Total Noob Help

[matius88]

I know im not the first doing this question but i cannot figure how to do it sorry ,
Well i want to make my own room for recording with my brother
we have:

Vox vt20+
squier sx telecaster
ampeg b108
vintage modified jazz fretless
2 mics

and a decent desktop PC:

i want a home-based record (just for a making a demo and have fun).

what i have to do to record me and my brother playing in the pc?.

i read about conecting guitars/bass in the audio but i heard it sucks and its better to buy a "interface".

i have an onboard crappy sound card,
what i have to buy to record?(interface,etc).
The only way is the interface?, or its there another way that is better?
can i record at the same time 2 voices guitar and a bass? or i have to do it in parts?.
with the interface i dont need anything more to sound good?, or i have to buy other things?.
What programs should i use? (i have Windows 7).

And the last question hahaha
i read something about midi keyboards, i don't know what are they haha, are they useful?, for what?, do you need to have a good audio card for this?.
i have a casio ctk900 is this the same?


Thanks for all!

Matías.

 

[loopmantra]

interfaces(with quality A/D/D/A converters,and trust me thats what you will be aiming for)-
focusrite scarlett
presonus audiobox
alesis io2(though i'm not a fan of this one,but they say it's good)
M audio fast track(also not a fan,but it has a lot of followers)
they all come with some sort of production software(cubase LE,studio one,etc) and bunch of plug ins and samples/loops...
so....
if you want to buy a 'starter pack'-all these will do,i suggest either focusrite or presonus.the trick is to buy the one with BEST POSSIBLE converters,i.e. to turn your digital sound from the PC to analog without any loss(which is impossible,but hey,a man can dream) or as close to the original as possible.
hard to give you lessons in recording/production,that's,like, a HUGE subject,so read all the books you can find,and forums ofc.
btw,interface is NOT the only way,ofc,but it's the cheapest, 'cause otherwise you'd be spending tens o' thousands of dollars on rack gear-which are totally worth of it,but for home recordings-interfaces are the best way
you can also go with those PCI slot soundcards,but it's hard to move them around,once you stuck it in a PC.
cheers

 

[matius88]

with the Focusrite Scarlett i have to buy something more?
what about the midi keyboard for what are they useful?

 

[metalbassky]

You might want to check out the Balance interface from propellerhead. Invalid Link Removed

 

[darius8]

i want a home-based record (just for a making a demo and have fun). what i have to do to record me and my brother playing in the pc?.

i read about conecting guitars/bass in the audio but i heard it sucks and its better to buy a "interface".

i have an onboard crappy sound card,
what i have to buy to record?(interface,etc).
The only way is the interface?, or its there another way that is better?
can i record at the same time 2 voices guitar and a bass? or i have to do it in parts?.
with the interface i dont need anything more to sound good?, or i have to buy other things?.
What programs should i use? (i have Windows 7).

And the last question hahaha
i read something about midi keyboards, i don't know what are they haha, are they useful?, for what?, do you need to have a good audio card for this?.
i have a casio ctk900 is this the same?

For just doing some simple demo and having fun recording I would suggest (assuming your on a low budget) the ART USB MIX or the Alesis MultiMix, they 3-4 mic inputs, usb ports, easy to use and under $80.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ampaign=none&gclid=CLHJmPfOg7ECFYsaQgodb30ZcA
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/alesis-multimix-4-usb-compact-mixer

For recording software, get Reaper as a DAW, it's free to try and a good starting DAW to learn about desktop recording.

A midi keyboard is a keyboard without it's own sound generator, it's a controller, via usb or midi, to play software syths and samplers. here's one thats fairly simple and cheap:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/keyboards-midi/akai-professional-lpk25-laptop-performance-keyboard

Yes, they are very useful.