hello im new :D

hey just introducing myself looks like an awesome site! i play accoustic guitar but i just started about 3 months ago but i think im getting pretty decent, im looking for ways to record myself playing all i have is a cheap desktop mic and i dont know how to make it sound decent what programs would i possibly need?

welcome to the site...I will now allow Dr.Simon to answer your questions on recording(he is my home recording hero!)

Welcome to the site dude. I too will yield recording advice unto Dr. Simon. Especially for an acoustic guitarist, that's outta my element.

heh... before Dr. Simon answers I'll butt in and answer for the computer software geeks among us. (no offence to Simon, but tabletop recorders are no match for computer software in my humble groovy opinion)
If you want to save a whole lot of money you can get by with a relatively cheap mic, some free recording software and a couple of shareware VSTi instruments.
You might also want to grab some freebie or shareware compressors and reverbs.

This song I did a coupla years ago...:

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/mp3/GoodNight.F.mp3

... and was done using a really cheap Aria mic worth about $50, a really cheap acoustic I got for $45 from a pawn shop and mostly free equipment from online.
The instruments are all VSTi's instruments from inside the computer and the software was Cubase which is where a lot of the free instruments came from. (in your case, rather than spending money on Cubase I'd suggest trying a free program called "ProTools Free"

http://www.digidesign.com/ptfree/

... which will give you 8 tracks of audio and loads of midi channels, then use Google to search for some free synths and plug-ins for it.

An outboard mixer, although not necessary, would allow you to adjust the volume of your mic input (I used a Behringer Eurorack 802A tabletop 8 channel mixer)

Total cost of the above stuff is just a few hundred bucks, including the mixer, mic and guitar. Total time to record is about 3 hours.

The biggest advantage of recording using computer based software is the ability to edit. For instance moving verses and chorus's around with the click of a button by just dragging and pasting.... or using stuff like autotune to help vocals. (ie, the very last word on this tune... 'good'-night... was moved up a half step using autotune cause she sang the wrong note. and the whole vocal is edited together almost word for word from about 12 takes she did with several lines shifted back and forth to make them sound like they're more in beat)
The vocalist also did them in California over the internet in her kitchen using her own computer then sent them to me by email to Canada.
Another advantage to software based recording is harmonies. I used a separate arrange window to lay down a 16 part harmony and then reduce it down to stereo with autotune for the background.... total time to do all the harmonies was about 20 minutes.

A workaround for the 8 track limit in ProTools free btw if you want to do the same type of thing: is to export the 8 tracks as a stereo .wav file, (your instrumental bed tracks for instance) and then import them as a stereo mix, leaving 6 more tracks open for vocals or other overdubs.

If any of this stuff is confusing, I've got tons of step by step multitrack tutorials on my web page taking you through the whole process.

very cool thanks for the replies and i will consider investing in a somewhat decent mic and possibly a new sound card but i still await my answer from the doc :p :D :)

Groovy...
some additional advice btw: a good way to get a full sound with acoustic strumming is to record 2 tracks of the same thing and then pan them to the extreme left and right. (like the above song) A snag you might end up finding though is something called 'phasing'. Not sure what the scientific explanation is, but basically if you record something using the same mic placement on more than one track, you run the risk of several frequencies cancelling themselves out. So whenever I record acoustic, I move the mic slightly between the first and second takes. Same thing with vocals. It seems as long as you move the mic around the room slightly, it gets rid of that phase problem. (although in some cases it actually helps the sound if you leave the phase in :)

Hey Dude,
If you already have a computer and a sound card then you are half way there. For beginners I usually recommend a standalone DAW as a better starting point however I have a set up that uses both !

The reason I do this is that you don't have to worry about plugins (effects) compatibility, latency, system stability and a thousand other things. I would recommend spending 200 bucks on a second hand POD V2 which you can plug striate into your sound card. This makes it infinitely easier to get really nice guitar tone down than trying to mic an amp with a cheap microphone / preamp.

As far as software is concerned, I use Sonar which is about 600 bucks however there are plenty of free options (and threads about them on this site.). If you use the search facility in the Recording forum you will find many. Id avoid pro-tools to start with as, although it is the industry standard, it can get expensive fast re. plugins etc. If you are using a Mac Id suggest getting a copy of Garage Band (unless like Mr Schmange you are still stuck on OS9, eh betamax boy !!).

later

S

Plug-ins can get expensive but there's a whole ton of freebies that work fine for most stuff. Cubase came with a drum machine, a couple of synths and all the reverbs, echoes and compression plug-ins you'd ever need.

...and betamax is still better than VHS, althought both are outdated now with DVD's and hard drive recorders.
And my Sonly PCM701ES is still pretty good for making digital recordings on video tape.

Dude, I still have an old Revox A77 real to real, which kicks ass !! And, for that a Tascam 424 mk III which I still use as a mixing desk, well new is not always better !

As far as OS9 is concerned IMHO it is better than XP by a long shot. The system I have has massive system resources (1 GB ram, 400 MB FSB, 1.4 Gig P-IV) and keeps crashing (like 3 times a day) !

Having got like 2-3Ks worth of music software (Autotune, Wave lab, Sonar, Waves Native Gold Plugins, Re-valver, Pyro, etc etc) Im loathed to move platforms however this machine is useless for tracking ! Hence the D1200 which is limited to 24/48 but is rock solid !

