What do I really need?

[frankieblue]

Hello friends.

I would like to record myself singing with backing tracks, either on a CD or from the hard drive. I find all the stuff I've bought (Focusrite Saffire LE and Sonar Studio 4) way too complicated.

Can someone tell me if I really need this stuff?

I have a dual core windows media pc which is quite new.

Does anybody know an easy way for me to record, save and maybe sort it a bit so that I can copy to CD the end product.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Frank

 

[ahuimanu]

Try using Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/) or Reaper (http://www.cockos.com/reaper/) until you are more comfortable with the basics of recording your voice. Sonar is pretty complex and will certainly be there for you after you are comfortable with some of the more basic tools.

 

[danny.guitar]

I'd also recommend starting out with Audacity, then move on to Reaper or whatever other software you have. Reaper is just as easy but it's easy to get distracted and confused if you're new to recording software interfaces.

Download the backing track to your computer. Import the backing track into a track in Audacity. Add another blank track. Arm it for recording. Hit the record button and record over it.

Same exact procedure for Reaper (and most other software).

To answer your question on if you really need that stuff or not, I would say you could have gone without Sonar. Even the free Audacity program is plenty to record over backing tracks. But a decent mic/pre will really help the sound a lot.