What is the best equipment to use for recording?

[JakeK]

I'm trying to be able to make some recordings of myself and my friend Chris jamming and playing various songs from our favorite bands available for recording. Unfortunately, I haven't got the slightest bit of equipment in my studio. I want to know, what is the best equipment for recording?

Would videos of us playing also be accepted?

[alanz]

That's a pretty vague question, dude.

Start here, maybe.

Would videos of us playing also be accepted?

What?

[qwezirider]

I want to know, what is the best equipment for recording?

Completely depends upon your goals. You can go from completely unprofessional yet "it gets the job done and is a great educational tool" (thinking back to my 1987 Tascam Porta 1) up to "the sky's the limit". One of my favorite haunts for information and education is here. Caution: that place is not for the faint of heart or those who don't use the search function and get the lay of the land for a while. But it is tremendously educational, not only from a gear standpoint, but a skills standpoint. So, fair warning, but have fun.

I know I do.

[1965]

First, get a Mac. One like mine will do.

Second, get a recording interface and program. I use a Firepod & Firebox with Logic Pro.

Third, mic your friends up and get them to play stuff while you record it

And you'll be on your way to rock stardom!

[jdogric12]

Nice Dano convertible!

If you are looking for a basic approach, try one of the inexpensive digital recorders. Even something simple with just a stereo mic picking up room sound can sound pretty good. My band used to use a Sony HD-MD or something like that, purchased new at GC for about $250. Mic included. It works great. I say digital because then there is probably an easy way to get it on your computer and upload it to the world wide interweb.

[tennis_nick]

I use a Zoom H4. for 300$, quality is fantastic and it's easy to use once you "get" it. Very portable as well.

[bitzerguy]

I have taken to using the Zoom H2 (4 channel surround recorder) for the band at practice and some live. You put it on a mike stand in the middle of the room and press record twice. Picks up very well from all sides. $200 and your recording in wav or mp3. Very simple to use. It is easier to learn than the H4, but it does not have the H4's capability to overdub 3 other tracks.

What do you need it for? In my studio I use an Echo Layla 96, Presonus tube preamps, and Sonar Pro on a PC. But with the band, the H2 is really slick.

[melibreits]

Cool thread.... I'm a little bit fed up with the limitations of my Korg D-1200 digital recording unit, because I can't download songs from it directly onto my computer--I have to burn them onto a CD first, and then convert them to MP3's before I can share my songs online.... It's kind of a pain, because of course I want to fill up a CD with songs, not just record one song per disk.... so I feel like it will take forever to share some of my new songs with friends--by the time I have enough songs to fill up a CD, they don't seem so "new" to me anymore....!

What's a really user-friendly recording program that I can get for a PC, and what would I need to interface? We're hoping to move soon to a new house with a dedicated space for my music room, and I'm planning on setting my computer up in there.... It would only make sense! But I just hate the thought of having to learn to use a new recording system again, since it took me a really long time to get comfortable with the workings of my Korg unit--I really am a technological idiot, so learning new programs is quite painful for me.

[jps]

Get a Mac, Melissa.

[wmthor]

I'm quite happy with my Boss Micro BR.
http://www.rolandus.com/products/produc ... jectId=818

Some of my friends use Boss' BR 600.
http://www.rolandus.com/products/produc ... rentId=110

There are other times that I've used GarageBand by plugged my guitar(s) directly into my PowerBook.

Also, you might want to check out this story in the May issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine. It's very informative.
http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/d ... leid=21907

[qwezirider]

Melissa,

If you don't mind being a version or two behind the newest toys out there, there seem to be some good deals on Something like Sonar from Cakewalk on E-bay. I still use my old version of Logic (last one made for pc, ver 5.5.1) with fabulous success, and sometimes it can be found on E-bay. Granted, it's a ton more than I ever use, but the audio recording is not really too bad to get a handle on.

There's also Reaper ( http://reaper.fm/ ) which I've heard good things about from people I work with on occasion. And the price is right.

As far as an interface, I'm using an M-Audio Delta 1010. Probably overkill, but they do offer some other very nice cards for a good price. And as always, the older ones can be had for a pretty good deal on E-bay.

Been doing this on a pc for eight years with no issues from either machine of mine.