recording artists...

sj.brodie

I have a story followed by a question

So about a month ago i found an old 'working' 4 track tape recorder in a second hand junk store for £50. I looked at it and thought it looked cool but didn't seriously consider buying. Then i got round to talking to a pal at work who recommended i go back and buy it because he's had one for years and his guitar playing/singing 'wouldn't be the same without it' I went back and it had been sold! bummer!

Well that's my lame story. My question is how do i easily make a good sounding demo at home at a decent price? Just me, my guitar and some drums mixed in.

Cheers

ianvomsaal

How many songs do you plan on recording???
Are they already worked out ahead of time???
Does everyone already know their parts???

If you go and buy all the equipment you'd need to make a good home recording
(and we're talking either a 24-bit digital recorder, or recording/editing/mixing
software installed in a computer, and an interface with multiple in's, pre-amp,
multiple microphones [especially getting drums to soud good], headphones or
monitors, etc), it's actually quite a bit of $$ to drop (even going cheap).

However, if you have it all worked out ahead of time & don't lag, you can
easily go into a small local studio & get it recorded for a fraction. Many little
local studios have rate deals like $50 for the 1st hr & $25 each additional hr,
and you can get a 4 or 5 song demo done in basically 2 or 3 hrs.

sj.brodie

ianvomsaal wrote:

How many songs do you plan on recording???
Are they already worked out ahead of time???
Does everyone already know their parts???

If you go and buy all the equipment you'd need to make a good home recording
(and we're talking either a 24-bit digital recorder, or recording/editing/mixing
software installed in a computer, and an interface with multiple in's, pre-amp,
multiple microphones [especially getting drums to soud good], headphones or
monitors, etc), it's actually quite a bit of $$ to drop (even going cheap).

However, if you have it all worked out ahead of time & don't lag, you can
easily go into a small local studio & get it recorded for a fraction. Many little
local studios have rate deals like $50 for the 1st hr & $25 each additional hr,
and you can get a 4 or 5 song demo done in basically 2 or 3 hrs.

Thanks, actually i'm talking very low-key here. I'm not at this level yet. That's why an old 4 track recorder appealed to me more than paying for pro equipment or for studio time...nice and simple...

I'm not even in a band. I mentioned drums before...i've used drum samples from the net before and just looped them...i have an md recorder, i'm just looking for something a little more advanced than that, but i don't want Bob Rock knocking on my door just yet.

kuyote

I had a four track but gave it to a friend there good for recroding ideas so if you write a good riff you can always go back and listen to what you did. I would recommend getting one.

FinsburyParkCarrots

What make and model was it? I've got an old Fostex x-15.


You know, you could just download Audacity, a free recording program, and if you have a good quality condenser mic/USB mic, you'd be surprised what you can come up with. It's really easy to use.

kuyote

I had cheap TASCAM 4 track I need to get a new one I forget stuff I write all the time