Attempted first recording, now would like to do it properly

[neugierig]

Hi

I've been playing electric guitar for nearly 2 years, and the other day I did my first recording over a backing track. I loved it! But I'd like to know how to do it properly. This is what I used:

An old Dell laptop PC (unknown sound card) with an ancient version of Cool Edit Pro for recording/mixing. I plugged a consumer Sony mic into it. The mic was up against my amp, and the guitar was running through a Zoom 6000 pedal, then the amp. Simple .

Things I noticed about the result were:

The recording of the guitar wasn't very good. I suspect this is largely to do with the microphone. I have looked around and found that I could buy Shure 57s or even an sm94 second hand reasonably priced. But if I do that, can I plug it into my laptop?

1) The microphones seem to use XLR plugs. THe laptop microphone expects a 1/8". So I need some sort of cable I guess?

2) I hear a rumour about impedence in this regard...I suspect reading around the site I need to ensure I have a 'impedance matching' transformer...is that right?

3) Am I being silly trying to plug the mic directly into an old laptop? What are my other options. Particularly I notice XLR cables seem to convert to 1/4" rather than 1/8" which suggests to me that something goes in between. What?

4) Software....what are some good software packages for guitar playing/writing/ recording? I think the main features I want are recording, mixing, time stretch...haven't done much so that's all I can think of at the moment.

5) Also when I was recording I found what I wanted to do was play the backing track so only I could hear it, and record just my guitar. I did this by playing the backing track on a discman through headphones... What would be cool is if the computer could play the backing track (which was in the mixing software of course anyway) whilst at the same time recording from the mic, but not the backing track...is there a name for this feature, OR do people fulfil this requirement (recording while playing backing track) in another way?


Thanks very much for your time,

 

[ermghoti]

Depending on what your goals are, it would be much simpler to use a modeler for this purpose. The new Pods and V-amps sound more than good enough for monkeying around with backing tracks, and eliminate virtually all the problems you are having.

You also want to record the backing tracks into your recording program, and then record your guitar onto a separate track while playing back the backing tracks in the recording software.

 

[XLR]

1) The microphones seem to use XLR plugs. THe laptop microphone expects a 1/8". So I need some sort of cable I guess?

2) I hear a rumour about impedence in this regard...I suspect reading around the site I need to ensure I have a 'impedance matching' transformer...is that right?

3) Am I being silly trying to plug the mic directly into an old laptop? What are my other options. Particularly I notice XLR cables seem to convert to 1/4" rather than 1/8" which suggests to me that something goes in between. What?

If you use a transformer to match a low impedence balanced mic (XLR plug) to a high impedence unbalanced input(1/8" or 1/4" jack)you're likely to get a low quality sound. Stock soundcards as a rule have poor quality built-in preamps. A $200 preamp/converter/USB interface like the Tascam US122 will be a huge step up in sound quality (I've got one). If your laptop is really old (Win95 for instance), the Digigram VXPocket PCMCIA card works with slower older computers just fine. It's an even higher quality piece of gear though and just a little more $ - mine was around $350 if I remember.

4) Software....what are some good software packages for guitar playing/writing/ recording? I think the main features I want are recording, mixing, time stretch...

Audacity and Multitrackstudio are both freeware and very good for learning (simple). N-Track is excellent and has a free no-time limit demo.

5) Also when I was recording I found what I wanted to do was play the backing track so only I could hear it, and record just my guitar. I did this by playing the backing track on a discman through headphones... What would be cool is if the computer could play the backing track (which was in the mixing software of course anyway) whilst at the same time recording from the mic, but not the backing track...is there a name for this feature, OR do people fulfil this requirement (recording while playing backing track) in another way?

That's what multitrack software does. The software mentioned above does what you're asking for.

Tim

 

[Richard Monroe]

Yo Neugierig! Let me expand on what has been said above. Two versions of what you could do have been laid out. Both solutions cost money, and have pros and cons. Your first problem is that you are using a laptop, and one that is not state of the art. Most people doing computer recording use a soundcard specialized for recording, but such soundcards are usually incompatible with laptops, especially older ones. It therefore becomes attractive to go in via USB (old style) or firewire (many advantages, if you have that capability).

Amp modelers, by and large, don't have USB out, although the rackmount versions usually have S/PDIF out, which works fine if you have a soundcard that has S/PDIF in. I am a moderate on amp modeling. It doesn't suck as much as the purists think, and it isn't as good as the digi-noobs claim. Amp modeling has downsides. One- it's just not your amp. It can make a lot of sounds, but not the one you've spent 2 years getting. Two- it doesn't move air. Over the last 40 years or so, we've all gotten used to the sound of a microphone stuck in front of an amp, being struck by sound, and *moving air*
No modeler can copy that (yet). I use a POD Pro 2.0 extensively, but jacked into a power amp, then into a cab, then a mic is placed in front of that cab. In short, an amp modeler will not solve the problem that the sound card in your laptop was not made for recording, and it wasn't meant to support one that was. Note, however, that I think you can get some really great sounds out of a modeler if you know how to use it, which is generally *not direct*.
Tim Lawler has recommended a very viable option, which is to use a microphone preamp which is designed with USB out capability. Then you put a decent mic in front of your cab, move it 'til it sounds good, and record to software. The good news is that guitar cab recording is often done with relatively inexpensive mics, because they work for that. Shure SM57 is very popular in that role. I am more likely to use Sennheiser e835 or AKG D770, but that's just me. Plenty of great recordings have been made with cheap dynamics of a wide variety of brands, including the good old SM57. Given that you are using an older laptop, I think Timothy Lawler's suggestions are very good ones. The primary limitation of USB is that it doesn't allow a lot of simultaneous tracks in, unlike firewire, but you aren't asking for that. Best of luck, and welcome to the board!-Richie

 

[neugierig]

Thanks

Thanks for all your advice I have been looking into equipment...and also practicing hard as at my stage that is probably the best thing I can do to improve my sound

Cheerio