Newb here- Easy home recording solutions WITHOUT a computer.

G

Getbacktogether

New member
First time posting. Me and my buddy have been in our "Band" for about 4 years now. We have never recorded anything. We haven't even tried. We are at the point where we want to but literally know nothing about how to do so.

I am here asking for you fine peoples help. He plays drums I play guitar and sing and that's it. What is the best and easiest way to go about this WITHOUT a computer. Like I said we have zero knowledge and we would be recording drums, guitar and vocals. Something we can hit record, play a song and end recording. It sounds so easy but I have yet to figure anything out and this seems like the best place to ask questions.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!
 
Not to de-rail the thread, but why are you so adamant to not use a computer? Just a question out of curiosity, not judging one way or the other.

To try and answer your question, it depends on how many tracks you think you'll need. There are many in-expenseive 4 tracks, 8 tracks, 16, 24, etc.....
 
The easiest way to do it would be to buy an interface for a computer, download Reaper and then hit record.
The more complicated way would be to use a cheap mixer that offers a lot of hassle and inflexibility with no benefits.
 
The more quality you want in your recordings the more complex it gets.

Tascam DR-40 is pretty simple. It even has pretty good built-in mics.

I'm recording to one from mics on stands thru a mixer. Then I take my tracks to Reaper and do more stuff to them.
But I actually recorded a few pretty good sons using just the DR-40 for guitar and singing.
 
From one noob to another, whether you have a computer or not, recording is difficult. A computer and its additional flexibilities/options just compound the problem. If you want good recordings, it is going to take some work. Otherwise, just throw your x-phone down, hit record, go.
 
Where I live I do not have access to internet. At least Broadband internet that is. So I have no need to buy a computer. So that's why im trying to figure out something easy to use to record drums, vocals and guitar.
 
Ronbert said:
The more quality you want in your recordings the more complex it gets.

Tascam DR-40 is pretty simple. It even has pretty good built-in mics.

I'm recording to one from mics on stands thru a mixer. Then I take my tracks to Reaper and do more stuff to them.
But I actually recorded a few pretty good sons using just the DR-40 for guitar and singing.
Click to expand...

I just looked up the Tascam DR-40 but it looks like it only has two lines in. So mic up my amp, some how use one mic for the drums and that leaves me left with no way to record vocals until after the fact. Just looking to record everything at once like a jam recording if that makes sense.
 
Getbacktogether said:
I just looked up the Tascam DR-40 but it looks like it only has two lines in. So mic up my amp, some how use one mic for the drums and that leaves me left with no way to record vocals until after the fact. Just looking to record everything at once like a jam recording if that makes sense.
Click to expand...

The DR 40 has a total of 4 inputs.
You can use the two built in mics along with two additional external microphones.

RAMI asked, in the first reply, how many simultaneous inputs you need.
We need to know that.

You can record everything at once in a single take with a mono room mic, or with loads of spot mics.. See?

We also need to know what your expectations are.
Are you happy with a very rough sounding 'garage-demo', or are you trying to make a half decent sounding recording?
 
Steenamaroo said:
The DR 40 has a total of 4 inputs.
You can use the two built in mics along with two additional external microphones.
Click to expand...

Correct. I decided to use a mixer to allow more mics and tailoring of the sound before recording. The DR-40 records in stereo so 2 inputs -- works for me. Recording more tracks suggests that you are going to be doing something with them such as mixing. Which isn't easily done on the DR-40. It suggests using a computer and software to process the tracks after recording. (which is what I'm doing)

So - the more you want out of the recording effort, the more complex the answer becomes.
(it's just following one of the basic Rules of Life)
 
Ronbert said:
Correct. I decided to use a mixer to allow more mics and tailoring of the sound before recording. The DR-40 records in stereo so 2 inputs -- works for me. Recording more tracks suggests that you are going to be doing something with them such as mixing. Which isn't easily done on the DR-40. It suggests using a computer and software to process the tracks after recording. (which is what I'm doing)

So - the more you want out of the recording effort, the more complex the answer becomes.
(it's just following one of the basic Rules of Life)
Click to expand...

This is what I'm thinking... ^
 
Steenamaroo said:
The DR 40 has a total of 4 inputs.
You can use the two built in mics along with two additional external microphones.

RAMI asked, in the first reply, how many simultaneous inputs you need.
We need to know that.

You can record everything at once in a single take with a mono room mic, or with loads of spot mics.. See?

We also need to know what your expectations are.
Are you happy with a very rough sounding 'garage-demo', or are you trying to make a half decent sounding recording?
Click to expand...

I guess im going for a garage-demo. I mean how do all bands get started? what do they use without having any knowledge of recording. I guess I could buy a cheap computer but I don't have the internet so I couldn't download reaper like someone else suggested.

Basically what im going for is. I hit record. Me and my friend play a song with drums, guitars and vocals then I stop recording. Seems so simple but cant find a solution. Maybe something that we can record and later transfer to a computer and burn to a cd for my own enjoyment and for reference on how we are progressing. Thanks for all the help!
 
Getbacktogether said:
I guess im going for a garage-demo. I mean how do all bands get started? what do they use without having any knowledge of recording. I guess I could buy a cheap computer but I don't have the internet so I couldn't download reaper like someone else suggested.

Basically what im going for is. I hit record. Me and my friend play a song with drums, guitars and vocals then I stop recording. Seems so simple but cant find a solution. Maybe something that we can record and later transfer to a computer and burn to a cd for my own enjoyment and for reference on how we are progressing. Thanks for all the help!
Click to expand...

Ok, so at least your expectations are realistic.
Really though, we definitely need to know how many inputs you're looking for.

