Jump to content

Beginning the long journey of learning to record


Recommended Posts

  • Members

Hi.

 

Not sure where to start with this but here goes...

 

Me and a few friends were thinking of, for fun, gaining a bit of experience in the recording world. We're looking to do this as low budget as possible (free online tutorials and articles would be great!) as we're pretty young and can't afford high quality doohickeys.

 

I have an iBook so we'd be using Garageband to record I guess. What else would we have to buy to record a basic band set up? Remember, low budget is key!

 

We mainly listen to bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse, so that is the sort of sound we're going for here. We can obviously reply with more examples of bands we listen to!

 

So yeah, any suggestions or advice on what to buy to get a basic set up, articles to read or whatever, would be really appreciated.

 

Thanks a lot,

Plinky

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

First of all, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:

Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764516345/102-9059220-3248917?v=glance&n=283155&%3Bn=507846&%3Bs=books&v=glance

(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)

 

Good Newbie guide that also explains all the basics:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

 

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

 

Also Good Info:

http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

 

Other recording books:

http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

 

 

Plenty of software around to record for free to start out on:

 

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net

 

Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I also think that one really good book would help and not be very expensive. The out-of-print Wayne Wadhams book, "Sound Advice: A Musician's Guide to the Recording Studio" is very helpful and creative.

 

You can also try and get a free subscription to a recording magazine such as TapeOp, EQ, Recording, or whatever you feel may help most.

 

And finally, these forums are a very useful source of information. You have to get used to some people, who are very dogmatic about a particular approach to something, but aside from that, you can get great info from very knowledgeable people in this forum, Craig Anderton's forum, Dave Bryce's forum (especially for keyboards), and TapeOp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • Members

Plinky, I'm glad you're commited to doing some learning first, unlike a lot of people now who think the Recording Engineer's Diploma comes in the box with the 002. Gear included, "EARS NOT INCLUDED".

 

They wouldn't try to fly a plane without learning how, or play a piano without lessons, or fix a car engine, but for some reason a lot of musicians think they can automatically become recordists overnight.

 

The art and skill of the recording engineer was once a highly valued and specialized field. It took a long time to learn and was in a world of pro studios that charged $100 per hour or more. Those studios had invested hundreds of thousand, sometimes millions, in not just gear but design, acoustics, wiring, installation, climate control, you name it. One of thier vintage tube mics would be worth more than an entire typical project studio today.

 

All of that has been totally de-valued.

 

I know because I WAS one of those guys. (And I can still record and mix circles around those kids at home with their lap-tops). Then one day, a band that was planning to pay me $12K to do an album for them decided to take that money and buy some cheap adats and a Mackie Board and do the CD themselves. It came out sounding like crap because they had no idea what they were doing, then they asked me if I could come in and fix it in the mix.

 

You are lucky that this inexpensive technology is available to you. And I like how you are planning to really get some learnin' done first. In fact, feel free to email me if you have questions. I can help you avoid making mistakes you may regret.

 

Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Originally posted by Drewcifer666


They wouldn't try to fly a plane without learning how, or play a piano without lessons, or fix a car engine, but for some reason a lot of musicians think they can automatically become recordists overnight.

 

 

Yeah, recording engineering and parenting. You can be a genius instantly.

 

For everything else, you need buttloads of practice, a certificate, or a license.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

 

Originally posted by UstadKhanAli

I also think that one really good book would help and not be very expensive. The out-of-print Wayne Wadhams book, "Sound Advice: A Musician's Guide to the Recording Studio" is very helpful and creative.

.

 

 

This book was my bible starting out. I read it cover to cover many times.

 

Read books. Be careful of things you read on the internet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...