Where Do I Start With Home Recording?

[P. Aaron]

Use the search feature.

I'm not sure what I am searching for. I don't know what questions to ask.

A smidge of background:

I used to rake out a song on guitar, chart the measures, program an Alesis drum machine and throw a cassette in the Fostex 4-track & have at it until I liked the tracks I laid down. Mixed them down to assembled songs and called it good. Built from scratch type stuff.

I started reading up on multi-track recorder types and went to a GC and got smacked with the digital interface stuff and now I'm not sure what lends itself to ease of use, data storage and organization. And, how to store the data.

Buy a digital multi-track recorder or use a software alternative?

I'm looking for suggestions as I want to home studio for fun and creation but still make quality tone multi-tracked music.

Pros/Cons, anything that y'all could suggest would be helpful.

 

[WRM]

I haven't done much with mine so far, but do like my Zoom H6 Handi-recorder. It uses a MicroSD for storage and has a variety file formats that you can use in .wav & .mp3. You can run instruments directly in through 1/4" TS or mixers/mics using XLR, and has a nice bar graph to set your levels. You can also add/lay additional tracks to existing files. It also has many post-productionediting functions. It doesn't have drum tracks, but I think the H4 might?

I posted these files yesterday in a different thread, but here is an example of an acoustic/electric recorded two ways on a single track - the built-in ambient stereo mic (LR) and 1/4" TS mono in (Tr12). The Pre-amp needed a little more Bass (Tr12):

 

[WG Plum]

I'd stay away from stand-alone mutitrack recorders unless you enjoy menu-diving.

If you have a PC or Mac a simple interface like Focusrite and a DAW will get you going and be much easier to use, at least in my experience.

 

[WG Plum]

I did everything on these two archives at home through a Focusrite Scarlett and Sonar.








Regardless of the quality of the music, it all sounds decent for homebrew. Minimal mixing, no mastering.

 

[P. Aaron]

I did everything on these two archives at home through a Focusrite Scarlett and Sonar.








Regardless of the quality of the music, it all sounds decent for homebrew. Minimal mixing, no mastering.

Got yer inner gamelan going on the 2nd track. Seems like the PC route is a better long-term alternative. The BL of my current gig has some form of multi-tracking thing on his Mac. I'm gonna ask him too. I'm into creating and want the canvases easily accessible.
Thanks.

 

[P. Aaron]

I haven't done much with mine so far, but do like my Zoom H6 Handi-recorder. It uses a MicroSD for storage and has a variety file formats that you can use in .wav & .mp3. You can run instruments directly in through 1/4" TS or mixers/mics using XLR, and has a nice bar graph to set your levels. You can also add/lay additional tracks to existing files. It also has many post-productionediting functions. It doesn't have drum tracks, but I think the H4 might?

I posted these files yesterday in a different thread, but here is an example of an acoustic/electric recorded two ways on a single track - the built-in ambient stereo mic (LR) and 1/4" TS mono in (Tr12). The Pre-amp needed a little more Bass (Tr12):

Gonna try these tracks on my PC. Seems the iPad doesn't want to engage them. Thanks.

 

[WRM]

Gonna try these tracks on my PC. Seems the iPad doesn't want to engage them. Thanks.

Not sure why the iPad doesn't like the mp3, so hope the PC works (with some good headphones). The H6 can also be used as a computer audio interface via USB cable, and has many other features that I didn't mention. If you do much post-production on it, you will get to know the menu....

 

[WG Plum]

Got yer inner gamelan going on the 2nd track. Seems like the PC route is a better long-term alternative. The BL of my current gig has some form of multi-tracking thing on his Mac. I'm gonna ask him too. I'm into creating and want the canvases easily accessible.
Thanks.

If you have a Mac, Garageband is actually pretty great if you just want to record and do some light editing/effects. For what I do it would work fine.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

PC + an interface with as many inputs as you're gonna need. Focusrite make decent entry level audio interfaces. Don't go any cheaper then that, especially not Behringer!

