recording thru a comp...

[rekrdskratcher]

after much frustration of trying to record through a karyokie machine (STOP LAUGHING!!) becuz our band is too cheap to get a 4-track, i've finally hit upon the idea that i should record us through a computer. i have the perfect computer for the job: a windows 98 compaq. now, what i need to know is, what equipment/software do i need? preferably as cheap but high quality as possible. if it helps, i need to record at the minimum, 2 guitars, a bass, drums, a keyboard/sound effects machine, and vocals for each song.

 

[brzilian]

now, what i need to know is, what equipment/software do i need? preferably as cheap but high quality as possible.

That's an oxymoron!

if it helps, i need to record at the minimum, 2 guitars, a bass, drums, a keyboard/sound effects machine, and vocals for each song.

Cheap is not pro-level, period.

You're looking at a minimum of 8 inputs on a card and that will easily run in the $300-400 range for something from M-Audio.

A decent multitracker will easily run you another $200.

My concern is that you do not say what kind of computer you have, but if its running 98, it has to be fairly old. Personally, I would not use anything less than a PIII running at at least 1Ghz.

 

[F_cksia]

there are LOADS of threads and articles on this site about how to begin.
Just buy a mixer, assuming you already have a soundcard, then something like cool edit or so will do the job to record 2 channels after you made a mix on the console. that's enough to start with I think, way better than a karaoke-set...

 

[ecs113]

Just remember if you are recording the 2 tracks from your mixer outs, you will end up with a mixdown, and you won't be able to mix further. if you want to be able to record, edit and mix more than 2 tracks at a time, then you need to get a sound card with more than 2 inputs, and forget about the mixer unless you use it for its mic preamps, in which case it would have to have outputs for each channel. I scored an M-Audio Delta 1010LT for $200 (8 analog inputs, 8 analog outputs) on eBay.

Blah blah blah like F_cksia said, if you want cheap, get a cheap mixer and plug that into the soundcard. You should be able to find cheap software, if not free, to get you started.

 

[Gidge]

the cheapest Id go for is a Delta 1010lt for $279 and a Carvin SM162 mixer for $239.......

of course you would still need mics but that will depend on how many you plan on using......