BRAND NEW to home recording.

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D1COV

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I have committed to nothing yet. I am on a very little budget and would like to know what i need to start a studio. Only recording will be for vocals. Thanks in advance for any help.
 
you will need an audio interface, mic, cable, stand, computer, headphone/speakers, and a software. and a lava lamp to be safe :P
 
All that when he's just starting and just recording a voice AND on a budget?!

You don't need all that if all you want to record is vocals. Look up a Zoom H1 Handy Recorder. Its like a mic with a recorder built into it. Its not the only one of its kind lots of companys are making them nowadays, it's just the cheapest most no frills one I have seen. They go for dirt cheap and can record a voice and port it to a computer through a USB cable. There's little desktop units that can do overdubs of layers of tracks too, many of which have built in microphones or effects too. Take a look around the catalogs of online music stores like musiciansfriend or zzounds just to get an idea of what's out there. For just starting out, a full-on computer setup is a lot to digest. Take a look around to see what works best for your budget, but there are a lot of starter kits for computers software or all-in-one hardware recorders.

Oh yeah, you will still need the lava lamp though too.
 
All you really need for your objective is a condenser mic and a way to plug it into your computer. Try KVR audio and you should find all the software you need for free... http://www.kvraudio.com/
 
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 Tape Op Magazine

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. Even the cheapest $50 usb asio card will be a huge improvement.
#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...'
 
♫♪Tyson♫♪;3585770 said:
you will need an audio interface, mic, cable, stand, computer, headphone/speakers, and a software. and a lava lamp to be safe :P
Click to expand...

Tobe said:
All you really need for your objective is a condenser mic and a way to plug it into your computer. Try KVR audio and you should find all the software you need for free... KVR: Virtual Instruments, Virtual Effects, VST Plugins, Audio Units (AU), DirectX (DX), Universal Binary Compatibility - Audio Plugin News, Reviews and Community
Click to expand...

Right; that would be a mic cable and an audio interface. Of course, he'll probably want a stand for the mic. And a computer and software is a great medium to record to. And headphones or monitors to listen to what he's recorded would be good.

So, Tysons got it right. I wouldn't bother with the little all-in-one units. If you stick with it you'll find yourself wanting to upgrade to something better pretty quickly.

Whatever interface you pick up will likely come with some type of recording software. Reaper is also an excellent choice. That KVR site looks like its just plugins so that won't help much.

So what is the budget and what level of quality are you hoping to achieve?
 
Umm... I wasn't actually contradicting Tyson... which is your inference.... and Reaper is on KVR...
 
Jeff_D said:
Right; that would be a mic cable and an audio interface. Of course, he'll probably want a stand for the mic. And a computer and software is a great medium to record to. And headphones or monitors to listen to what he's recorded would be good.

So, Tysons got it right. I wouldn't bother with the little all-in-one units. If you stick with it you'll find yourself wanting to upgrade to something better pretty quickly.

Whatever interface you pick up will likely come with some type of recording software. Reaper is also an excellent choice. That KVR site looks like its just plugins so that won't help much.

So what is the budget and what level of quality are you hoping to achieve?
Click to expand...

budget is around 500 dollars to begin with. i will eventually expand to recording drums and electric guitar but getting it started is most important to me for now. Learn the basics before I expand into other things i will need to pay for and learn.
 
Thanks for the replies. The software choice is getting to me. Not sure if i should use Pro Tools, Sonar, Cubase, etc.

Im a hip hop artist so I would need a way to create beats as well. Eventually I aim at being able to have entirely live recording on the songs but for now I need an easy to use software to produce through.
 
D1COV said:
Thanks for the replies. The software choice is getting to me. Not sure if i should use Pro Tools, Sonar, Cubase, etc.

Im a hip hop artist so I would need a way to create beats as well. Eventually I aim at being able to have entirely live recording on the songs but for now I need an easy to use software to produce through.
Click to expand...

For making any type of beats it doesnt matter which software you choose, they all have the Piano Roll stle editor that you need to master.

Reaper, really is your most cost effect choice here. There are tons of tutorials on youtube to get you going.

Divide your grid into 1/8 notes if not already and then experiment with your kicks and snares. Your ears will tell you what needs adjusting.

With the money you save on reaper, you can get a decent Drum Sample VSTi, like Addictive Drums or Superior Drummer 2 or BFD etc.
 
BEATS4U said:
For making any type of beats it doesnt matter which software you choose, they all have the Piano Roll stle editor that you need to master.

Reaper, really is your most cost effect choice here. There are tons of tutorials on youtube to get you going.

Divide your grid into 1/8 notes if not already and then experiment with your kicks and snares. Your ears will tell you what needs adjusting.

With the money you save on reaper, you can get a decent Drum Sample VSTi, like Addictive Drums or Superior Drummer 2 or BFD etc.
Click to expand...

I can't find any of the kicks, snares, or anything on reaper to even use the piano roll on.
 
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Unless the OP wants to use a stand alone like the Zoom R16 that would take care of everything but a microphone plus the standard accessories for it.
 
D1COV said:
I can't find any of the kicks, snares, or anything on reason to even use the piano roll on.
Click to expand...

You need go google exactly what you want to do.

That exact search string.

"Beat making in Reason"

"How to make beats in FL Studio"

etc
 
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