Just tell me so I can get on with it!

gibson59neck

gibson59neck

Villiage Idiot Keeper
I am a guitarist. I like to play and create my own music. I have been trying to find a simple step by step answer to this question - How can I make recordings of myself on the computer? I cannot stand how many terms and references people use to talk about recording. I just need to know what I need, and why, in English. For example, I have Guitar Tracks Pro, a 32 track studio program form Cakewalk. I plug my guitar into my Dell soundboard, and the whole thing sounds like crap. It distorts, and it takes part of a second to hear what I am playing come out of the computer speakers. I FREAKING HATE IT!

Every thing I look at says it's easy and sounds good, but I guess I'm really freaking dense, because I can't figure any of it out. I have a Boss DR770 Drum Machine that you need to be both a music professor and a military computer programmer to operate - I almost lit the manual on fire yesterday just to watch it burn because it was so frustrating. The terms they use are not familiar to me, sentence after sentence, step after step. It's stuff that I might have learned if I went to music school, but I just played, and have been playing for 23 years. I have finally gotten to where I think I sound decent enough and now I have some songs I want to record.

I need to be able to plug in, hit record, play, and then go back, hit record again, and add to it. I need drum tracks that are easy ( I mean, really easy, for stupid people like me) to program, and I need the whole thing to sound good when I'm done, so I can burn it and go around in the car listening to myself as if I'm a star.

Seriously - I cannot understand why they make it so hard to figure out - I own a four track, but where the hell can you play tapes anymore? Plus, it sounds like crap. What is the easiest, least inexpensive way to record yourself with a drum track, a bass track, and maybe even some keys or vocals?

Any good replys would be greatly appreciated.
 
I think the best answer would probably come from a novice like myself! :)

Have you not thought about maybe an 18-16 track multi-track recorder, like a Fostex or something? Those things are quite self explanatory.

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--FOSVF160

This pretty much caters for everything that you want, i think, though maybe it's a bit expensive for what you're looking at? I'm sure you can find similar to fit your budget if that's the case.

it's alot easier (jargonless) than messing about with a pc i think.
 
Welcome to the club. You're where I was about 3 years ago. If there's a book or website that gets you where you want to be in an hour or so, I never found it. You have to earn every little success. You will have to learn some things you probably hope you don't need to learn. That's the way it is. Sure, the products you buy tell you it's easy. Everything is easy when you know what you're doing.

I suggest you draw out, with pencil and paper, what you think your entire chain looks like, from the guitar to the CD you want at the end. Then investigate every piece of the chain, fill in your knowledge gaps, correct any misperceptions, until you have a confident understanding of what really goes on the whole way thru. In other words, you can't just be a passive user of the products - you will have to get dirty in the details.
 
Check this place out for basic technique, info, and a great database of terminology:

http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Your delay sound like it's because of an audio card that isn't designed for professional recording usage. If it came stock with your computer, most likely it won't work for recording instruments because it isn't designed for that kind of thing. The distortion is probably from having the "Line-in" turned up to loud in your Windows Sound Manager.

I'd love to help you out more, but I'm really bad at explaining things and don't want to confuse you even more. And I might still be considered a rookie by some that frequent this board, so I'll leave it up to them.
 
Hey dude

I don't know much about computer recording but I do remember the guys around here saying that the stock soundcards were shiite. I know it doesn't answer your ??? but it also sounds like it's a multipart answer to the question.

Anyway, hopefully the guru's around here will have some more goodz for you.

:cool:

EDIT...Promythia beat me it. The only thing I know about recording with a computer and he beat me.......rude, I say.. :D
 
Learning to record takes time and effort - nothing comes for free. There are no shortcuts, and you get out of it what you are willing to put in.

Now, that said, if you just want something rough, let us know and we'll steer you in the right direction.

If you're expecting studio quality from a "Recording for Dummies" approach, you're SOL, cause that ain't gonna happen.
 
I've been playing guitar for years as well. The other day I tried to play a friend's left-handed guitar. It was unbelievably difficult, and it reminded me of how what seems so natural and easy now must have been like when I was starting out.

Starting on a home recording venture is no less challenging if you have not had a lot of expsoure to it before, and there is no easy way around it.

When you say that you "need to be able to plug in, hit record, play, and then go back, hit record again, and add to it", it is much like saying "I want to pick up a guitar and play an amazing solo" for the first time.

There is a lot of learning and understanding to take place, and patience is a must.
 
ditto to everything said already.

i was much like you, and still am. im learning as i go. 10 months ago, i knew nothing. i still dont know much more than that, but its coming along. how bad do you want it? i read and absorb everything i can. you should do the same.
 
If the problem of tapes is your only concern with the four-track, you can still record with it then just send it through your computer to burn a cd.
 
