Yo Dave, and welcome to the board! Your basic questions are so broad that it is like the blind men and the elephant. All folks can do is take little bites out of it, and to make matters more confusing, we don't all agree. All I can do is tell you who I am (which allows you to put my comments in perspective), begin defining terms, and give you general advice, which is only my opinion.
I am a lot like you, a singer-songwriter for many years, who got involved with recording. Almost ten years later, I have a studio that could fairly be called a pretty good project studio, with about $40,000 worth of gear. I'm no where near pro level. Recording is like quicksand. The harder you struggle, the deeper in you get, and the harder it is to escape.
OK first- the analog vs digital debate- Excellent professional recordings have been made both ways, and there are strong proponents of both approaches on this board. You'll find the hard core analog people on that discussion forum. A lot of recording, especially at the big time pro level, involves a combination of the two. Marketers want the words to have a magical quality.- "digitally remastered" often means "great classic recording screwed up by a computer nerd for money". Pure analog recording is costly, and involves equipment that is increasingly difficult to get. I would not recommend analog recording to a beginner unless he's a mechanic with a lot of discretionary income. For a beginner on a middle class budget, the bang-for-buck advantage goes to digital recording. I started with analog years ago, for the record, and have nothing against it.
What is this "interface" thing you ask? For your presentation to become a podcast, at some point, you start with actual vibrations in air (sound), which is inherently analog, and you end with X's and O's that a computer can understand. Everything from the one to the other is called the "signal chain". How your signal chain is set up is the core of how you record. For the record, there is a current trend toward *starting* with X's and O's, where the computer generates the signal from a bank of stored data. Often these "samples" started as real sound, but are stored and accessed digitally. In this way, you can play a note on an electronic keyboard, and using an interface protocol called MIDI, the keyboard accesses a stored sample of Rachmaninoff playing the same note on an 1890 Steinway Grand, in a perfect room, recorded with expensive mics by badass pros. This is also often done with drums, using "triggers" attached to the drums, which act as a controller to tell the computer to access stored drum samples.
In more radical genres such as techno, the computer may actually generate the signal. There never was a real sound in a real acoustic space. For the record, I know very little about these approaches. I record real sound in real acoustic space, but it's important to know that that isn't the only way to create recorded sound. From this point, everything I say will have to do with recording real sound in real space.
The signal chain starts with the source. More about that later, as it is *critical*. The source starts as an electronic signal, as in an electronic keyboard, or real sound, which is translated into an electronic signal by a microphone or pickup. Then it goes to a preamplifier (pre or preamp for short). The preamp changes the mic or instrument signal to "line level", which most recording systems are looking for. There are 2 "line levels"- -10dBV and +4dBu. -10 is "consumer" line level, and is what is put out by a home stereo, Walkman, boombox, ipod, etc. +4 is "pro" line level, and is put out by most mixers and professional or "prosumer" recording equipment. Many inputs have a switch to change from one to the other. A mixer is likely to have a "tape in" input, which is specifically looking for -10. The input and output have to use the same line level, which for our purposes, is usually +4.
This line level signal may now go either to a power amplifier, as in a PA or guitar amp, to increase the signal to sufficient strength to drive one or more speakers. If it is being recorded, the signal then either goes to tape (analog), or it goes to an analog to digital converter (digital), and then to a computer, where it can be stored and processed in some recording software program. This is where you have to start making decisions. In the basic signal chain, the components may all be separate, or combined in various combinations. There is also monitoring and playback to be considered. At some point in the signal chain, we need to take a feed for headphones, and we need to be able to play back the sound through speakers, usually specialized studio monitor speakers. To drive speakers, you need a power amplifier, which may be a separate unit, or built into the monitors. If the monitors have built in power amps, they are called "active" or "powered" speakers. If not, they are called "passive". The headphone and monitor components comprise the "monitor chain", which is separate from the signal chain. In order to make good recordings, you have to be able to hear them accurately. The cost of really good studio monitors will shock you, and no, you can't get out of it.
