Absolute Beginner

jjjtttggg said:
Can you really ask "What is a sound card?" And not be yanking our chain.
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Most definitely. Look, maybe Comocks is really KCearl in disguise having a laugh but I'm inclined to take a question from a newbie as it comes unless I've got a damned good reason not to. And I've long been acutely aware of the syndrome of acquiring knowledge and then gradually and subtly assuming that everyone should know that which I have known. The night before my Dad died, we were having a conversation and he told me he was a lousy teacher when I commented on his enthusiasm for maths and science. I asked him why he felt that and he replied that he just would not summon the patience to guide someone that couldn't see what he saw so readilly or felt they should know. He actually was a teacher for a year. Some of his students may have become bitter young men ! :D
Truth be told, when some newbies ask the same questions that have been asked daily for eons, sometimes one just wants to track them down and beat them heartilly like a snare and double bass drum set up. But none of us was born with any of the knowledge we currently possess. We were all newbies once. And our roads have been different. We progress at different rates. Some take to things like a newborn antelope. Others love to read. Some are more hands on. Some are constantly clueless and take 4 times longer than everyone else. And going through an internet forum in some ways is harder........to those for whom it is harder.
I didn't know what a soundcard was until a couple of years ago. Much of the language of current computer recording still leaves me going "eh ?". But bit by bit, by osmosis, in it goes.
Just because someone shows an interest in doing something doesn't mean they have a clue how to go about it.
 
Thank you so much phriq, grimtraveller, and chili. I know it may have sounded like a bunch of dumb questions but I really do need the help. I've spent so many hours searching the internet for answers to my problems, and most of the time I plainly could not understand the language. It's very frustrating and discouraging. You guys are what this forum is all about, and thank you again for wanting to help. +100 super helper forum points for you all! :)
So do you really think I should buy home recording for dummies? Or were you all joking about that too? :P Where did you start out?
 
You said: "I, Comocks, am an absolute beginner to the Art of Recording".

An absolute beginner has to start somewhere. When learning to drive a car, you need lessons, and you need then to go out and practice.

If you don't have someone handy to give you lessons, then you have to do this yourself. Reading something is a good start; find some books on home recording and digest them.
 
Comocks said:
Thank you so much phriq, grimtraveller, and chili. I know it may have sounded like a bunch of dumb questions but I really do need the help. I've spent so many hours searching the internet for answers to my problems, and most of the time I plainly could not understand the language. It's very frustrating and discouraging. You guys are what this forum is all about, and thank you again for wanting to help. +100 super helper forum points for you all! :)
So do you really think I should buy home recording for dummies? Or were you all joking about that too? :P Where did you start out?
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It is very understandable how all of this is very frustrating and discouraging. Recording is not as simple as you may hear it is. You always hear the "It's so cheap and easy, musicians don't even have to go to studios anymore to make great records" arguement all the time. But it's not necassarily true. You really need to know what your doing in order to make the equiptment and the process work out. Chili was absolutely serious when he recomended Home Recording for Dummies. It sounds silly, but for an "absolute beginner" it is a good place to start. If you were to jump straight into a more groomed recording book like Modern Recording Techniques by David Miles Huber, you might find some of the termonolgy, well as you said it "like a different language". Home Recording for Dummies will simplify some of the concepts and terms so that you can get a start on grasping everything. While reading it, and after, you will then begin to develop questions and be able to ask them intelligably on places like the forum.

The forum also has a plethora of good advice. Often times you have to wade through some senseless banter (let's face it, alot of the guys here have been doing audio for a while. So answering simple questions (and giving the fact that most of us are probably highly ADD) leads to distractions really quickly. But it's good people here and you will get answers. But just remember that you will only get as much help as effort you are putting in yourself. That's why doing your research and reading books is so important.

I hope some of this is helping out.
 
Comocks said:
So do you really think I should buy home recording for dummies? Or were you all joking about that too? :P Where did you start out?
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Yeah, that's a GREAT book if you're just starting out. I bought it when I was beginning and it taught me a ton. Definitely worth the money! I seem to have misplaced my copy of it somewhere...I miss it. :(
 
Yo Comocks! Welcome to the board, if you haven't been scared away already. (if you are new to the board, and not an alias). You are getting hazed because folks here know how much hard work it takes to make good recordings, and you come off like somebody who wants to be spoon-fed what is for many, a profession. I want to be a surgeon. Just, like, tell me everything I need to know. Let's start with 101- Read what I wrote in this thread. I answered part of your question:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/equip...newbie-here-help-me-find-mic-my-needs-319300/

Then read this thread. I think I covered the rest of your question here:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/general-discussions/newbies/home-recording-studio-311394/

Those posts will tell you what you need to do, what some of your options are. It won't, however make the real truths go away, namely:

It costs money
It rarely pays you back (in money)
Learning to do it is hard work, and will require a lot of reading. Doing it is also hard work.
No one is going to tell you everything you need to know to be a recording engineer, or a recording artist. *Everyone* will tell you some of it. Good luck.-Richie
 
moresound said:
Now those two novels you wrote Richard, need to become a sticky in the noob forum!
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Hopefully, they are nonfiction. I don't think they'd make great stickies, though, because of the links. The actual gear changes every day. Today's V67G becomes tomorrow's B.L.U.E. Spark. To make a real sticky, I'd have to write in much more general terms.-Richie
 
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