first time here and thinking......................

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neil

New member
Hi everyone
I have been thinking about investing in some home recording equipment so my band can mix, record, distribute, etc...our own demos without paying rediculous amounts of cash to a studio for a 2 song demo.....
Anyways, my question is this. I have a relatively new computer and was wondering if we should purchase an external recording module (like a Tascam or something) for recording and then transfer the recordings from disk to My PC for mixing and shit. I heard somewhere that you can actually use your PC as the recording console and mixing console, etc. and there is no need to purchase seperate recording equipment (aside from mics and stuff).
Any help is greatly appreciated
Neil
 
Neil,
I have an adat and can drop to the computer for editing, this system has its advantages. You can record directly into the pc but need a decent sound card to achieve this; actually you can do this with a soundblaster but to be serious you have to get serious.(See FAQ or sound card at home page here)This system has its advantages. My buddy has one of those new Fostex HD 16 track stand alone digital mixer recorder and it is very nice. For transportability it is real good and the sound is good. Actually if the band is chipping in for the equipment this may be the way to go; the individual members can easily take it home and redo or repair any tracks or mistakes.
So read all the material here on the homepage, ask more questions and only get what you need. Let me also say welcome to the site and I hope you enjoy.
 
A lot of this depends on how immediate your goals are.. If you want high quality demos in a short period of time.. then your money is better spent in the studio.. If you are willing to compromise sound quality as you work your way up the learning curve of recording then buying recording gear is worth further consideration..


IMO, I think since you are working in a band a stand alone is a better option because you can make live demos without dealing so much with the technical computer hangups.. you can then mix them down to any number of formats: cassette, DAT, hard disc via pc.. If you got the cash, buy a mixer and the other accessories you mentioned, and what's leftover buy on recording software for your pc.. (of course, take a GOOD look around before buying anything.. lurk around here to find out which are the better products and take anything a sales rep tells you with a huge grain of salt)..

I better run before the computer gurus kick me in the shorts for recommending stand alone gear
:eek:
 
thanks for the helpful info, i was actually hoping that i could buy a stand alone 4 or 8 track (probably not analog) and then mix and ad effects etc.... via pc or during the mixdown process itself and just use mu pc for final editing and creating the demo on CD. What to do if I just want to record down ideas using a drum machine (maybe use MIDI with my roland keyboard). I own a Yamaha RY-20 and there is a MIDI function and over 300 different voices. Could i record guitars using the stand alone and then transfer it to PC and record the drums and any other samples that way. Then Mix either on the stand alone or PC.......
Thanks a lot for the help..........i have read so manyu different things i am so confused about what i want to do but am willing to take the long way in learning everything. I may buy a book on the basics of home recording...Any suggestions?????????/

Neil
 
Neil,

I think your approach to recording to stand alone and then mixing and tweaking on the pc is the way to go.

I don't have a drummer and do all my recording with a drum machine (which I affectionately call Roland).. This is what I do:

1. record an SMPTE code from the drum machine to a blank track. SMPTE is code that allows other MIDI type instruments to synchronize. Even if all you have is a drum machine.. it's still a good idea to do an SMPTE track, because sometimes the machine may randomly bump or click-particularly in longer sections- and this will allow you to "punch-in" in sonic pauses without dropping beats or tempo..

2. try to keep as many instruments as possible on separate tracks. This allows you to maintain high enough levels on all the pieces of the drum kit.. if you have to combine instruments.. stick with recording instruments together that are at the opposites of the frequence range (like kick and hi-hat for example).. this will allow you greater flexibility in eq during mixing.. (at this point you may want to consider dumping all the drum tracks on the pc for editing.. allowing you to free up tracks and save drum mixing for a later time)

3. next I would record a rough vocal with the drum track.. this is called a "guide" track which you can play while recording bass and guitar.. it sucks getting lost in the music when recording these parts.. and the guide helps keep you straight while you focus on playing correctly..

4. I play metal.. and the best metal requires a healthy dosage of kick and bass.. so I record the bass against a rough submix of drums.. this helps me ensure that the basic integrity of the bass sound is maintained..

5. With the basic rhythm section complete I then work on the guitars..

As for books.. there is another recent post on this bbs that has some good reference material..

Best of Luck

Cy
 
Spin...

Great articles man. Thanks for sharing.

Neil...

If you decide to go the Cakewalk route the book "Cakewalk POWER!" is damn good. Got me going quickly.

I agree an outboard is a bit easier to use for one other reason....It's more intuitive to use faders and knobs during a mixdown than a mouse. I don't (yet) have a board but will buy one as soon as I can afford it. You can get good results either way but I think both give you the best of both worlds. I can definitely fine tune tracks easily on the PC using a good editor...

Have fun and good luck!

zip >>
 
Right now is a good time to buy a stand alone hard disc recorder.

Right now the mars has a blowout deal going on the korg and the fostex stuff. Soon I predict the adat 8 track stuff will be cheaper used since it is becomeing obsolete .
 
My offer of 100.00 dollars still stands for all obsolete adats.
 
As software for mixing down etc., the best you can get is Cool Edit.

(Spin, I'm waiting for your reply :D:D:D:D:D:D)
 
Nothing special.
It's just that I'm familiar with Cool Edit from the early beginning.

And I've got this thing with Spinsterwun, everytime I recommend Cool Edit, he starts to talk about Sound Forge and vice versa.

Well, that just happend just 3 times now.. whatever.
 
music

Reading your thread, I must strongly recommend avoiding the trap of computer based recording systems and software. I've used them, I've owned them...and I got rid of them. It became apparant very early that one could easily be lulled into a false sense of authenticity, because you could take a poorly sung vocal, or poorly played instrumental piece and make it picture perfect, thereby only fooling yourself. Think about it. If you're unable to reproduce the sound you record without help...what's the point??
Just my thoughts....
 
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
What's up F_cksia? :)
U know what I'm going to say..... :rolleyes:
You gotta' check out Sound Forge. :D
(If you want he "best"....) :)

Just joking F_cksia. :)

peace out

spin
 
Sound forge is my preferred program and I also own cool edit. Both are good and I like cool edit better for loops. but sound forge is my mastering medium.
 
Tekker....

Can you retype that link? I'm getting error messages. Thanks...

Old guy...

Although you make a valid point, I'm not sure I completely agree. Isn't recording in a pro studio doing the same thing? (going for perfection?) The whole concept of recording for me is capturing a good performance and modifying it until you get the sound you desire. Does it matter if you tweak on a PC vs mixing down on a board and adding effects / compression-limiting at that time??

Maybe I don't understand your comparison??? I've used Cakewalk to record one-time vocal overdubs then mixed it down using a bit of compression and reverb with good results. I don't consider that use "tweaking for perfection". I guess whether you are in a studio doing 100 takes to hit a vocal line correctly or doing the same on the PC seem irrelavent to me. Am I missing your point??

Darrin...

I also use SF for my remastering and love it. I don't own Cool Edit so me previous post was obviously in jest. :D

peace.

zip >>
 
Its so wierd when your ISP gives you a user name that is your real name and not the one that you use (only my mother calls me darrin, Everyone else has called me wayne since I was little.)


Even though I use stuff like soundforge and cool edit I track and mix on a korg d8 hd recorder so I dont think Im allowed in the copmuter recording club. but the editing power that you can get on a computer Is great. I wish that the korg had a vga output and a mouse, The best of both worlds.:cool:
 
man,

roland vs1680 are going for like an unbilievable $800 on ebay.
it has everything you need except the microphone.
 
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