At some point in the chain, "FX" (effects) are likely to be applied, either for dynamic control, as with compression or limiting, for tone control, such as EQ (equalization), or time based effects, such as reverb or delay. These can come from a separate FX unit, or from the computer, often using software programs called "plugins". FX can be appled at any point in the signal chain, from the very beginning to the very end, and may be applied to just one track, or to the entire recording, as is often done in "mastering". More on mixing and mastering later. Where and how FX is applied is often the difference between two recording engineers, and our decisions are often what defines the final recording. It is the palette of the recording engineer as an artist.
The most common signal chain configurations are as follows, and each has advantages and disadvantages;
1. The "standalone" digital recorder, AKA "SIAB" (studio in a box): This is a device that contains mic preamps, A-D conversion, monitor outputs, and the capability of internal processing. It also contains a computer specialized for recording music, built in software, has inputs for mics, and may or may not have some built in mics. Most recent models can export digital audio data to a computer for further processing and export. Some have built in CD burners for export and backup. SIAB's run the gamut from handheld stereo recorders to full blown 24 track digital recording consoles.
Advantages- they get you started right away, and win on portability for remote recording.
Disadvantages- They are difficult or impossible to expand or upgrade, and you can't replace or upgrade one component in the signal chain, either for repair or upgrades.
2. The computer interface: I told you I'd get to this. This is a box that is like a SIAB, except that it doesn't contain the computer. It plugs into a computer, is often powered by a USB connection, and uses a desktop or laptop to record and process the audio data. They export audio data to the computer, as a rule, by USB or firewire formats. Many come with some kind of audio processing software. Some include FX capabilities.
Advantages: Wins on bang-for-buck, because they use the processing power and memory of the computer you already have.
Disadvantages: They are only as portable as your computer is. They also have limited ability to repair or upgrade individual components. If you blow a preamp in an interface, you don't have a dead preamp, you have a dead interface.
3. The component system: In this system, you have separate components- a preamp, an A-D converter, an FX box (maybe), and the signal is sent to a computer or digital recorder.
Advantages: You can replace or repair any component in the chain, and upgrade at will. You can switch to other components for a different sound, or to meet the requirements of different recording situations. The highest quality components are mostly standalone boxes. The best preamps, A-D converters, and FX units in the world are standalone components.
Disadvantages: This is the high-priced spread, and the prices of the best pres, FX, and A-D converters will give you some major-league sticker shock. In each case, top quality units are in the thousands. In most cases, these are the least portable systems. This is the approach of most major studios.
4. Analog systems: These can be component systems, using a reel-to-reel (open reel) recorder, often with multiple tracks recorded on very wide tape going very fast (such as 2" tape at 30"/sec) down to 4 track cassette portastudios, the forerunner of the SIAB.
Advantages: they are intuitive, and the best analog systems produce excellent reproduction of bass frequencies. Yes, there is an "analog sound", and it can be a very good one.
Disadvantages: A fading technology, parts and service can be hard to come by. These units have moving parts, and can require considerable maintenance. The really good analog systems are wicked expensive to acquire and maintain. The cassette portastudio, IMHO, generally produces inferior sound quality when compared to comarably priced digital systems. Editing is far more difficult, and has serious limitations compared to digital systems. This is why top recording studios often edit in the digital domain, and mix down to an analog deck, so they can get the simplicity of digital editing, but try to preserve that classic analog sound.
Which system you settle on depends on what you intend to record, and what you intend to do with the finished recording, as well as your available budget. It is also influenced by your individual style.
