Computer Recording Suggestions?

I am looking to move more toward recording straight to a computer.

I will have questions at various points/times this year.

I am not too computer savvy. Does the software you decide to use determine what type of procesing speed for your Computer and all that mumbo jumbo.

I have an old computer that I am wanting to strip as much as I can from Windows and leave only the "basics". Nothng else. This will be used exclusively for recording. I am sure I will have to replace the sound card.

Could one of you Gurus out there please help me get on the right "track" (pun intended).

im not good in terms of computer parts but i can recommend a software which is called audacity... its neat and its free...

Not sure what kind of cash you're ready to throw at recording but a friend of mine uses an M-Audio Mobile preamp which simply plugs into a USB port on his computer. He hooks his condenser mic to the pre and uses that to record and I'm not sure why he does that with his electric guitar since you can plug directly into the preamp but the acoustic I understand.

His preamp can be seen here and the mic he uses is here .

There is no soundcard upgrade needed as the pre does that work and his recordings sound pretty good. It comes bundled with software but he uses audacity with it. When I start playing stuff thats worth recording then I'll buy a similar setup.

i'd advise you to post your computer specs (you can find these by clicking on start, run and then typing dxdiag and hitting enter, it'll tell you how fast your computer is and how much ram it has). It's easier then to figure out what needs to be done.

you really REALLY need an external sonud card for recording, internal soudn cards are very noisy because even though they're usually grounded, you get loads of static from the motherboard, fans and case in general, external sound cards don't have that problem because they are independant from any other electronic interference (as long as you keep them sort of isolated). M-audio are awesome but pretty high end. Line 6 have a device called the TonePort which is supposed to be good and sets you back about $130 US and is USB powered (http://www.music123.com/Line-6-Tone-Port-UX1-i250717.music) - comes with modelling software too so that's always a bonus, saves you from having to use your pod or other amp modeller/amp.

There are a few pretty easy to use softwares out there that have enough power to produce decent tracks (they're like cut down versions of protools). Garageband on Mac is probably one of the most easiest and ingenuitive softwares out there but there are PC softwares that are quite similar and free or cost small ammounts.

Warning though, editing tracks is addictive and VERY time consuming even if you're pretty damn fast, expect to be consumed if you're one of them perfectionist overdoing types that overpoduces things.

Thanks so far guys/gals.

You will probrably find this completely hillarious but before I can check and get the specs I have to get a monitor :o.

This was my sons old computer he used mostly for burning CD's and games--not homework or school, or guitarforums like I intended :)

It went caput last year and the tower has been in the closet. We are planning to get the monitor in about 2 weeks. Cheapy used one since we will strip the programs to only what we need for recording and uploading. All games and extras are going to be deleted.

As soon as we have it functioning I will post the specs and the current soundcard.

Than you all again for the help so far.

you dont need a super powerful pc for recording im using a
0.8ghz processor
128mb ram
dual screen (added the second one today its well cool) set
and the only thing restricitin me at the moment is the sound card and mic. but im plannin on spending a bit of money and upgrading big time soon
this pc is 7+ years old so alsong as yours is newer you shouldnt have of a problem

those line 6 thing look pretty damn good they have the toneports now too im guessing they do a similar thing as guitarport
recording software i use magix audio studio which took a while to get used to but is quit easy to use.

Me and My son played around with the cakewalk for guitar (purchased best buy about 5 years ago) Early version.

We plugged directly into the sound card but we kept having "dropping out" issues.

can't stress this enough, do not DO NOT use an internal sound card, they are great for outputting sound, but when it comes to input they are static. I've used a Creative Audigy Pro in a pretty well set up computer, still the same problem. External sound cards and guitar products like the TonePort are designed from the ground up to 1) not have any components in them taht cause static like fans or unshielded components, and 2) to be sensitive enough to get a good range of tone through them.

You can go 2 routes, one is to plug your guitar through an existing amp/modeller and then into the computer (using the headphones/line out in the amp/modeller) or plugging your guitar straight into the device through a mic input and using a software modeller (which can be more flexible and changeable but less authentic).

