Does anyone make music?

[shin0bi]

I'm curious to know if there's any musicians here on beyond that might have the answer to a few questions.

I want to do some recording/remixing similar to what Trent Reznor does with NIN (Records all the instruments/vocals himself, then uses mixing programs to make his music).

So the main question I guess is what sort of hardware and software would I need to capture my guitar into a recording program. (ie is there any way I can synch up my guitar directly to the computer without having to actually book studio time to record?)

What is the best software to use (in terms of an easy learning curve for beginners that can still pump out decent quality stuff?)

thanks for any advice!

[b_t]

I write and record myself all the time and post the clips up at http://www.soundclick.com/temps/

There are a couple different ways you can go about it.. what kind of setup do you have? Do you have a good amp & speaker cabinet that you want to record "properly" or do you have a Line6 Pod, or do you not have an amp at all?

One program that I found easy to get into, that encourages a steady progression from working at a fundamental level to getting more advanced, is Cubase. It isn't cheap on its own but it is easy to find a ripped off version of Cubase SX3 which can do basically everything you want. It is probably the most popular program for audio recording and mixing for non-professionals.. if you want to get into the real NIN stuff with all kinds of synths and effects, you will want Cubase's good MIDI implementation.

Let me know what kind of rig you have and I can make some recommendations for you. This type of thing is hard as hell though, so don't expect to make anything that will set the world on fire for the first year..

[googe]

the industry standard is pro tools. you can get the recording interface and the software for about $300 (mbox mini). it's generally not favored by people who primarily do electronic/synth music though, because it's behind in terms of midi capabilities (although version 8 just came out and I hear its a huge improvement for midi, but I havent seen it). its actually really intuitive to use too as far as recording and editing goes. if you are going that route, there are a few others, like cubase as b_t suggested, logic if you use mac, digital performer, cakewalk sonar. if you are mostly recording guitar, i'd say to go the pro tools route with one of these boxes:

http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?langid=100&navid=104&itemid=23596

but yeah if you need midi and are using windows, just go with what b_t said :D

[shin0bi]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Alright, so B_T, to answer your question as far as my setup is concerned, its pretty simple: I don't have one :)

So I'm looking for advice on where to start. Since I want to do solo recording stuff, I'm not really leaning towards big amps and speaker towers and stuff... I don't really have any rooms in my house that would lend to decent acoustics either, so I'm leaning more towards something that I could plug the guitar into that interfaces directly with the computer. So I guess, maybe something similar to that Mbox.

I'm already working on getting Cubase ;)

[nich148_9]

Originally posted by b_t
I write and record myself all the time and post the clips up at http://www.soundclick.com/temps/

http://cdn2.soundclick.com/25/images/t/band/temps.jpg

Also, that MBox is a great product. I'd suggest (as stated) Cubase and Logic, especially if you're planning on monkeying around with MIDI stuff.

[b_t]

^ that's my shredding face :rofl:


Originally posted by shin0bi
Thanks for the responses guys.

Alright, so B_T, to answer your question as far as my setup is concerned, its pretty simple: I don't have one :)

So I'm looking for advice on where to start. Since I want to do solo recording stuff, I'm not really leaning towards big amps and speaker towers and stuff... I don't really have any rooms in my house that would lend to decent acoustics either, so I'm leaning more towards something that I could plug the guitar into that interfaces directly with the computer. So I guess, maybe something similar to that Mbox.

I'm already working on getting Cubase ;)

You don't need a big speaker cab by any means. Plus, room acoustics aren't that big of a deal.. when you put a mic on a guitar cabinet, you jam it right into the grill so it is less than an inch away from the speaker. For heavily distorted guitars, anyway, for acoustics you might need a decent room.

If you just want to get a recording interface so you can plug your guitar right into the computer, you have a lot of options. MBox stuff is pretty good. The unit I use personally is an Edirol UA-25 and it has worked really well for me - its built in mic preamps are almost totally transparent and the thing was only $170 new or something. I've used it forever, to record using a mic, direct, vocals, whatever.. I'm actually upgrading my recording setup right away here, so if you want a good interface, I could sell you the Edirol for cheap ;)

Another one that is very well reviewed is the Mackie Onyx Satellite. Its a little bit more powerful than the entry level MBox and Edirol, has more inputs, and probably the best, cleanest preamps in its price bracket. It also has a very good reputation for being stable and compatible with any platform you plug into it.

Then, you will need something to process your guitar sound. A guitar recorded direct is totally clean with no distortion, which can be useful from time to time, but doesn't suit NIN stuff.

There are a few VSTs out there you could look into... Guitar Rig 3 is one with decent sound quality and some cool effects. Revalver has awesome sound quality and comes very close to mimicking a real guitar amp & speaker cabinet, but the latest version hasn't been cracked yet and it is $300! The old version is out on a torrent site.. there is also a free one called Voxengo Boogex that sounds pretty good.

There are quite a few more but Guitar Rig and Revalver are some of the most commonly used ones. I think Line 6 has a computer program as well you could use.. tons of people use Line 6 stuff because it is super convenient and easy to use.. this song, for instance, is all Line 6.. all the distorted and clean guitars, the bass.. everything but the drums. I myself have never used Line 6 anything.. never been a fan of how it "feels" to play Line 6 gear, really stiff and digital.
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6370301

I'll PM you a link to a good site you should sign up for ;)

edit: in case you don't believe me, this is what I use to record my guitar cab... room sound isn't important for what you want to do :rofl: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Sakeido/DSCF4697.jpg

[Mike w]

another awsome program is FL studio, its the easyist the cheapest and you can get all the plugins/hardware hookups you need for it. you can plug your guitar directly into your computer, play and it will record the notes on something called a "piano roll" where from there you can build beats, bass all aspects to the song. the instruments/synths it comes with are pretty lameballs, so getting some new samples is a must, then there something called a vst which is a software synth you can use as a plugin to FL.
if you wanna check out some of the songs ive made go here
www.acidplanet.com/Nitronix

[zipdoa]

I feed my (epiphone, ibanez, gretsch) into this:

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/regular/0/1/4/368014.jpg

Which then is fed into this:

http://www.maudio.co.uk/images/global/product_pics/big/fasttrackUSB_v2008.jpg

Which is then recorded using Garageband on a Mac.

For audio (Vocals/Acoustic/elecoustic) I use this:

http://www.8thstreet.com/images/AT4050.jpg

which goes into something that looks like this (mine is different, can't find exact product)

http://www.keytro.dk/sigmac/graf/mic%20preamp%20mpr-1.jpg

and then joins the guitar in this:

http://www.maudio.co.uk/images/global/product_pics/big/fasttrackUSB_v2008.jpg

Pretty easy to set up and use, finding a good recording space is another story... munch on some zoomers and fool around with a set up like this in a milliondollar bearspaw mansion, and you're pretty much garunteed to come up with some cool results hahahaha.