For a cheap DAW I would choose Reaper. The cheaper version of the more well known "industry standard" DAWs have too many limitations IMO. With Reaper the cheap version is the full version and it's a really good DAW, although maybe with a SLIGHTLY steeper learning curve than some of the more expensive options. Reaper needs a bit of tweaking with the setup to be at it's best IMO. Of course, if there's a free DAW included with the interface you can try it but it will most likely be a very limited cheap version of one of the better know DAWs. It might be ok for your needs but these free versions often have limitations like very limited track numbers etc.

A good DI box is crucial. The instruments inputs on cheap interfaces are rubbish.

A decent large diaphragm condensert for vocals, acoustic guitars, etc. A good mic stand is important. Don't buy some cheap junk, they're nowhere near as stable as a quality mic stand. You don't want your brand new mic to crash into the floor!

An SM57 or something similar if you're gonna mic guitar amps.

A dynamic mic with better low end extension if you're gonna mic bass amps. Sennheiser MD421, Beyerdynamic M88TG and Electrovoice RE20 are all good options.

A decent midi-keyboard if you don't already own one. Maybe some sound/synth modules or softsynths. Personally I prefer physical modules, especially with analog synths where tweaking the knobs is crucial for a good result.

I'm assuming you won't be recording a full drumkit. If you are, you're gonne need a couple more more mics.

Personally I like analog outboard gear much better than plugins but as a start you'll be fine with a Focusrite and some plugin compressors/eq's. The included plugins with Reaper are ok but not particularly great. FabFilter plugins are amazing! One of their bundles is a must IMO. Soundtoys have some cool stuff too.

And of course some good studio monitors, preferrably some basic acoustic treatment of the room too. If this isn't an option, spend as much as you can afford on a REALLY good pair of headphones.

 

[Aloe]

Go software. For starting, you’ll need a computer good with latency, an audio interface and the DAW software.

If your choice of computer is Mac, there’s a free preinstalled DAW you can try, the GarageBand and Logic is a terrific upgrade. If PC, well, some computers work, some not, download and run Latencymon first. I had both PCs and Macs in studio, but lately all Mac

My standard recommendation for the audio interface is something from Focusrite or Presonus. Thunderbolt interfaces are faster, but a small USB one is a nice start. Four or even two inputs are okay for a start. You’ll see later if you need more. Some audio interfaces also come with a nice DAW.

When you’ll have and set-up all three components, you’re ready to record. Read/watch some tutorials and plug something to your audio inputs. And get a MIDI keyboard, it’s also fun.

 

[juancaminos]

I had more fun on my old 4 track cassette mini studio until it died twenty years ago. Then I went with a Korg D3200 which did nothing but boggle my feeble mind. My friends do great with PC based stuff like Garage band.

Since retirement I am familiarizing myself with the D3200...beginning last night. We will see.

 

[SoulReflection]

PC + an interface with as many inputs as you're gonna need. Focusrite make decent entry level audio interfaces. Don't go any cheaper then that, especially not Behringer!

For a cheap DAW I would choose Reaper. The cheaper version of the more well known "industry standard" DAWs have too many limitations IMO. With Reaper the cheap version is the full version and it's a really good DAW, although maybe with a SLIGHTLY steeper learning curve than some of the more expensive options. Reaper needs a bit of tweaking with the setup to be at it's best IMO. Of course, if there's a free DAW included with the interface you can try it but it will most likely be a very limited cheap version of one of the better know DAWs. It might be ok for your needs but these free versions often have limitations like very limited track numbers etc.

A good DI box is crucial. The instruments inputs on cheap interfaces are rubbish.

A decent large diaphragm condensert for vocals, acoustic guitars, etc. A good mic stand is important. Don't buy some cheap junk, they're nowhere near as stable as a quality mic stand. You don't want your brand new mic to crash into the floor!

An SM57 or something similar if you're gonna mic guitar amps.

A dynamic mic with better low end extension if you're gonna mic bass amps. Sennheiser MD421, Beyerdynamic M88TG and Electrovoice RE20 are all good options.