First off, you mentioned using Guitar Tracks. You should be able to get a pretty decent sound from that program unless you are using the line out on your amp. If that's the case, try using a quality mic with a decent mixer so your chain will look like.......Guitar, Amp, Mic, Mixer, interface.

Also, if your monitors are poor quality your sound will be the same.
 
Hey thanks - lots of cool responses!

Not to sound like a pompous ass, but obviously I realize that there is always learning involved, and that is why I seek out the advice of people that know what they are talking about. Part of why I am looking for a quick solution is that in my life, spare time is rare - It's all I can do to get practice time in at home each day. I am not looking to get something for nothing, as I'm sure that as I get into learning the basic setup, changes and upgrades will come. I'm looking for those that know what that basic set up is to tell me, so I can get started.

Thanks for those who gave me non-condescending answers other than to tell me that there is no easy way and to stop trying to cheat. I will try upgrading my soundcard, ( to what? he asked humbly) but as far as miking an amp - Is it possible to go out of my Effects processor ( a Boss GT8) and into the computer ( via some device or devices I'm sure ) while using headphones to hear it all? I'm sure that my Guitartracks program can tweak from there.

Also, I've heard Acid Pro makes some nice "drag and drop" software for making drum tracks - any feedback on that? I know my studio program allows me to import things into it like Acid loops, etc. but I haven't actually tried it yet. ( Bear with me all you snooty professor types out there - I just got it and as I said - I haven't even gotten it set up for my guitar yet...!)

ANyway, thanks again. This is the very reason I registered here. I do appreciate all of your feedback!
 
Okay. I failed. You still haven't helped me.

Yeah. I really am just a pompous ass. Not only that, I'm stupid. I think that with a few words from this forum I am going to be an instant recording engineer. Honestly, I'm not like that. It's just that a lot of the responses so far are rather pointed and condescending.

Seriously - how hard can it be to say "you need this, this, that, and that. These are the basic things you need to get started. " That is what I am asking for. I play a lot of different kinds of music on guitar and bass, and I want to be able to get them out of the air and into my computer RIGHT NOW so that instead of having to spend 5 years researching equipment and software I can take what little time I have and PLAY MY MUSIC. Is that bad?

Clearly there is no way I will ever know how to make it all function unless I work at it. But when the question is as I put it, it kinda bothers me that so many come back with a lecture on the values of discepline and hard work. I am a devoted father and husband, a successful manager, and a guitarist that has waited far too long to accomplish anything with my music. That is all.

Thanks again.
 
gibson59neck said:
Seriously - how hard can it be to say "you need this, this, that, and that. These are the basic things you need to get started. "
Click to expand...

Because if you did any kind of research whatsoever you would realize each person's setup is different, and it varies greatly with what instruments are being recorded, if it's multi-tracking, or single-tracking and then mixing, what genre of music it is, what the room is being used to record in, etc.

And "I don't have enough time to learn" is a poor excuse. Literally 2 minutes at most on this forum, or with a simple search would give you hundreds of threads on recording guitar into the computer. If you don't have 2 minutes for that then were do you plan to find the time to record?

If you just want to get started now, then plug your guitar into your Boss GT-8, then plug the GT-8's output into the LINE IN of your computer's soundcard.

If you want decent results, mic your amp.

Guitar -> Microphone -> Preamp -> LINE IN of soundcard

Have fun. :rolleyes:
 
gibson59neck said:
Yeah. I really am just a pompous ass. Not only that, I'm stupid. I think that with a few words from this forum I am going to be an instant recording engineer. Honestly, I'm not like that. It's just that a lot of the responses so far are rather pointed and condescending.

Seriously - how hard can it be to say "you need this, this, that, and that. These are the basic things you need to get started. " That is what I am asking for. I play a lot of different kinds of music on guitar and bass, and I want to be able to get them out of the air and into my computer RIGHT NOW so that instead of having to spend 5 years researching equipment and software I can take what little time I have and PLAY MY MUSIC. Is that bad?

Clearly there is no way I will ever know how to make it all function unless I work at it. But when the question is as I put it, it kinda bothers me that so many come back with a lecture on the values of discepline and hard work. I am a devoted father and husband, a successful manager, and a guitarist that has waited far too long to accomplish anything with my music. That is all.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
excuse me, i didnt realize you were the only person on earth with things going on in their life besides trying to record music. so if some random computer-entity on the internet that you dont even know told you to run out and buy some product-X super-double-throwdown-thingamajig, you do it? is that what you want? maybe you didnt get the scripted answer you want because there isnt one. if several different people told you the same thing about reading-up and getting yourself educated, then maybe you should take that advice. thats what an intelligent person would do. theres probably thousands of different ways to get what you hear from your amp into your computer. its up to you to decide which is best for you. what a concept.
 
