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BTW, I did actually check out about 5 pages of this forum, plus the links pages at the top (which are several years out of date, with a few broken links...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.
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.
