Easiest Cheapest Way to Record Good Music

[FourthBase]

Mac, mics, and Pro Tools? Sampler and a drum machine? 4 track?

[Et in Arcadia ego]

What are you trying to do specifically? I can walk you through a pro, semi-pro, or completely free software route(once you obtain a decent hardware 3rd party soundcard/A>D interface). I've been doing digital recording/mixing/mastering for close to 5 years now, so tell me exactly what your objective is.

If you want to just do sample and midi-based tracks, you can do that 100% free using VST's. I know about half of the digital audio developers out there and work for many of them, so tell me what kinda style of music you want to make.

[FourthBase]

For starters, a basic early 90's hip hop base, with a few samples per song, a drum track, and some random ornaments. I also have it in mind to add fuzz pedal guitar licks and even semi-elaborate solos, by piecing together small adequate bits of what I can manage. Or long, tripped out acoustic jams on a major seventh root, quadrupling myself to form a quartet. Or...well, this changes by the minute.

[Et in Arcadia ego]

Gotcha.

I'll assemble a shit list for you to consult, but I'll need a little time to make it.

I'm assuming you have a guitar to record with, yeah?

[FourthBase]

Gotcha.

I'll assemble a shit list for you to consult, but I'll need a little time to make it.

I'm assuming you have a guitar to record with, yeah?

Yep.

[Et in Arcadia ego]

Ok. I'll try to get something decent posted for you by tomorrow, but I'm right in the middle of my work week(end).

[Et in Arcadia ego]

Ok, here we go. I'm assuming the only thing you'll be actually recording into your machine is guitar. If this is the case, you'll need an audio interface that will take care of latency issues. You *must* have one of these, or there will be a significant delay in playing your notes and hearing them through the PC making playing/recording impossible.

So, if guitar is all you're after, here's my suggestions:

1- Stealthplug

This is intended for guitar/bass input/recording. It comes bundled with some great software, including Amplitube, which ranks as one of the best pedal/amp/cab modeling software programs you can get anywhere:






I make patches for this company, and I have full versions of all the software and highly recommend it. The bundle also includes a host sequencer, so you can use that to sequence midi and run virtual instruments(VSTi) and effects(VST).

That's pretty much a one shot-one kill solution that'll get you in the door.

Another choice is:

2 - Emu's 0202
More or less the same value in the bundle, you have a choice of more than one host sequencer. Amplitube LE is included in this one as well. One avantage of using an Emu box is they've been doing this for a long time and their units work really well(I use an 1829m). This bundle also includes the Proteus sampler, which is an excellent VSTi that you can expand with further downloadable sound sets.

Once you get your audio interface squared away, you'll need to decide on a host sequencer(another reason you are required to have an audio interface is because your host sequencer requires audio drives, usually in ASIO or WMD format). There are several out there, and I've used most of them. It's hard to make a recommendation on one, but the best ones for the money right now are Reaper and EnergyXT. I've done 90% of all my own tracks in EnergyXT v1 and I can recommend that with confidence, but Reaper also has a serious following and is being developed at light speed with constant additions and improvements.

You might not need to even consider one of these as you have multiple host sequencer packages bundled in your OEMs from your audio interface purchase. Both Reaper and eXT go for about $50.

Ok, so once that is done, you're ready to explore the plugins, and this is where you can get lost forever. There are so many fucking VST/VSTi out there free and otherwise you can drown in downloads for months and never get anywhere, so when you reach the point of being ready to check these out, get back to me again, and I'll filter out the best ones for you to have a go at.

Hope this helps. Any questions, let me know. Note I don't recommend Pro Tools because it's overpriced shit and the third party developers charge out the ass for the plugins you would use in RTAS/TDM format. There is little to no freeware scene for either; VST is where it's at.

While you chew on this, I'd refer you to KVR's 'Getting Started' section of their forum. There's much to consider there and tons of good resources. I know most of the developers that make these hosts and effects, so you can look me up over there as well.

Cheers,
D

[orz]

Even Garageband is pretty good tho fairly limited.

[FourthBase]

Wow, thank you Et!