Ok, I'm completely new, and I have some simple questions

[brennantturner]

Ok, so, I want to start recording my solo artist stuff. I want to have vocals, multiple guitars (rhythm, lead, etc), drum tracks (an electric drum set), vocals, and anything else that comes to mind.

When I'm recording, can I just lay down the rhythm track, then listen AND record over at the same time?

I'm not looking for super quality, just something to start making some demo tracks and explore, what kind of equipment should I get, should I use a portastudio?

If I do use a portastudio, what kind of computer software do I have to have?

 

[Armistice]

You can listen to a rhythm track and record another track at the same time. That's pretty much how most people do it.

You'll need headphones and a long lead..

The low end portastudios are quite cheap and relatively easy to use, but when you grow out of them you have to throw it away and buy something bigger and better... ie. there's no reuse.

If you buy a portastudio, by definition you don't NEED software, but you may find editing to be easier on your PC.

I think you'll find the general advice you'll get is to use your PC as a recording DAW, assuming it's reasonably recent, get some free or cheap recording software, a microphone or two and an interface and start from there and expand.

I can't tell you what exactly you'll need because I use a standalone recorder - but not a cheapie, so I don't know.

There have been lots of "I'm completely new here and I have no idea what I need" posts lately and people may be getting a bit tired of repeating the same advice all the time, so if you don't get specific advice from someone, I suggest you look for similar posts in the Newbies forum and do some reading of the various links in them.

Good luck.

 

[Chili]

Yup, +1 to everything Arm said.

You mentioned you are not looking for super quality and this gets said a lot when new people first start out in home recording. They really don't know what to expect. I know I felt the same way when I started and my early songs prove it. But as I learned more, I found I can attain pretty good quality with some modest equipment, a well treated room and some experience (and lots of help from everybody here!)

Once you start getting decent results, you'll want to set your goals higher and purchase better gear with the idea that you can put out commercial quality tunes. This is what is nice with computer daw's, you can upgrade software or hardware easily.

Before making your first purchase, be sure to do a ton of reading. There's so much to learn even before you get started. By knowing what you want to do and how to do it, you'll make better informed purchases and save a lot of money.

Read a lot in the Newbies section. So many people come in asking the same thing and all the answers are there.

Welcome to the site and have fun,

 

[grimtraveller]

+23 ^^^^^^^^ to Arm and Chili.
Take it from someone you don't know (!), read, read and read some more. Experiment, practice, try to get beyond some of the responses and glean the actual info. As a friend of mine says, chew on the meat and spit out the bones.
Enjoy !

 

[tpb]

Hey I like the name When I started I used Guitar tracks from cakewalk (easy to learn instant results) Line six U1 tone port for input and a MXL 990 Mic This will give you what you are looking for Mutiple track recording i.e. Lay a drum track, then listen play rythym, next track listen to both play lead add vocals. you can probally get all this for 200.00
99.00 for U1 toneport, 50.00 for mic and 49 for tracks
Good Luck
Timothy Brennan

 

[Bristol Posse]

why do people always say they don't want/need good quality? why would you not want good quality? If something is worth doing and you've gone to all that effort of writing and rehearsing why would you deliberately shoot for poor quality (LoFi is not the same as poor quality)

anyway, figure out:

1) what do you want to achieve
2) how much do you have to spend
3) Are you likely to need to do more in the future (more tracks, more effects, record more people at the same time etc)
4) do you need to be mobile
5) are you the kind of person who enjoys messing with computers or are you a more tactile person who prefers real knobs buttons and faders rather than mouse clicking

After that you can narrow your choice to a few options and ask a more focussed question that will get you some useful answers rather than a million people telling you what they do and how great it is for them, which, while interesting perhaps, may not be all that helpful to you.

 

[RAMI]

why do people always say they don't want/need good quality?

Don't worry. They always come back within a month of starting to record with something like "What is the trick to getting a great sounding (guitar, drum, mix, etc....)?"

And then when you tell them that getting a "great sounding" anything involves lots of practice, good mics (or at least the right mics), practice, learning mic placement, practice, learning about gain-staging, practice, room treatment (they really hate that one because it doesn't involve actual "equipment"), they get offended and say, "Nah, there must be a trick that the pros know about and they're not telling us".

