- Joined
- Apr 15, 2012
- Location
- Riverside, California
OKAY Lets start with a little about me I guess.
About 2 years ago I wanted to begin recording and producing videos and music. My dad decided that I should get a Mac. At the time I was pretty against the idea because its expensive to buy and I thought it was a bit ridiculous. So it was summer and I was gone at a boy scout camp and came back to a little desk and a new Mac. I was blown away. Against my choice and preference there it was. Immediately I knew that was the end of gaming for a while because my dad believes in having one computer for the family. Mine was a PC at the time. Ironically I'm still typing all this on a PC now haha and its 4 times as old as the Mac. But I've also helped one of my good friends make his own rig for recording at home as well on a PC desktop so I can explain both sides of the story to you. I'll lay down what gear you need for both a Mac and a PC and what the use for each is. Because I still like PCs better I shall start with that.
PC RECORDING SETUP:
1. A PC
Obvious to all of you I know. you will need a PC. But what the PC should have and what it doesn't need are choices that you do have. Obviously you will be best off with a top of the line expensive pants on the ground computer. But you can easily get away with a simple 8GB Intel i5. And a good GPU will be very good. Because often times these also act as light audio cards(HDMI). Most people will assume you need a very nice sound card but it is NOT necessary. USB slots will do the job just fine. That is as far as I will go on computers.
2. AN AUDIO INTERFACE
What is an audio interface you ask? An audio interface is what you need one of the USB slots for. There are also Firewire interfaces available and as we all know firewire is faster than USB so that may be something to consider. A firewire card or to see what kind of firewire input you need for the interface and a mobo or card with that kind of slot integrated. What does the interface do? The audio interface is a device that converts analog sound signals the sound from the mic or speaker to a digital signal, a signal that the computer can capture and record. And you can do this with just a cable from the guitar into the computer or from a USB mic into the computer but the quality will be much lower.
M-Audio Profire 610
That is generally what they look.It gets a little more simple and a lot more crazy but that is a basic tool. It has the inputs for a direct guitar or a mic. I owned one myself. They are quite nice.
3. Software
That's right that is all the hardware you need as far as computer goes. If you have a mic and a guitar amp you can start your business right after you have software.
Now there are a million different tools out there some are cheap and some are professional quality. There is everything from Cube Base which is a middle of the road tool to Pro Tools which is widely used by professionals everywhere and Audacity which is free and as basic as you can get. They all do the job but as far as how much you can do after you have acquired your recording (post recording effects and editing) you will be limited by what you buy. This is where you do your homework and figure out how much you want to spend and how complex and nitty gritty you want to be with your music.
Another note:
These programs also give you different Midi sounds. For if you want to edit in a synthesizer or some sort of instrument that you can't afford at the moment etc. These can be manually edited which I think is a pain. OR you can use an external controller to use them. Because that is extra I will do that at the end in a short peripheral and extra section at the end
2. A Mac
So this is where I imagine a lot of you will lose interest. But I will go through the pros of a Mac as far as music editing goes here because I believe as far as video editing and Music recording go without having to worry about a million things goes these are VERY user friendly. Because there is no such thing as a basic Mac you can get away with the most basic Mac. The i5 4GB desktop (this is what I have) or what have you. I believe that the Mac Book Air is the only one that does not have a Firewire Port and so is a little useless here. You want one with a firewire port though. And that is about it.
2. Audio Interface
The interface I posted first was the interface I had for the Mac first and I loved it. BUT my mac could not power it and thus I had to get my Mac replaced. HAHAHA TAKE THAT MAC!!!! But then they gave me a new one no questions asked and I Replaced the M-Audio Profire 610 with the Apogee Duet. This is a very nice interface that is made just for Apple computers. So obviously it works well. To this day I still own it. Its very very simple and easy to set up and use.
3. Software
This is where there is also an advantage for Mac users. You have this little nifty program called Garage Band. And I think it is fabulous. Its like Audacity but the midi sounds that are included are first rate. They almost sound real and in the mix with real instruments they do sound real. *snip* There is also Logic Pro which is Apple's answer to Pro Tools and they are equally good. But those again are high end products and on this case optional.
PERIPHERALS AND EXTRAS!!!!!!!
Now this is where things get expensive really fast if you don't plan on what you need and what you could do without. Now remember this is assuming you have a guitar and amp and all the cables they need and a couple mics. If not do your homework on the guitar and all that fun stuff. And as far as mics go. I started out with the MXL 990/991 combo and they sound really good to me and its for less that $100 which is very reasonable for descent mics.
Now I was talking about a MIDI controller earlier. There are most commonly in the form of a USB keyboard. They come in everything from 24 keys to a full 88 keys like a piano. Being a pianist I really enjoy having the 88 keys to work with and so I bought one. They are relatively cheap but its all on what you need and would want.
Next thing to consider is how big big the session you record will be. Is it going to be a full band or just a couple people. You want to consider the audio interface you buy here. They come with up to 16 inputs I believe. Or you can buy an audio mixer with 32 channels and have a lot of room to work with. I am still getting away with my 2 mic setup. But its all up to the player.
I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial in making a computer based recording studio. Remember this is as basic as it gets. Feel free to ask me questions on here.
