Newbie on recording... Where to start?

Hi folks,

I've been playing guitar for quite some time, but now that technology made it easier, I've decided to start recording my own stuff.

I got a Toneport UX2 that would help as a sound card and with some of the effects, but I have no idea about what's next. A friend of mine told me that I would need something to "write" the music digitally (like Guitar Pro, or Jammer), a studio-like program (Sonar or whatever) and some sound fonts.

What are the best ways and softwares to start with? I'm not expecting to do anything professional, it's just to have an idea about the recording process and to manage my own sounds personally.

Suggestions?

Thank you and best regards,

Henrique Athayde

I would happily recommend Reaper software
You can download it free for 30 days then after that the licence is $60
It's easy to use 'simply'
And you can manipulate it lots -if you want to get more complex

For the vocals I use a behringer pre-amp mixer - which goes into the mic input of the PC - without the pre amp mixer - the mic is not powerfull enough

Hi, Grambo! Thanks a lot. I'll give it a try!

Cheers

You don't need any of that stuff. The Toneport UX2 is a recording interface itself. It has its own mic pres that will convert mic level to line level and you can record your guitar direct. It also has 48v phantom power for a condenser mic. It should come with Abelton, which is a lot better DAW than Reaper. It is really easy to use also because it has tutorials that will guide you through everything.

A great easy to use software system is available online from PG Music
for only $30. I have upgraded at least 5 times and it's worth it every time because they keep adding new features. It's called Power Tracks Pro Audiio and it's much easier than trying to learn Pro Tools, but I use Pro Tools too. Depends on how fast I want to create something. Give it a try.

Actually the Toneport UX2 is a cool tool for easy recording - and you can play around with the internal effects and have some fun. I use this in my teaching room with my students.

If you want to do some multitrack recording you just need a multitrack recording software. You can get very cheap one or maybe as somebody said you can get a trial and first check it out. But you definitely dont need pro tools - thats for pro's.

Greetings

HP

I'm a newbie at this, but I really like Ableton Live for laying down simple tracks and drum lines to play against. I create a drum line and then myself playing rhythm, like the 12 bar blues or whatever, and then I can record myself playing freestyle pentatonic scale or whatever on top of that...and it comes out sounding almost like it was meant to be.

So you probably need some kind of "DAW" software (digital audio workstation) and some kind of recording hardware (I use a POD X3 Live) to get the sound into the software.

The "Intro" version of Ableton is 100 bucks on Amazon and it will do quite a bit. The full version is around 500 bucks -- which seems to be about par for the course for professional audio software.

Agreed! You have everything you need at this stage to start recording and demoing your stuff. Ableton is fantastic. Your all set. Now go make some music.