Recording Using a PC

[tgxiii]

Any musicians in here?

I am interested in recording music for my band on a computer. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just enough to make a decent demo or something. I've never done this before, nor do I have any knowledge in it whatsoever, so I have a few questions.

1. Can anyone recommend a cheap (~$200) sound card that is capable of recording multiple tracks at one time? Two to four tracks are fine.

2. What are the minimum system requirements, do you think, for recording?

3. Do I need special equipment, or can I just use PC mics?

4. What else do I need to know?

My band uses electric guitars and bass plugged through half-stack amps. My drummer uses regular acoustic drums, complete with cymbals. Some recordings will be done with acoustic guitars.

I have a PC ready. I'm hoping the extra stuff I need will not cost more than $500.

[SKYLINEGTR33MWJ]

i know musicians who record their bands to the pc.... then burn a demo cd and show it to the record label

now... i'm a dj, and i mix my cd's and record it to my pc and then show it to record labels....

u want a music recording program like what and for what?

CakeWalk (newest one) is great... and u dont need an expensive sound card to record decent audio!

u need great software!

use cakewalk to record from live "drums, bass, elec. guitar and micro phone to different channels and layers.. " and all that other good stuff.....

thats what my neighbor uses..

i use other programs, but what do u need yours for?

[SKYLINEGTR33MWJ]

sorry for not reading ur entire POST!

yes i can help u set up your "studio" for under 500$

to be honest, im thinking less than 400$

i can ask him how he has his setup...(neighbor)

[tgxiii]

Thanks. My guitarist has Cakewalk. I wasn't worried about software, really. I just wanted to know if any special equipment was needed.

Looking through music catalogs, I saw sound cards used for recording. You said I don't need a special sound card and any one will do? I just need good software? If that's the case, then we're set 'cause we have Cakewalk.

I just need help getting started.

[SKYLINEGTR33MWJ]

he has sent his demo cd to the record label........ got one song played on a radio station too...... and he used cakewalk....

i know for a fact that the sound card he bought was under 90$

[SKYLINEGTR33MWJ]

i forgot to mention tha the has some kind of microphone mixer where he connnects all microphones to it and sends the signal to the soundcard, he can equalize the sound before it goes in the soundcard, and with software, he can then change other things

[cubaseonballs]

For Audio recording, there are several software choices.
Cubase VST / 32 is a good starting point.
Cakewalk products are fine too.
For a soundcard, you need to spend a little bit. I have an Audiophile 24/96 by M-Audio. It is a 2 in / 2 out card and is pristine in sound quality. ($150. 00 Canadian ). All of the Delta Cards are decent.
You cannot use a PC mic. The voltages are different and they sound pretty crappy overall.
A decent amping mic for guitars would be Shure SM 57 or SM58
You'll need a decent Condensor mic for recording Acoustic Guitars and Vocals. Also, for those two just mentioned , you'll need a Mic-Preamp or a small mixer to bring the levels up before you input into the PC.
I'd say, if you are serious about this, you'll need to spend about a G-Note for everything including software and a pair of decent monitors.
Give me a shout if you have any questions.
Cheers

[tgxiii]

Ouch... $1,000 you say? I don't have quite that much money. I can get Shure SM58s and a decent condenser mic from a friend.

I'm thinking about getting a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum. Would that be decent enough for recording? Can I just plug in the SM58 or another condenser mic into that sound card?

[cubaseonballs]

You can , but the signal will be very weak and possibly distorted.
Anything like Guitars,Microphones need their signals boosted before it goes into the soundcard. For the guitars, you would use a DI Box(Direct Input), For Mics, you use a Mic Preamp. I have an
A.R.T Tube MP Studio preamp. It is good for guitars and Vocals for boosting the input signal to the PC. Pretty cheap cost wise. You can also use a small mixer for the same thing, as they have built in preamps to boost the signals. From there you would go into the PC.
The soundblaster card would be O.K.

[phrozen_dreamz]

I use Cubase VST. Get it. I really cant imagine using anything else. The audio fiedelity and the many many different wonderful things make it worth everyhting you put in. I mainly use it for sequencing and recording vocals/samples...

Make sure that you have a nice Soundcard, there will be latency problems when you add different recording tracks. Took me hours to work the latency probs out... Hours...