Kish
*edit by mbentley: We do not allow discussion or suggestion of pirating software.
About 2 years ago I wanted to begin recording and producing videos and music. My dad decided that I should get a Mac. At the time I was pretty against the idea because its expensive to buy and I thought it was a bit ridiculous. So it was summer and I was gone at a boy scout camp and came back to a little desk and a new Mac. I was blown away. Against my choice and preference there it was. Immediately I knew that was the end of gaming for a while because my dad believes in having one computer for the family. Mine was a PC at the time. Ironically I'm still typing all this on a PC now haha and its 4 times as old as the Mac. But I've also helped one of my good friends make his own rig for recording at home as well on a PC desktop so I can explain both sides of the story to you. I'll lay down what gear you need for both a Mac and a PC and what the use for each is. Because I still like PCs better I shall start with that.
PC RECORDING SETUP:
1. A PC
Obvious to all of you I know. you will need a PC. But what the PC should have and what it doesn't need are choices that you do have. Obviously you will be best off with a top of the line expensive pants on the ground computer. But you can easily get away with a simple 8GB Intel i5. And a good GPU will be very good. Because often times these also act as light audio cards(HDMI). Most people will assume you need a very nice sound card but it is NOT necessary. USB slots will do the job just fine. That is as far as I will go on computers.
2. AN AUDIO INTERFACE
What is an audio interface you ask? An audio interface is what you need one of the USB slots for. There are also Firewire interfaces available and as we all know firewire is faster than USB so that may be something to consider. A firewire card or to see what kind of firewire input you need for the interface and a mobo or card with that kind of slot integrated. What does the interface do? The audio interface is a device that converts analog sound signals the sound from the mic or speaker to a digital signal, a signal that the computer can capture and record. And you can do this with just a cable from the guitar into the computer or from a USB mic into the computer but the quality will be much lower.
That is generally what they look.It gets a little more simple and a lot more crazy but that is a basic tool. It has the inputs for a direct guitar or a mic. I owned one myself. They are quite nice.
3. Software
That's right that is all the hardware you need as far as computer goes. If you have a mic and a guitar amp you can start your business right after you have software.
Now there are a million different tools out there some are cheap and some are professional quality. There is everything from Cube Base which is a middle of the road tool to Pro Tools which is widely used by professionals everywhere and Audacity which is free and as basic as you can get. They all do the job but as far as how much you can do after you have acquired your recording (post recording effects and editing) you will be limited by what you buy. This is where you do your homework and figure out how much you want to spend and how complex and nitty gritty you want to be with your music.
Another note:
These programs also give you different Midi sounds. For if you want to edit in a synthesizer or some sort of instrument that you can't afford at the moment etc. These can be manually edited which I think is a pain. OR you can use an external controller to use them. Because that is extra I will do that at the end in a short peripheral and extra section at the end
2. A Mac
So this is where I imagine a lot of you will lose interest. But I will go through the pros of a Mac as far as music editing goes here because I believe as far as video editing and Music recording go without having to worry about a million things goes these are VERY user friendly. Because there is no such thing as a basic Mac you can get away with the most basic Mac. The i5 4GB desktop (this is what I have) or what have you. I believe that the Mac Book Air is the only one that does not have a Firewire Port and so is a little useless here. You want one with a firewire port though. And that is about it.
2. Audio Interface
The interface I posted first was the interface I had for the Mac first and I loved it. BUT my mac could not power it and thus I had to get my Mac replaced. HAHAHA TAKE THAT MAC!!!! But then they gave me a new one no questions asked and I Replaced the M-Audio Profire 610 with the Apogee Duet. This is a very nice interface that is made just for Apple computers. So obviously it works well. To this day I still own it. Its very very simple and easy to set up and use.
3. Software
This is where there is also an advantage for Mac users. You have this little nifty program called Garage Band. And I think it is fabulous. Its like Audacity but the midi sounds that are included are first rate. They almost sound real and in the mix with real instruments they do sound real. *snip* There is also Logic Pro which is Apple's answer to Pro Tools and they are equally good. But those again are high end products and on this case optional.
PERIPHERALS AND EXTRAS!!!!!!!
Now this is where things get expensive really fast if you don't plan on what you need and what you could do without. Now remember this is assuming you have a guitar and amp and all the cables they need and a couple mics. If not do your homework on the guitar and all that fun stuff. And as far as mics go. I started out with the MXL 990/991 combo and they sound really good to me and its for less that $100 which is very reasonable for descent mics.
Now I was talking about a MIDI controller earlier. There are most commonly in the form of a USB keyboard. They come in everything from 24 keys to a full 88 keys like a piano. Being a pianist I really enjoy having the 88 keys to work with and so I bought one. They are relatively cheap but its all on what you need and would want.
Next thing to consider is how big big the session you record will be. Is it going to be a full band or just a couple people. You want to consider the audio interface you buy here. They come with up to 16 inputs I believe. Or you can buy an audio mixer with 32 channels and have a lot of room to work with. I am still getting away with my 2 mic setup. But its all up to the player.
I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial in making a computer based recording studio. Remember this is as basic as it gets. Feel free to ask me questions on here.
Kish
*edit by mbentley: We do not allow discussion or suggestion of pirating software.
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