I'd recommend getting a toneport instead of a fancy sound card.

Worst experience i've had with a sound card was a professional one in a PC that i was using to record a voice over for a documentary (not my voice :)) and it was a top of the line cable and a sure SM58 and a top sound card, and still - totally bad quality. ended up using the camera to record the voiceover!

Originally Posted by: jimmy_kwtxMe and My son played around with the cakewalk for guitar (purchased best buy about 5 years ago) Early version.

We plugged directly into the sound card but we kept having "dropping out" issues.

Upgrade your soundcard and make sure the latency is set low enough so there is no audible delay but not so low that your pc melts from the stress. I Use cakewalk myself and I wouldn't use anything else now that I know what I'm doing. I rarely ever have dropouts. I only have them if I try to record 6 or more channels at once so I got out of that habit. A bit restrictive if you wanna live record a band but for just recording a track or two at once it works fine. If you wanna hear www.soundclick.com/magicninja (free) all done in Cakewalk Music Creator Pro. Older software, should be quite cheap by now. The dropping out is caused (I think) by your pc not being able to handle the memory usage recording is causing. Try setting your latency higher.

Ok got Audacity downloaded.

I should be able to download the GT assignments now correct?

I am having to do this piece by piece and on a shoestring budget.

So my recordings will actually have to be cassette/for now.

Once I have the backing track and the whatever thrown on top, recorded.

I should theoretically be able to plug into the Headphone jack on theb tape player and then to the "input" on the existing sound card, use audacity to get it to the corect file format and save it to like Sound click or something. Correct?

I am sure there is a great riosk in the quality sounding poor but I remember reading somewhere that Audacity can take the "cracklin Bacon" out of people recording old Vinyl. Would it help reduce the "hiss" from Tape?

I look forward to the replys.

You can't plug nto the headphone jack on the tape player and hope to record. Does the tape player have a 1/4" mic jack? If so then yes you could probably get some recording done.

Sorry bout that.

I can record to the tape player no problem have all the adapters etc. to mic the room/amp.

What I meant to say was... once I have recorded the play back and the 2nd track over it (this will take about 16 different tries becuase I am doing this "stone age" school.

What I was trying to find out was would I be able to play back the recording to "record" to the computer by reversing the process.

***Playback final recording plugged into the computer from the tape player using Headphone output on tape player to input on computer sound card?***

And would audacity help reduce some of the noise to create a "decent" recording to MP#, WAV format? I am not computer savvy so I hope I wrote that right.

Sorry if I created a misunderstanding.

Is there anyway to plug into the tape player and have it connected to your pc so you can play your lead directly into Audacity? I think that would be the better route. I don't know what kind of delay or hissing you would get though. Try it all the different ways you can think of and find out what gives you the best peformance.

I could plug straight into the sound card using my adapter and record direct to audacity, guitar only.

Or have the mic hooked to the mic/input, headphone plugged into the computer and the pre-recorded backing track playing on another tape player in the background so the mic can pick it up ("stone age" I tell ya!!!!)...But would audacity let the downloaded backing track "play" and record the second track (mixing down 2 to 1) at the same time if I am plugged directly into the copmputer and just say too hell with the tape?

I will be doing trial and error over this weekend and will let you know how it goes but I would like to have some working knowledge from others you all who have been doing this more than a day (like myself) so I will not make some pretty basic mistakes :rolleyes:

Sorry if this is confusing to you guys/gals but it is extremly confusing to me right now :confused:

You can import the backing straight into Audacity which is what you want to do. Then I say plug straight into the pc and record your guitar track over the backing. It shouldn't be that hard.

MJ,

Will give it a try. Thanks for the tips. Should I post a "test" here or in the listening post?

Doesn't matter but the Listening Post would be better.

a little late but i hear pods can record and do effects and stuff..

Originally Posted by: purea little late but i hear pods can record and do effects and stuff..

You can use the XT live to record (USB out)... The POD2 and standard XT do effects and amp emulation, but don't function as soundcards...

i thought you could connect your guitar to the xt then connect that to your usb and record. or do you need a good soundcard in your computer?