Im other words, how many mics do you want to set up.

I'm going to treat you like you know nothing; Please don't be offended! :p

If you take a stereo recorder and make a live recording of your band, it relies on everything sounding good in the room. You can't really mix or tweak it later. It is what it is.
If you take 4 mics on the kit, and one per instrument/singer, into a multitrack recorder of some kind, then you can work at the balance, panning, tone etc later on.
It's still important to get a good base sound but I'm just illustrating the two very different ways of approaching this.

Which one are you aiming for and, if the latter, how many mics?

If it's pretty much fun/documentation I'd get a DR40, record the band with the stereo pair, and plug a 58 in to channel 3 for vocals.
It'll sound as good as the live band sounds and it'll be easy.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Ok, so at least your expectations are realistic.
Really though, we definitely need to know how many inputs you're looking for.

Im other words, how many mics do you want to set up.

I'm going to treat you like you know nothing; Please don't be offended! :p

If you take a stereo recorder and make a live recording of your band, it relies on everything sounding good in the room. You can't really mix or tweak it later. It is what it is.
If you take 4 mics on the kit, and one per instrument/singer, into a multitrack recorder of some kind, then you can work at the balance, panning, tone etc later on.
It's still important to get a good base sound but I'm just illustrating the two very different ways of approaching this.

Which one are you aiming for and, if the latter, how many mics?

If it's pretty much fun/documentation I'd get a DR40, record the band with the stereo pair, and plug a 58 in to channel 3 for vocals.
It'll sound as good as the live band sounds and it'll be easy.
Click to expand...


I'm not offended at all because I literally know nothing about recording. So I guess I would need a Mic for vocals, mic for my guitar amp and mics for the drum set(how many, I have no clue). but I liked the idea of recording with the DR-40 but obviously i have never used one. How could I mic a drum set and still use the DR-40 if it only has 2 lines in? I liked your idea of the DR-40 but the "stereo pair" and plug in a 58 to line 3 means absolutely nothing to me lol.

I know how to plug my guitar in and rock the crap out of it and sing while my buddy plays guitar lol. That's my knowledge....
 
Getbacktogether said:
I'm not offended at all because I literally know nothing about recording. So I guess I would need a Mic for vocals, mic for my guitar amp and mics for the drum set(how many, I have no clue). but I liked the idea of recording with the DR-40 but obviously i have never used one. How could I mic a drum set and still use the DR-40 if it only has 2 lines in? I liked your idea of the DR-40 but the "stereo pair" and plug in a 58 to line 3 means absolutely nothing to me lol.

I know how to plug my guitar in and rock the crap out of it and sing while my buddy plays guitar lol. That's my knowledge....
Click to expand...

The multi mic setup and the dr40 setup are examples of two opposing approaches.

The DR40 is basically a stereo recorder with the added bonus of having two extra inputs.
If you chose to do a plain and simple stereo recording of your group, you could record vocals with an external mic to make sure they carry well over the band.
The guts of the thing would just be as your ears hear it, though.

If you want to go multimic/mic per instrument, I'd be looking at some kind of portastudio/standalone or...a computer. (sorry)
 
Maybe something like this

Zoom R24 | Sweetwater.com

8 inputs.
4 for drums,
1 for guit
1 for bass
1 for vox
1 spare (2nd guit)

Doesn't need a computer, but you can use it with one as an interface. Very flexible. You can multitrack so you don't absolutely need to record everyone at once.

Do you have 8 mics? cables? Stands? etc? Drums would probably be the most difficult to get a good recording.
 
Chili said:
Maybe something like this

Zoom R24 | Sweetwater.com

8 inputs.
4 for drums,
1 for guit
1 for bass
1 for vox
1 spare (2nd guit)

Doesn't need a computer, but you can use it with one as an interface. Very flexible. You can multitrack so you don't absolutely need to record everyone at once.

Do you have 8 mics? cables? Stands? etc? Drums would probably be the most difficult to get a good recording.
Click to expand...

:thumbs up:
I don't really know standalones, but that looks/sounds cool. :)
Thanks.
 
Yeah, budget is probably going to be the limitation, but if he wants to record a rock band all at once with no computer, he's going to have to compromise somewhere. Heck, even with a computer, to record a full band takes some resources. A standalone is probably his only option; he needs to decide which one.
 
Getbacktogether said:
I hit record. Me and my friend play a song with drums, guitars and vocals then I stop recording. Seems so simple but cant find a solution.
Click to expand...

Well, it is simple. You can do that with an iphone. Pop it into the corner of the room facing you while you play, hit record, play, hit stop.

The moment you decide you want a bit more than that, you introduce an unavoidable level of complexity, whether or not you use a computer. You can buy a stand-alone recorder, like the DR40, but that is just the start of your woes. You need also to buy suitable microphones, stands, cables and speakers, and you need to learn how to use them. If you are starting with no knowledge, then you will need to realise that you will spend a whole heap of time cursing and swearing and not much time on being creative as you come to grips with the technology, whichever technology you use.

Have you got any friends who are already into recording? If so, they might do it for you and give you practical help. Or maybe you could save enough to record one track at a local studio, and learn from that.
 
gecko zzed said:
Have you got any friends who are already into recording? If so, they might do it for you and give you practical help. Or maybe you could save enough to record one track at a local studio, and learn from that.
Click to expand...

Best idea of all - find someone who knows some of this stuff.

Other - if you don't have a computer, how are you reading and posting on this forum?
(for all I know it might be that skateboards are web-enabled nowadays. So I'm just asking 'cause I don't know.)
 
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