I have a new computer now what?

[capnkid]

Hi all, I have a compaq presario and it is equipped with the following:

1. 3400 + (2.20GHz) processing power
2. 512 MB
3. 200 GB hard drive (7200 rpm)
4. DVD writer
5. Windows XP

On the front of the tower there is an audio section that has three mini jacks for 1. audio in 2. Mic 3. audio out
I want to be able to record an electric guitar with effects, and eventually mic a drum kit and have full sounding drums with guitar and vocals. I know my sound card is a cheap one and that you want to minimize analog/digital conversions. what can I do at this point? I have the computer and a fender guitar as of right now. I have no amps or anything else. thanx for your ideas.
The tower also has USB 2.0 and Firewire ports.

[scrubs]

Originally Posted by capnkid

Hi all, I have a compaq presario and it is equipped with the following:

1. 3400 + (2.20GHz) processing power
2. 512 MB
3. 200 GB hard drive (7200 rpm)
4. DVD writer
5. Windows XP

On the front of the tower there is an audio section that has three mini jacks for 1. audio in 2. Mic 3. audio out
I want to be able to record an electric guitar with effects, and eventually mic a drum kit and have full sounding drums with guitar and vocals. I know my sound card is a cheap one and that you want to minimize analog/digital conversions. what can I do at this point? I have the computer and a fender guitar as of right now. I have no amps or anything else. thanx for your ideas.
The tower also has USB 2.0 and Firewire ports.

Well, I am not a fan of compaq, but as long as it has a decent processor, it should work. You'll probably want to get some spyware removal software, because those things usually come loaded with it, and it may impact your ability to record optimally.

You will probably want a better soundcard/interface at some point. You could get by with running through an external preamp or mixer and then using the line-in on your soundcard, but a better card will give you more options. A decent, full-duplex soundcard can be had for $100-$300. Brands like M-Audio make a number of different cards to suit different needs. FireWire or USB interfaces are also an option. They tend to run from $150-$thousands depending on your needs. M-Audio, Digidesigns, and Tascam are some to consider. If you plan on miking a drumkit at some point, make sure you have enough inputs (4+) for your needs.

Next will be some recording software. Sometimes this comes bundled with your interface, but not always. Products from Steinberg and Cakewalk are popular options for home recording. N-Tracks, PowerTracks, Tracktion, Kristal, and others are less expensive options.

Mics, cables, preamps, instruments, etc. are also needed if you don't already have them.

[capnkid]

for miking drums, you say 4+ inputs, would a mixer with 4+ be what I am looking for, or if I choose to use the on screen mixer that comes with say, sonar,how can I get 4+ inputs that way?

[HangDawg]

Originally Posted by capnkid

for miking drums, you say 4+ inputs, would a mixer with 4+ be what I am looking for, or if I choose to use the on screen mixer that comes with say, sonar,how can I get 4+ inputs that way?

He means you should get a soundcard with 4 (or more) inputs so you have enough channels to record drums.

[scrubs]

Originally Posted by capnkid

for miking drums, you say 4+ inputs, would a mixer with 4+ be what I am looking for, or if I choose to use the on screen mixer that comes with say, sonar,how can I get 4+ inputs that way?

Well, a basic setup for miking a drumset would be 2 overheads, 1 snare, and 1 kickdrum mic (4 total mics). It can get much more complex if you mic all the toms and cymbals separately, but that is an option too.

With this setup, there are two main options for recording drums to a computer. One would be to run all your mics into a mixer and mix them down to a 2-channel stereo signal during tracking that you could send to your soundcard/interface via the main L/R outputs. This would only require one stereo input, or two mono (L/R) inputs on your card. Sonar would then record your drums as one stereo track, or one track for left and one for right. The advantage of this option is that you don't need as many inputs on your soundcard (the line-in on your current card could even handle this with the correct adapter, but I would imagine the A/D converters are not that great). The disadvantage is you have less flexibility when it comes to mixing down the drums in your project.

The second option is to send each mic to a separate channel/track in your software. This gives you the most flexibility at mixdown, as you can treat each one separately (e.g. if you want to add a gate to the snare or kick, or adjusting the shimmer of the overheads). Sonar should support multiple track recording, so your limiting factor is going to be a soundcard/interface with enough inputs to accomodate the maximum number of mics you will be using at one time. Again, a small mixer is handy for providing enough preamp inputs to connect your mics. However, instead of mixing down to 2-channels during tracking, you would send an insert from each channel to your soundcard (1 from each overhead, snare, kick). Hence the need for a soundcard with at least 4 inputs.

Some soundcards/interfaces come with built-in preamps that will provide volume and phantom power (for condensers) to your mics. For others, you will want a small mixer or external preamps for this purpose. There are a number of different configuraions.

Hope that makes sense.