Recording Newbie, need some help... sorry.

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grocho87

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Well, I have looked up and down on the internet for some answers, can't seem to figure it all out. I have a really decent laptop, and my band wants to start recording some demo tracks or just decent sounding jam sessions for further analysis.
What EXACTLY do I need.... i mean, everything? Here's what I have so far:

Alienware 7700 laptop 1 gig of PC4200 Ram 3.4gHz Pentium 4
(apparently, from what I can see, my soundcard is just a Realtek soundcard, nothing special...should i invest in an external? or what.,..)

From my PA system (not sure if any of this equipment would be useful) I have a Behringer UB1002 mixer, and 2 speakers, and a 300watt power amp for it all.

Then of course, a mic (XLR), stands, instruments, amps, blah blah blah.

So, WHAT DO I NEED? How do I hook it all up (that mixer confuses me... lol)? And THANK YOU! lol
 
well im not sure about your mixer but, you will need like a breakout box, which you will plug all your direct outs on your mixer into, the only this is, the the box plugs into a PCI card that it will come with. but if you have a laptop, i dont know how your going to install this pci card?
 
We use a bass, guitar, drums, vocals. Thats it. As for the breakoutbox thing...I have no idea what that is lol. So yeah. What about those usb/firewire boxes i keep hearing about?
 
Much of this info is available at a place like tweakheadz.com, but you need: a sound source (mic or elecric instrument output) a preamp (and/or DI, for line signals) and an interface.

In inverse order, the interface changes the usual analog signal to digital, and the digital output from your computer to analog, to feed a power amp to your monitors. An interface could simply be a soundcard, but since we need more inputs and outputs, we tend to get purpose-built audio interfaces. All those connections for ins and outs take up a bunch of space, so it is common to have an interface mounted on a card slot on your computer, connected by some sort of high-bandwidth connector to a separate unit with the jacks, and maybe some knobs on it (breakout box).

The preamp raises the tiny current geneated by mics and instruments to a level usable for recording. Preamps unavoidably add and/or subtract from the basic signal. Preamps that add or remove very little are referred to as "clean," those that add or remove in a pleasing manner are called "colored," those that change the signal in an unpleasant manner are called "shitty," or "Behringer."

Oh, and, obviously, you will need recording software. They pretty much all work, so download some trials, and see which seems most intuitve, or tailored to your needs. Also, check the manufacturers' message boards, and ensure there is not a history of bugs with hardware or software you will use, or intended to get later.
 
Pick up Home Recording for Dummies...when I was figuring out how to do recording it did a good job of getting me familiar with the basics. I would suggest maybe a presonus firepod ($600). Usually you can find them with some extras thrown in on ebay or from online retailers. I got an MXL 993 (large diaphram condenser mic), guitar simulator software, headphones, and little clock thrown in with mine.
 
I heard somewhere that I could pretty much just get a better external soundcard from Best Buy or something, and use my PA mixer to record? that true? Im so confused lol. I think i'm gonna pick up that Home Recording For Dummies book tomorrow after class (finals...woooo). My band and I have been jamming it up for about 4-5 months now, and we've been using this recorder adaptor that fits on an iPod, plugging a crappy mic into that, positioning it in the middle of the room, and jamming it up. Sounds OK...but obviously no where near cd quality nor studio/professional quality. Basically, its crap lol.

I have a REALLY nice laptop though... its made for gaming, from the name Alienware I'm sure you guys noticed already...but its pretty sweet.

I just thought...you know...im not sure what I thought... I just want to record lol. Thats all. This is all to complicated for me. I had enough trouble setting up our PA system when we bought it a month or 2 ago... i had no idea what went where... and why, for that matter.
 
in this case i would suggest you get some external USB/FireWire interface, something that already has preamps unless you want to spend more on them.

i suggest you stay as far away from your Beri as possible..

check out this http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--PRSFIREPOD it's more or less what you want.

on you'll need a FireWire card in yer laptop for this.
 
If you are good at mixing your band on the mixer, you can go straight into one track in Audacity or Adobe Audition or whatever choice of audio program with the Behringer FCA202. So your setup would go (I believe):

Guitar (mic'd)
Bass (mic'd)
Vocals (mic'd)
PA (line out)
|
|
|=======> Mixer ==> Behringer FCA202

You might need a four input mixer to do this. Of course, you don't HAVE to mic the bass or the guitar... but if you want the sound of the guitar + amp/cab instead of just the sound of the guitar (you can have it go directly into the mixer), then you will want to mic them.
 
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