What do you use to record your music?

justam

I've been trying to make a decent recording of a piano piece I wrote.
I've made three with different devices.

The first one was a mini-disc recorder which sounds fine but I can't put it INTO the computer because it has no line-out. The second was recorded as a sound-over in iMovie and so all the loud parts are distorted and fuzzy. The third was also done with a program in my computer and has the same problem, the volume of the piano was too much for the built-in mic and so the sound in the loud parts are fuzzy again.

It's frustrating!

I know people record using a computer. Tell me what you use and how you attach the microphones, etc.

I am not used to this type of technology!!!!!

rollings

hand held digital recorder has worked fine for me.

It doesn't work well with drums though, don't know how it would be with piano.

Have you tried making a movie with your digital camera? Sometimes these work also just fine.

You may need to adjust where you put the recording device too, ..floor, above the instrument, on, in front of, behind, etc.

BinFrog

I use this for our acoustic duo gigs and it sounds decent enough:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DR40?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CNXLn42lnL0CFYdFMgodEw8AZg

justam

BinFrog, this looks like the right type of device for me. Thanks!

BinFrog said:

I use this for our acoustic duo gigs and it sounds decent enough:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DR40?device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CNXLn42lnL0CFYdFMgodEw8AZg

justam

rollings said:

hand held digital recorder has worked fine for me.

It doesn't work well with drums though, don't know how it would be with piano.

Have you tried making a movie with your digital camera? Sometimes these work also just fine.

You may need to adjust where you put the recording device too, ..floor, above the instrument, on, in front of, behind, etc.

In the short term, I think this is a pretty good idea. I have a nice camera that makes movies. I'll probably still have too much sound for the little microphone but I'll try it and see.

The other option is to get my tech savvy son to take the time to help me. (!!)

gimmesometruth27

i use a small kodak flip camera knock off for recording demos. that way i can hear how it sounds and i can see what chords i am playing in case i forget, which i forget a lot....

justam

gimmesometruth27 said:

i use a small kodak flip camera knock off for recording demos. that way i can hear how it sounds and i can see what chords i am playing in case i forget, which i forget a lot....

This is good thinking! I could even film the different versions I considered without having to write every single one down.

I went to the trouble of writing one version out completely, but I can see how just filming it would save me a LOT of time. Especially if I recorded a few of the different options, I could finalize the best parts.

gimmesometruth27

it works well for me. except sometimes it is hard to see what i am doing with my right hand when i am fingerpicking a part. if i can seen the shapes on the video i can usually figure it out.

gimmesometruth27

i got the camera a few years ago for like $100, which a decent digital recorder would have cost.

DriftingByTheStorm

currently using Ubuntu as my last computer's mobo bit the dust, and I am too cheap to pay MS for a new copy of Windows ... so right now I am using a DAW program called Ardour which an be "purchased" for a minimum donation of $1 and is functionally a lot like Reaper though not quite as intuitive to use (although I am discovering really nothing about linux OS is as intuitive as you would hope)

Drop dead simple recording set up for guitar is:
Guitar --> Roland Cube Amp --> 1\4"-to-USB cable plugged in to the recording out --> computer USB port --> Ardour.

Currently using computer speakers through Ardour as the monitors and switching to headphones for overdubs until i figure out the most elegant way to put a hardware mixer in between the amp and the computer. Not familiar enough with Ardour software yet to really understand my best options.

JUSTAM, if you are using a real piano (ie not electric) your cheapest bet (still not dead cheap but hey, equipment just ain't drop-dead-cheap) is to get a microphone and either a good soundcard with a box that has outs on it or some sort of mixer and run THAT in to the computer. Be careful with what you are considering and make sure if the microphone needs "phantom power" that the box \ mixer supplies that power. If you want to start looking at options, post them here, and there are several people better than myself who can give you the pros and cons.

Try looking up "Mbox" to start with.

justam

Thank you for the suggestion Drifting by a Storm.

I recently ordered a Tascam digital recorder. It seems like it'll be simple enough for me to use.

It arrived a few days ago. I'll probably be taking it out of the box to play with this weekend.

DriftingByTheStorm

Well Tascam is a great brand name.
Self contained recorders can be great.
In the past their limitation has been the size of the storage media,
but I'm sure that limitation was long ago surmounted.

The only other real limitation of those things for home recording purposes is that they generally don't give you a Line Out or any way to store the parts separately to export and mix elsewhere or screw around with. Typically you lay down your tracks and it just saves them to a file that you can never edit or some horseshit.

But Tascam makes great shit, and it is possible that their digital recorder is slightly "nicer" in this respect.
Would be curious to hear your take on the thing. I know they are great for getting down ideas in a hurry. Eddie used one to record the first version of Gone, and I'm quite sure he uses one regularly when inspired on the road (etc).