NEwb need some help

S

stoonaroon

New member
I want to record music, onto a computer, all I have is the computer, and almost no knowledge of how to record or what is needed, but I want to record, I want to start basic as possible and cheap as possible :) any ideas or tips on what I should do would help a ton
I downloaded audacity to check out the software, but without a mic I cant record anything, so what should I do? where should I start, I'll be reading around the forums and will hopefully learn something, but any help would be appreciated...
By the way I am looking to record 2 electric guitars/acoustic plugged or unplugged(2 at most), drums, bass guitar, vocals, harmonica, maybe more later on.
to start we atleast want to record a guitar a harmonica and vocals I think I figured that out with just buying a mic and doing all that on a multi track software, but I am looking to improve "my studio", but I need some more knowledge on how.
so any info on what to buuy what to set up where to set up, pretty much anything you have to say would be a great help and very appreciated
 
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There are standard questions, like what is your budget, etc. but mostly, start reading everything in these forums. The same question has been asked about a zillion times.
 
Ya I figured it has, and I am reading everything I see, just wanted to see if anyone could help me out, just cause I am trying to get the info as fast as I can, but I'll keep up reading too, can never know enough about what you are doing

anyway.. budget is ill just say $400 for now....but I am willing to spend anything extra I get, and I plan to come acrosse some extra...but everyone else in the world is too...
 
I think I would start with something like this for your first $400:

- Emu 0404 USB audio interface ($200) - excellent AD-DA converters, good preamps

- used Oktava MK-319 mic ($100) - good for vocals and acoustic gtr

- cable, mic stand ($40)

- Reaper software ($60) - great value for excellent recording software

This will get you started recording with good equipment, then build out from there based on knowledge, experience, need, taste.

Think about room treatment early in the process. Look into DIY bass traps. If your room sounds bad, you might want to start with a dynamic mic like an SM58 ($100) instead of the MK319 condenser. If your room has some heavy upholstered furniture, bookcases, etc, you might squeak by for now with the MK319 and close-miking. Reading up on studio acoustics and focusing on your room's sound asap will improve your tracking and your mixing.
 
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When I started out I bought a complete set up from a dealer. It's probably the best way to start out as all the gear will probably go together pretty easily and you'll get all the support you need. Admittedly, I had studied Music Tech and Sound Engineering so knew most of the theory and practice so if you're starting out from scratch I'd invest some of your budget in books etc or trawl the internet for reliable information.

Most places will be able to advise on what they can offer for the price you want to pay and what you want to do.

I'm guessing you're in the states so I don't really have the name of any places you might be able to try but I'm sure the interwebs must hold the answer.....
 
My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470385421
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

Home Recording for Beginners by Geoffrey Francis
http://www.amazon.com/Home-Recording-Beginners-Geoffrey-Francis/dp/1598638815

When you get a bit into it, I highly recomend The Art of Mixing by David Gibson
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Mixing-Recording-Engineering-Production/dp/1931140456

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and tested suggestions that WORK: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)

Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:
Sony ACID Xpress 10-track sequencer: http://www.acidplanet.com/downloads/xpress/
Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $60 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages...
http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)
 
guitaristic said:
I am sorry my friend, but you must choose one ;)
Other than that, read up around the website. There's plenty of good stuff. Like mjb said, this questions gets asked a lot.
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Well I mean that I want to start cheap, but I don't want to go too cheap and buy some crap, reasonable is the word I'm looking for ha sorry to confuse
 
stoonaroon said:
Well I mean that I want to start cheap, but I don't want to go too cheap and buy some crap, reasonable is the word I'm looking for ha sorry to confuse
Click to expand...

Gotcha. Well, gehauser has suggested a nice starting point, so i'd definitely look at that equipment. Reaper is an excellent recording program. Also, be sure to read up on OBriens post...there's some quality advice in there. If you've got $20 or so, I'd recommend Home Recording for Dummies...it's a great book that saves a lot of time and gives you a decent starting point knowledge-wise for recording. Good luck!
 
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