Help me create my new album!

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CaiusBallad

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Hello all,

I wasn't really sure how to title this thread as there are a variety of questions and issues I have regarding the equipment and software that I should acquire to accomplish the task of recording my latest songs. I have, for the longest time now, used Adobe Audition/Cool Edit Pro to simply record multiple tracks of guitar, bass, and vocals to produce demo versions of my music. I own a decent condenser mic and used to have a small mixer which I would use to record with a sound of higher quality as opposed to how I started, which simply involved using the unbelievably noisy computer microphone. Since that mixer has since broken, I've reverted to just using the ridiculously noisy computer mics to simply get my music recorded so that I might listen to it.

These demos used to be recorded in this fashion because quality was a non-issue. I was simply getting the music recorded so that I could share it with the band and facilitate the process of learning my latest songs. Since I am no longer operating in a band, I've decided to acquire the appropriate equipment to make decent recordings of my music at home, including programmed drums and other instruments.

My questions are as follows:

*what DAW should I acquire? I'm willing to spend up to about $200 but not beyond that for the DAW itself. I just don't think its necessary for my needs. I need to be able to program drums and I'm wondering (see below) if I should get a DAW with drum programming abilities or a program dedicated to the programming of drums like addictive drummer?

*How should I record my instruments? Should I get a mixer and a mic again or should I get a USB audio interface and simply plug in directly? Perhaps this is just a matter of preference but what kind of differences in quality can I expect from the different methods? Will this depend on what DAW I end up getting? Is there even an ideal method?

*I want to program my own drums and have read that addictive drummer is a rather good program for doing this. Will I encounter compatibility issues between Addictive Drummer and whatever DAW I end up purchasing? Should I purchase Addictive Drummer separately or should I just get a DAW that comes equipped with the means to program drums? Kind of a redundant question I know but am NOOB and quite curious as to what those with experience have to say.

*In addition to adding drums I'd like to be able to add various kinds of instrurments like piano and strings.

With all the above in mind and the fact that I have the funds to purchase software as well as equipment to begin recording my new songs, can someone help guide me in the right direction? In short, I simply want to start recording my songs again but instead of doing crummy sounding demos via old versions of Adobe Audition, I'm ready to purchase a quality DAW, some new gear and do everything myself (guitar, bass, vocals, and drums).

What program will provide the best bang for my buck and what I need to produce quality home recordings?

Sorry if this is a bit long or if this is the most common question asked on the forum. Brevity isn't my strongest suit! Many thanks in advance to those willing to help me out here.
 
Welcome to the forum. You can keep the complexity down a little by getting any of the popular DAWs that are listed in this forum. I personally use Sonar X1 Producer to do everything but you might find GarageBand a cheaper but still capable alternative. It has some pretty nice drumkits already so you dont need to use any specialized gear for that. I would recommend a low-cost audio interface but make sure it has phantom power in case you want to use condenser mics.

For recording, you can plug in the guitar and mics directly to the audio interface, no need for a mixer unless you have multiple mics/instruments to mix. Its just another link in the chain otherwise.

That would make a pretty quick start for minimal outlay
 
Thanks!

GuitarLegend said:
Welcome to the forum. You can keep the complexity down a little by getting any of the popular DAWs that are listed in this forum. I personally use Sonar X1 Producer to do everything but you might find GarageBand a cheaper but still capable alternative. It has some pretty nice drumkits already so you dont need to use any specialized gear for that. I would recommend a low-cost audio interface but make sure it has phantom power in case you want to use condenser mics.

For recording, you can plug in the guitar and mics directly to the audio interface, no need for a mixer unless you have multiple mics/instruments to mix. Its just another link in the chain otherwise.

That would make a pretty quick start for minimal outlay
Click to expand...

Hmm. Well Sonar X1 producer is a little high on the cost side in terms of what I'm looking to spend. However, can you comment at all on Sonar Home studio 7?

As for the drum programming, say for whatever reason I still prefer Addictive Drums to program my drums...there shouldn't be any compatibility issues between the two programs should there?
 
No there should not be compatibility issues at all. The audio files will be a common interchangable format that can be imported to whatever DAW you select.

I mentioned Sonar X1 as the DAW I use personally, not so much as a recommendation for you. Garageband or Reaper would be quite suitable. Since you asked about Sonar Home Studio 7, it is a discontinued product but if you have access to it, then it will serve you well. Still has the functionality of Sonar with fewer bells and whistles. It will do what you want
 
Reaper $60. Interface and microphone - independent of DAW, don't bother with a mixer. Addictive Drums programmed via Reaper's MIDI editor is a good choice - they talk together just fine.

Do you mean "real" piano and strings?

The most important thing about getting good recordings is having a good sound to start with and knowing how to capture it as a combination of microphone and room. Your DAW plays no role at all in the quality of your recordings, only in the assemblage thereof. Your interface plays a part but at the cheap end, can be a negative one. Others will recommend interfaces, or read the zillion other threads that answer your exact question.

A lot depends upon your total budget, which is?
 
I second Armistice's advice:
Reaper for your DAW
USB Interface and decent mic(s) - you'll find a zillion threads here where people ask which ones.
 
Any contemporary DAW will do what you want of it. However, I would, as the others have done, recommend Reaper. It is cheap, easy to use, and very powerful.

You will need an audio interface of some sort. A mixer is neither essential nor important.

Addictive Drums works fine with Reaper. Consider also Battery.

For other instruments such as piano and strings, you should consider VST instruments or a dedicated sound module. Both need to be driven by midi (as are drumming applications), so you will need to familiarise yourself with midi.
 
Awesome, thanks for all the replies thus far guys. I think I've got a basic handle on what products I'm going to use and such at this point. I figured the mixer was more or less extraneous and simply an unnecessary "link in the chain" if you will. It just happened to be part of the way I recorded on a few occasions back in the day. With my nice condenser mic I managed to get some demos of songs that didn't have an obscene amount of buzzing in the mix =)

I definitely will begin to familiarize myself with MIDI to facilitate the production of my music.

Its amusing to think back to the days where I thought using MIDI to simulate drums or other instruments somehow resulted in a less "pure" musical product. Of course, back then I used to also do things like try and tune my guitar by playing a single note on a keyboard and then trying to match the tone BY MEMORY and tune via harmonics from there. Even with my near perfect ear and the fact that this is basically how the traditional orchestra tunes their instruments, I came to learn via various recording sessions with bands that when recording its incredibly important to have a good tuner and to tune, retune, and then retune again. Which gets me thinking...

Can someone who knows about MIDI help with the following?

I tune my instruments (except for my piano, but it will be soon) with my tuner set to A432 or 432 hz instead of the standard 440 hz. In using MIDI, I won't encounter any problems here will I? I mean certainly I'll be able to adjust the frequency of any and all MIDI instruments I might integrate into my music? Thanks again
 
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