Beginning recording - tips?
cjb5790
Posts: 190
Hey there
I'm looking into recording some of my stuff through my computer...or possible onto a tape...What's the best hardware for someone just starting to record? Software? techniques? thanks for any and all help!
I'm looking into recording some of my stuff through my computer...or possible onto a tape...What's the best hardware for someone just starting to record? Software? techniques? thanks for any and all help!
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for x-mas i got an m-audio firewire audiophile..i run the stereo outs on my mixing board to the stereo ins on the m-audio thing...and to my mac..
its a good system but for just like demo type things.. i feel like its kind of a pain in the ass...and right now i feel like i want a hard disk recorder or a tape recorder..and im looking into both
a decent hard disck recorder is the Tascam DP01FX
it is a hard disc recorder that you can use as a stand alone system..and then later put your songs on the computer
http://www.zzounds.com/item--TASDP01FX
http://www.zzounds.com/item--EMU1212M
MBox2 adds MIDI in and out (great if you want to add a keyboard controller or drum machine), and features 2 channels/mic pre's. The pre's are no longer the focusrite Platinum range, and that IMO is a good thing.
I'd say that having experience in Pro Tools is a good thing. It's the industry standard (like it or not). As for recording techniques and tips, there's plenty of free info available on the web, but you should also start with a primer on digital audio itself. Check this out
http://www.digital-recordings.com/publ/pubrec.html
Good luck.
old music: http://www.myspace.com/slowloader
pretty simplistic, but you can layer some nice guitar sutff...Claptonesque...I never use the drum beats, etc... just layer guitar lines...
That's what I've been messing around with. Just plugging my guitar right into my mac and messing around. Its fun. One day I'll have to sit down and seriously learn it, and how to play too!
otherwise some form of digital harddisk recorder would be the way to go.
even with something like the MBox which in theory handes *some* of the signal processing, your still putting a *huge* load on your processor, and if all your components aren't great, then it's gonna lag out, give you serious latency issues, crash, and make you want to throw it out the window ...
grrr.
If I opened it now would you not understand?
This gives two lines into the cheapo realistic mixer (which converts from 1/4 inch instrument sized cords into the home stereo RCA red-right white-left jacks. This is where the y chord takes the output from the mixer into the input on the sound card).
This gives me a stereo effect with different sliders on the mixer to control left and right. The VU meters on the mixer show me the levels for left and right. Audacity will record stereo and also provides an on-screen indication of your levels.
It aint fancy, but it works GREAT For jamming and for songwriting.
After that, my only advice is to go-for-it.
With audacity, you can record other layers on top of playing back the previous layers BUT you have to synchronize the layers by hand. Make one reference track as a full band and then record the each instrument in it's own layer muting out each of the second thru Nth layers while you record playing along with the first track. When you are finished, then you can mute out the first track and use only the second thru Nth tracks. The remaining tracks will (pretty much) line up OK.
Don't know how garage band accomodates the lag as the music travels from your PC to your ears to your fingers thru mics back thru the board and back into the PC. In my experience, the delay is always the same, so I can simply clip the first X seconds off each track to make them all line up. You chose. Let me know how it works out.
It's a bit wonky, but it's pretty affordable.
NOTE, of course, that the Y cable can also be used to connect the line-out of your PC into an AUX-in on your old home stereo (or your new Home Theatre).
Dance and Sing along with Shed Devils at http://www.sheddevils.com/
I just use the standard Garage Band software that came with the computer and thus far the entire rig suits me just fine...
Eventually I want to add a MIDI controller to the mix, and if i get more involved with the recording I will probably spring for pro tools..
The best tip would be is to start simple, and not worry about creating tracks right off the bat with all the bells and whistles...Take the time to learn and play around with whatever you buy...(obviously)
That's actually not a bad start... not the best, but not bad. The big thing you'll want is RAM. 1 GB would be good for you, and would be up to the performance your processor would provide. 1.5 GB would be better, after that your processor will never touch the limits of your RAM. You have what, a 333 MHz front-side?
I'd second the MBox 2. It's intuitive, predictable, and almost everyone is using ProTools (myself included). There are other systems out there that are more affordable and a bit more flexible, but I think the MBox 2 will be everything you need, at least until you take over Albini's job.