Recording a trumpet?

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Level 2

400 points

Recording a trumpet?

Hi all,

My young son is developing into a decent trumpet player and recently discovered Garageband on my Mac. I now routinely catch him fiddling with loops and developing his own sort of jazz tunes. I'm actually pretty pleased to find him applying what music theory he has learned in this fashion and want to encourage him.

I have an M-Audio 49e hiding in my car trunk for a holiday surprise to help him with input. But I can imagine that at some point he may want to record his own playing (maybe to combine with some jazz drum loops).

Since I have the sneaking suspicion that at some point I may have to get him his own Mac, I would like a reasonably priced suggestion for recording his trumpet. I suppose a decent microphone + preamp?

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated-- I'm not a musician myself, but I am really pleased that he is showing such interest.

Thanks,

Jil

Quad 2.5 Ghz G5, 17 1.5 Ghz PB, 800 Mhz G4 Cube

Dual 2.5 Ghz G5, 17 1.5 Ghz PB, 800 Mhz G4 Cube

Posted on Dec 20, 2005 9:56 AM

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Answer 1

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Dec 20, 2005 10:36 AM in response to JCT

It's a really tough call to make blindly. It depends a lot on how far you think he's going to go with GB, and what types of uses you expect (and how long you want the computer to last before he looks for an upgraded model).

At the simplest, if quality were not an issue, an iBook with it's built-in mic will function. The major problem with this approach is that it will also record all thenoises of the computer (hard drive, fans, etc). I would suspect that this alone wouldn't keep him satisfied for long.

So the next thing we'd want to add is an audio interface and a decent Mic. Interfaces come in a variety of price ranges and abilities:

http://www.thehangtime.com/gb/gbfaq2.html#interfaces

The next question is how far do you tjink he'll push GB. Using software isntruments and effects requires lots of CPU power, in which case a faster machine might be important. If he's doing mostly audio ("Real") then hard drive speed is important (laptops have slow hard drives, though this can be overcome with an external FireWire Hard Drive)

These are the questions you'll need to figure out before you can answer the big one: Which Mac and what ancillary equpment do I need.

Hoep this helps get you started, feel free to ask more specific questions and we'll try to help you narrow down your choices.

--HangTime [Will Compute for Food] B-|>

(P.S. Good for you encouraging him like this, Music is magic and musicians are special™)

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Answer 2

JCT Author

Level 2

400 points

Dec 20, 2005 2:30 PM in response to HangTime

What a great FAQ!

For now I will let the little guy use my new Quad G5 and it has been optimized for video/Photoshop with 2 large 7200 RPM drives and 7 GB RAM. The only "problem" is that he might get spoiled a bit.

I would like to proceed in steps because I want to make sure that he is really interested in the whole process before making large investments -- I like the idea of a Firewire-based or USB interface for the preamp because it can be easily transferred to his own Mac if we decide to go that way. I could probably go with one of the M-Audio offerings to start. I have the PCI 2496 in one of the other machines and have had good luck with it.

I'm pretty undecided about the microphone. I suppose a real "simple" approach (probably one step up from the ibook + built-in mic) would be to let him start out with one of the low end USB mics and see what he thinks. If this really gets him going then move to a preamp + "real" mic.

And at that point I will probably start looking an an iMac or refurbed Dual G5.

What I like about GB is that he seemed to take to the interface very naturally, I basically showed him what little I knew and then left him alone for awhile -- came back to find him fine-tuning his "Ode to Percussion" with 4-5 tracks and having a ball. He's only 11, probably the perfect age to catch the "bug" -- if he wants to move to Logic or one of the other big guns by high school I have no problem with setting him up. I will have to do some reading as well to try to get a handle on things.

Does this sound like a reasonable progression?

Jil

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Answer 3

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Dec 20, 2005 3:01 PM in response to JCT

Yes, I think that's a very reasonable approach.

Now that I have a better idea of your plans, here's a thought on an easy and inexpensive way to test the waters.

an iMic interface can be had for around $30, and a Tape Recorder style mic can be had for around $10. I think this would be a simple approach and get good enough quality that he'll enjoy it, and give you time to see if it's really a passion for him.

If indeed it is, an iMac would be an excellent choice, plenty of horsepower for even demanding GB tasks (I use a low end [1.6GC] machine and have pushed 50+ tracks of audio recordings). Then you could look at a better interface, or get a small mixer that would plug into the iMic and allow him to use a good quality mic (a Behringer mixer can be had for about $50.

Hope that helps --Hang

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Answer 4

JCT Author

Level 2

400 points

Dec 20, 2005 5:16 PM in response to HangTime

That's great, Hangtime --- as it turns out I have a Griffin Powerwave sitting around (sort of an iMic on steoids) so I just have to drop by Radioshack to pick up a Mic and he can give it a whirl.

And that's great that an iMac would work -- would be perfect for him.

Thanks again and I'll let you know how it goes.

Enjoy your holidays,

Jil

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Answer 5

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Dec 20, 2005 5:23 PM in response to JCT

Good deal! When you look at mics, make sure they are high impedance mics. If they have three wire "XLR" type connectors, then they are low impedance, and not what you want.

Best of luck, and please do post back and let us know how things are going

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Answer 6

Dec 28, 2005 6:33 PM in response to JCT

Hi Jil -

I'm a trumpet player and I'm working with GB too. I've been using the internal mic on the iMac G5 and it works, but it's not great for ambient noise, as HangTime (who is apparently a GarageBand God, as I'm learning) points out.

A few years ago when I moved into an apartment with thin walls, I needed a practice mute. I bought a Yamaha Silent Brass system, which includes, basically, a pre-amp (with reverb, 2 inputs, and a few reverb modes (practice room, concert hall, church). However the great thing about it is that it includes a practice mute with a mic pickup right inside. Unlike regular felt-based practice mutes, this one does not really result in a lot of "back pressure" so when you play with it it's not anywhere nearly as noticeable as if you were using a felt-based mute. It's also very quiet for people in the room with you (I now use it while the baby is sleeping one room away and it works like a charm).

The silent brass also fits into my trumpet case which is super handy. It comes with a power supply but I ususally just use it with batteries.

The one I have isn't sold anymore but here is the updated version. It cost me about $175US if I remember correctly, and that was in '99.

http://www.yamaha.co.jp/english/product/winds/product/others/sbrass/st9/main.htm

I hope this helps!!

Tony

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