Totally brand-spanking new at this...

[AmyNell]

...and so psyched to find this site! I so need help getting started.

I want to record my own audio (voice, acoustsic & electric guitars, drums later on) and I need to end up with audio files I can bring into Flash to make animated music videos as part of some intallation art. If I record tracks individually I can do some editing in Flash, but may need some other software too? Not sure about that one.

I'm looking for bare essentials & assuming i'll need a mic & digital recording device of some sort but beyond that I don't even know what i need, let alone what brands to look at. I just got a PC with Windows XP.

Where I worked they had amps hooked up to editing their recording stuff & i just have your basic crappy amp i'm borrowing & a wah peddle. Is there some amp that plugs into the pc or do I record it as I would my voice?

 

[DigitalSmigital]

No amps are needed...

You can record DI (direct in) to your analog or digital recorder, or you can put a mic in front of your amp and run that into your recorder.

So it could be: guitar>wah pedal>mixer>PC>recording software

Or: guitar>wah>amp>mic>mixer>tape recorder>PC

You'll be working with Line Level signals, learn that first; never plug an amplified signal output into a Line Level input. It will destroy expensive gear.

 

[AmyNell]

Thanks DigitalSmigital!

Any tips on mixers or software?

 

[scrubs]

Any tips on mixers or software?

A couple of questions:
1) What is your budget?
2) How many tracks will you be recording at once?

Mixers:
If you are planning on recording drums and/or multiple instruments at once (i.e. a band), then a mixer is a good idea. On a tight budget, a small 8-12 channel Yamaha mixer (or similar) will get the job done. If you need more capability, you can move up to larger, more expensive mixers.

If you are recording only one or two channels at a time, you may get better results with separate microphone preamps.

Soundcard:
Your new PC probably has a soundcard, but the analog-to-digital conversion of a stock soundcard may be lacking. If you just want to get sound into your computer, your stock card will do the job. Otherwise, you may want to look into something else. Your options would be to replace your existing PCI card or get an external interface that connects via FireWire or USB. Some of these interfaces have built-in preamps that would lessen the need for a mixer with preamps.

Software:
There are a number of multitracking software programs available. Most of them have demo versions that you can try out. There is a free program, called Kristal that you can play around with: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php
Other options would be programs from Steinberg (Cubase) or Cakewalk (Guitar Tracks, Home Studio, Sonar).

 

[AmyNell]

Thanks so much Scrubs! Helps a lot.

It's all me & I probably don't need more than 2 tracks at a time so cheap & simple but with clear results is what I'm after. Budget should really be $500 tops but I was hoping for more around $200. Great starting point here - much appreciated.