Need some advice (recording drums on PC)

[Johnathan]

Hi guys I am the DEFINITION OF NEWBIE when it comes to digital recording. I want to use my new laptop to record decent sounding song ideas (with drums, bass, guitar, and vocals).

I downloaded "Audacity" and have been just messing around with my cheesy computer mic and guitar just to get used to the program.

My question is how can I record good sounding drums on a pc?
Can I mic everything up (about 5 mics) and go into a mixer to my pc? Also same question for guitar amp...I have a nice SM57 mic for that, but how can I attach it to my computer? Will it sound "good"? My other option is buying a digital recorder (probably Fostex MR8)

Thanks.

 

[Bulls Hit]

For drums yeah plug your mics into a mixer, then into your soundcard. Decide how many seperate tracks you want for drums, 4 is a good start - get a Delta 44. If 2 tracks is enough get an Audiophile.

Mic you guitar up the same. You can mic the room as well as the speaker

Just noticed you've got a laptop. You'll want an external USB or firewire interface, not those pci cards

 

[Johnathan]

For drums yeah plug your mics into a mixer, then into your soundcard. Decide how many seperate tracks you want for drums, 4 is a good start - get a Delta 44. If 2 tracks is enough get an Audiophile.

Mic you guitar up the same. You can mic the room as well as the speaker

Just noticed you've got a laptop. You'll want an external USB or firewire interface, not those pci cards

Thanks for the tips...All the stuff you mentioned is pretty foreign to me. Can you recommend an inexpensive (trying to keep it under $100 if possible, so I an buy a nice mixer as well) "external USB"? Also, can I use it with a regular PC too (I have 2 computers, one is the laptop-both have USB ports) ? Thanks again.