Novice, Starting From Scratch

[drewmusic]

I'm 56 years old and wanting to learn sound engineering and as part of that I want to establish a very basic home recording set-up.

My experience consists of :

1) Editing wav files from vinyl transfer of my own vinyl collection and some work for friends.
2) Creating a few comic tracks, using Cool Edit Pro Multi-track function.
3) And sound operator for an amateur theatre group.

I have looked into doing this a few times before but have fallen short of spending any money on such a project, due to my limited fixed income (back injury).
However, I'm kind of sick of being kept back from doing something I have a passion to do.
So here I am, asking for help to get started in the right way, from scratch.

I want to put together a PC (not a Mac) dedicated to sound recording.
I have decided that the software, that I can afford, best suited for me, to get started, would be Cakewalk 5.

Could I please have some advice re:

PC set-up

Other basic equipment.

Please understand that I have to teach myself, due to financial restrictions, and that is also why I am not interested in going down the Mac path.

Any help would be appreciated, including being directed to already existing posts on this subject or any "up-to-date" books on the subject.

Many thank in advance,

Drew

 

[Monkey Allen]

I'll give you a tip...you might want to get some kind of dedicated soundcard for your PC. For example...I use a Presonus Firebox. I can plug 2 xlr mic cables into it and record my voice, acoustic guitar...whatever. It also has trs/ 1/4 inch jacks for direct in etc. You can't really get by so good with some kind of on board realtek soundcard. Maybe you can...but you need the mic inputs for your computer. And home brand generic PC's don't have the connections.

So...that's one tip. You should also just use google and this forum...wouldn't even need to spend money on a book. Just read the internet and piece things together bit by bit.

A basic list...

- reasonably powerful PC (cpu, ram etc)
- soundcard - lots of options...lots with built in preamps - M-Audio, Presonus, Focusrite, Motu, RME...for example: http://www.sweetwater.com/c683--FireWire_Audio_Interfaces
- microphones, mic stands, cables
- some kind of software...Reaper is cheap and well liked. It has plugins included.

Anyway...study up! And all the very best

 

[mjbphotos]

Don't buy software until you try to free stuff first! You may find that you get a Limited Edition software with an interface (Firewire recommended).

You have to decide: how many tracks you will need to record at a time - for example, if you are going to be recording a live drum set being played, you could use anywhere from 4 to 8 mic inputs. If it's just you on an instrument and vocals, you might just need 2 tracks at a time.
An interface and mics are going to be your biggest expenses besides the computer itself.
With mics, you can start with one at a time. I love my Shure SM57!

 

[The Cancers]

If you haven't, check this out:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=282550
Lots of useful info there, but for an absolute beginner just deciding what he needs to get started, the fifth post down (from TimObrien) is a pretty comprehensive list of resources.

 

[moresound]

If you have limited funds try (or check out) a stand alone recorder like the Zoom R16.

 

[rfahey86]

Also before you buy Cakewalk 5 try giving Cockos Reaper a try. It's free for thirty days. I Bought Sonar 8 when it first came out, then tried Reaper because a friend was using it. Sorry to say but I never went back to Sonar. Reaper is so much better IMO, and its only 60 bucks.

 

[dastrick]

You may not even need a new PC. What are you using now? If you're only recording a couple of tracks at a time and not doing very extensive editting then you might be able to use what you have now.

Check out this link. http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm