Minimalist recording setup - advice needed

[NamelessOne]

Okay, first, I should clarify what I want: A simple way to record my music, at as low a cost as possible. I'm a metalhead, mainly into black metal, so quality isn't nearly as much of an issue as it is for other people. I don't play drums, so I'd need to synthsize them.

How I want to do it: First, lay down the drum track (probably using guitar pro, which I already have, writing out the drum line as a song, exporting it as an mp3 or whatever format it supports, and importing it into audacity). Next, instruments, using a line out into the computer (unless there's something I really don't understand, this should work even without a mixer in between, as it's just one track, right?). My guitar amp (my bass amp is a 15 inch combo, so it doesn't really do a good job of the high lead bits) doesn't have a line out, but it does have a headphone output, which in theory should have a low enough level that the computer can use it. This should eliminate the need for good monitors, as I'd play to the computer, and there wouldn't be any mic to pick up things in the room. This also lets me play while people are moving in the house. The amp's speakers would also be working (except with the small guitar amp), so I can hear what I'm playing. Vocals would be a bit harder, and actually need a mic, though in theory I could run it through the small guitar amp (I don't have a guitar crappy enough that I could just sing into a pickup).

So, looking at the above, I need:
Computer (have)
Audacity (have)
Guitar Pro (have), though I'd like something a bit better, I don't want to spend anything on it
Guitar, Bass (have)
Amplifiers for above (have)
Cables (I need one more)
Mic - need (though I could in theory borrow one, as I'd only need it for the vocals)
Skills - I'm working on those

Again, quality is not all-important. If Varg Vikernes can record a whole album singing into a broken pair of studio headphones (in less than 48 hours, too), I don't need a fancy mic. I want a bit higher sound quality than he got, but that's not hard to do.

BTW, I did actually check out about 5 pages of this forum, plus the links pages at the top (which are several years out of date, with a few broken links... may I humbly suggest that someone more knowledgeable than me update them?).

So, that's all I know (or rather, all I think I know). I'm just a egocentric, annoying teen in my parent's basement who wants to record some stuff without spending any money that I don't have. What are the errors of my ways, and what should I do to fix them?

Also, though much less important to me than my first question, is there a decent freeware/opensource drum/looping program? I didn't see any in the FAQ, but that was years ago.

[locolobo85]

I went through this several years ago and came up with a very affordable solution. You're definitely on the right track.

My solution was.....
Computer: a home built 2.4ghz, 1Gig system with a cheapo video card and decent sound card used almost exclusively for recording. No junk. The sound card is not one of those $300 studio cards either. I ended up finding a great deal (under 50) on a Creative Audigy card with the front end connection panel (2 rca, 1/4 mic/preamp input, 1/4 inch headphone out, firewire, opitcal and midi, IIRC) that fits into one of the CD bays. Works great for my simple recordings. The sound card becomes very important as the number of tracks start to mount. You need a card that can handle playback and recording at the same time. Otherwise you will get some extremely annoying lag issues which make it a real PITA to synch things up.

N-Track (under $100) recording package that was exactly what I was looking for. Very powerful yet simple and intuitive. Search and you will find. It has great features such as eq, limiter, compressor, tracks limited only by computers ability to handle them (i've gone to 21 but the system was struggling, 9-14 on my system is ideal), something like 52 midi tracks (IIRC), built in midi sequencer, pitch controls, handles vst and direct x plugins (lots of great free plugins out there to explore), etc.... Great support forums also. Much simplier and more affordable than Sonar, ProTools or the likes.

Audacity used for an external wave file editor.

I use a Line6 Pod for guitar straight in and the Tech21 Sansamp for the bass. Although any line level can be used with my soundcard. I have plugged the bass staight into the soundcard and used the cards preamp and NTrack's eq and effects to get a decent sound. I've also plugged a guitar with a stomp box straight in and used that. The sound is not the best but it will work.

To get started, everyone should own at least 1 SM57 and SM58. The directional 57 is great for amps and instruments and the omni 58 is great for vocal. If I had to have one, I'd start with the 58 since it can do all reasonably well. The 57 is not so great for vocal.

Add a set of headphones and I can do silent recordings with a baby sleeping in the next room for the most part.

As for the drums. Definitely the toughest thing to get going. Check out Leaf Drums. I used that for a while and it is fully functional shareware. If you use it, you should send the dude some cash for making a cool program. It comes with a decent set of samples but there are better samples available for free out on the net. I've used a combo of Leaf Drums, an old SR-16 drum machine and a Yamaha keyboard to work up drum tracks. Easily the hardest part of home recording.

Hope that helps.

[complexprocess]

I think you're on the right track here. Even with the basic equipment you already have it would be tough NOT to sound better than some of Varg's material.

For drums I really enjoy Leafdrums. It's shareware and costs 30 dollars to buy, but last time I checked the free trial period doesn't actually end at 30 days, so you can buy it whenever you're able. If you like it you SHOULD buy it eventually, though. It's good software and dead simple to use.

http://www.leafdigital.com/software/leafdrums/

The default sounds are pretty electronic sounding, so I like to use nskit7, which is a set of wav samples. Even the free version will have way more samples than you need (they sample each drum at a bunch of levels, in case you're using the samples with a pressure sensitive keyboard.) This free kit should be enough to get you started.

http://www.naturalstudio.co.uk/bb/viewtopic.php?t=548

Good luck.

[NamelessOne]

I guess I owe it to you guys to say what I ended up using...

I got an M-audio USB interface that works great so far. The mic (something electrovoice vocal mic) plugs straight in, or the DI box on my amp (I ended up talking to the "bass guy" totally by accident at the music store I got them at... he was very skeptical of my claims to have a good-sounding line out of my amp, but after a few moments of "no you don't" "yes I do", he asked me if I played bass. I said yes, and that settled it.). The only thing I'm noticing that's weird is that despite the interface's claim to convert to 24-bit audio, audacity only sees it as 8-bit (using half the area on a 16-bit track, even when clipping).

For drums, I'm using Guitar Pro 5, exporting as .wav, and eq-ing the kick drum up a bit. I also have Hammerhead (more suited to "house music", but it has some potential for metal), and as soon as I can figure out how to import samples (and maybe replace the pre-programmed loops with more samples) and sequence different beats together, I think it would work better. I really like the interface, although it lacks in quantity (especially the number of cymbals).

I don't have anything serious written and able to record, but I'll try the setup out with a little 11/8 grindcore song I wrote as a joke... if all goes well, it might end up somehow hosted or emailed around.

[locolobo85]

Originally Posted by NamelessOne

I guess I owe it to you guys to say what I ended up using...

I got an M-audio USB interface that works great so far. The mic (something electrovoice vocal mic) plugs straight in, or the DI box on my amp (I ended up talking to the "bass guy" totally by accident at the music store I got them at... he was very skeptical of my claims to have a good-sounding line out of my amp, but after a few moments of "no you don't" "yes I do", he asked me if I played bass. I said yes, and that settled it.). The only thing I'm noticing that's weird is that despite the interface's claim to convert to 24-bit audio, audacity only sees it as 8-bit (using half the area on a 16-bit track, even when clipping).
For drums, I'm using Guitar Pro 5, exporting as .wav, and eq-ing the kick drum up a bit. I also have Hammerhead (more suited to "house music", but it has some potential for metal), and as soon as I can figure out how to import samples (and maybe replace the pre-programmed loops with more samples) and sequence different beats together, I think it would work better. I really like the interface, although it lacks in quantity (especially the number of cymbals).

I don't have anything serious written and able to record, but I'll try the setup out with a little 11/8 grindcore song I wrote as a joke... if all goes well, it might end up somehow hosted or emailed around.

Have you checked the preferences for Audacity? IIRC, you have to select the recording settings for what type of file you want it to write. IIRC, it writes lower quality mono tracks as a default after installation.