How do you record your music?

Hey what's up everyone? I would really like to record some music and put it up on youtube, but I don't have a camera. I don't really care if I have a video, I just want to get the audio. Does anyone know what kind of equpiment I would need or can anyone think of an inexpensive way to do this that will also produce good sound quality? I'd appreciate any help I can get. thanks.

Hi!

It all depends on how much money you want to invest, but basically you can start out with a headset and a software program called Audacity (I do believe Audacity is freeware). If you're sitting on a mac, then you have Garageband which I use for the time being. (I started out with a headset myself and some people liked the scratchy quality, haha)

If you want more advanced equipment and quality recordings you could go to a music store and ask them for advice.

Good luck!

bronzemaedchen wrote:Hi!

It all depends on how much money you want to invest, but basically you can start out with a headset and a software program called Audacity (I do believe Audacity is freeware). If you're sitting on a mac, then you have Garageband which I use for the time being. (I started out with a headset myself and some people liked the scratchy quality, haha)

If you want more advanced equipment and quality recordings you could go to a music store and ask them for advice.

Good luck!

ok cool. thanks for the advice.

i've recorded my music straight to tape with a tascam 4-track. acoustic guitar and voice mic'd, electric guitar direct in, midi-synth direct in. mixed/mastered in ableton, and sent back to tape.

my_eric_life. wrote:i've recorded my music straight to tape with a tascam 4-track. acoustic guitar and voice mic'd, electric guitar direct in, midi-synth direct in. mixed/mastered in ableton, and sent back to tape.

How much did your 4-track cost?

it's my old roommate's 4-track which he bought over summer through craigslist for $50.

I've personally found that digital recording can be a relatively inexpensive way to record. If you're a stickler for analog "warmth", adding a decent tube preamp before your audio interface can achieve that. You might be able to add tube tone in post-production as well.

What I use is thus:

Gateway E475M Laptop (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0 Ghz, 4GB RAM, Firewire, 5200 RPM HD): I picked this laptop up off of craigslist for $250. Typically, screaming deals are to be had, especially corporate buyouts, online. The guy who sold this to me didn't even know it had a full 4 GB of RAM in it since he had installed Windows XP 32 bit, which doesn't recognize RAM beyond 3 GB.

M-Audio Firewire 410 Audio Interface: I picked this up off of eBay for $120. It's an older model, and some people report difficulties with drivers in Windows 7, but it's performed well for me, not only for recording, but for live guitar effects and looping. M-Audio makes several other affordable Firewire and USB interfaces as well, in addition to other companies. I've found Firewire to be the best available standard for low-latency processing.

As far as software goes, I use Adobe Audition 3.0. It's getting older, and Adobe is no longer updating it, but it really gets the job done.

Finally, a large capsule vocal mic can make all the difference as far as vocals go. I like the Nady variety; they're very inexpensive, and though not the highest quality, they get the job done, especially if you take the time and tweak your tracks out with a good mastering plugin afterwards.

For quick recordings (and illegal bootlegs ) I use my Zoom H4 digital stereo recorder. It costs about 260 euros and it does a really nice job if the acoustics of the room are good and you use it properly.

To record my music I use a Fast Track Ultra 8r M-Audio interface. Software: Reaper. Montiors: KRK rp5. I've got a bunch of mics to suit different instruments and a DI. If you work hard and know what you're doing you can get away with pretty solid home recording using that kind of gear. But it require more than a thousand euros to buy all this stuff, I collected it year after year and some of it is second hand.

If you're on a budget just go for the Zoom H4 (or the cheaper H2), or if you don't need something portable get a small audio interface and a mic. A good choice IMO would be the smallest version of Fast Track (about 100 euros) and a Shure sm58 vocal mic or sm57 instrument mic (can be used for vocals too with good results).. both mics cost about 100 euros.

It all depends on what your needs and goals are!