Recording Solution for 3 Guitar Group

[Blinky17]

Hey All. This forum and all of Tweak's info. is fantastic! I'm new to the forum but not new to recording...but have a couple questions and could use some guidance. I'll try and be thorough...but concise. Here goes:

I'm a solo musician recording electric (strats, jazz boxes, etc.) and acoustic (Taka. w/Active P/U) guitars. My current rig consists of a Dell Laptop running XP, Core2Duo 2Ghz chip (I think) with 2GB RAM (I know). I run the guitars into the PC through a Line 6 UX1 and usually record one track at a time through Reaper using Pod Farm as a VST plug-in. I use Yamaha HS10 Active monitors with a 15" Wharfedale Sub to round out the acoustic thump I enjoy. The results are good enough for what I need. (Not a pro BTW...just a guy who loves music and I like writing acoustic rhythms and then tracking leads over them...nothing too fancy). I play all kinds of music from acoustic/folk, to jazz, 80's hair, etc. So the modeling software allows me to be flexible...and not wake the neighbors...or worse my wife. (Note: my PC does have onboard Firewire).

My dilemma: I'm now collaborating with two other guitarists...one a dedicated Rhythm Acoustic Player and another who's a mix of electric lead and acoustic. Both Rhythm players use Taylor guitars with passive pickups, and the lead guy will play a tele through another VST plugin within Reaper. Obviously with my current setup...we can only record one track at a time which is OK sometimes...but I'd much rather be able to record "live" sessions with three tracks recording at once.

My questions: What would you suggest as a good way to accomodate my new friends? I've been considering getting a Firewire Audio Interface (Profire 610, Firebox, Konnect 24D, Tascam 1084 etc.) and then running my main guitar through the instrument 1 channel. Then running the Acoustic Rhythm players' passive signal into a DI and then into the XLR/Combo on channel two...and giving him a separate acoustic plug in within Reaper. Then for the third guy...using an active fishman pickup to raise his level on his passive acoustic and then going into the interface via an unbalanced input and also giving him a VST plug-in within reaper.

Does this make sense? Is it a decent way to record the three guitars? Again, we're not pros...just a few guys getting together to jam.

If you have any thoughts on which interface would be best given my situation...that would be great as well. Please note, none of us can sing...so I don't anticipate any need for recording vocals...but you never know. And while I'm on the subject (and I admit this may be a stupid question), does the quality of the preamps matter if you're using the main channels of the audio interface to record instruments only? Example, if the pres are better on a RME then a Presonus...for vocals that would matter of course...but what about for recording VST guitars? My guess is that it wouldn't really matter...but just wanted to make sure.

Oh...and last piece of info...budget...let's say $500 total for interface and cabling.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

[Rick Levine]

I read your intro post before this one, so you know what I think. The Tascam 1641 has two DIs on the front panel for instrument inputs. One more DI for one of the line inputs and your in business, and within budget.

[Blinky17]

Thanks Rick. I saw your info. on the other page as well. Thanks for answering in both. I'll check out the 1641 for sure...as mentioned though...concerned about overloading the USB ports on the laptop while I have an unused firewire port. But I suppose they could share the same bus overall on the motherboard?? Not sure...I'll have to think about that too...might be a moot point. Thanks again.

[Blinky17]

Thanks to Rick for his thoughts. Anyone else? I was expecting at least a few responses with some insight from the community.

Thanks again.

[Tom H]

I actually have the exact setup Rick was talking about.

The Tascam US-1641, with a BOSS DI-1 direct box. This allows me to record several tracks at a time. It should work fine for you, and you can get a used one for $300. It's $99 for the direct box, cables are all included, well within budget.

~Tom