Recording Music Advice

thereturn

Hi there. Myself and my friend are looking to record our music onto something. At the moment we are using a four track (Zoom MRS-4B) which we bought for 300 euro last year. This four track has served its purpose well but there are a number of problems with it
I. It can hold feck all material (less than four minutes if we put four 'tracks' on a song)
2. The amount you can hold on it seems to be detoriating all the time for some reason
3. Smart card is the memory card for it and we can't buy another one in shops as they are extinct. We could probably get one on ebay or something but think we'd be better off getting a new recording equipment



So basically we are looking for some recording equipment that fixes the above problems and enhances on other aspects if possible. Not looking for something with loads of feautres or anything.
Anyway when I was up in The Sound Shop in Drogheda I saw some of the boss digital recorders and they seemed ideal at the time. The one that stood out wass the BOSS BR-900 CD V2 as on this you can record straight to cd which simplifies stuff (presume that would autmoatically make quality better as we have to record from four track to tape at the moment)

However from reading the post on 'How do I record stuff?' it appears as though a computer is a better option than getting a digital recorder. Would that be the general consensus? Neither myself nor my friend currently have a computer so this would have to come out of our budget (which is roughly 1000 euro).
We are looking to record at home in a relatively small sitting room. At the moment we are looking to record guitar, bass and vocals. Any answers you can give to questions below or above would be greatly appreciated

Computer:
We do not have a computer. It appears as though a Mac Computer would be the best option for us based on what was said in 'How do I record stuff?'. The computer's only real purpose is as a recording device so thats our only real consideration. Within a total budget of 1,000 euro roughly how much should we be spending on a computer? Is there a particular computer that anyone can recommend as being particularly suitable?

Audio Interface:
As stated above we are looking to record guitar, vocals and bass. We currently record our instruments separately. Would the best bet be to get a better standard computer with a simple audio interface that can record one source?

Software:
A friend of ours has Pro Tools and Reason. We are reluctant to ask him to help us with the recording process. Is it possible to borrow these DAW's and install them onto the computer we get or would we have to buy our own DAW?

Microphone:
We have one microphone (Sennheiser e835) which we have used to record guitar, bass and vocals (all recorded separately). Can anyone recommend a microphone to record instruments on
Thanks for reading this.

trackmixstudio

Hi,
Get a macbook and an m-audio fastrack usb.
Garageband comes FREE on every mac and is very easy to use but very good.
You will be up and running in no time. There is no other software out there at any price that is as good as garageband for a computer recording beginner.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/
Not only can you record into it easily, it has loads of "loops" for making backing tracks and lots of effects such as reverb and guitar amp simulators etc.
The current macbook is a really powerful computer and you can put windows on it too (if you are mental!!). I have a black one and it goes everywhere with me.

Sham Squire

It goes without saying that a computer is the best way to go if all things are equal but sometimes all things are not equal. A computer is great in one sense as you can keep adding bits and pieces ad infinitum and there really is no limit to where you can go with it but ask yourself a couple of questions first.
1. Do you really need all the stuff that comes with a computer? I know lots of people who have computers they use for recording and never do anything with them that they couldn't do quicker and more reliably (digital recorders don't crash) on an 8 or 16 track digital recorder.
2. How do you feel about using a computer? If you like the idea of seeing all your tracks visually represented on the screen and the versatility of that then great, get a macbook. But if like lots of people out there, a computer leaves you cold, and you like the simplicity of pushing and pulling faders and not having to click a mouse or open and close windows to look at your EQ settings then, again, the digital recorder is the way to go.
Having used Zoom up to now I would highly recommend checking out their 8 and 16 track digital recorders and you'll have enough change from your 1000euro for a half decent mic or other bit of useful equipment. Or go to the sound on sound website at
http://www.soundonsound.com/search?url=%2Fsearch&Section=7&Subject=43&Summary=Yes
for reviews on lots of different digital multitracks.
I use both a macbook and a digital multitracker but if I'm making "band" as opposed to "electronic" type music, I hardly ever go to the mac for that.
Anyway horses for courses. Do lots of reading before you make a decision.

thereturn

Thanks for the advice sham squire and trackmixstudio. Convinced in a way by both your arguments. Macbook and m audio seems to be a good combination. I like the fact that garageband seems easy to use and has a good range of possibilities.
Having said that Sham Squire's point about the advantages to using a digital recorder are valid too. It would be a cheaper option which would enable me to buy other equipment which I would not be able to do if I went for the Mac.
Anyway if anybody has anymore advice/suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

jtsuited

+1 on the macbook recommendation. garageband is so easy to learn, and is a great stepping stone on to the more serious stuff.
and it's audio engine is very impressive.

thereturn

I have decided to go for the macbook. came to the conclusion that garageband is probably a good thing to start off with and might as well get a computer for its longevity
how much memory do I need? the macbook with 2gb memory is €1100 and can't really afford to go much over that. thanks for all the advice.

studiorat

thereturn wrote: »

I have decided to go for the macbook. came to the conclusion that garageband is probably a good thing to start off with and might as well get a computer for its longevity
how much memory do I need? the macbook with 2gb memory is €1100 and can't really afford to go much over that. thanks for all the advice.

