My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):
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
Amazon.com: Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies (9780470385425): Jeff Strong: Books
(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
Amazon.com: Recording Guitar and Bass: Getting a Great Sound Every Time You Record (Book) (9780879307301): Huw Price: Books
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)
And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at
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:
Tweak's Guide to the Home and Project Studio
Free beginner PDFs | Computer Music Magazine | MusicRadar.com
The #1 online community for musicians | Harmony Central
Tips & Techniques - Gearslutz.com
21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig:
How to Configure a Recording Studio Rig
Also Good Info:
Directory - The Project Studio Handbook - Digital Audio, Compression, Mixing, Monitoring, Microphones
Other recording books:
Music Books Plus - Home Recording
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 user-tested suggestions that work:
The Best Audio Interfaces for your Home Studio by TweakHeadz Lab
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)
Another good article: Choosing an audio interface -
Choosing An Audio Interface
Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:
Sony ACID Express (free 10-track sequencer):
ACIDplanet.com: Free Downloads: ACID Xpress
Audacity:
Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur:
Wavosaur free audio editor with VST and ASIO support (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal:
KRISTAL Audio Engine
Other freebies and shareware:
Music Software - Computer Music Resources - Shareware Music Machine
Another great option is REAPER at
REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits (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 -
Myriad: Music Notation Software and much more... / Myriad : logiciels de musique, et bien plus...
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 and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE, November 2010 SamplitudeSilver. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)
'Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he'll eat forever...'
