Please dumb it down for me: Hip-Hop related, no instruments needed

  • Thread starter Thread starter El_Mero_Mero
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El_Mero_Mero

New member
Hello,

I was directed to this forum after doing hours upon hours of brain-harming research on a more advanced forum. Basically, ALL I WANT TO DO is download instrumentals and record lyrics to these instrumentals and have is sound good enough.

I know that this is not a new or unique topic here, but will this suffice for now to at least give me access to the playground.

1.) MacBook Pro w/ GarageBand (I already own)
2.) Audio Technica Microphone
3.) MBox Audio Interface (#?)

With this can I at least start playing around? I just want to start playing around. Please let me play around.

Please let me know. I would appreciate your help. Thanks.
 
Hi,

You can start playing around right now - just with the MacBook and GarageBand. The MacBook should have a built in mic, which obviously isn't brilliant but can still do the job of recording your voice. Just drag and drop the recorded instrumental into GB and, unless it's in an incompatible format, it will set up its own track. Then set up a vocal track specifying the inbuilt mic for input (which it may well default to anyway).

How far along the cheap/expensive line you might want to go with a mic and audio interface is up to you. They'll all work but whether you can hear the difference between cheap and medium, or medium and pricey (and whether you think it's worth the extra money) is something that only you can really decide.

I'd be inclined play around a bit with what you've already got, have some fun, get to know Garageband, see just how far down the cool track you can get, save your money and make a start on the inevitable cycle of lusting after more gear that you can't quite afford yet...

Welcome to the circus. :)

Cheers,

Chris
 
Depends upon how you define "good enough" - you certainly have enough to dip into recording, but "good" usually costs a little money and a lot of time, as even just recording voice on instrumentals you get fully formed from elsewhere has its tricks and traps..

Good luck..
 
If you just want it to sound "good enough" when you're using mostly software instruments, you probably won't need too fancy a vocal mic. What you have should do.
What do you need to know to start playing around? Do you have ANY knowledge of the software/hardware that we can use to help you out?
Basically, I just need to know if you've ever worked with GarageBand just for funsies and figured out the basics of how to load in a software instrument and make an audio track to record too. Otherwise I'd be typing out a long, detailed explanation of how to do it, and then you'd probably feel like I was being rude. We wouldn't want that. ;)
 
Thank you guys for the replies. I really appreciate it. MrWrenchey, I have never even tried to look at GarageBand on my desktop, so I haven't even got the basics of the basics yet. I'm going to open it up and see what's going on and then I'd be about to get more use out of the "detailed explanation".

I'm having a discipline problem right now, but I DO have a lot of free time. I'm wondering if this is something that I can say after 500 hours I'd be a recording beast, cuz I know I can reach 500 hours quicker than alot of other folks. Um...the problem is that I'm pretty much a dummy in all things surrounding software and computers. Is there a GarageBand for Dummies? BTW, in my fam I was the creative one and my cousins who aren't around me are computer guys.
 
I never used garage band... so I do not know how simple it is... is I was you id start off with using audacity.. it is a very simple barebones DAW with plenty of support and tutorials online..
 
You'd have other choices of mic and interface to consider but there's nothing wrong with the ones you mention. The only other things you'd need to consider would be a pair of headphones (so you can listen to the music while recording your vocals) and, of course, accessories like a mic stand and cables.

In the longer term, you may want a pair of monitor speakers which will make your mixing easier and more accurate than doing it on headphones--but you can certainly start playing without them.

Those who have advised you to dive in and do it are right. Practice and experience are far more important than individual items of equipment--fortunately, it's also the fun part!

FYI, I'd probably do the mic and interface purchase soon....although you COULD record something on the built in mic, quality would be bad enough that you'd almost certainly be pretty unhappy with the results and this isn't the time to discourage yourself!
 
El_Mero_Mero said:
Um...the problem is that I'm pretty much a dummy in all things surrounding software and computers. Is there a GarageBand for Dummies? BTW, in my fam I was the creative one and my cousins who aren't around me are computer guys.
Click to expand...

The good news is there is plenty of GarageBand of information around on the net for free - tutorials, youtube videos, mac forums, this forum, etc. It's a pretty straightforward program and you can get very good results on it. Like many others, I found that it was a good program to learn on before moving on to something more complex - while still being plenty powerful enough to get decent results along the way.

As Bobbsy mentioned, you'll soon find that you want a much better way of 'monitoring' (i.e. either some headphones or separate speakers, preferably independently powered ones, etc.). You'll very quickly spot the advantages of having a better mic and input interface too. But the experience and knowledge is the most important thing and you can start work on gaining that with very basic equipment. It's often better to get a feel for why you're spending your hard earned cash (by practical experience) than by just jumping in and buying something that was recommended on the internet. Your choices, reasons, and budget might be different to ours. It can't hurt to try it out first and then ask some more specific questions about how you might solve the problems you strike with setup, what gear you could buy for a certain price in order to get some part of the chain sounding better, etc.

Have fun, and start now - you're on in half an hour... ;)
 
JoNathanDaTruth said:
I never used garage band... so I do not know how simple it is... is I was you id start off with using audacity.. it is a very simple barebones DAW with plenty of support and tutorials online..
Click to expand...

Garageband IMO is better even with it's limited export options.
 
Get into messing with garageband to start out with, like others have said there are plenty of tutorials on how to use it on youtube.
 
El_Mero_Mero said:
Basically, ALL I WANT TO DO is download instrumentals and record lyrics to these instrumentals and have is sound good enough
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So let me get this straight...you want to steal someone else's music, rape it with your meaningless yapping, so you can claim to have "written" a song to impress girls.
 
ocnor said:
So let me get this straight...you want to steal someone else's music, rape it with your meaningless yapping, so you can claim to have "written" a song to impress girls.
Click to expand...

Isn't that what Led Zeppelin did? Worked pretty good for them :D
 
The toe bone is connected to the - foot bone. The foot bone is connected to the .......................... :guitar:
 
moresound said:
The toe bone is connected to the - foot bone. The foot bone is connected to the .......................... :guitar:
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Lol you guys kill me .
welcome to the circus this is so right.

I started off with an i mac and the built in mic had a lot of fun writing stuff

If you want backing tracks why not goggle it and buy some that you can drop into GB?
 
ocnor said:
So let me get this straight...you want to steal someone else's music, rape it with your meaningless yapping, so you can claim to have "written" a song to impress girls.
Click to expand...

Well, at least I never said I was going to be making any money off of it, so I'm not really stealing, just borrowing. But I appreciate your answer. I will be contacting you when I get towards your level.:)
 
I just got the ebook, GarageBand for Dummies. I hope to read it and be back as questions arise.

btw, anyone know of any professional projects that were done using GarageBand? I mean, afterwards it would have to be professionally mixed in a proper studio, but anyone know of any?
 
Probably not with Garageband. Lots of work is professionally done with ProTools. The software isn't going to make much difference at this point.
 
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