger input interface. I had my eye on a few but then I saw the M-Audio Fast Track C600 in a magazine. I had not seen or heard about it before, even though it has been around since 2010. I gave it a try.

It arrived last Thursday. It was smaller than I thought it would be from online pics. The knobs are kinda on the tiny side. And it's mostly made of plastic, unlike my I-Onix that was made of mostly metal and felt rather Pro. The shiny plastic on the top is very "tender". Even with a soft micro fiber cloth it scratches up easily. But all aesthetics aside, the thing works really well!

It fits more of what I wanted than anything else out there, so a few negatives were okay as long as it works. Having transport controls, two headphone outs, three monitor options, 4 inputs with 2 Hi Z on the front making it easy to plug in a guitar.

I've been able to record multiple sources at the same time. Create separate headphone mixes using the software mixer driver that's included. The aforementioned software mixer is a bit on the complicated side. I'm still trying to figure it out and don't expect much in the manual to explain it. It's a very sparse manual.

M-Audio/Avid's customer service leaves something to be desired as well. It was my one hesitation in purchasing this product. You can't get any contact with these people unless you "buy" (or are granted by registering your product) support "Codes" from them. Pretty ridiculous.

I purchased it through Sweetwater and thanks to my rep there, Derek Senestaro, I hope to get some kind of feedback from them about the scratching.

I immediately had some major noise problems after hooking it up, something I had not faced with the I-Onix. But it turned out NOT to be the C600, but operator error in my setup. My USB cable running to my SV-1 was creating a ground loop. I lifted the ground on the SV-1 and removed the cable to use only when I'm updating via the software editor or using it to lay down some midi tracks. Problem fixed and my system is quiet as church mouse now!

One other thing I did was purchase a Vocal Reflection Screen. I had wanted one but thought they all cost too much. But Guitar Center had one made by Primacoustic Voxguard on sale for $85. It's not a "pro" unit but it will work well enough for a while. I don't think it would put up with the abuse in a "real" studio. All that said, don't get me wrong, I really like this unit. It's well made and the newest model includes some "slits" in the back left and right sides to allow some frequency to go through from the vocalist. I find that it's helpful to have some sound absorption behind your vocalist as well and to make sure you keep the mic in the "sweet spot". I'd say one of the best things about using any vocal screen like this is the feeling you get. It's like blinders on a race horse, helps you focus, helps you get in the zone.
All and all a very good purchase and the company really responds quickly to questions being very helpful, even if it's not a product they sell! Bravo! If only M-Audio/Avid could actually answer their phones at all!

So this weekend, Corey and I got in the "studio" and started experimenting with vocals! She's finally getting to see that she can sing! It's so exciting! More about this later and hopefully, soon, some audio tracks to share!

"Tap, tap, tap... is this thing on?" UPDATE #2

The night that the Blue Spark Blue Limited mic arrived via UPS was last Friday. After dinner, I got the family to come down to the music room to have everyone check it out. I got Corey up first and told her to sing a song she knew. She started singing Beck's "Loser"! Very funny. Turns out both her and Rachel knew the lyrics so, she was up next. I threw some effects on their vocals for fun, everything from "Helium" to "Diva" to "DEEP vocals/octave lower". Stacey gave it a try, too! So I hooked up the SM57 for myself and "duet'd" with her on a very awful rendition of "Loser", as well. It was all so terrible sounding that the consensus was to erase it all. :(  Probably for the best. I wouldn't want to inflict that barrage on my worst enemy.

Then Rachel got behind her drums, funny enough, without ANY suggestion or encouragement from us. She laid down some really nice live drums. We then mic'd up Stacey's Djembe top and bottom and recorded two channels for a pretty excellent mix!

As said in another entry here, instrument mic'ing was never a problem for me, vocals, well... lots to learn!

Adventures in Recording at Home, or Did I really spend this much on my hobby?

Now, I'm not usually one to brag too much (no, really, I'm not!). And I'm also not usually so eager to show my personal belongings to the mass populous. (I know, 3 people read this including my Mom!) But I'm really proud of my little music room at home that is slowly becoming my little home studio, as well.

"Tap, tap, tap... is this thing on?" UPDATE

In the previous post, after re-reading, I realized that somehow I had listed the things in the wrong order with the most important purchase/acquisition last. A condenser microphone purchase is the best possible thing I could add to my current equipment!

I read somewhere today, while looking up home recording tips, that good mics are some of the most important gear you can own. And while I'm looking at "starter" mics, I think I laid out some fairly nice and well respected ones. But the one I forgot, I ended up buying today!

The Blue Spark Limited Edition Blue Condenser mic kit was on offer for a very, very fair price (below listed on major retailer sites!). And from the reviews I think it best suits my needs. I like the focus feature and most have said that it really works best as a vocal mic, next as an acoustic instrument and room mic. It came in a nice kit with cable, shock mount and pop filter.

I was looking for versatility but really my main goal with a condenser is vocals. Nothing sounds so good as singing into a condenser. You get to step back a bit, not some mic crammed down your throat, and enjoy the freedom of a fairly emotional "ordeal" as laying down a vocal track.

I feel very good about it. I also read today that if I already have an interface, software, etc. of some kind that I should really delve into it as deep as I can go before making more investments in gear. Thought being that right now anything I do is far from "grammy" material (if ever, actually never!), and the more time I learn how to do things, the more that will translate when I end up using some pretty badass equipment in the future.

Right now it's payoff keyboard, then everything after that is cash only. By the end of the year, I might have acquired much of my list. But if not, I KNOW I'll have acquired a lot of recording knowledge!