Complete noob to the world of home recording!

[G_Unit]

Hi all, I am completely new to home recording and i was hoping you guys could give me some guidance as to what equipment i will be needing, recommendations on what's good, what software i should be using etc etc.

I think i pretty much need a step by step idiots guide to home recording!

Thanks in Advance

[chamelious]

Originally Posted by G_Unit

Hi all, I am completely new to home recording and i was hoping you guys could give me some guidance as to what equipment i will be needing, recommendations on what's good, what software i should be using etc etc.

I think i pretty much need a step by step idiots guide to home recording!

Thanks in Advance

If you're looking for a step by step guide, you're best off doing a google search for that, or buying a book- no ones going to sit and write it all out for you. If you do that and come back with some more specific questions people will be glad to help.

You should start by asking yourself, why are you doing this? Are you in a band and you want recordings done on the cheap? Do you want to work in this field? Do you want to record your own stuff?

[G_Unit]

Originally Posted by chamelious

If you're looking for a step by step guide, you're best off doing a google search for that, or buying a book- no ones going to sit and write it all out for you. If you do that and come back with some more specific questions people will be glad to help.

You should start by asking yourself, why are you doing this? Are you in a band and you want recordings done on the cheap? Do you want to work in this field? Do you want to record your own stuff?

Thanks for replying, i am currently in a band and i also write solo acoustic songs. I am wanting to do this myself for a number of reasons, for starters yes, there is the cost factor, we all know studios aren't cheap. Secondly i am wanting to do this myself so i can do things as and when i have the time. I have been looking into the PC route. Recording to my PC using some recommended software, i have looked into various software, (Cakewalk Sonar 7, Cubase, Fruity Loops, Reason) but i haven't really got stuck into them. At the moment i have PC's which i am sure will be high enough spec'd, and i have guitars and amps. I just need to get some decent mic's sorted for vocals and whatever else i need to do this, I guess i would need a pre-amp and some sort of mixing desk?

Thanks

[mjbphotos]

Just take a couple of hours here and read all the posts from people asking exactly the same question (over and over and over and ...)

[G_Unit]

Originally Posted by mjbphotos

Just take a couple of hours here and read all the posts from people asking exactly the same question (over and over and over and ...)

Ok, thanks... i think...

[G_Unit]

Ok, i think what i am going to do is buy an Alesis IO/2 and hook that up to my PC with the software it comes with! That sound like a plan?

[Massive Master]

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

[tojo]

just search other newbs questions and see if they've been answered, it will really help you out, i'm sure. but basically the chain goes like this (for me

the preformer(s) -> Microphones/line out cables -> mixer (or audio interface) -> computer (via usb/firewire or aux jack to 1/8" inch cable into the microphone in slot on your pc) --> the software where it can be edited mixer and mastered etc.

each one of these things has information you need to find out about... like do you want to get a cheap used mixer with some mics and record everything down to a stereo track? that's what analog mixers do... now something cool about firewire... is that it tranfers the audio from each analog input seperately... so all the mics you use on a drum set can go into a firewire interface (i.e. presonus firepod) and then get recorded on seperate tracks for advanced drum editing (hits that are off... adding fx etc) now if you just get a normal analog mixer like i have (which i can do with) then it can only record 1 stereo track (find out what stereo is if you don't know yet) or two mono tracks...


anyways look into each part of the chain i mentioned above.... sorry i was going on a rant.

[Dani Pace]

Originally Posted by Massive Master

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

Agreed, I highly recomend this site. You can get a good idea of products available and a brief description of what they do as well as a price range you can expect to pay for gear there (prices vary but tweakheadz is a fair average of what you can expect to find other places too.) When you find something that looks like what you have in mind come back and ask about it, someone around here is using it or has at least tried it and can let you know how well it works. Recording gear can get pretty expensive so it is a good idea to do a bit of research before you buy. Decide what you need (if you only plan to record 1 or 2 tracks at a time, you don't really nead a big mixing console) but do buy quality gear. You have a computer so that is a good starting point, make sure you have at least 1 gig of RAM and a lot of space on your hard drive for storage. It is better to have a seperate computer for recording and another for internet. You'll need an audio interface, most prefer firewire. Most interfaces come with a recording software bundle. It is also likely you will need a preamp, these vary a lot so get a good one. Add a couple of decent mics and a few cables (a mixer if you need one) and you should be ready to begin. Be patient, it takes a while to get the hang of how to get decent recordings. Once you get your recording gear all set up and ready, then you need to think about your recording environment (how the room sounds) and work on that too, but that's a whole different thread. Oh yeah, good luck and welcome.

[mattkw80]

G-Unit,

Have you ever heard of Reaper ?

http://www.reaper.fm/


If you spend an honest 1/2 hour playing with it, you'll probably like it.

(First several times I turned it on, I turned it back off. Then I spent 1/2 hour playing around.... now I can't live without it !!!)