Quote from TA814-
"So something I can plug my microphone and guitar into, and then record/save and edit them on my computer."
Yes you can, with almost any of the devices under discussion. But you are letting your mind run off in a couple of different directions. It's time for a couple of the patented Richie reality checks. You are concerned with your clear vocal sound, and recording guitar.
Reality- you *won't* get it. Not now. Why? Because you have no budget and you have no experience. There isn't a magic box that will fix that. Only time and hard work and money will fix that.
What is the single most important thing in getting clear vocals? The singer. You will soon find out that the skill set of a performing vocalist and the skill set of a recording artist are different. To get that big sound, you *will* end up using studio condensers or high-end dynamics. They are like performing in the nude. You can't hide anything. They will know if you ate breakfast or not, and whether the cat just walked into the room. It will take you time to learn to sing without moving, because moving makes noise.You will learn that the mic is the audience, the only audience. The mic does not care about your stage presence. It only cares about the sound.
What is the second most important thing about clear vocals? The room. It is critical. The better your recording equipment is, the worse it gets. That's why a recording studio isn't an electronic box. Start spooking around on the studio building and display forum, and see some of what people are willing to do to create a controlled acoustic space. Your budget would just about pay the sales tax on the HVAC system for a real studio.
What is the third most important thing about clear vocals? The signal chain, which begins with the mic and the preamp. Top studio mics cost thousands, and so do the preamps used. Will you get that sound with a $50 dynamic mic plugged into a cheap preamp? I doubt it.
What about that guitar? The fact that you talk about "plugging it in" shows that you have a lot to learn about recording. Guitars are recorded with microphones. Electric guitars are plugged into amps and recorded with microphones. This is the point where the mic becomes a little less important and the room becomes huge. If the room can't handle the reflections of the amp, it gets ugly real fast. You'll soon discover that many people on this board have spent years with tons of gear trying to get a guitar sound they were happy with. In many ways, the guitars and amps used, and the recording space will be a lot more important than the signal chain.
You *can* record a guitar, either an electric or an acoustic with a pickup, by DI (direct injection) using amp modelers. Nearly every experienced engineer on this board will tell you that that is something you do because you have to, not because you want to. Capturing sound is about sound, not about electronics.
So- how should you deal with all this? First, understand that the most important factor that you can control is not what gear you can afford, but how you use what you have. Next, understand that the most important use of that gear is *not* to record clear vocals and guitar, but as tools to use to learn how to record clear vocals and guitar. The gear you are going to buy for $350 is not going to be the gear that you are using the day you succeed. But it might be the gear you used to figure out how to succeed. You can't learn how to be a recording engineer without recording stuff, so what you need right now is some entry level gear that will allow you to start recording stuff.
Imagine that you said to me, "I always wanted to be a surgeon. I've been using sharp knives in the kitchen for quite a while, and I'm pretty good with them. All I really want to do is perform a decent coronary bypass. I've only got $350. I saw a surgical kit that has some cool looking forceps and scalpels. If I buy that, will it give me a decent arterial graft? I can't really afford an anesthesiologist either, so I'll be doing that myself. Do you recommend Sodium Pentathol or Methylene?"
You are about to find out that being a tracking engineer, a mixing engineer, a mastering engineer, or for that matter, a recording artist are professions. They aren't defined by the tools, but by the knowledge and experience that allows them to use the tools.
The simplest thing to do right now is commit to a simple set of entry level tools and start learning what you *can't* do with them, instead of obsessing about whether the tools will do what you want. They won't, no matter what they are. Learn everything you can about microphones and preamps. They are the brushes that you will use to paint your eventual masterpiece. This is my experience, for what it's worth. I started out seven years ago right where you are, and I'm $40,000 deep into it, having only scratched the surface of what I could learn. There are people on this board who have forgotten more about recording than I will ever know, and I am thankful for their help, as they have helped me to spend my $40,000 well. Stick around. You are considering buying your first BB gun and you want to know if it will make you a member of the special forces.-Richie
