Is it possible??

[textingname]

First off, hey, I'm new here and junk.

Second, is it seriously possible for someone in a bedroom or basement to produce a recording or arrangement that can ultimately be of good enough quality to end up on the radio, television, video game soundtracks, etc, AS IT IS? What's the cheapest setup that can produce professional quality results? Has someone sitting in their living room on a laptop using reason or cubase cranked out a beat ready for use by a big name rapper/singer? Is there a cd in BestBuy or Walmart featuring a basement band who used a tascam 16 track digital recorder, some drum mics, and some effects? Are we all kidding ourselves and should just shell out the money to go to a "pro" studio to begin with instead of investing in all of these controllers, pedal boxes, computers, condenser microphones, direct boxes, mixers....

Give me some hope people.

 

[Chili]

There's hope, but no silver bullet.

Here's two I think are better produced than most of the garbage on the cd rack at Best Buy. Both do everything at home, play all their own instruments, track, mix, etc...

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=279091

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=279322

Can it be done at home. Yes. What's the cheapest setup to produce pro-quality results??? That answer varies by the individual and no one can tell you what will work best for you. A lot has to do with the artist's abilities, the room he's recorded in and the person mixing. Not so much about the equipment, though better definitely helps.

 

[gecko zzed]

To answer that question, rephrase your question so that it becomes more general and doesn't relate specifically to recordingand ask it again.

For example, can someone build a high performance racing car in their garage that will blow away the competition? Can someone build first class furniture in their shed? Can someone make exquisite, highly sought-after jewellery?

The answer to all these questions is "yes". But the "yes" comes at a cost. You need to know what you are doing, and you need to have the right equipment and the technical experience and knowledge to use them.

The same applies to recording, and there are no short cuts. With patience, practice and the skilful use of the right tools, you can produce high quality recordings. If you are in no hurry, and you are interested in the process, then go for it. However, the short-term answer is that you probably get better value by going to a studio to begin with.

 

[TimOBrien]

The only limitation is you....

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My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad:

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/07...ce&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance
(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/

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 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. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)