A decent midi-keyboard if you don't already own one. Maybe some sound/synth modules or softsynths. Personally I prefer physical modules, especially with analog synths where tweaking the knobs is crucial for a good result.

I'm assuming you won't be recording a full drumkit. If you are, you're gonne need a couple more more mics.

Personally I like analog outboard gear much better than plugins but as a start you'll be fine with a Focusrite and some plugin compressors/eq's. The included plugins with Reaper are ok but not particularly great. FabFilter plugins are amazing! One of their bundles is a must IMO. Soundtoys have some cool stuff too.

And of course some good studio monitors, preferrably some basic acoustic treatment of the room too. If this isn't an option, spend as much as you can afford on a REALLY good pair of headphones.

A Mac or PC with Focusrite and Reaper along with YT tutorials will get you there. At least it did for me and thousands of others but YMMV, good luck.

 

[Lee Armstrong]

I updated my recording setup after I retired (previously I was using ADATs hahaha). I'm using a Presonus Audiobox iTwo interface as it has MIDI in/out along with two 1/4"/XLR inputs.

I got a refurbished HP desktop off of Amazon for $250 that has a 512MB SSD and a 1TB 7200 RPM HDD for recording audio.

I'm using Cakewalk as my DAW since it's free and also has staff support for MIDI tracks, letting me plop down notes for my drum and keyboard module. Other DAWs I looked at wanted $$$ to get staff support for MIDI (which I prefer); if you're OK with doing piano roll for MIDI stuff (or don't need MIDI at all) then pretty much any of them will work.

I've got an ancient set of Alesis Studio One monitors for making noise, and Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones for when the wild rabbits are sleeping right outside my front windows.

My "studio" isn't acoustically treated so I either go straight into the interface or to a preamp (Stomp XL) and then to the interface.

 

[Ostie]

I had more fun on my old 4 track cassette mini studio until it died twenty years ago. Then I went with a Korg D3200 which did nothing but boggle my feeble mind. My friends do great with PC based stuff like Garage band.

Since retirement I am familiarizing myself with the D3200...beginning last night. We will see.

Years ago I had a Fostex 4-track. I recorded some demos on it. Then nothing for about 35 years. Then about a year and a half ago I bought a digital multi-track recorder. I took it out of the box and haven’t touched it since. I’m really more interested in the musical part than the engineering part. It takes a lot of time and I rarely have more than an hour or two at a time to devote.

 

[Discount Bassy]

When I started, I opted for Presonus Studio One stuff. I got a simple USB interface with two channels in, L+R main out, headphone jack and a MIDI port (handly). It was about 14 years ago. I got on board with Studio One on their first iteration by chance around launch time and am currently running their latest Sphere interface (now using a Quantum 2626). I was completely unwise to the ways of DAW's and fell into editing starting with the point and click was that it was presented (hotkeys are oxygen). It seemed intuitive and the learning curve was short to get doing. I found a bunch of free .wav loop libraries online and received a bunch of Sony Acid Loop CD's as a gift to a new studio effort. All of sudden, I had everything I needed to get started, reading the manual and finally having a fairly easy way about it. Using the Sphere plan, I have hundreds of gigs of sounds, loops and instruments to play with before I even scratch the surface of Native Instruments (also pretty affordable for what is there as far as finding sounds to with which to play). Freesound.org is a great resource for free noises indexed by content and sonic qualities.

Maybe it makes me a fan boi, but I found the Presonus stuff easy enough to wrap me head around. I did not know what a DAW was or how to look at a waveform when I started. Friends at the time opted for Cubase and ProTools or had already grown up in the analog world and evolved to digital as the world changed. To each, their own.

Buy used unless you must have new, especially when getting your feet wet. I recently picked up a similar-to-my-original-interface-but-much-newer-and-updated-form Presonus USB interface for Discountess Bassy to fiddle with in her musical pursuits comfortably cheap...$50 for the box with stickers, headphones and pile of cables. Pick one simple interface and pick one DAW to learn on. There are so many free and affordable DAW right now, you have leeway to find what fits your brain as you get used to what is what. YouTube is your friend...Presonus offers a bunch of free tutorials (more fan-boi prattle).