2 gig is bucket loads. Though do yourself a favor and get an external hard drive to record on to. You'll only slow down the computer and fill up that drive really quickly.

thereturn

studiorat wrote: »

2 gig is bucket loads. Though do yourself a favor and get an external hard drive to record on to. You'll only slow down the computer and fill up that drive really quickly.

Grand so thanks

thereturn

My mac is on its way and should be here in about a week thankfully.Does anyone know do I get garageband 08 or just normal garageband with the mac I ordered?

dav nagle

thereturn wrote: »

I have decided to go for the macbook. came to the conclusion that garageband is probably a good thing to start off with and might as well get a computer for its longevity
how much memory do I need? the macbook with 2gb memory is €1100 and can't really afford to go much over that. thanks for all the advice.

4 tracks are cool at first but when you get the computer of your dreams you will soon throw the 4 track at your neighbors skip. Macs come with garage band which is a tidy constructive recording application . It has very few limitations and forget about recording onto camera cards they are boll*x although we all start somewhere thats how I began recording. HAVE A GREAT DAY MY AMIGO )))))

thereturn

dav nagle wrote: »

4 tracks are cool at first but when you get the computer of your dreams you will soon throw the 4 track at your neighbors skip. Macs come with garage band which is a tidy constructive recording application . It has very few limitations and forget about recordd ng onto camera cards they are boll*x although we all start somewhere thats how I began recording. HAVE A GREAT DAY MY AMIGO )))))

Thanks for the comment. Just to clarify do I get the original garageband as opposed to garageband 08?

Rockshandy

i think its the new garageband?? not sure though, the macbook is a great way to go and garageband is perfect to begin with, i would also reccomend, when you can get the cash together to pick up logic pro, its a fantastic DAw and for the 600 to 700 quid its an absolute bargin!!

check your PM's there aswell man and get back to me.

sei046

Your on the right route. Forget the borrowing Daws thing anyway, legal implications that noone rally wants to get into. I dont have much knowledge of garageband but people seem to be into it so you should do grand. You did well splashing on the mac

dav nagle

thereturn wrote: »

Thanks for the comment. Just to clarify do I get the original garageband as opposed to garageband 08?

As far as I understand if you bought a new mac you will get the latest garage band.

jtsuited

get stuck into garageband, master it well, and you'll be flying in Logic in no time.

frobisher

Check out Reaper too. From what I know it's relatively new foray into Mac-land is now quite solid. It is a REALLY good program and you'll be flying on it straight out of the box. Unhindered trial copy is free and the non commercial license is €50. The only other time I've known $50 to deliver so much pleasure were those 2 hookers in Sao Paolo. But that's whole other story...

You should read about it and give it a go yourself.

thereturn

Mac arrived the other day thankfully. Seems a lovely piece of equipment. I have messed around with garageband and really like what I have seen so far. Need to get some sort of soundcard now. Any recommendations?

jtsuited

thereturn wrote: »

Mac arrived the other day thankfully. Seems a lovely piece of equipment. I have messed around with garageband and really like what I have seen so far. Need to get some sort of soundcard now. Any recommendations?

depends on how many ins/outs you want to have. and what your budget is.

and of course if you are planning on going pro-tools anytime soon.

thereturn

Want to be able to record guitar, bass and vocals (not necessarily together). not planning on using pro tools anytime soon no.

jtsuited

thereturn wrote: »

Want to be able to record guitar, bass and vocals (not necessarily together). not planning on using pro tools anytime soon no.

cool you've got a lot of options then. budget?

anything like this would do the job and give you a few extra options too.
take a look around in that section on that site.

Mackie are a very reputable company. and it's cheap as chips too so no harm if it's not the best thing ever.

what kind of mic's are you planning on using?

thereturn

Thanks for the link jtsuited. At the moment we only have one microphone (Sennheiser e835) which we have used to record guitar, bass and vocals. How important is it to get more mic's and what effect will this have on the quality of recording? Don't have that much money left. Thanks...