Home Recording on your PC (1 Viewer)

[Beanstalk]

I've read opinions on Cluas about this subject before, and the recommended packages (Cakewalk, Cubase, sonic foundry vegas, Cool Edit, Soundblaster) but I'm actually buying a PC next week and wondering what I need to get started.

What is a sound Card and can I install it myself?
How much does a sound card cost
Are there different types?

Do I need to buy some hardware that will allow me to plug a standard guitar/mic lead into the PC or do most PCs have a suitable connection that can be used with a simple headphones adapter.

Does anyone actually buy recording software, or is it better to download demos?

I'd appreciate any advice, or experience...

 

[Mr Creosote]

About PC recording. A lot of people here aren't into it cos they reckon by the time you've finished transferring stuff from PC to minidisc and whatever, that a good tape machine will do a better job. Thats probably correct, but if you have a PC (or are getting one) its a great way of recording stuff really cheaply. The people in the shop will probably recommend a decent soundcard, maybe check out a Cakewalk box to make sure of the system requirements. As for software, well just go to a fileshare system like morhpeus and you'll be able to download practically all the latest music programs. I was messing around with some stuff and I used Cakewalk to record, Soundforge to edit the completed song and Beatbox as a drum machine.

Phew!

 

[Mr Creosote]

Oh yeah, there is a headphone jack on the back of PC, and you can buy a jack to expand it to guitar size. Again, you'll almost certainly hear that the quality is terrible, but for what its worth I don't think its bad.

 

[dudley]

first 2 corpo singles were done entirely on pc, bar the drums which were just recorded using 2 mics to an 8 track, then imported. the last single, all vocals, overdubs and mixing were done on pc.
software used was sonic foundry vegas and sound forge. i'd burn you a copy but my cd burner died. pretty easy to find online i think. i just used the mic input on my soundblaster live card, which more than sufficed.
if you have the money you can buy better music recording soundcards that have multiple audio inputs to allow live recording. i know maxi make an 8-track one, can't think who else. you could also buy a mixer and run it through a simpler card.
check out http://www.tapeop.com/
not had much of a look at the site but the magazine gives amazing advice about this sort of thing

 

[Anne OMalley]

Dudley, the card you're talking about is, I think, the Maxi Studio Isis. The manufacturer is Guillemot. I have one of these cards. For the money (about 300 quid) these cards offer pretty good value for home PC recording. The tech support is truly shite, though, so if you get one make sure your PC (operating system etc.) are supported by the card's drivers.

The card basically converts your PC into a digital 8-track recorder, much like a Roland VS-880. It gives you 8 mono line inputs along with digital in/outs over both co-axial and fibre-optic cable. There are also two sets of stereo outputs. It also gives you a breakout box (about which, more below).

As long as you have enough RAM (256MB for recording a band, say), new PCs these days are powerful enough to do pretty much anything audio-related (as long as you accept the concept of digital audio!)However, not just any PC will allow you to have a good home studio. You do need a decent soundcard, and you do need decent software.

The main consideration when buying a soundcard is what you will be recording with it. If you want to "multi-track" (ie record a whole band playing live) then you will probably need multiple inputs. To get good sound quality from your recording (one with what is called a "low signal to noise ratio") then at the very least you will need what is called a "breakout box". This is a device that converts the analogue signal coming from your instruments (directly or else through a mixer) into a digital signal that the PC can "understand".

Why do you need a breakout box? Because the electrical components inside a PC (especially the fan) would cause a great deal of interference on audio cables plugged directly into the PC (say, via the sound card's mic or line inputs). A breakout box allows the conversion from analogue (i.e. sound) to digital (i.e. data) to take place outside of the PC's chassis in a low-noise environment.

Phew.

So my point is that to get decent (i.e. low-noise) sound quality, you need to think about how the sound is going to get into the PC in the first place.

Once the sound has been encoded as data and it's sitting there on the PC's hard-drive, you're laughing. There is loads of software out there. I don't recommend buying it unless you're a commercial operation that might in the future receive the attentions of a software auditor.

There are loads of programs out there you can use, some of which have already been mentioned on this thread. If there is an industry standard (and it is increasingly the case that entire albums are recorded and mixed on computers) then it is a package called ProTools, by Digidesign.

ProTools is actually several different packages that vary greatly in price. The high-end ones include hardware giving you multiple physical audio inputs to your PC and so on. At the low-end is ProTools Free, which as the name suggests you can actually download from their site for free (or order on CD for $10 shipping). It is purely a software application and you are limited to 8 tracks of audio and something like 64 of MIDI. I got it recently but haven't had the chance to try it out properly yet.

Anyway, people who use ProTools tend to swear by it. As far as digital recording goes (and of course not everybody embraces that) it is pretty much a de facto standard.

For entry-level recording, though, I guess some version of Cubase or Vegas would be fine.

