sorry to mess you all about :(

[guitarboi89]

okay i was going to go and buy a set up for 4tracks simaltaneous recording but i thought i should learn how to do stuff well before investing money .. i might decide that its not for me or that what i was going to do was completely stupid
so im thinking of putting up with my computer soundcard (well im not going to be making good quality recordings with a £400 budget anyway)
and doing one of two things:
- getting a preamp (probably just a berry one - shock horror!) and a di box (to get the guitars into the pc clean)

-getting a small mixer for the same price

and the price im going for is about £70

the mixer way i was looking at:
= yamaha mg 10/2 *£69.99* (offering more pre's than i will need)
= soundcraft spirit folio *£50* (4 mic pres)
= a cheaper behringer (not sure about them quality wise.. i havent heard many good opinions of it)
=soundcraft compact 4 (looks good for my needs - 2 mic pres and can be used as a di)

and for the mixer + di way i was thinking of the ART and behringer products

i am soo sorry to keep asking questions but i dont want to end up with a tonne of equipment i dont use.
so can people offer thier opinions

n.b my soundcard is two inputs

 

[guitarboi89]

also is "the dummies guide to home recording" any good?

 

[Autist]

Home Recording for Dummies is not a bad book for someone just starting. If all you want is one book to give you some guidance, it could be a good choice. It may be a bit outdated though, as far as technology is concerned, so keep that in mind. Also, remember that the techniques discussed in any book are not the absolute best way to do things in every situation. They are simply recommendations of where to start. Most of the recording process involves experimentation to find the techniques that help you achieve the sound(s) you are after. There are probably better books out there, which others may be aware of.

Yo may get more out of reading articles online than from a book. Try Sound on Sound.

I have the Yamaha MG10/2 and it is a fine mixer. I tried the Compact 4 (compared it to the MG10/2) when it first came out and decided just to stay with the Yamaha, which has a good reputation here. I also tried a small Behringer one (802) which was aweful. I am not familiar with the Spirit models.

You should definitely try to include some sort of studio monitors in your budget. A lot of people on these forums have tried many of the cheaper models and know far more about which would be better in your price range than I do. Monitoring, however, is also a matter of personal preference, which is why you should listen to a variety of them. There are some models that you should simply avoid and browsing posts here, or reading some articles should easily reveal which ones those are.