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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | A week or so ago my open mic partner & I recorded our practice on a crude cassette tape. We were not interested is sound quality. We just wanted to hear our timing and harmony. Like the performing for a crowd thing, I had not heard myself on tape since I was a seventeen. Back then I had an 8-track recording machine.
Anyway, hearing us on tape brought back some good memories. I'm thinking about doing it again. I would like to record a CD of what we play just for ourselves.
Since my 8-track recorder is gone, what would I use today? I know there are some real pros here but what I am looking for is the most basic equipment suggestions. I'm not interested in dubbing tracks or fancy mixing. Probably just two mics in front of two amps. Where do I start? |
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May 2004
Posts: 338
Location: Toronto | Hey Brad - if you are looking at PC based recording - I found that n-track is about the easiest recording software I've come across. Much easier and more intuitive than Sonar or Cakewalk in my opinion. Acid Pro 4 is good as well and is sweet for creating drum tracks.
You can hit this bb if you got the time to read:
http://homerecording.com/bbs/
Dano |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Thanks Dano,
That's a good start. |
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February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | To try and get to know digital recording software, you could download kristal. A 16 track digital studio, including vst effects, and best of all... it's freeware.
http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Martin |
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August 2004
Posts: 18
Location: Scotland | If you have a Mac you can't beat Garageband for ease of use in multi tracking. It comes free with all Macs and has started me recording my feeble efforts and realising the need for improvement.
In the school where I work I have to beat the senior kids off our Department's Macs with a big stick. They keep pinching our laptops and taking them off to a quiet corner to record something. |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | It looks like I'm going to be recording within reach of a 'puter. |
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March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | there are lots of cheap stand alone hard disc recorders on ebay. if you want to have something portable and simple the older gear from roland, boss, tascam,fostex, zoom etc is a pretty good way to go if you dont want to haul your computer around..
i have a zoom ps-02 that uses a memory card and it fits in the pick compartment of my guitar case. amazing little unit i bought for $80 used on ebay. there are newer generations out and these "last model" units make a super deal for a basic utility needs. if you can record the signal digitally, you can do allot to it later when you edit it on your computer.
i also have a tascam us428 to interface with my laptop. it is a usb multi track recorder interface for my toshiba p25 multimedia laptop. computer recording is the future, but can be a setup nightmare if you have to move it frequently, and you wind up packing aruond a few thousand dollar of gear that way. not ideal for a gig where my gear always takes it's worst "licks".
another toy is a roland a-6 hard disc recorder i got for $200 on ebay. it is designed for editing the sound tracks on videos, but is an excellent digital recorder for home studio audio use. its lesser brother that uses a zip drive sells for much more, but is very similar. i use the a6 when i am jamming at home. i just push the record button and i'm good to go for for way longer than i'd care to play. those moments of blinding brilliance that are impossible to recall the next day are there for you to review. it also helps me to stay in touch with reality. some of what seems to be awesome at the moment of being played, sounds like, as jerry garcia used to say, a "chinese interval"
last but not least a simple 4 track cassette recorder worked for me for years. you can't give them away now, but you can record 4 tracks simultaneously and for practice at home, drop your track and play along with your band to see what you could do different. everyone else in the band can do the same. you can buy these for as little as a dime on the dollar on ebay. there were even 8 track units, that originally cost over a grand for around 100-150. no where near the cutting edge, but a super value for a home studio or garage band. i have 2 and loan them to my friends that are just starting to get into "take 1" |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Thanks for the responce everyone. |
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February 2002
Posts: 613
Location: Zion, Illinois | I was unable to download that free 16 track recorder grrrovedude talked about, but here is another free multitrack recorder...
AUDACITY Free Recorder
I have a Zoom MSR-802CD. 8 track playback + 2 stereo drum tracks + 2 master tracks + 10 virtual tracks for each of the tracks + effects, etc. Very nice unit. |
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November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Bradley,
I was unable to download it this morning as well but just tried again and it worked. Great program. |
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February 2003
Posts: 299
Location: Netherlands | Yep. It's a slow download for Kristal, but try one/some of the mirror sites. I know audacity, but kristal more versatile. For instance it is vst-compatible, and audacity isn't.
Good luck. Let us hear some of your songs shortly.
Martin |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Thanks for steering me in the right direction everyone. I have a Korg Pandora PXR4 on the way. |
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May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Congratulations on the new addition. I debated between the PXR4 and the Tascam PocketStudio 5. I went with the Tascam for one reason or another (or several) but can't remember what it was. Card format? Tone Generator? Heck, something. It's a ton of fun, though.
Anyway, good luck with it and make sure you post up some samples! |
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Recording Songs 101
