Recording newbie seeking advice

[JacobE]

Hey Everyone!

My brother and I have decided to start a band in the sonic vein of bands such as Gang of Four, Wire, Die! Die! Die!, Sonic Youth etc, And as such we have decided we would like to record said project .

After some research we have decide to purchase a line 6 recording pod for vocals and guitars and due to the lack of an acceptable drummer we have decide to use a drum machine/ drum software for both recording and live eventually.

Now this is where are troubles start. seeing as we have no experience using the pod we are not sure of what the software it comes with is capable of. We intend to have a pretty harsh guitar tone (plenty of feedback and distortion similar to the bands listed above.)

This brings me to my list of questions

1.Can the amp modelling software create these kind of tones? and if not could we use a microphone through the microphone port on the pod to record the guitar amp?

2. If i have the pod do i need to upgrade my soundcard or would the pod be suffice in order to get a decent quality of sound?

3. What program would be appropriate for creating drum tracks or loops? Freeware/demos would be appropriate as real sounding drums aren't necessary and i think a false computerised drum sound could complement the music.

My brother used fruity loops in his old band (they created drum tracks so the other band members could practice without actually meeting up) but he doesn't know how it works. Im looking for something that uses both pre recorded loops and drum tracks we created our self (if we could also alter pre existing drum tracks that would be an advantage.)

Hopefully someone can help, Thanks heaps!

[brstma]

1. You should be able to get the tone you want from the software. Best way to record is to record a clean dry signal while you monitor with the effects. This way you can change the effects and distirtion freely after it's recorded. You can also record the amp with a mic as long as you get the unit with a mic input.

2. The POD is the soundcard so you should disable the onboard sound of the computer.

3. If you already have FL studio then try using the FPC drum machine. Has good sounds and some midi loops too. BFD lite is also good, but has been discontinued but you can probably find it somewhere.

Reaper is a great program for recording. Fully functioning demo and it only costs $40 to buy. Some versions of FL studio also have recording.

[Chef FourString]

Real Drums is a pretty decent percussion program. Not too expensive either.

[JacobE]

cheers guys, thanks a bunch

yes i tntended to get this one: http://line6.com/podstudioux1/