So, then you shut up and wait until they come back in a few years (or months for those who "get it" a little quicker) giving other newbs the same advice you tried giving them.

It's just nature.

 

[gazzab]

You'll need headphones and a long lead..

Just a little add-on to this, you want closed headphones so no sound from the metronome, or anything else on the track you're listening to leaks through into the mic

For vocals you want a condenser mic, for drums & some other instruments dynamic mic/s are probably best (shure). Your room has a massive part to play in the quality/effect of your recording as well, so acoustic treatment's something you might wanna look into

 

[Blue Jinn]

What Bristol Posse says.

There are a lot of options for you not the least of which is budget. Also, do you want real knobs or mouse clicks?

Also, what kind of footprint, are you talking a college dorm room or a basement/garage?

Are you just in the idea stage or do you have any gear already?

Are you going to be completely solo, or do you need to record a band or more than one musician/singer at a time?


If you are going the IBM/MAC route, you can get cheap and/or free software to start out with, 64Studio (64studio.com) is a complete linux based system for 32 or 64 bit. Kristal http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/ is a 16 track DAW. energyXT is available for PC & MAC and is about 40 euros, and Reaper is available as well.

If you go the PC route first, you'll need external pre-amps for mics, unless you get an interface like a Delta 1010 with teh external box.

 

[RAMI]

For vocals you want a condenser mic,

Really??? This is a rule??? Some great vocal recordings have been made with dynamics.

for drums & some other instruments dynamic mic/s are probably best (shure).

Dynamics as overheads are best??? I don't think so. (anyway, he says he wants electronic drums, so for this thread, it doesn't matter either way)

Not picking on you, but you presented those points as fact as opposed to opinion.

 

[gazzab]

Really??? This is a rule??? Some great vocal recordings have been made with dynamics.

Dynamics as overheads are best??? I don't think so. (anyway, he says he wants electronic drums, so for this thread, it doesn't matter either way)

Not picking on you, but you presented those points as fact as opposed to opinion.

Sorry, I should have put IMO at the beginning of both those statements... my bad Or IME... In My Experience... but I'm not sure anyone would really get that

From my experience condensers are best for vocals in a recording situation. Dynamic mics pick up echos and reflections from most directions of the room, which in some cases is a good thing (and we all know they're standard in live situations), but for a clean recording in a studio or at home I think condensers are the best bet.

 

[grimtraveller]

Sorry, I should have put IMO at the beginning of both those statements... my bad Or IME... In My Experience... but I'm not sure anyone would really get that

From my experience condensers are best for vocals in a recording situation. Dynamic mics pick up echos and reflections from most directions of the room, which in some cases is a good thing (and we all know they're standard in live situations), but for a clean recording in a studio or at home I think condensers are the best bet.

Now there you go - I'm always trying to figure out what these abbreviations mean. I thought IME was 'In my estimation'. Some of them I guess right. Many of them I haven't a clue !
By the way, both dynamics and condensers are great for vocals IMHO. I will say, condensers pick up the most unexpected things, like a dog barking half a mile down the road or an aeroplane......

 

[M1Fanatic]

Now there you go - I'm always trying to figure out what these abbreviations mean. I thought IME was 'In my estimation'. Some of them I guess right. Many of them I haven't a clue !
By the way, both dynamics and condensers are great for vocals IMHO. I will say, condensers pick up the most unexpected things, like a dog barking half a mile down the road or an aeroplane......

...that you probably won't hear on a dynamic. Which are also great mics for a crappy room.

 

[mshilarious]

...that you probably won't hear on a dynamic. Which are also great mics for a crappy room.

The best mic for a crap room is the one that is as close the source as possible. If you don't like that sound . . . well, record in a less crap room.

 

[michaelSHK]

I kind of think that everyone should stop making incorrect generalizations about what type of transducer works best for "instrument x", what type of transducer picks up sound in what direction, and the like. Incorrect info can confuse people.

For further questions, refer to Harvey's mic thread.


To OP:
I will say that you can make a usable demo with some pretty inexpensive mics, but just like everyone else here is saying, with some smart moves you might not need to spend much to get better quality. The budget/goals/space restrictions/etc. info would be really helpful in determining what may be best for you.