I will not be recording a full band. Just one or two tracks at a time. Also I have a laptop with plenty of memory but am I able to use a laptop or does my computer need to be a desktop. I appreciate the help.
Here’s what I did.
I got a great deal on a laptop at Wal-Mart. It had Vista, unfortunately, so that took a while to optimize and trim the fat and actually make it work well, but whatever, it has 2 gigs of memory, a decent hard drive, over a meg of processor. Good. Step one. Less than 500$.
Step two was getting a USB interface. I found the Lexington Alpha, which I really like. It can record two channels at a time at least at 24-bit 48khz, which is what I record at (which is more than enough for most recording, actually). It has line in, mic in, options to record via headphones, and functions as an external sound card, ie, provides line outs. I think I got it for less than 100$, but it was somewhere around there price-wise.
Step three for you would be getting mics and cables (I already had this stuff). I suggest the Shure SM57 for recording guitar and instruments and the Shure SM58 for vocals and some string instruments (violins, etc). Good quality dynamic mics. Around 100$ each. So at least one mic and some cabling. Oh yeah, and some decent quality headphones. Samson makes some decent ones, I believe, just make sure you get the studio-quality… again, around 100$ at my local music shop.
So now we’re pushing 900$ I think, and we have the basics to do some excellent recording. Add another mic or so, you’re right around a grand, and you can record two mics at once if you wanted, or a guitar and a vocal, or two mics on one instrument, etc.
Using the USB interface is awesome, its portable, has all the quality of a good internal sound card, and all of the same functions. Make sure you get the ASIO drivers for it, though, for the least latency (pause between playing the note and hearing it through your headphones).
So, um, yeah, at this point all you need is the software. I use a multitracking program called Reaper, link below. Essentially free, but cheap to register anyways. If you find or purchase the right plugins it can have all the functionality of more expensive commercial products! As it is its somewhat stripped down, which is perfect for recording, you just need to look for VST plugins to do processing and anything more than basic mixing/mastering, although the included JS and Cuckos plugins are still pretty sweet and highly functional.
So, that’s that. Put down a basic drum track with the MIDI and a VST plugin like Drumatic, set up a second track, hit the record button, make sure the Audio Device is set to pick up inputs from the interface, and you’re ready to rock!
I’ve used this setup exactly as listed to create scratch tracks for the bands that I’ve been in or associated with, and then go through and record over each individual element – ie, familiarize them with their separate parts which are initially recorded scratch or with midi instruments, then have them record over them with the real deal. Makes for some very decent results! And no mic bleed is sooo nice….
So yeah. Links below to Reaper, and to the place I usually look for VSTs and VSTi’s.
There are other multi-tracking programs out there for low-cost or free, like N-Studio and even a free version of Pro Tools I think, but this one actually has full functionality right from the get go, and seems to be very easy to get into once you figure it out. Just don’t get overwhelmed at how configurable it is!
Obviously if you already have a laptop, that leaves more money for better equipment. I like my portable recording setup, I can take it to work and use it on my lunch breaks…. and I don’t need an external mixer, even though I do have one (a cheap Behringer mixer, if you don’t boost or cut anything more than a few db it really does have low noise and decent quality).
Oh yeah, you might want to think about condenser mics too. Some USB interfaces support phantom power, and condenser mics (while more fragile) have superb top end response. I’ve used a Samson CO1 (less than 120$) with good results, especially in conjunction with a dynamic mic like the SM57. Something to think about. If you don’t have any experience with condenser mics or are a recording noob in general, you might want to get some experience with dynamic mics first before you take that leap.
I vastly prefer digital interfaces to analog recorders, even though they have a relatively more pleasant sound. Analog has more noise and far less flexibility in terms of editing, exporting, manipulating the sound, etc. There’s always tape saturation and compression plugins to help warm up the sound, and good mixing practices can really help get "that" sound you may be aiming for. When mixing, for instance, not only do you want to high-pass all non-bass instruments at least at 150 hz (and often much higher… I usually end up high-passing all guitars at 250hz or even 350 hz) but you want to low-pass everything as well at some point, although you want to be a little more careful with that. A bit of roll-off on a guitar around 10khz might be just the ticket to t
December 9th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
i dont think you can!!
References :
December 9th, 2009 at 11:21 pm
Yes, you can use your laptop to record, using a program like Adobe Audition or Cool Edit. You can build up tracks one or two at a time. You can edit, move stuff around, add effects, etc. etc. It’s amazing what you can do on a computer these days.
Your standard computer can record better than any tape recorder. The limit on quality has more to do with the source, the microphone or whatever other inputs you have, and the sound hardware in the computer.
If you use a mic., you only have one input. But if you use Line In you have two inputs, so you can route two mics through a pre-amp (and you can buy these pretty cheap, in fact an old stereo will do pretty well).
Most computers these days have audio on the motherboard, and it’s not that good. I would rather have a desktop only so I could put in a good audio card, like a Creative Audigy. But there are mics now that hare USB, and even ‘external sound cards’ that you plug everything into and then they plug into the USB port, and that would be the same on either desktop or laptop.