A word on mixers- What is a mixer, what does it do, and do you need one? Mixers take a group of inputs, whether mic, line, or instruments, and "mix" them into 2 or more outputs called "busses". So- a 16 X 4 mixer has 16 inputs, but only 4 outputs. The mixer may contain some FX, reverb and EQ being most common, and may be "powered", so they can drive passive PA speakers. Some are digital, containing an A-D converter, so they can output a digital signal to a computer. SIAB's and portastudios contain some mixing capabilities, as a rule. You can also do the mixing in computer software, often called mixing "in the box". Mixers are often used when you have more signals than you have inputs. Example- 6-8 mics on a drum kit going into a 2 channel interface. You can use the mixer to turn the 6 signals into 2 busses, and then record. The downside is that if the busses aren't mixed right in the first place, you can't go back and change the relative levels. IMHO, most beginning recorders don't need a mixer, and don't know enough to use one properly. Some mixers, such as the Carvin studio mate, have a monitor section with power amps to drive passive speakers.
OK- there's an overview. Now for the promised general advice, which will generally not be what you want to hear. Here it is:
1. Don't spend *any* money right now. You don't know enough to spend it wisely. It is time for research, not purchases.
2. Get a *much* better handle on the gear you've already got. Start with those mics. What mics? Model numbers and pictures, please. You could have a treasure trove or a pile of junk, or both. Find out everything you can about any unit you already have. Folks on this board will be very helpful in identifying obscure units. Mics in particular haven't changed much over the years, and many old ones are expensive, useful, and desirable. Many others are just obsolete collectibles. If you don't know anything about the gear you have, you are not ready to buy any. Take stock of any computers you already own. How much RAM, how fast is the processor, and how big is the hard drive? Time to start finding out what some of those adaptors do. Hell, I've got about $1500 in *cables*. You may already have that sitting on your floor!
3. Start thinking about the signal chain from the beginning, not the end. It starts with a sound, in a room. The song, the instrument, the performance, *the room*!!!! I cannot emphasize this enough. If you record a great performance, of a great song, on a great instrument, with the right mic (not the most expensive mic), in the right place, into a great preamp, into a great A-D converter, into any recorder or computer, in a *bad* room, all you will get is an accurate recording of the fact that your room *sucks*! Rooms can be modified, up to a point, and that is where you need to begin, while you research your gear. Spend some time on the studio building and display forum. Take stock of the recording space you have, and study standing waves, phase distortion, and bass traps. Creating or re-creating the right acoustic recording space will make everything else easier. Trying to record in a bad room will make everything harder, if not impossible.
4. Figure out what your real initial budget is, and give us an idea, as it will directly impact what recording system you settle on, and what components we will recommend. It is not useful for me to tell a guy how cool a $2500 preamp is, when he has a $350 budget! This is the key- *be patient*. The more you know, the better your decisions will be, and the better you will be able to assess the relevence of the opinions of folks on this board.
While there are many units and approaches I could recommend, it is not time yet, What units you choose to use will depend on the number of simultaneous tracks you need to record, your practical budget, and the gear you already have. You will need to tell us what you need to record. Is it just you and your guitar, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on backing vocals with the rhythm section of Earth, Wind, and Fire? If the latter, you may need a bigger room. Consider what you might want to do in the future, so you can build the amount of expandibility you will need into your system. The learning curve is steeper than you think, and you will end up spending money on things you've never even heard of, yet. If you stick with it, it is one of the most exciting adventures you'll ever embark on.
In conclusion, understand this- Being a recording engineer and/or a recording artist is a profession, different and distinct from being a performing musician. You didn't learn to play and perform overnight. I bet it took years, and is still an ongoing process. Studio microphones are the most ruthless critics in the world. They don't care how cool you look, and performing for them is like performing in the nude. You can't hide anything- they know what you ate for breakfast. Becoming a recording engineer is like becoming a doctor or a plumber. It's not an instant process, but a path that you are taking your first steps on. We'll be there for you. Start by telling us about your room, exactly what instruments and voices you need to record, and every blessed piece of equipment you already own. More later on tracking, mixing, and mastering, and how they differ. Right now, let's worry about tracking. Best of luck-Richie
