Help me get started...Please

[Coutts_is_god]

I'm looking into getting started on recording. I will be recording my band(Von Tango) and some of my own personal songs.

I'm really not sure where to start. I've had my eye on a nice little tape recorder for awhile now. The one I've been looking at is a TASCAM Portastudio 414mkII($375). It seems pretty simple. Plug in, play record repeat. Then you have your song on a Tape.

Then I started to look at digital recording. Mostly been looking at the Fostex MR-8 8-Track Digital Recorder(429). I don't get how it works tho. When I was looking at that. I found a TASCAM DP-01FX/CD 8-Track Hard Disk Recorder with CD Burner. I guess you record and can burn all in one.

The thing is I don't have access to a computer. Well I have a good computer, but my family doesn't want all my bass and guitar gear down stairs taking up all the room. So I'm basicaly looking for a portable, bass/guitar/drum/vocal recorder. That I don't need a computer to use. So I can simply record in my room and in my drummers base ment.

Is there anything that is a singal unit that can be hooked up to a computer if needed?

Price would be what a young high school student who spends his time playing music and not working price range.

I personaly have note book after note book, of ideas that need to be herd and I need something that will let me share.

 

[Low E Louie]

Digital recording is where it's at now, and there are simple 4-track digital units from Korg or Zoom. However, you can probably get a used 4-track cassette unit for really cheap. I have a Yamaha MT50 that has a built in mixer that I bought a few years back. I record and mix and then put it on a CD via a CD burner deck in my stereo. The audio quality is not great but it works to get ideas down fairly easy without involving computers.

If you are planning to record live drums you will need many microphones and more than 4 tracks, at least 8 tracks. It will cost you a lot of money. It will be much easier if you or your drummer friend can program a drum machine and you record that on only one track. Digital multitrackers typically have ready-made drum patterns that you can use just to have a drum beat in your song.

 

[Freaky Fender]

For your situation, I would SO go with an 8 track machine, digital. It's much easier to record everyone at once, make sure you have 8 channels to, as in 8 channels with mic preamps. It'd make it so much easier when you have to mix, and when you want to track everyone at the same time.

 

[KPJ]

Go for the Tascam DP-01/FX CD. It has everything you need if you don't have access to a computer. It fits your description. You may want to get another mixer if you are recording drums, because the DP01 will only record 2 tracks at a time.