Any home recording enthusiasts?

Finally got my gear in good order and want to start recording. I think I've reached a spot in my life where I'm about to give up on the idea of playing in a band. I'm too busy with work and family to commit to a set time for practice, and have no delusions about music as a career anymore, so it's kind of hard to find like minded people who are serious about playing, but not so serious that there will ever be a "What about the baaaaand, maaaaan?" conversation.

Anyway, I got pretty comfortable on a Tascam 424 back in the day. Not the greatest quality, but "good enough for punk rock." I'd certainly like to step up a bit on quality, but I REALLY need something user friendly. If there has to be a serious time commitment just to figure out what the hell I'm doing, I'll never do it.

I'm looking at the DP-02/DP-03 digital portastudio type stuff. I think(?) the ability to burn directly from the recorder might be nice(???)

I'm also pretty familiar with Sound Forge, Acid, Et. al., though I'm sure these are archaic programs by now. Anyway, what I'm saying is, I'm no stranger to digital editing, looping, etc., so if the "answer" is record straight to computer, I'm okay with that too, and would even consider getting a beater dedicated computer for that purpose.

$200 budget would be great, but may consider up to $500 if that means a significant boost in sound quality/ease of use.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Secondhand Mbox with Pro Tools is the answer. I would say buy one new, but the prices have gone up since I last looked. The Mbox 2 with Pro Tools was $499, it appears that the Mbox 3 with Pro Tools is $675. This assumes that you have a computer that you can use, if not, budget another couple hundred to put it together.

Audacity would be your free alternative to Pro Tools - but I've never attempted more than one track in it.

I think computer recording is the way to go. Take a look at Reaper as a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) program. It's a good, solid, inexpensive app, and I like and respect their business model. It should run on a modest computer with little problem. I used to use SONAR but much prefer Reaper for my needs.

-Chris R.

And crap - meant to put this in off topic. Mods?

Seems like recording to computer is the way to go these days. Unless you're using soft synths or tons of effects, I don't think it really takes much of a machine, so you mostly need some software and an input device (I use a Tascam US 122; two channels to USB, XLR and 1/4" inputs; looks like they run about $130 these days...).

What kind of computer do you have right now? Audacity's available for Windows and Linux, Ardour's available for Linux and OS X. I think the distinction there could be boiled down to Ardour being more full featured but more stuff to screw up (I think it's intended as an open source answer to Pro Tools).

I'm using Ardour now, but with my skills "using" is about the biggest claim I'd make... "Know", "understand", "prefer based on deep knowledge of recording", etc not so much...

Wow what great thread! I doing audio for a living and it is cool to see my two big passions on one site!

Pro Tools is the industry leader for a reason and they just made a big announcement at the AES show. Also there is a ton of online training available.

FEel free to PM me if you have any questions.

ransom wrote: What kind of computer do you have right now? Audacity's available for Windows and Linux, A

< /thread>

I've got a Dell with an i5 Intel that I'm running Ubuntu Linux 11.10 and Audour on, but like others I come from the day of hardwired gear and trying to get Alsa, Jack and Midi to play nice with each other is a bit of a PITA.

I have less that $200 in the PC and USB interface though, so I guess I really shouldn't bitch too much.

1. I know nothing about this E36 M3, but would like to.
2. When you figure this E36 M3 out, I'm gonna bring a bass and some natty up there and we can berkeley around.

I've got a E36 M3ty acoustic that I'm terrible at. And a case of Busch. "Dead Flowers" starts sounding really good about 2/3rds of the way in to the case. Sorta Hank III punk Townes. I'm sure that recording anything will cause dead musicians to roll over, glass to break, and children to run screaming to their mothers worldwide.

I use an M-Audio Mobile Pre (little two-channel thing) and ProTools M-Powered, whole thing set me back $150. I got the Mobile Pre used for $50, and the copy of M-Powered for $100. Add some mic cables, and you got your $200. Then save for a nice mic or two. This set-up has the added bonus of running ProTools, so you can save your stuff and take it to any studio anywhere and work on it there, because everywhere uses ProTools, even though it's not the best way to do things. It's like Windows

DILYSI Dave wrote: 1. I know nothing about this E36 M3, but would like to. 2. When you figure this E36 M3 out, I'm gonna bring a bass and some natty up there and we can berkeley around.

