DaveyDvsn

I have a bunch of unrecorded material that I want to put on a demo but I don't know where to start. I have a band but I'm the only member (think Nine Inch Nails). I already have song titles and album art. I plan on recruiting a few musicians to back me up in live gigs but that's besides the point.

I'm looking to lay down vocal/guitar/drum tracks with a few other instruments thrown in there. I'm not neccessarily looking for mindblowing sound quality but simply something that I can release on a local level.

I also plan on recording everything at home by myself, not in a studio. I want to record each instrument one at a time and mix it as I go along.

My needs are as follows:

*a computer program that can create drum tracks internally (I don't have a drumset)
*a microphone setup that handles home recordings well

I don't have a mixer or a 4-track/8-track, BTW.


I just need to know what I must have to get started.

 

Aqualung

What kind of budget are you looking in?

I recommend Reaper for your recording needs. It's a pretty good Digital Audio Workstation, and it's free. It's for recording and mixing - you would need a different program for drums, but all I can think of are programs that cost money.

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DaveyDvsn

My budget isn't very high. It's hard to put a number on it. Definitely not near $1000. Like I said in my original post, I just need something to get the job done while maintaining some semblance of quality.

MusicMan

Wait, so you're worrying about hiring a touring band...but you're looking at a total recording and equipment budget of less than $1k? I think you should take this one step at a time and not automatically assume that finding a robot with a stick (drum machine) and a way to plug a mic (probably not a great one) directly into your PC without having any type of preamp or mixer will equal success so great that you'll need to hire a band to help you play live. Try uploading a song with what you've got now, once you get one together, to our Music Showcase. Then get some feedback and go from there. Remember, baby steps, young grasshopper.

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DaveyDvsn

Not a touring band. This is a VERY LOCAL effort, for the time being. I am taking this one step at the time.

I should have made it clear that this isn't a demo that I'm going to release right away. It's just that I have SO MANY different ideas that I need a way of bringing them all together and formulating them into a song. To do that, I need some sort of way to record my bass lines/guitar lines/vocals/drum lines over each other.

MusicMan

Ahh ok cool. I was afraid you were overexcited about your prospects and setting yourself up for disappointment. I would look into getting an inexpensive mixer, like a Behringer, and one nice versatile mic, and of course find a natural sounding drum machine program, then go from there. Best of luck to you.

__________________
Rules! A definite must-read

The Music Showcase is the best place to share your music here, you can even embed Youtube videos.

Send me a PM if you need any help with anything.

thedreammer

I do not know about the states..

but here in europe there are a few cheap brands..
that put out cheap mixers that come
with cheap soundcards and light versions of cubase..

So, ask local music store.. or browse on internet...
i think their called phonic and behringer..

buy it.. plug it in.. plug in el cheapo microphone.
and you ready 2 go for most situations..

or like the other people say: browse internet.. and try million programs for free. and use what you like..

I bought a not so cheap but still cheaper then big name mixer and all that blabla.. and recorded entire records here Having bigstudio fun.. with lowbudget studio.. just made it bigger.. and adding more stuff

if you want to make cool stuff and not everything computerbased... a mixer is handy.

SirSavage

Yea, more on this, I'm also trying to get into music and this thread almost sums up what I'm looking to know.

If anyone could link to good free software that would be cool, google searches bring up soooo much to go through. I guess I've got drum machine software in mind.

Also do you people build some kind of matress or egg carton housing when recording instruments in home?

P.S. does anyone know, is Garageband for the mac a piece of crap or not.

thedreammer

To much software to mention.. good way to start is by reading
some magazines about computer music...

google the adds google the words..google the programs..

But, to save you your $ on your first magazine:

Propellorhead Reason .. nice virtual rack software...
Ableton Live .. Very nice LoopBased Sequencing program
Cubase.. Nice Sequencer / rewire host program..
Sony Acid.. Very nice linear loops on track program

Various vst/vsti's found on the internet..

and this comes from a hardware-guy!!! so.. do not give up this easily..
once you know what everything is.. it gets easier to find stuff..
but you gotta invest time in it.. teach yourself as much as possible..

SirSavage

Thanks for the advice, I'll start checking those out.

Basically I just want to add a beat to my guitar.

jsnbl2007

An example free setup (as of when I downloaded all of this) would be the Anvil MIDI editor, SynthFont software synth (renders direct to wav file), and MixPad for audio recording and mixing your drums and guitar to final mix. I've also used WavePad (possibly still free) for format switching and other post-editing like fade-ins and outs. But whatever your setup you'll probably need similar components.

futuredisco

Computer Music magazine comes with lots of free software every month. Everything you need to get started. It's a UK magazine i think so if you are not in the uk you might have to get it posted.

Kris

No it's not crap, just don't go over the top with effects and it's fine

mrthai

perfection!!

1bigvoice

If you don't have any physical gear then software options are probably going to be your cheapest. The reason...because most of the software your going to want to use can be downloaded. Think Torrent Files (Demonoid is the best). Cubase for recording and mixing might work.

Stringbender

for microphones, MXL puts out a package with 2 mics in it. the MXL 990 and 991 -Guitar Center usually has both of these in a package for around $100 us dollars and sometimes on sale for less. They do a good job, the 990 is a large diaphragm condenser mic -excellent for vocals and the 991 is a super cardiod mic that is good for capturing acoustic guitar or instruments that need the microphone zoomed in on an area (I don't use that one all that often as I usually run my instruments direct with modelled amp sound) the ones I've had seemed to have lasted a good 5 years or so before they started showing a little distortion and needed replacement, but well worth the money- recording quality at budget price! Now, these are POWERED microphones- so add in another 50 or so dollars for the power unit and then add in the costs of the microphone cables, still- well worth the money though.

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ashlog

I'm taking advice from here as well=)

Espresso

There are a couple of different websites that have production equipment and e-learning to help you do it better. More and more people are going the skillshare route.

Streetdreamerz is a good website for getting production equipment and elearning. You don't want one that will keep ownership of your music. A friend of mine does binaurels (very cool stuff) and she used a site that kept ownership.

You can also use your MAC if you have one. There are a few open source tools for it. You should google open source when trying it. Most of the stuff out there is pretty expensive so go one of those routes until you know you want to invest.

Cuy

Please note that, although Reaper does not stop working after 30 days, you don't automagically have a license. The guys at Cockos are doing an amazing job with this software and I firmly believe, they deserve some money for their really well done job.
If you do not want to pay for Reaper, please be fair and use version 0.9 - everything prior to version 1 is freeware, so you don't have to purchase a license.

For free virtual instruments and effects, browse the kvr-audio catalogue. You'll find lots of free stuff there, to keep the average musician happy

Akarin

I second that. I have used very expensive packages over the years (Sonar, Cubase, Ableton, etc...) and none of them come close to Reaper, so for 60$, go for it.

stevetheimpact

I use Cakewalk Sonar Producer 8.5 for most of my vocals/instruments, and BFD 2.0 inside FL Studio XXL 9.0 for making drum tracks.