First, you can't plug a guitar into a soundcard. But you can plug a Pod, V-Amp or even the lowly Digitech RP-50 into the line in of your soundcard. Then you can lay down a guitar track in your software and it will sound pretty accurate to what you put in if you don't overload it. You'll need to do something similar with the bass. I've got a drum machine I don't understand, too, so I use the preset patterns. Usually I just record a long pattern with no fills or changes that becomes a click track. If you use a mic, you'll need something that will boost the signal, and that's called a pre-amp. One way to get a preamp is to buy a small mixer, like the Yamaha MG10/2. Finally, you need some way to listen to your recordings accurately. Eventually you'll want nice monitors in an acoustically treated room, but for diddling around to figure out your software, consider hooking up a pair of good speakers to an amp or receiver that's fed by your PC's line out. Headphones don't work very well for mixing, but perhaps they'd be good enough for you as you learn.

In general, the answer to your question is get your recording area treated, get some good preamps, get some good mics, get a good inerface or sound card, get good monitors, then learn how to use them.
 
gibson59neck,

I, too, am attempting to start doing some home recording, and I've had the same frustration as you with being too ignorant to understand even the most basic advice (mainly due to the endless terminology that goes straight over my head.)

I just discovered this website and there seems to be a wealth of information on it about home recording, and even better, it's written so that complete noobs can understand.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm
 
Hexenmeister said:
gibson59neck,

I, too, am attempting to start doing some home recording, and I've had the same frustration as you with being too ignorant to understand even the most basic advice (mainly due to the endless terminology that goes straight over my head.)

I just discovered this website and there seems to be a wealth of information on it about home recording, and even better, it's written so that complete noobs can understand.

http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm
Click to expand...
Hey now! Thats a great response! To you and the others that have given me such responses, THANK YOU!
 
General response to some of the responses I've gotten

Hey! After looking around at this site the past week or so, I have found that some here are very willing to help and offer good advice, and to them, I say thak you very much! I am beginning to get a much better idea of what I'll need to start getting into recording my music onto the computer. I am hoping that I will be getting some new devices (soundcard, interface, good speakers) from my wife for my birthday in a few weeks, so I will see what happens then! If it's anything like other technology, I am sure I will be on a neverending path of tweking and troubleshooting, with little successes here and there in between. With luck, it will eventually allow me to burn CD's of my musical ideas so that I can share them readily with my bandmates and listen to them while doing other things, so I can add/remove/change/develop them. How awesome will that be?????

To those of you however that seem hellbent on giving lectures and being condescending, and that are seemingly interested only in providing me with run-around answers (about not making others do the work and how I am not the only busy person and if I can't take two minutes to learn, etc etc...), I ask:

WHY??? I do not know what many of the terms are for the various devices available. I do not know much abour recording at all, which is why I came here to begin with - TO LEARN! Perhaps those of you that are responding to me with your snyde remarks actually had to go through some lengthy trial and error alone without a forum full of people with various expertise to consult. HMMMM....?

Judging by some of the obnoxious, immature bickering that seems to be going on between many people on this site, it makes me wonder if what you are really here for is to vent and abuse.

I have been the manager of a very sucessful painting company for 17 years now. Two things I have learned:

One, there are a thousand ways to paint a house - any two painters will have their own way of getting the job done. In the end, the result may be the same - a well painted house. Likewise, I am sure that there are a thousand ways to record onto a computer, and I am very well aware that there are an equal number of products out there to record with. Seemingly, though, there are the basic few things that anyone wishing to record with needs - a decent soundcard and an interface. Many here have also said that miking my amp into a mixer then into the interface gives a better result. Cool! Thank you for saying so - now I know where to begin and can formulate a budget to get those things and get started! (Gee - wasn't that was easy!)

And two: there are those out there that are intent on making others around them feel stupid. They hire people to do jobs that are beneath them, and they delight in making sure that they remind them of that with nasty little comments and general rudeness.

I would venture to guess that those of you on this sight who have responded to my questions rudely are the same people who I "sky" my estimates for so that I do not have to deal with you. I figure that if you are stupid enough to hire me for three times what I normally charge, then you deserve it, an it will be worth the bullshit you put me through to get the job done.

One thing I definitely don't have time for - weeding through the nonsense responses to find the ones that actaully help me. Do me and anyone else that came here seeking sound advice about RECORDING a big favor -

LEARN TO RESPECTFULLY GIVE A STRAIGHT answer to a simple fucking question, and take your uppity attitudes and condescending remarks and stick them in your ass!

Thank you and have a swell day!
 
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