Ok. So, this is a newbie with heart in need of help...

[Saywah?]

So. This is my first post on here. First thing's first - nice to meet you lot and everything! If it's one thing that makes the internet worth its ridiculous loading times, it's the online help and general camraderie you can find at the touch of a button

The reason i registered on here in the first place is that, surprise surprise, I haven't a clue about home recording. I've played guitar for 4 years or so now, and I've recorded some stuff with different people along the way, but it's always been done at a studio.

I never really thought about recording music at home until I decided that I wanted to record some music for two very close friends of mine. Actually, home recording only came to mind when I was scammed out of my time and almost my money by a certain acquiantance. Anyway - having read a LOT about how supposedly easy it is to do this stuff at home now, and since I also know people who do a lot of it themselves, I decided that it would be better to invest myself.

The thing is, I don't really know where to start. I've read a lot about Line 6 POD's and Toneports, especially the UX1. I've also read a lot about the Boss Micro BR. What sets one apart from the other though? I still don't quite understand.

I'm not looking for the best possible recording equipment on the planet. On the other hand, I don't want a knock-off. Is it worth buying a microphone separately to this stuff to record vocals with, or are there any decent in-built mics? Do any of these have programmable drumkits (it doesn't say on their websites, apart from the Boss) or can you find better digital ones on other software or the internet?

I'm sorry if any of this stuff sounds obvious or trivial to you, but for all my playing and love of music and guitar, I simply have no clue on how to home record.

Thanks for taking your time to read this - any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Chili]

So. This is my first post on here. First thing's first - nice to meet you lot and everything! If it's one thing that makes the internet worth its ridiculous loading times, it's the online help and general camraderie you can find at the touch of a button

The reason i registered on here in the first place is that, surprise surprise, I haven't a clue about home recording. I've played guitar for 4 years or so now, and I've recorded some stuff with different people along the way, but it's always been done at a studio.

I never really thought about recording music at home until I decided that I wanted to record some music for two very close friends of mine. Actually, home recording only came to mind when I was scammed out of my time and almost my money by a certain acquiantance. Anyway - having read a LOT about how supposedly easy it is to do this stuff at home now, and since I also know people who do a lot of it themselves, I decided that it would be better to invest myself.

The thing is, I don't really know where to start. I've read a lot about Line 6 POD's and Toneports, especially the UX1. I've also read a lot about the Boss Micro BR. What sets one apart from the other though? I still don't quite understand.

I'm not looking for the best possible recording equipment on the planet. On the other hand, I don't want a knock-off. Is it worth buying a microphone separately to this stuff to record vocals with, or are there any decent in-built mics? Do any of these have programmable drumkits (it doesn't say on their websites, apart from the Boss) or can you find better digital ones on other software or the internet?

I'm sorry if any of this stuff sounds obvious or trivial to you, but for all my playing and love of music and guitar, I simply have no clue on how to home record.

Thanks for taking your time to read this - any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi and Welcome to the site. First off, this probably belongs over in the Newbie section and I will move it over for you after you've had time to see my post.

Probably the first thing to recommend is READ READ READ. There's so much info out there and you need to come up to speed on what's available before purchasing equipment or deciding which home recording route you want to take. The good news is you're not alone. There are many people starting out so the questions have been asked and the answers given.

Go through the Newbies section and read the different threads. Use the Search function to look for particular subjects.

I always recommend two things to read:

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

and the book Home Recording for Musicians for Dummies by Jeff Strong. You can find it on Amazon.

Lots of people here willing to help.

Good luck and have fun.

 

[Saywah?]

Oh right, sorry I wasn't aware that there was a newbie section, but that would be me just rushing headlong into stuff

Thanks, I'll take a look at it right now!

 

[Dogbreath]

Yup...
Tweakheadz has a great place for new recording gurus to read thru.

And I'd like to stress...don't start buying gear until you have a better understanding of YOUR needs. I tend to rush headlong into stuff too and bought some cheap gear that I grew out of in a matter of months. Waste.

Give some thought to what instruments you want to record and how many at the same time.

Do you have a dedicated place to set this stuff up? If so, what's the dimensions?

IMHO...I think the order of importance is...
The Talent (naturally )
The Room (acoustically treated)
The Monitors (how accurate depends on the room setup)
The Mic...

Not to overload you but some other good reading that you can get to in time...
http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html
http://www.gikacoustics.com/room_setup.php

And like Chili said, do some searches, ask questions.
Happy tracking mang...

Kel

 

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad:

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...ce&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and suggestions: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)