Would really like to record!!

[cuteso]

Hey!

I'm 16 and would really like to record my songs.. My father made me a room with the piano, guitar and I have a microphone to sing. I also have a computer. With what should I start to record and start showing my songs?

Thank youu a lot

 

[pistolgrip]

Hey!

I'm 16 and would really like to record my songs.. My father made me a room with the piano, guitar and I have a microphone to sing. I also have a computer. With what should I start to record and start showing my songs?

Thank youu a lot

get a USB mic!! suuuuper easy, and can be of decent quality for one's first mic!!

heres a solid one: http://www.guitarcenter.com/MXL-MXL...eo-Condenser-Microphone-104483094-i1177662.gc

 

[Jeff_D]

whatever you do, don;t get a usb mic.


seriously though, the easiest start would be a simple usb or firewire interface. In the ~$200 range, a Presonus Firebox is a nice start. MAudio has similar units. These are nice because they have mic preamps built in and come with software- so pretty much all you need. Just plug in your mic and go... What kind og mic do you have? You have probably 2 or 3 dozen options for a nice starter interface. Shop around... ask specific questions. Have fun. Welcome to the money pit.

Oh, check out the tweakheadz guide thing too... good intro stuff... http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

 

[Jeff_D]

you're also going to need a way to listen back (monitors) and a good acoustic environment so you can make solid trustworthy mix decisions... but, one thing at a time, eh.

 

[cuteso]

Okk but can I also like buy a multi track recorder and plug this microphone to it?

 

[cuteso]

Okk thank youu but Jeff D, I dont want to really do a studio. I just want to make a recording with some karaoke music or with my piano and have a good sound. Is it possible without everything?

 

[kcearl]

Okk thank youu but Jeff D, I dont want to really do a studio. I just want to make a recording with some karaoke music or with my piano and have a good sound. Is it possible without everything?

yup try this

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item...2G00SRCHCAPN&gclid=CI6srLHZiZ8CFWkN5QodjQxj7w

its also comes with a free recording programme..Energy XT 2.5


wont get you any album deals but you'll be able to plug a dynamic mic into it and record

try a sennheisser 835 or a shure sm58...both can be found for around $70 and will record vocals without requiring phantom power like a condenser

 

[Jeff_D]

yup try this

http://www.americanmusical.com/Item...2G00SRCHCAPN&gclid=CI6srLHZiZ8CFWkN5QodjQxj7w

its also comes with a free recording programme..Energy XT 2.5


wont get you any album deals but you'll be able to plug a dynamic mic into it and record

try a sennheisser 835 or a shure sm58...both can be found for around $70 and will record vocals without requiring phantom power like a condenser

Hey earl- that thing doesn't have a mic preamp in it. Unless OP has some thing with a preamp he'll need more to make that work

 

[kcearl]

Hey earl- that thing doesn't have a mic preamp in it. Unless OP has some thing with a preamp he'll need more to make that work

oops sorry I use Pod farm plugins


the OP could always try Nick Crows emulator, its free and I have a guess he's on a budget at the moment

http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/CrowPreampEmulator/

or the boot EQ

http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/BootEQ/

 

[pistolgrip]

ya im gonna have to stick by my usb mic idea... its just the easiest!! trust me!! i got one when i started recording and when i started really getting a hang of it i upgraded to better hardware (and software for that matter)

hope this helps!

 

[samth3mancgp]

I always recommend the Fast Track pro by M-Audio, because it has compatibility with ProTools and has MIDI etc.

But for your purposes I would either get the cheapest 2 channel interface you can find for If you want to be able to do voice and piano/guitar at the same time. Here are a few that I know of right off the top of my head. The Presonus Firebox, Fast Track Pro, or this Tascam Interface are plenty for that. You can find those at half their retail price on eBay if you use eBay. Or just the USB mic if you will only be doing 1 thing at a time.

I wouldn't go much more than that for what you are trying to do.

 

[Jim Lad]

Okk but can I also like buy a multi track recorder and plug this microphone to it?

Yes, you certainly can.
Have a look at the Tweakheadz guide.
Stand alone recorders are quieter and better at recording than computers.
Computers do a much better job of editing so the ideal system would be to use both.
There's a fairly new stand alone recorder called the Zoom R16 which will also serve as an audio interface and control surface.
Look here
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
And here
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/600773-REG/Zoom_R16_R16_Multi_Track_Recorder_.html

That machine and a couple of condenser microphones would put you well on the way to owning your own home studio.
Monitors and such can wait until you get really serious.
Have fun with it.

 

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and tested suggestions that WORK: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)