If you end up expanding your input needs, some boards can be had with on-board recording and being able to interface meaningfully in regards to your other components via USB until you are fully committed. Eventually, the DAW will be something you need and being able to stream directly or import signal is what it's all about.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Use the search feature.

I'm not sure what I am searching for. I don't know what questions to ask.

A smidge of background:

I used to rake out a song on guitar, chart the measures, program an Alesis drum machine and throw a cassette in the Fostex 4-track & have at it until I liked the tracks I laid down. Mixed them down to assembled songs and called it good. Built from scratch type stuff.

I started reading up on multi-track recorder types and went to a GC and got smacked with the digital interface stuff and now I'm not sure what lends itself to ease of use, data storage and organization. And, how to store the data.

Buy a digital multi-track recorder or use a software alternative?

I'm looking for suggestions as I want to home studio for fun and creation but still make quality tone multi-tracked music.

Pros/Cons, anything that y'all could suggest would be helpful.

This...

R20 Multi Track Recorder | Buy Now

8 inputs, 2 of which are combo jacks, 16 tracks recording in the box.

You can use it as a stand alone recorder, simple plug in and go and or use the DAW type interface on board too with it's effects and editing. You can use it as a audio interface into a computer running DAW software.

I have one, I like it. I have a computer with DAW software, I use the Zoom as much or more because of it's portability.

It uses SD cards to store recordings on as well as transferring tracks and updates to and from.

 

[mrcbass]

Much like @Discount Bassy , I started with Presonus as well. I got a little $100 2 Channel audio interface and it came with a free version of the DAW*. I later found an 8 channel audio interface and eventually got a headphone amp. I work on a PC, but hear that Macs are better tools for this type of thing.

I will say, that the DAW is not especially intuitive. It's not rocket science, but finding help on YouTube is pretty much required. My free version is missing some features that I'm sure I'd enjoy, but I can get along fine with what I have. I don't do as lot of recording but have worked with several of my projects to make demos. Using the DAW would be a lot easier if I used it lot; coming back to it after a year or so is close to starting over mentally.

*I recently had to upgrade to Windows 11 and found that my free version wasn't compatible and Presonus didn't seem to have a free version that does - just a trial version. Luckily, I was able to rebuild one of my Windows 10 boxes just for this purpose.

 

[singlemalt]

Got a Mac? You already have Garage band. Start exploring. Check out the loops. Amps, effects, so much stuff at your fingertips. Heck, you
Could have something with just loops, virtual instruments played on your computer keyboard and a mike into the mac.

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsXJmmXYr9BEWEOE96Hzuzu7sRhiHRHYZ

This guy is a big help.

Lots of devices can serve as the interface. Zoom B3n, Line 6 pod. A Scarlett is inexpensive. Maybe a small keyboard to make using the virtual instruments easier.

 

[Ben Clarke]

Gonna try these tracks on my PC. Seems the iPad doesn't want to engage them. Thanks.

You can get started with Garageband on your iPad. I majored in Sound Recording within a music school back in the 90s, learning on analog. When I wanted to get up to date with digital recording in '19, I started with GB on an iPad. For me, I quickly bumped into its limitations as I wanted to use more powerful plugins and do more detailed edits. But it was a great place to start. There are interfaces that are USB but also can connect to Lightning jacks if you have an older iPad. I still have an iRig 2-channel interface that I used for it. lemme know if you're interested in starting like that and I'll figure out a good price to help you out if you want.

I'd be happy to help you out with questions if I can.

 

[Dabndug]

It all depends on your goals. Unless you want to record a lot of instruments simultaneously or produce a sumptuous studio-quality piece if art, an ipad with Garage band is a great place to start. From memory Damon Albarn recorded the third Gorillaz album, The Fall, on an ipad. Not sure what he used as an interface or which software he chose.