Home recording

[scottmandue]

For years I have wanted to play music badly and I have achieved that goal

Cut to the chase,
I have a computer, A Nikon digital SLR, A fairly nice microphone (need to get a stand) and more guitars than you can shake a stick at.

So as a tech I envision all I need is software and some kind of physical connection between my noise makers and the computer (and cables to do so).

I know many of you have mentioned home recording so what are you running?

[pwd72s]

There's a fellow oldster on the Bullitt Mustang board who does that...nice guy, a vietnam Vet. He know full well he'll never achieve stardom, but he enjoys playing his acoustic guitars and doing covers. I say more power to him! No idea what equipment he uses, but I'm sure he'd be glad to tell you if you reached out through youtube.

[Steve Carlton]

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=43

[scottmandue]

Thanks for the responses but I wad hoping for something more like "I plug dohicy one into thingamajig two and blank I have a video!"

Easiest thing is put my phone on a tripod and hit record.

I'm a little more HIFI so would like something more sophisticated.

Short answer is use the Nikon.

But I know we have musicians here Shirley there its s simple way to hook this up (and don't call me Shirley)

[ramonesfreak]

I used various Tascam Portastudio decks over the years including a 246 that I still have but has a melted belt. There are some amazing Portastudios (and other brands) available now for not much money. I basically stopped recording 10 years ago after making 14 records I never did anything with and just focus on playing now. I have little interest/experience in using computers, pro tools or any of that so can’t guide you well but suggest you just pop into guitar center’s pro audio department and ask for advice. From everything I know about it, setup is pretty simple so long as your computer hardware is up to the task. Before Covid I was looking to update my now dying junk to record a band project I had going in the basement and was going to get one of these and a dedicated computer as a DAW but then it all collapsed

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Model12--tascam-model-12-mixer-interface-recorder-controller

My first of many

[Zeke]

If you want to make musical videos I suggest you upload your video first, then detach the sound and record the sound track separately while watching the video. That's the simple way using video editing software. When you do the sound part you can add a track of just playing the instrument or singing, or both. Short of buying sound recording equipment to edit your soundtrack, this is the simple way to go. If you don't get it right, do it again. But you have to be happy with the video and synch to it.

Or you can do it the other way around like Milli Vanilli did and lip synch to your audio recording. Actually you can sing and play while watching the video and just detach it and delete. It's just which you do first that becomes the master.

But the mic on the camera will never get the job done simultaneously with the video portion. You need to record the sound through the computer, not the camera.

There's all kinds of audio software for that so you don't need sound recording equipment. But you need a good mic. Maybe 2. And headphones are a must for editing or dubbing.

[wildthing]

I have a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Works fine for basic recording of you singing while playing guitar. If you want to go fancy, those mixers might be a good investment.

[ramonesfreak]

If just getting into recording I recommend you start with this…you’ll have way more fun and learn how to mix and master..for very little money
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DP03SD--tascam-dp-03sd-8-track-digital-portastudio

[ramonesfreak]

I guess it would help if you said what you wanted to do. If you want to make YouTube videos of just you playing, forget what I said above as you don’t need multiple channels - you just need a good high quality recorder to synch to your video. And some video editing software of which there are many….sorry I can’t help more

[sc_rufctr]

Direct into your PC/LT via USB3 this is all you need. (made in Australia)

The "Rode AI-1".

https://rode.com/en/interfaces-and-mixers/ai-series/ai-1

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

For years I have wanted to play music badly and I have achieved that goal

Cut to the chase,
I have a computer, A Nikon digital SLR, A fairly nice microphone (need to get a stand) and more guitars than you can shake a stick at.

So as a tech I envision all I need is software and some kind of physical connection between my noise makers and the computer (and cables to do so).

I know many of you have mentioned home recording so what are you running?

This software is user friendly and enables recording, mixing and editing.

https://mixcraft.software.informer.com/9.0/

[Gogar]

Do you mean "I want to record a video of me playing but I want the sound to be a little better?"

Can your camera do real-time into your computer with USB?

Are you singing and playing or just playing?

Electric guitar or Acoustic?


The simplest and cheapest way will be something like the aforementioned Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and the mic you have. If you're singing, you might consider one more mic like a Shure SM58 for $125 or so. Use your 'fairly nice mic (please tell us what it is)' and the other mic. One goes into each side of the Focusrite (or whatever thing you choose that has at least 2 inputs.)

Download OBS freeware, which will allow you to combine the realtime video from your camera and the noises you make with the mic. You can adjust the tone of the mics 'a little bit', likely enough to make you happy without pulling out your hair.

You can record the completed video right in OBS. You can also stream with it if you want to.


that's the easy answer for maybe a few hundred bucks.

If your camera can't do real time to the computer you can buy a nice webcam or a GoPro that will do it.

[Gogar]

If you just want to record stuff into your computer with your microphone and the camera isn't in the picture, there is a free version of Pro Tools and all you need to do is buy the Focusrite (or something like it, there's a ton of them) and you're off to the races.

There are a million apps to record and they are all great but Pro Tools is the photoshop of audio and everyone knows it and almost everyone uses it. And there's a free one.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

I guess it would help if you said what you wanted to do. If you want to make YouTube videos of just you playing, forget what I said above as you don’t need multiple channels - you just need a good high quality recorder to synch to your video. And some video editing software of which there are many….sorry I can’t help more

What I said.

The free sound editor is Audacity. I have it but haven't used it. I can't tell you if you can add echo. You'll want a little depth to your voice.

[aschen]

What you want to get various instrument and mic analog signals in and out of your computer is called an audio interface I think?

RME makes very good ones I am told, but no personal expertise

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Zeke

What I said.

The free sound editor is Audacity. I have it but haven't used it. I can't tell you if you can add echo. You'll want a little depth to your voice.

It can.

Audacity is one of the oldest and most well regarded open source audio apps going.

It does a ton.

[stomachmonkey]

You'll get a lot of recommendations on gear but a constant regardless of the gear for video is lighting. It's crucial to get a good visual presentation. It doesn't have to be expensive either, some quality ring lights from Amazon go a long way.

For audio do get an editor like Pro Tools or Audacity.

One very simple thing that so many people miss is sampling the room.

Spaces have way more ambient sound in them than people are aware of, like a lot, you'd be shocked.

You record 10 seconds of silence and can use that as a filter to remove the ambient noise from your recording.

Think sound cancelling.

[Zeke]

Lighting, yes, good point! I did a video on this:

[flipper35]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

This software is user friendly and enables recording, mixing and editing.

https://mixcraft.software.informer.com/9.0/

This is what my daughter uses.

My brother in law had a breakout box for his computer and had Cake Walk to record/mix.