Recording Gear

[MaidenFan2]

What gear should I be using to record stuff for my band?

Like right now i use a computer mic and Audacity ( computer recording program ) but I would like to get like a 4 track or something decent.

anyway I would like links if you can get them and I'm looking for a price range of 200 - 500 dollars canadian

[DemoEtc]

Audacity has 16 tracks I've heard. Depending on your soundcard (other guys will probably reply with specifics), you can record one (or several) tracks at once and then mix the thing together. If you can only do one track at a time, you could still do it with Audacity.

If, like you say, you're recording a band, then you need to record several tracks at once, and that's the problem, right?

Anyhow, you 'could' get a mixer that would go before the input to the computer, premix the drums and bass and guitar, and then record that into the computer. Then you could go back and add solos or vocals or something, one at a time. It might be hard to get a good recorded sound with everybody playing at onces, so either way a small mixer would be good to have. Depending on how well the drummer and bassist know their parts, you could have them record by themselves - drums in stereo, bass to the 'side' - and then go back and put in the other parts one by one until you have the whole band recorded.

Even with a 4 track machine (like a TASCAM or something) you'd need to carefully mic everything to make the best use of the tracks. But I think you're thinking about a 4 track because you can record all tracks at once and you can't do that wtih Audacity, right? Well, not unless you get a really hot soundcard that allows 2, 4, 8 or 16 tracks to be recorded at the same time. Now you're talking some money though, and that could be a problem.

Best bet, maybe get a small 8-16 channel stereo mixing board (probably 8 is enough), get a good 'live mix' of your band (or just the rhythm section), and then record that onto 2 tracks of Audacity (if possible). 2 tracks is the minimum for a stereo sound. Then overdub guitars, vocals, etc till you have the whole thing.

Take care. :)

[Stan]

What gear should I be using to record stuff for my band?

Just got a Fostex MR8HD and I'm loving it. 8 tracks, can record 4 simultainiously, bounce and go for more. Its got a 40 gig hard drive and USB connection - plug it into your computer, download your songs and burn the cd. Sweet and simple. Got mine for $399.95 at musicansfriend.com.

[Tonkie]

I'm starting to put my composition studio together for college so I know where you're coming from. This is probably way to serious for just your band, but a MOTU 828 MKII is a god. Takes analog (XLR/.25/everything) to digital and sends it to your computer through firewire at 96kHz.

For something less then that you should check out some of soundblaster's external sound card boxes. It will get the job done well, and the quality should be alright (44-48kHz).