Once day when Im rich I will swap over to a G5 running Logic, however that comes in at a minimum of about 4 K !

And in my case, upgrading all my peripherals and VST units to go with it and upgrading to Cubase SX.
I don't even like using System 9. It's slower than system 8.6 and the damned 'sound thru' feature doesn't work. So if I want to monitor my mic or guitar while I'm playing, I have to constantly switch systems.
OS9 for using stuff like Halion etc... and then OS8.6 to record instruments.

My biggest drawback in not being able to upgrade to a lightning fast G4 is being stuck with a 266 processor. I can record up to about 128 tracks but they won't all run simultaneously unless I have an empty hard drive, run no effects, and space out the instruments so no more than about a dozen tracks are running at once. All the vst instruments have to be auditioned using an outboard sound module and then changed to VST instruments later.... Amplitube will only work on playback. And mixing a 128 track tune is impossible unless you mute half the tracks and do it in pieces.

2x2.5 GHz G5 / 1GB Ram 2999
30 in display 3299
Logic Pro 7 999

U know U want 2 !!

lol ok im new to all this what is a pod v2 and a standalone daw? can you find a few examples for me on www.musiciansfriend.com ? thank for the help guys!~
EDIT:::::i was looking at mics and im thinkin of getting a Shure SM57 what do you guys think of this mic and what other hardware would i need to accompany it?

Just a suggestion if ya don't know it already... use Google Image search.
You can find thousands of hits, pics and other info at your fingertips.
Then stick with it..... after 10 years on the internet, Google is by far the best.
They also have a new customizable algorithm setup which upgrades ordinary web sites to eliminate unwanted spam etf...

Also, turn off cookies and make sure no extensions or apps are running simltaneously.

SM58s (vocal) and SM57s (guitar) are great however they do use an XLR output. Most sound cards cant cope with this and you will need an adapter. You will also need to go into a mic input NOT a line level input. The best thing to do is toy use a preamp with a dedicated channel strip which will bring your lowZ mic line signal up to line level or even digitize it if you want as well as allowing you to tweak EQ and compress before it hits your HDD

A DAW is a Digital Audio Workstation. I like Korgs D1200 MK (http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=20641&Category=Recorders) I however their are plenty of others out there. If avoid Zoom and Boss DAWs

The Line 6 Pod V2 (http://www.music123.com/Line-6-POD-V-2-i70417.music) has been superseded by the PodXT however a good condition Pod2 will be not only adequate but also cheap.

Oh yes, Id avoid Musiciansfriend, they are not very good. I normally use www.music123.com or www.8thstreet.com.

Maybe it's just me but I'd avoid standalone cassette units like the plague.
They sound half decent and have devent features when used proberly, but they're nothing more than souped up 4 Track cassette decks.
(ie, rewinding, fastforwarding, splicing noises etc..etc....

----------------------------------------------------

Hey Simon.... or any other tap/jazz/rock players.... we should have a friendly guitar contest. :D

We should write a song from scratch with a time limit of one day. The chords should be prearranged and set up so that it's simple enough to follow. Somebody else can write a 2 minute acoustic riff using simple open chords
Then each of us add drums, bass, guitar, keys and vocals to see who comes up with the best sounding tune, using your tabletop unit and my G3 Mac with the built in VST's.

No cheating etc.... and no inserting old studio tunes or whatever.
Just write something on the scratch with a time limit of 24 hours.)

The results can be posted here with a vote process.

The winner gets a free date with a hot potato

I don't expect to win as I know you can tap me into the ground however I'm totally up for it, how about some time in the holidays ?

24h to blast out a 3 min home spun classic, any style from scratch !


Lets limit it to two or three prearranged chord sequence to be unveiled on the day by some one not taking part.

I presume Hot potato means a sort of vegetable or Catherine may have something to say about it and that is only bad !!!

I'm not going to use just the D1200 as it is crap to mix and loop on. I can do it its just the interface stinks and I don't really enjoy it hence the computer stuff !

yeah... something simple. Nothing major as far as chords go... just basic background chords with some backup instruments to illustrate what the difference is in sound between a computer and DAW workstation when it comes to composing stuff.

All we need is someone to set the rules for what chords to use.

Any takers?
Just some simple short 1 - 3 minute song.

The contest being not so much who can do the best fancy playing or anything, but a way to illustrate the difference in sound from a computer based recording to a DAW.

I guess I"m just majorly curious what the difference in sound is between the two formats.

So.... I guess the major first step is for someone to come up with a background chord riff that's easy to play (something that can be strummed on acoustic or whatever) and then added to later with either vocals or whatever.

Any takers from the guitar tricks readers or should we just do something ourselves?

I will only be tracking on the D1200 !

And no backing out now cos I've just spent the evening putting up my drums and practicing my chops !!!

Lets go with the 24 hrs thing sometime after Dec25 as Im all full of working 'till then

We could put all the entries up as a poll and get people to vote on em !!

Originally Posted by: Dr_simonWe could put all the entries up as a poll and get people to vote on em !!

IDEA!!! We should all jam over some track and have a poll to see who writes the best solo!