Recording a dance album...

[Hotpink345]

Hi everyone,

I want to record a dance album...in my bedroom. Yes, I have a very low budget. I love dance music and I'm glad because I feel like dance is one of the easier genres to do on a computer.

Anyway, this is my first time recording something myself. I have a MacBook, and I want to get Logic Studio.
What else do I need? I don't have money to buy mics for my friends to record parts, so I'll just have to do all the instrumentals on the computer.
I don't need an actual physical controller (even though that seems like the more user-friendly option), because Logic has knobs/switches right on the screen, correct?
For vocals, do I need to buy a mic and MIDI interface (that's what you use to connect the mic to the computer, right?) or can I just sing through the mic on my computer and just mess with it to make it sound better? Keep in mind my low budget in your answers. Also, sorry if I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about--I'm a total beginner! I look forward to your advice!

[KineticSound]

Oh, dear.

I'm not trying to sound unsupportive, but let me clarify a couple of things... First off, you "don't have money to buy mic's" yet you have $500 laying around for Logic??

No, singing into your computer's mic is not going to yield any results, and no amount of tweaking within Logic is capable of fixing that. With no controller (keyboard), how is it that you intend to compose music?

My guess is that you are intent on simply arranging samples within Logic (or some other editor), not actually creating music of your own. If that's the case, download Audacity and play around with some free royalty-free samples you can find various places around the internet.

If you want to get serious about actually making music, you would need:

1. Recording/editing software: If you have a MacBook, you already have GarageBand - which can get you started.
2. Some form of musical control: If you don't want to mic real instruments (which many don't), a simple MIDI keyboard will allow you to compose in GarageBand. Look perhaps at an M-Audio KeyStudio, which is a quality controller for a decent price.
3. If you intend to add any vocals, a basic microphone and audio interface are a must. Even if it's only a Shure SM-58 and an M-Audio Fast Track, a "real" microphone will be needed.

One could purchase the three products listed above for far less than the base cost for Logic Studio... KeyStudio (less than $100) + Shure SM58 ($100) + Fast Track ($100'ish) = roughly $300. If you're hard up for the Logic interface, you could use Express ($200) and still be at the original budget.

[marshallpk89]

you could use the piano roll instead of a controller, but you should buy some form of interface and a solid microphone

[suprstar]

Also, you don't connect mics to a midi controller, you connect them to an audio interface. Midi is not audio, it's data about audio. It's like sheet music vs the actual music itself. An audio interface appears as a sound card to your OS, and will stream the actual audio of your vocals (or whatever the mic is picking up) to your PC.

[marshallpk89]

whats you budget and how much do you know about synthesizers, and creating different sounds

[baker_]

Technically you dont need a controller, no. You can press caps lock in logic and use your macbook's keyboard as, well, a keyboard. It's also called musical typing in garageband.
You will need a microphone and an interface if you want vocals to sound remotely ok.

[suprstar]

Originally Posted by baker_

You will need a microphone and an interface if you want vocals to sound remotely ok.

Knock the last 4 words off that sentence, then I agree completely.