What would be more helpful would be if YOU knew all this stuff, and could play DRUMS. Either way, something cool will happen. By 'natty' I assume you mean 'evan.'

poopshovel wrote: By 'natty' I assume you mean 'evan.'

I don't know, it's kinda a long drive for me and I can't play drums either.

Thanks guys. So, confuser + protools? I don't know jack about computers. We have a cheap emachines and a cheap compaq.

poopshovel wrote: Thanks guys. So, confuser + protools? I don't know jack about computers. We have a cheap emachines and a cheap compaq.

Yes, but Ardour and Audacity have GRM friendly pricing (i.e. they are free)

How old are said emachines and compaq? I bet they're already acceptable for Pro Tools duty, or can be made to be with minimal investment.

In reply to poopshovel:

If you're just looking to record yourself, one track at a time, I'd look for a cheap USB input device and just use Audacity. (cheap hardware, free software, effective)

Or at least that's the only logical recommendation I can make. I can't swear that that's exactly what I'd actually do once I started poking around and my gear-lust went nuts...

I've been recording my own music for many years. From reel to reel to adats to hard drive units. I made the jump from a multi track cassette to the roland vs 880 for home recording. And now on a laptop for quite a few years. Computer based recording is the way to go. Much better surface to work on compared to a DAW with a really small screen and weird file storage formats that aren't friendly with other makes.. Powerful laptops are cheap now and you don't need it to be an overpriced mac. Lot's of us are recording on windows pc's. Depending on how many inputs you need, a 2 channel interface will work just fine. A couple of decent mics like Apex's etc. a pod or some other modeller(there just isn't much reason for me to pull the old Vox topboost out anymore) and either a drum track production software or an online session drummer(I use Phil Roberston who's fantastic) and you're set. Are we allowed to post links of our music?

poopshovel wrote:

DILYSI Dave wrote: 1. I know nothing about this E36 M3, but would like to. 2. When you figure this E36 M3 out, I'm gonna bring a bass and some natty up there and we can berkeley around.

What would be more helpful would be if YOU knew all this stuff, and could play DRUMS. Either way, something cool will happen. By 'natty' I assume you mean 'evan.'

1. I know almost nothing about this, but have friends that do. I know when we recorded some stuff in my friend's living room, we recorded it straight to the laptop and it sounds pretty good.

2. When you figure it out I can bring the drum kit. I'm not very good but I can lay down a solid beat. I can also bring a back-up bass or three. I've got a fake Rick and a small Ampeg that sound pretty bad ass together.

http://lifehacker.com/5853193/how-can-i-set-up-a-home-recording-studio-on-the-cheap?tag=asklifehacker

Picture from work right now.

In reply to Sultan:

Is that... Weird AL?!?

Nope just one of my guys. He drives a very unloved TJ...Oh are you asking about what is on the monitor it is a Seattle based band who likes peaches:-)

Any of you 'basement artists' have any recordings posted on the web anywhere. Would love to hear some "Grassroots Music"...it is still GRM by the way.

Post them up.

I've fallen out of the home recording scene quite a bit since 2004-ish since I got hardcore into Computer Music, but I know from the meager experience I have had over the last several years is that any of the major players offer plenty of features and capability... Digital Performer, Pro Tools, Steinberg, Presonus Studio One, etc. And if you're really on a budget, the GRM alternatives like Audacity, Ardour, Amadeus Pro, etc. are very capable as well. I have all three.

For an audio interface, again, most do a mighty fine job. Last year I bought a Presonus Firestudio Project, which for the coin I spent has worked out to be a good piece of gear. And like all of the audio interfaces, it comes with some basic tracking/editing software. Out of the box, it puts the $20k+ crap I used back in the early to late 90s to freaking shame. I couldn't find better (for my needs) in my budget than the Presonus gear. Check 'em out.

Hope this helps.