Also you want to have a room that doesn’t have a lot of echo. Cover the walls with blankets so the sound doesn’t bounce around. In the old days we used to use egg flats, just staple them to the walls. It looks really funky but it works surprisingly well! Soundproofing is going to be your biggest problem if you’re in a city or next to an airport or something like that.
You can even buy mixing boards that will allow you to record several tracks at once, mixed down to two tracks. But if you lay down tracks one at a time you can mix them down later to a stereo image.
And all of this, everything I mentioned, can be got for <$1000, and you’d have money left over.
References :
December 10th, 2009 at 12:05 am
There are plenty of digital recorders out there under $1,000 some come with a CD burner,if your lap top burns CD’s you will save a little money. A 4 track should fit your needs (with a good set of head phones). Check out Boss or Tascam on the web. There are plenty of programs available too but you will need an analog to digital converter.
References :
December 10th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Here’s what I did.
I got a great deal on a laptop at Wal-Mart. It had Vista, unfortunately, so that took a while to optimize and trim the fat and actually make it work well, but whatever, it has 2 gigs of memory, a decent hard drive, over a meg of processor. Good. Step one. Less than 500$.
Step two was getting a USB interface. I found the Lexington Alpha, which I really like. It can record two channels at a time at least at 24-bit 48khz, which is what I record at (which is more than enough for most recording, actually). It has line in, mic in, options to record via headphones, and functions as an external sound card, ie, provides line outs. I think I got it for less than 100$, but it was somewhere around there price-wise.
Step three for you would be getting mics and cables (I already had this stuff). I suggest the Shure SM57 for recording guitar and instruments and the Shure SM58 for vocals and some string instruments (violins, etc). Good quality dynamic mics. Around 100$ each. So at least one mic and some cabling. Oh yeah, and some decent quality headphones. Samson makes some decent ones, I believe, just make sure you get the studio-quality… again, around 100$ at my local music shop.
So now we’re pushing 900$ I think, and we have the basics to do some excellent recording. Add another mic or so, you’re right around a grand, and you can record two mics at once if you wanted, or a guitar and a vocal, or two mics on one instrument, etc.
Using the USB interface is awesome, its portable, has all the quality of a good internal sound card, and all of the same functions. Make sure you get the ASIO drivers for it, though, for the least latency (pause between playing the note and hearing it through your headphones).
So, um, yeah, at this point all you need is the software. I use a multitracking program called Reaper, link below. Essentially free, but cheap to register anyways. If you find or purchase the right plugins it can have all the functionality of more expensive commercial products! As it is its somewhat stripped down, which is perfect for recording, you just need to look for VST plugins to do processing and anything more than basic mixing/mastering, although the included JS and Cuckos plugins are still pretty sweet and highly functional.
So, that’s that. Put down a basic drum track with the MIDI and a VST plugin like Drumatic, set up a second track, hit the record button, make sure the Audio Device is set to pick up inputs from the interface, and you’re ready to rock!
I’ve used this setup exactly as listed to create scratch tracks for the bands that I’ve been in or associated with, and then go through and record over each individual element – ie, familiarize them with their separate parts which are initially recorded scratch or with midi instruments, then have them record over them with the real deal. Makes for some very decent results! And no mic bleed is sooo nice….
So yeah. Links below to Reaper, and to the place I usually look for VSTs and VSTi’s.
There are other multi-tracking programs out there for low-cost or free, like N-Studio and even a free version of Pro Tools I think, but this one actually has full functionality right from the get go, and seems to be very easy to get into once you figure it out. Just don’t get overwhelmed at how configurable it is!
Obviously if you already have a laptop, that leaves more money for better equipment. I like my portable recording setup, I can take it to work and use it on my lunch breaks…. and I don’t need an external mixer, even though I do have one (a cheap Behringer mixer, if you don’t boost or cut anything more than a few db it really does have low noise and decent quality).
Oh yeah, you might want to think about condenser mics too. Some USB interfaces support phantom power, and condenser mics (while more fragile) have superb top end response. I’ve used a Samson CO1 (less than 120$) with good results, especially in conjunction with a dynamic mic like the SM57. Something to think about. If you don’t have any experience with condenser mics or are a recording noob in general, you might want to get some experience with dynamic mics first before you take that leap.
I vastly prefer digital interfaces to analog recorders, even though they have a relatively more pleasant sound. Analog has more noise and far less flexibility in terms of editing, exporting, manipulating the sound, etc. There’s always tape saturation and compression plugins to help warm up the sound, and good mixing practices can really help get "that" sound you may be aiming for. When mixing, for instance, not only do you want to high-pass all non-bass instruments at least at 150 hz (and often much higher… I usually end up high-passing all guitars at 250hz or even 350 hz) but you want to low-pass everything as well at some point, although you want to be a little more careful with that. A bit of roll-off on a guitar around 10khz might be just the ticket to t
References :
http://reaper.fm
http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php