Building a SIMPLE music station

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xraidedariez

New member
Hello To The Music Community

I Have Plans To Make My Own Music With Some Friends, Which For Right Now Is More Fun Than For Anything Else. I Have Been Doing Very Little Research On What A Home Studio Is Comprised Of And What The Necessary Elements Are. Also, My Musical Vocabulary Is Limited. I Have A 6 Month New Pc With Xp Home And Want To Buy A Mac Mini So I Can Use Garageband Which I Think Is Great. As Far As I Am Concerned, Garageband Is Everything You Need To Create And Record Music. So Basically, What Hardware And/or Software Is Necessary To Create And Record Music Or Beats With Lyrics Over It And So Forth? What Are The Absolute Basics That I Need? What Should I Want? I Do Not Know Music Or Equipment Lingo, So Please Give Me A Simple Defenition Of The Terms You Include If You Reply To My Thread. Thank You So Much For Reading Or Responding.
Your Help Or Comments Are Greatly Appreciated.
 
It would be difficult for anyone to list each and every thing in just this one post that you need to learn... sounds like you've got sucha long way to go.

But do not despair. You can start doing some basic recording quite cheaply. There are quite a few freeware software multi track packages out there for starters. An you'll need some hardware like mic's for instance if you are going to record vocals.

I would personally recommend that you spend the next couple of weeks trawling around this site, and many other sites like this, picking up wahtever you can as you go along.

One important factor that would set the tone of this question however is "what have you got to spend?"

If you've only got a few $100 then it's not impossible to get you going with some basic stuff. If you've got $1000's then it's a whole new ball game.

And it's not just about buying gear but about learning to use it too. Don't expect any results any time soon. Like everything else in life, things like this take time to master.

Patience...


and good luck, Music is a marvelous thing ;)
 
"MUSIC IS A MARVELOUS THING !! =)

Synkrotron said:
It would be difficult for anyone to list each and every thing in just this one post that you need to learn... sounds like you've got sucha long way to go.

But do not despair. You can start doing some basic recording quite cheaply. There are quite a few freeware software multi track packages out there for starters. An you'll need some hardware like mic's for instance if you are going to record vocals.

I would personally recommend that you spend the next couple of weeks trawling around this site, and many other sites like this, picking up wahtever you can as you go along.

One important factor that would set the tone of this question however is "what have you got to spend?"

If you've only got a few $100 then it's not impossible to get you going with some basic stuff. If you've got $1000's then it's a whole new ball game.

And it's not just about buying gear but about learning to use it too. Don't expect any results any time soon. Like everything else in life, things like this take time to master.

Patience...


and good luck, Music is a marvelous thing ;)
Click to expand...

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR RESPONDING. THOUGH I UNDERSTAND COMPETELY THAT WHAT I ASK IS NOT AS EASILY EXPLANABLE AS A+B=C,
I TAKE IN WHAT YOU HAVE ADVISED ME TO DO WITH A LOT
OF ENTHUSIASM =) I AM EXCITED BECAUSE MUSIC IS A BEAUTIFUL THING
AND I HAVE THE PASSION FOR IT....THANK YOU AND I PROBABLY EXPECT TO
SPENDA AT LEAST 2000.00 DOLLARS. BUT I HOPE I USE AN AMOUNT AS MUCH AS THAT THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY, BUT IM SURE SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE AND KIND LIKE YOURSELF WILL STEER ME IN THE RIGHT WAY.....THANK YOU
 
For starting off you could do worse than an M-Audio Firewire 410 interface like this one http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Recording/Computer/Hardware?sku=701385

For $300 they're also throwing in a free mic.

Being firewire you can plug it straight into a PC, or a MAC or a laptop.
It's got a couple of built-in preamps, midi if you're going to be playing soft synths, and a couple of headphone jacks.

Then get yourself a pair of decent monitors and you're good to go
 
Bulls Hit said:
For starting off you could do worse than an M-Audio Firewire 410 interface like this one http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Recording/Computer/Hardware?sku=701385

For $300 they're also throwing in a free mic.

Being firewire you can plug it straight into a PC, or a MAC or a laptop.
It's got a couple of built-in preamps, midi if you're going to be playing soft synths, and a couple of headphone jacks.

Then get yourself a pair of decent monitors and you're good to go
Click to expand...

thanks for the input. thats sounds like a good start and if you reaqd that i would be spending arund 2000.00, i would just like to clarify that i do not have that entire amount with me but i will spend a max of 2000.00 which will be spent little by little, paycheck to paycheck. its funny that you mention m-audio because after the first post in this particular thread, in the wee hours of the morning, i was researching on what a sequencer is, an interface, trying to find out if "moniters" is anything else other than what i display screen is, and i came across this, my first possible piece of hardware i would consider to buy: m-aduio ozone usb audio/midi mobile workstation

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MAudioOzone-main.html

upon my research, i think i have discovered that several peices of hardware are element in creating and recording music. but this particular peice of hardware is an "all-in-one" instrument.....is this a good start?
i know i must get a mic.....what are some good brands?
 
what exactly in simple english is an interface used for?

oh btw, BULLS HIT, or anyone for that matter,

can you explain to me in simple terms what an audio interface does and why it is necessary? how about a sequencer, moniters, any other essential hardware/software?

thanks so much :D
 
ugh, 1 more thing

arg! sorry i forgot to include drum machines/beat machines and samplers and what not: which brands are good/cheap and can thses devices plug into the computer or i guess interface or some other piece of hardware and be recorded??
 
You could start with something like that, but USB1 has got miniscule bandwidth, and doesn't allow you any room to grow. Most people would recommend firewire over usb1.

The audio interface converts the incoming analog signals from your mic, keyboard etc into a digital representation your computer sequencer understands, and converts them back to analog again to output to your monitors. Your interface can be either a firewire device that you just plug into your computer, or a PCI card that you install on the motherboard.

You already have a computer. The M-audio unit in the link above will get you everything else you need to get started. It comes with a version of Abelton Live, which is pretty cool s/w (not sure if it does drums though). You mentioned Garageband, which I've also heard good things about.
 
xraidedariez
It's REALLY BAD FORM to post the same thread/Q across a variety of forums.
It's REALLY annoying to keep coming across them.
You REALLY ought to have a little more patience & SEARCH the forum with the search tool etc to find what's already been done/said/offered & filter it to suit your circumstances.
Cheers
rayC
 
thanks bulls hit,

im starting to get excited.....i have a feeling that my next post or so will be
after i make my purchase....of course i willl try to ask questions or research a little more.....anywho.....thanks

by the way, i apologize to anyone that runs into the numerous same threads i have posted, im just looking for some help but you are right ray, after i typed a grip of posts, i did some scanning and found riches of information.....sorry again for my excitedness.

to be contunu3d............
 
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