I'm new at this - Where do I start?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Karim
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Karim

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Hey guys, I stumbled on this forum while looking for a guide or something to help answer my question and I thought I'd ask y'all for some help.

I'm rather new at guitar, I've been playing for about, 9 months now. Lately I've been crazy ideas for songs and stuff so I thought I should try to record some of the stuff I came up with just so I wouldn't forget it. So I plugged my guitar into my amp, set the volume to 4, opened Mixcraft (I'm on PC, and low on money) and tried to record a one minute piece I was working on. As you probably guessed, that didn't work. I tried a bunch of other methods to record the sound, but it still came out unclean, with a terribly annoying buzzing in background. My friend told me about this thing (IK Multimedia Stealthplug) that would let me plug my guitar into the comp. and record straight from there. I read a bunch of reviews of it and people seem to hate it. But as I looked more into, I found there were a lot more devices that did this. Now, I'm not too picky, I just want a device that'll capture sound without any unwanted fuzz, etc...

I do want something that I'll still be able to use if I do upgrade my rig though, so I don't want a piece of crap that I'll have to throw away anytime in the near future. Also, my budget for device plus any software I'd have to get with it... uhh... 300 bucks?

(Do these devices (By the way, I don't really know what they're called, so that's why I keep calling em' devices) work on an electric drumset, by any chance?

[EDIT: The one that caught my eye that I guess would fit my needs was the M-Audio Fast-Track USB. I don't know much about it though and there are some pretty mixed reviews on it, so any opinions?]

-Thanks a lot for the help guys.
 
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The noisiness is most likely a consequence of using your PC's internal soundcard. Your friend's advice to get an interface is sound. The one you are looking at (M Audio) would be suitable. Most contemporary USB interfaces provide mike level inputs and line level inputs, which means you can use mikes or devices give line level outputs (e.g. electronic drum kits).
 
Hi:
I'm a mixcraft user and an avid M-Audio fan (to a point).
The Fast Track USB is too bare bones for you. I'd suggest stepping that up to a Fast Track Pro which supports ASIO (less latency) and has all of the bells and whistles except ADAT.
By the time you outgrow the Fast Track Pro you'll be well on the way to knowing what hardware and software you need.
Mixcraft suits me because I'm in my fifties and it thinks the way I do. It is excellent software and if you have gone to the bother of buying it, I'd use it for a while.
Most of the other software programs (DAWs) are modelled on Steinberg's "Cubase" series or are at the very least, remarkably similar.
Choose one program and stick with it would be my advice.
Lastly... Google "http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm". :):):)
 
I took a look at the M-Audio Fast Track and it looks like a sexy piece of equipement. There's one thing that I was somewhat unclear about:

On a description of it, it said it had 2 front panel mic/instrument inputs. So can both me and my buddy plug in and record two seperate tracks at the same time.

Thanks for the advice guys, I truly appreciate it.

Oh, and Kingofpain, the quote in your sig couldn't be more true =P
 
Karim said:
On a description of it, it said it had 2 front panel mic/instrument inputs. So can both me and my buddy plug in and record two seperate tracks at the same time.
Click to expand...

Yes. Track 1 in your DAW would come from left hand channel on the interface, Track 2 would come from the right.
 
Karim said:
I took a look at the M-Audio Fast Track and it looks like a sexy piece of equipement. There's one thing that I was somewhat unclear about:

On a description of it, it said it had 2 front panel mic/instrument inputs. So can both me and my buddy plug in and record two seperate tracks at the same time.

Thanks for the advice guys, I truly appreciate it.

Oh, and Kingofpain, the quote in your sig couldn't be more true =P
Click to expand...


:D

tadpui mentioned that in one of his attempts to help me in my desperate newbishness. i HAD to make it my signature.
 
On a description of it, it said it had 2 front panel mic/instrument inputs. So can both me and my buddy plug in and record two seperate tracks at the same time.
Click to expand...
No.
You can only record 2 tracks at a time.
The inputs are combination XLRs.
That means that the microphone input has a hole in the middle where you can stick a jack instead of a microphone plug.
So... a total of 2 inputs at a time.
If you want 4 you'll have to move up to the Fast Track Ultra or some other brand.

im 17 and prefer mixcraft....

what does that say about me?
Click to expand...
It says your clever beyond your years.
 
Jim Lad said:
No.
You can only record 2 tracks at a time.
The inputs are combination XLRs.
That means that the microphone input has a hole in the middle where you can stick a jack instead of a microphone plug.
So... a total of 2 inputs at a time.
If you want 4 you'll have to move up to the Fast Track Ultra or some other brand.
Click to expand...

I think he meant 2 :confused:
 
So can both me and my buddy plug in and record two separate tracks at the same time.
Click to expand...
Yeah!
I'm not sure so thought I'd just clarify.
 
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