Recommendation for home studio on the cheap?
 

I know we have a few pro and semi pro musicians on the board so here goes.

First, I'm a total hack/armature musician with a day job so this is for an inexpensive hobby.

A year or so I picked up a new middle of the road PC just to use as a word processor, I would like to use that as a base (Pentium with Vista but thinking of upgrading to 7)

I have taken to listening to electronic music on the airplane... it helps me sleep and drowns out the sound of crying babies and people discussing their hemorrhoid operation.

I thought it might be fun to do up some music on my own.

So I'm going to need some software, and maybe an input card for the computer in case I want to mic something or input a keyboard/guitar. Also the ability to sample sounds.

Mac makes a fine machine but I want to do this with my existing PC.

Like I said this is just a hobby I'm not looking to become DJ scottmandue

Thanks in advance

Ableton - Introducing Live Intro

ACID Music Studio 8.0 Overview

An iPad, (used 1st gen will work) with Garage Band on it is about all you'll need.

And you can make new stuff wherever you happen to be.

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Keep watching after 2:00 mark

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Dude you rock... but you knew that :D

but tonight I Dan... :p

fwiw I find Live to be confusing as all get out. Acid has been around for ever. Both of them are loop based so it is easy to get going quickly. There are plenty of other apps focused more on recording but sounds like messing with loops is more what you're looking for.

Garageband is very cool though. I use Logic for most of my stuff but after reading this thread pulled up GB on my new work iMac and was reminded how fun it is.

Thank, I will look into Acid.

My apple friends all praise GB... If I had unlimited funds I would have an iPad and go that way... heck if I had unlimited funds I wouldn't be driving a Elantra.

Such is life!

The Blue Icicle is a neat little XLR to USB adapter for Mics. There are other similar adapters. Plug it in, plug in the mic, and hit record. I used a Sure SM57 on this quick recording of an early 60's Supro Thunderbolt I just picked up.
For inputting guitar straight into the PC, I use an old Line6 Guitar Port. The GuitarPort software is "ok" but it also works with other software, like Amplitube and Guitar Rig. Some pretty decent sounds out of those, if you ask me.

For recording, I like Adobe Audition. I've never tried GarageBand though.

Does Acid (or other PC software) come with it's own sounds (samples?) or do you have to record (import) your own?

Can I presume I will be able sample clips off audio CD's?

And I have heard of "cakewalk" anyone using that?

Live mic/guitat/keyboard can be inputed with USB now, no extra card needed?

That's right! The Icicle and others like it act as thier own exteral USB soundcard.

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Mind you I have help build a few garage studios back in the day.

Eight track reel to reels and mixers.

Amazing what you can do with just software nowadays!

Acid will have loops and you can buy more. You also should be able to use a USB input and record your own stuff. Acid's claim to fame is using loops and being able to stretch/pitch change/etc. Most of the software can do that these days but it was one of the first.

I'm a Mac guy so I'm not up on all the PC software. I know of Cakewalk but haven't used it. There's also Nuendo, Digital Performer, ProTools, etc. For what you're talking about I'd probably lean towards the loop based software.

Cool... so I can USB a mike to record my new lawnmower!

If you want access to tons of capabilities and samples on the cheap (think the Linux world on PC's), set up a DAW based on Reaper. It's as fully functional as the most high end many thousand dollar setups and the software is free to play around with and only $60 for a license that allows you to release your work commercially. It works fine on Linux, Windows and Mac, which is important if your band is scattered around and working virtually. It also gives you access to a huge amount of free and cheap open source samples, loops and effects.

Reaper does have a learning curve so don't get overwhelmed. There are options like Garage Band that are extremely limited, but as long as the music is very simple it will allow you to focus on the music as you slowly learn and outgrow it.

You don't need a high end PC, last gen stuff will work fine. I recommend a 24" monitor and lots of drive space.

You'll need at least a 2 input interface, probably USB. A good place to start is something like a Zoom h4n recorder, which is both a great portable recorder and a decent interface.

You'll also want a good general purpose mic. I suggest a Shure SM57 or an Audix OM2, they are good for anything from vocals to acoustic guitars to Marshall stacks. Either mic will still be useful as you grow your stash of specialty mics.

Get some decent speakers to listen back during mixes. Cheap way is some decent Sennheiser headphones, but you'll eventually want some decent self powered studio monitors like Mackie, M-Audio or KRK.

Go for it! It's an incredible feeling to hear something in your head and a couple of days later playing it back for your buddies.

PM me if you need any help. I've recorded 2 albums and many live gigs with a very similar setup.

NOTE: This advice is based around recording real instruments and singers. If you are more interested in looping, sequencing and electronic DJ type songs, use Acid, it's the best for that stuff.

I notice that most of the stuff, when you stretch it and maintain pitch, starts to get pretty robot-y sounding.
I'd really like to find something that will maintain integrity of the sound, and not come out all robot-y sounding.

Of course, your mixes will sound like crap until you get Focal monitors.

Ian

btw I might be biased. ;)