Ok, from the beginning please...

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asrai

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Hi all,

so here I am at this site trying to learn a thing or two about home recording and I'm just overwhelmed. Fact is, I haven't the slightest clue. Anyone care to take a minute to help me out please?

Ok, I bought a pretty powerful pc with the intention of recording with it. For now I'm looking to make good quality demos and hope to actually be able to make pro quality cd's someday, all on a budget of course. So far it's just my voice and a guitar though I'd like to add a couple tracks to that sometimes. My travels led me to cool edit pro but I still don't know where to begin. What do I actually need to start? I figure I can't plug my guitar into the back of the computer! I need literal step by step instruction, a shopping list of what to get for very basic recording (sound cards?) or a point in the direction to where a novice like me can learn all this stuff.

Thanks for any help. Meanwhile, I'll go check out this site some more and wade through the information.
 
OK... This is how it works.

You need a sound source... a sound capturing device... an amplification device... a sound card... and multi-tracking software.

So, for example... let's say you're recording an acoustic guitar.

Here's one way that it could be done.. (obviously there are alternatives).

Taylor 414 Guitar (source) > MC012 Small Diaphragm Condenser Mic (capturing) > DMP3 Mic Pre (amplification) > Delta 44 (sound card) > N-Track (software).

For vocals it would be very similar except you would replace the guitar with.. well.. you :p and you would prolly use a large diaphragm mic instead of a small.

But to spell it all oat for you further...

You need a mic to capture the sound of the source (obviously). At this point, you have an analog mic-level signal. (it's pretty quiet).

Then you need to run that mic into some kind of mic pre to amplify the signal. The pre can be a stand-alone pre (a la DMP3 or RNP or Grace 101, etc.) or it can be a pre in a mixer (a la Mackie or Allen&Heath, etc.). At this point you have generated an analog line-level signal using the mic and the pre... now you need to convert it to digital so your computer can read it.

So, you need to run the amplified signal from the pre into your soundcard. The soundcard would (usually) be a PCI card that you install in your computer. At this point, the signal that was generated by the mic (and amplified by the pre) has been converted to a digital format using the Analog-to-Digital converter on your soundcard.

Then you set-up your recording software to "read" the digital signal that is being generated from the sound card.


It's really not all that difficult to get started, as you are talking aboot. But to get "pro-quality" music, as you say, is going to take time, effort, and plenty o' money. :p First off, there is no really expensive "magic" item you can go oat and buy that would instantly make your recordings "pro-quality". It takes talent to mix and track and master a recording in a way that could even be mistaken as pro quality. Keep that in mind.

But... that doesn't mean you don't need relatively expensive, high-quality gear. For example... your signal chain (which is the life blood of your recordings) is only as good as its weakest link. So... if you have the world's greatest guitar, running into the world's greatest mic, running into the world's greatest mic pre,.. but then you run that into some dime-store sound card... then your signal is going to suck. The same applies to every other aspect of your signal chain. As each element of your signal chain improves, so will the sound of your recordings. So I would suggest doing research on each and every part of your signal chain. Find out which mic is the best (that you can afford)... try a number of them out.. find oat which one sounds best on your voice... then try out mic pres (in your price range)... then investigate which sound card has the best A/D converters and features that you need, then try out demos of different software to see which ones you find most intuitive and feature-rich.

It's a gradual process... you don't get there in a day, or even a week, or even a year. It takes plenty of time and effort.

So anywhoo... those are the basics. If you didn't understand any of that, let me know. Otherwise, I'd get started on rummaging around the mic forum for info on mics and mic pres, and the computer forum for info on sound cards, etc., etc.


WATYF


P.S. This really should be in the newbie forum.
 
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Thanks so much, that was so helpful! I'm checking out the mic forum as suggested.

Asrai
 
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