Help Please! New to Recording

[Jake Blues]

Hi all,

Would like to begin recording the guitar sound that comes out of my DRRI. What equipment do I need to begin? Would like to record it onto CD, keeping the computor out of the equation if this is possible. Please recommend a basic system 500.00 or less and the steps to use it for a good CD recording.

Second part of the question. How does one record their guitar "lead" combined with the backing track of the Fender G-Deck onto a CD. Have heard Greg Kock's recorded stuff from the G-Deck and it sounds really great. What equipment does one need to do this? How does one do this? And what specific gear that works well for you would be a big help.

Please excuse the ignorance. Have a lot of experience playing but none in home recording.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Jake Blues

[photoweborama]

You need a multi track program. Audacity works..it's free..

I use Guitar Track Pro and N-Track myself, but Audacity works fine.

If you have an line-in on your computer, then get a small mixer and a half decent mic, like a low end Shure, or AKG, Senheiser... and a cable, and your set.

If you don't have a line-in, you will need a USB device, like an M-box, or a line 6 guitar port.

[Tim Armstrong]

He wants to avoid using his computer!

There's a good thread DOWN BELOW about inexpensive solutions...

Cheers, Tim

[ibobunot]

Boss MICRO BR Digital Recorder

LINK You could take the MP3's from this and burn a CD

[getbent]

okay... no computer... I promise....

assuming you have a microphone available that sounds okay... and lets assume you have a little mini mixer like even a 49.00 behringer.. you hook the microphone to the mixer... then... using the rca line outs... if you have a vcr (yep a vcr) especially if it is a 4 head vcr that is even better (and if you have to buy one they are about 79.00 even less used) put in a video tape and set it to record... if you use two mics it can even be in stereo.. test your levels but it should sound really, really good.

Okay, now what? Easy... go to circuit city or one of those places and you can get a box that copies cd's and/or analog to cd... they cost like 200.00 (my bro has one for taking records and making them into cd's) hook up the vcr to it and run the tape... you have fairly instant cd without a 'computer'.

option 2: buy the same box and get a used el cheapo fostex X-15 or Tascam (you can pick up the little cassette 4 tracks for 25-100 bucks in perfect shape) on the bay or cl etc... record to cassette and run it down to the analog to cd box....

easy as pi.

[Ben Harmless]

Unfortunately, the computer would help a lot if it were an option. Is it that it's not a fantastic machine? Is it that it isn't yours? Do you have some other aversion to the computer?

I ask, because if you've got a computer with a basic sound card, then all you're going to need is one of these and one of these and the associated cabling, and you're golden. Audacity is good freeware for recording, and you really don't need a fantastic computer to run it.

Another simple computer option would be something like this.

Again, I'm curious as to your wanting to keep things out of the computer, because aside from an old-school 4-track tape recorder computers simply offer the easiest and quickest method out there for multitrack recording - and with the cassettes, you still have to worry about CD transfer.

In my humble, but not inexperienced opinion, most of the standalone recorders are simply too complex to use easily ("on the fly") and getting the music onto CD is complex and difficult unless you spend extra money for a model with a CD burner built-in. I have a friend who's had one of the nicer BOSS models for years, and never uses it because it just takes way too much time to set up and operate. You've got to spendd a lot of time with menus and "virtual tracks" that would be better spent recording. With my computer, it takes 3 mouse-clicks to set up a new track and arm it for recording, and I've got as many to play with as I want. Then I can edit and shape the track without having to browse through tiny menus on a tiny LCD display.

Absolutely, if there's a good reason to avoid the computer, then a stand-alone unit might be best, but believe me, computers are the easiest solution out there at the moment.

As far as the steps to a good CD recording go... Well, that's the subject of many collections of books. The first step is to make sure you understand levels and how they can destroy your project if too high. When you're recording into a digital device, -6 to -12 is a good level to avoid clipping. "Redlining" things simply is not a good idea in the digital age.

[Larry F]

The computer will make your life so much easier. With what you describe, you won't be able to edit (as far as I can tell).