You've written a couple of songs and are now ready to record them. You don't need to rent a recording studio or call technicians; with a computer, a guitar or any other instrument and a microphone you can do it at home and in good quality.
Steps
Step 1. First you need to set up a home recording studio; you can use reflection filters such as those of SnapRecorder
You will need these equipment to record vocals.
Step 2. Next, make sure you have enough RAM to support a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) program
There are several, such as GarageBand, Logic, Cubase, ProTools or even Audacity!
Step 3. Then you will need to organize what you want to record
Guitar? Bass? Battery? Make sure you have the necessary appliances for each tool. For various types of guitar or bass, your amplifier and one or two cables are sufficient. For the drums you may need special microphones which are quite expensive.
Step 4. Now start testing
- Connect your guitar to the amplifier as you normally would.
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Unplug the cable from the amplifier side.
You may need an adapter to convert the 6.5mm plug to 3.5mm (the standard size of the headphone jack). Plug it into your computer's audio-in jack. (This is usually located next to the Audio-Out one, or rather the place where you usually plug your headphones, or for new Mac models this is the same jack)
- Adjust the DAW so it can recognize your guitar and the program so it can record it (in Mono or Stereo).
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Register!
You will notice how easy it is to record as soon as you learn how to do it
Step 5. You can also record the sounds of the amplifier with a microphone, just bringing the microphone closer and adjusting the program to receive that signal
Step 6. For the drums you can use the Drum Machines setup included in some DAWs, such as GarageBand or Acoustica Mixcraft
Step 7. You can record your voice using a common microphone connected the same way you connected the guitar or use a USB one
Microphones for Guitar Hero or Rock Band are perfect, some people have used them to record whole EPs, so don't be afraid to try them!
Step 8. Musical keyboards often have a MIDI-out or USB port for direct recording
If not, use the headphone jack and plug in the keyboard like you did for the guitar / bass / mic.
Step 9. To record other instruments, such as violin or piano, you will need a microphone
Warnings
- Make sure the program is recording when you start playing.
- Check your tool to make sure it works well.
- Make sure you have enough RAM in your pc.
- The other things you will need to check are:
