Got a new laptop, looking for suggestions on how to make quick cheap recordings

[OptimusPrime]

Well, for the past year my old computer has not had sound or video. Anyway that 6 year computer finally crashed and burned forever last week. So I went out and bought a new laptop. Nothing fancy, just an on sale Gateway laptop.

I keep finding myself wanting to be able to record stuff. Nothing CD quality or anything. More like recording sound samples/comparisons of pedals I buy or build.

So I'm looking for something cheapish to do that with. The computer doesn't have firewire, just a few USB ports. Someone suggested the Emu 0202 USB 2.0 Audio Interface. Looks good, but I know nothing about recording.

What do you guys suggest? I'm looking to keep it in the $100-$200 area for whatever hardware I need.

Do I need a special recording program or should whatever recording thing I buy come with something good enough for me?

Any help would be great. Just to get my dumb questions out of the way now, instead of making another thread when I get the stuff. Do I come out of my pedals into the recording interface? Or plug the pedals into my amp and use the line out or the DI on it? Or use the DI on whatever preamp pedal I end up buying?

Any help/suggestions/info would be great. Thanks again.

 

[hunta]

There are a lot of low cost USB interfaces you can get starting out. The Toneport GX is like $70 for 1 input. The E-Mu one is probably alright too (2 inputs on that one). Asides from the number/type of inputs/outputs, there isn't a huge difference in this price range.

Look into audacity and reaper for recording. Audacity is free and reaper is $50 for a home license and you can get a fully functional demo for 30 days I believe. Audacity doesn't do much for me but Reaper definitely has some potential. For straight up recording and playback, either one will be fine for you. If you want to do stuff with midi and VST's and plugins then you will want to get Reaper or one of the big name packages.

You can either go out from your pedals into the interface (assuming the output on your pedals doesn't clip the input), or you can run a DI from your amp. Either one will work, they'll sound different. Try both and see what sounds best.

 

[mattygbass]

try checkin out m-audio fast track pro. comes w/ light version of ableton live wich is very easy to use and has everything youll need it for.i have that and a toneport but i find the toneport very noisey,although it does have gearbox wich has some amp modeling and effects.both are usb toneport ux1 is around $120 and m audio around $200 but much better quality also there is a fast track w/ only one input for around 100.

 

[mattygbass]

go d.i. into interface is the easiest way but there are lots of options such as micing your amp or mixing both(were two imputs on interface is nice) mess around and see what sounds best to you.

 

[OptimusPrime]

try checkin out m-audio fast track pro. comes w/ light version of ableton live wich is very easy to use and has everything youll need it for.i have that and a toneport but i find the toneport very noisey,although it does have gearbox wich has some amp modeling and effects.both are usb toneport ux1 is around $120 and m audio around $200 but much better quality also there is a fast track w/ only one input for around 100.

Is it worth $70 for the Fast Track Pro over the MobilePre?

 

[mattygbass]

i think so but i use almost all of it. do you need all of the extras it does?

 

[mattygbass]

i think the mobile pre is absolutely sufficiant for you as long as you dont need midi, also if you decide you want to run something like pro tools later you wont have to upgrade like you would if you bought tone port or emu. you can run eveything w/ the m audio.

 

[OptimusPrime]

i think so but i use almost all of it. do you need all of the extras it does?

I'm just looking to go bass -> pedals -> amp (line out or DI) -> recording interface -> computer. I just want to be able to make sound samples of pedals I buy or build. I think the MobilePre would be fine for that. I don't play any other instruments so having more inputs, I don't think, will be a big deal to me. But if the Fast Track Pro is a lot quieter (is that even a problem with these recording things?) and a ton better quality I guess $70 is worth it.

EDIT: Wait ... Fast Track USB or MobilePre USB?

 

[Da LadY In Red]

Couldn't you just buy a 1/4 to 1/8 inch adaptor and plug into the mic input on your computer? That teamed up with audacity has always worked fine for me.

 

[OptimusPrime]

Couldn't you just buy a 1/4 to 1/8 inch adaptor and plug into the mic input on your computer? That teamed up with audacity has always worked fine for me.

I've already tried that ... it was bad.