I need alot of advice

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Neadadvice

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Hi I am completely new to recording and using a forum. I just have alot of questions and because of my lack of knowledge I can't find the answers. I guess just really need to know the basics, which I am assuming they are. Myself and my band have been trying to record our demo using one of my band mates friend's equipment, but it has just been taking so long because this friend friend is always busy that I have almost lost all hope in that avenue, so now I am trying to take it upon myself to learn how to record. My achillies heal seems to be that I lack the funding to purchase equipment such as a proper recording program, which I am assuming a program like cubase or pro tools are, and also to purchase recording equipment. The reason being is I got laid off from my job and have applied just about everywhere in the last month, but still no avail. I am trying now to record using just my laptop with somekind of free software. To me the quality does not have be perfect, nor does the process have to be simple, I just need it to be audible and balanced. I don't need it to sound like something someone would purchase just yet. For now I am looking for it to atleast sound like a crappy 80s metal demo. Atleast something like Mayhem's Out From the Dark.

I have tried without much sucess to record my guitar part in my basement using my laptops mic and this free program I found called Audacity. It was appealing because it could multi-track, so I thought the quality would be decent, since I could record the instruments seperatly. Unfortunately for a reason that I can not figure out, the quality was ok (it would proably be considered terrible to anyone of guys who actually know what they are doing unlike me), but the volume would swell at times. Particularly at the begining of the song and when I hit higher notes. I tried repositioning my amp, but this problem persisted. I don't know if I should try recording in a more closed or open area or if this program is no good. I hope someone could advise me on in what surroundings I should record in and with what free program (or if a free program is even an option) and if it is even possible to record using a computers mic or if I am just doing everything completely wrong and wasting my time.

Another question I have is ive seen these cords that can connect from guitar to computer, via usb and also xlr to computer. What is the sound product of these? Will it just be clean guitar/vocals/bass, or can I somehow add distortion through a program and if so what program. I wonder if this would produce a greater product that just using a computer mic, and if they do I would proably purchase them as these do not seem very expensive.

My final question is about using sythetic drums. My friends friend who we were suppose to record with was also suppose to provide us with some beats we have been working on. I was wondering if there is some type of program that can give me a close to real sounding drum beat. If there is no such free program could anyone tell me of any that are reasonable priced.

I am sorry for making such a long post im just really lost and hope this site may have some kind users who could show me the light. In summary im looking to record for free to next to nothing and if that is even possible. If it isn't ill just have wait until I have the funds to purchase proper equipment inorder for myself and my band to record our demo. I really appreciate any replies and thank you in advance.
 
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
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421
(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
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

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:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

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.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and tested suggestions: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (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 - http://myriad-online.com
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. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)
 
There is no shortcut here.. the posts above are great and I've scoured them over the years.. great stuff there.. but some other things that will speed up your learning curve:

1. Audacity is ok.. but it's very limited.. I would look at going with a more comprehensive DAW sofware such as pro tools / logic (mac) / Cubase / or at least Adobe Audition.. All of the above would provide you with a lot more tools.. you'll eventually end up going to one of these.. the sooner the better as they can be complicated to learn from scratch.. if you get used to using audacity and then go to pro tools.. it's going to be like starting at square 1.

2. The arrangement.. I think the arrangement is what truly will make or break a song... spend a lot of time on the timing of tracks.. I've found that my own efforts are much less steril after disecting some of my favorite songs and trying to recreate them.. Even simple sounding songs have a lot more going on throughout the course of the song then one might think.. make sure the song is interesting before trying to bring the song to life with effects.. My instructor stresses this non stop.. break down good songs and learn how to recreate them.. your fingers will start to have a memory when playing parts in on your own songs, which will give them a lot more character.. and I have to admit.. while it's a lot of work and while you end up with something you can't use that you spent hours on.. it has made a world of difference for me in improving my technique..

3. Learn right.. one of the most frustrating things is to think you grasp something but not to have a true reference to bounce it off of to say.. "no that's not right".. or.. "yes that is correct".. You read about all of these famous engineers who came up under legendary mixing engineers as interns.. well this is not possible for most of us to acheive.. I have found one VERY, VERY affordable and valid solution to this.. www.theonlineaudioschool.com .. Dan Rowland is an excellent instructor who can give classes on mixing in pretty much any program.. especially those most popular such as pro tools / abelton live / logic / cubase / etc.. He absolutely knows his stuff and validated what I learned on my own or corrected me where I was wrong.. from front to back it's a great service well worth the price, and I got more than my mony's worth out of it.. I would check it out.. he will easily save you hours and days of trying to figure things out on your own.

Hope this helps. pz.
 
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