There's a pretty good little magazine that covers all these issues (and plenty more) called "Computer Music". Before splashing out your hard-earned cash you could do a lot worse than check out some of the articles archived on their website. The address is http://www.computermusic.co.uk

Right - back to the day job for me. Good luck.

dudley (12 Nov, 2001 11:43 p.m.):
first 2 corpo singles were done entirely on pc, bar the drums which were just recorded using 2 mics to an 8 track, then imported. the last single, all vocals, overdubs and mixing were done on pc.
software used was sonic foundry vegas and sound forge. i'd burn you a copy but my cd burner died. pretty easy to find online i think. i just used the mic input on my soundblaster live card, which more than sufficed.
if you have the money you can buy better music recording soundcards that have multiple audio inputs to allow live recording. i know maxi make an 8-track one, can't think who else. you could also buy a mixer and run it through a simpler card.
check out http://www.tapeop.com/
not had much of a look at the site but the magazine gives amazing advice about this sort of thing

 

[mark]

Anne O'Malley (13 Nov, 2001 12:04 p.m.):

At the low-end is ProTools Free, which as the name suggests you can actually download from their site for free (or order on CD for $10 shipping). It is purely a software application and you are limited to 8 tracks of audio and something like 64 of MIDI. I got it recently but haven't had the chance to try it out properly yet.

Anyway, people who use ProTools tend to swear by it. As far as digital recording goes (and of course not everybody embraces that) it is pretty much a de facto standard.

i've been using Pro Tools and Pro Tools Free for a while now and for a free download it's excellent. the only limitation is that you can't import movies on the free pc version (but by the sound of it, that won't matter to you) but it's a peice of piss to get the hang of. i have a few hardy tuitorials if you are interested, but you need a minimum of 128mb of ram and pro tools doesent like other programmes running while it's doing it's thing.
horse on.

 

[Pantone247]

I found Pro Tools a bit messy, just didn't like it for some reason. I use Cakewalk Metro 5, which while a Mac only application is similar to Cakewalk for the PC. I find it a joy to use, and compatable with most VST plug-ins (plug ins are basically effects ranging from simple EQ's and reverbs to crazy filters and ring modulators). Plug in's availble is actually an important consideration... especailly if you like your noisey fx whig outs.....mmm

by the way my trusty i-Mac has no cooler fan so thus you get really low noise recordings from the built in sound port. Apple don't go in for sound cards, there is just on sound manager which every Mac comes fitted with.

so in summery Mac good, PC bad.......

 

[Anne OMalley]

Interesting. I didn't know that about iMacs.

I'd love a Powerbook but they're just so damn expensive. I saw Donnacha Costelloe playing recently. All he had was a G4 Powerbook, a USB MIDI interface and a MIDI controller with mixer-type sliders. He arrived, unpacked, plugged a couple of things in, booted up and started his set - all within 5 minutes.

The government should give out Powerbooks to everyone as a high-priority cultural initiative.

Pantone247 (13 Nov, 2001 01:30 p.m.):
I found Pro Tools a bit messy, just didn't like it for some reason. I use Cakewalk Metro 5, which while a Mac only application is similar to Cakewalk for the PC. I find it a joy to use, and compatable with most VST plug-ins (plug ins are basically effects ranging from simple EQ's and reverbs to crazy filters and ring modulators). Plug in's availble is actually an important consideration... especailly if you like your noisey fx whig outs.....mmm

by the way my trusty i-Mac has no cooler fan so thus you get really low noise recordings from the built in sound port. Apple don't go in for sound cards, there is just on sound manager which every Mac comes fitted with.

so in summery Mac good, PC bad.......

 

[Anthony]

Go Apple!

Surely the mega-company it's ok to like.

 

[herv]

Hardware sequencing. No PC, no Mac, no driver problems, no tech support nightmares.

That said it can be kinda limiting, but you don't get headaches from the screen.

Sorry for going off the point.

 

[herv]

Hardware sequencing. No PC, no Mac, no driver problems, no tech support nightmares.

That said it can be kinda limiting, but you don't get headaches from the screen.

Sorry for going off the point.

 

[Anne OMalley]

Or else the one with a marketing campaign so sucessful that people forget their usual qualms and give themselves up to total brand fetishism.

Anthony (13 Nov, 2001 02:57 p.m.):
Go Apple!

Surely the mega-company it's ok to like.

 

[Pantone247]

Anne O'Malley (13 Nov, 2001 03:44 p.m.):
Or else the one with a marketing campaign so sucessful that people forget their usual qualms and give themselves up to total brand fetishism.

ah I just use them cause they're the only realistic option in graphic design land.

but I do think they are simple easy to use machines (windows confuses the bejaysus out of me, I can never find anything), that look bloody great.

Also my da has a PC same spec as my i-Mac, my i-Mac sits quietly on my desktop... my dads PC is a big ugly grey box with fans like jet engines.

actually the only bad thing is you can't get games, if anyone knows where to get decent new mac games, please share

 

[mark]

Anne O'Malley (13 Nov, 2001 03:44 p.m.):
Or else the one with a marketing campaign so successful that people forget their usual qualms and give themselves up to total brand fetishism.

interesting point, but they are widely acknowledged, even in PC circles to being a more stable creative tool. even though they are years behind PCs in terms of audio technology. and you can blame the beatles for that.

 

[the bearded lady]

jaysus, will you free-adverts get on over to the "best way to advertise your gig" debate!!!

 

[Anthony]

That is the funniest thing I have ever read on thumped!

 

[Ex-User (250)]

That is the funniest thing I have ever read on thumped!

sorry boss, i'll get that dosh to you by the weekend. sorry again.

 

[Anthony]

That's the best thing I read on thumped. Excellent.