So I have been writing a lot of songs lately, and I would really like to record them. They are metal songs however, so just straight
through the mic of my mac just makes a crap quality recording. What softwares and equipment are best to use to record these parts?
Also, since I don't have a drum kit, I was thinking about just using a drum machine software. What is a good program thats either free or relatively cheap?
I'm sure you can find a relatively cheap amp/mixer that will allow for direct input into your computer. As for software, FL Studios is a pretty popular program for Windows. Ask a mac fanboy for whatever the free equivalent is.
There are a few routes you can take and it depends on how much you want to pay. There are a few free DAWs out there, but I can't attest to their quality. If you have garageband, use that. Otherwise try out a bunch of DAWs and see what you like best. DAWs are all about workflow. I wouldn't go for FL Studio because it's more aimed towards electronic music. It's not that you can't do acoustic music in it, it's just that it may be better to look towards a DAW that is intended for acoustic music.
How to record your guitars can be done in a few ways. The cheapest yet worst way would be to hook the line out/headphones port to your mic or line in port. That works, but is a good bit sketchy. The second way would be to plug your guitar directly into your mic/line in and use an amp simulator. There are free ones like Shred, but they don't sound nearly as good as real amps or professional amp simulators. The next step up from that would be to get an audio interface and combine it with a free amp sim. The next step up from that would be to get a mic like the SM-57 and record your amp with that. I wouldn't advice this if you don't have a good amp, for example, I have a Line 6 Spider III and micing it is pointless because it doesn't sound that great. If you have a nice Marshall, then you might want to mic your amp, but if your amp isn't good, you might as well use a free amp sim.
For drums I'd suggest drum loops. You won't have that much control. If you don't like that you can go for samples and sequence then, but they won't sound all that real. The next think you could go for would be a drum simulator. The two big ones are Addictive Drums and EzDrummer, addictive sounds better but more because the drums are all mixed, as opposed to EzDrummer where the drums aren't so mixed. This is to say you can a great sound out of EzDrummer which is cheaper through mixing.
Here is cheap recording interface.
[url]http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer-Guitar-Link-UCG102-241228-i1175566.gc[/url]
You can find shred here
[url]http://www.acmebargig.com/[/url]
You can also use Amplitube Free
[url]http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitubefree/features/[/url]
This is a free DAW, but use garageband if you can.
[url]http://ardour.org/[/url]
I'd start out free and cheap and if you find you like what you're doing you can start upgrading.
[QUOTE=Pepin;31764631][...]It's not that you can't do acous[...]
[/QUOTE]
Something strange happened there. :v:
[QUOTE=Yur|ko;31765470]Something strange happened there. :v:[/QUOTE]
I'm just going to say the rest of the sentence was implied to be artistic.
My personal thoughts, which I'm sure many will flame or find controversial, is to buy a USED Mbox (1 or 2) with whatever version of ProTools the seller has. Then, get yourself an XLR cable and a cheap Behringer mic. ProTools is easy enough for ANYONE to get the hang of with mild online tutorials and reading; I've taught middle school students how to do advanced things in just a few weeks.
It's worth it to spend the 150-200 to get yourself rollin' with a decent starter setup. As nice as free.99 is, spending just the small amount is a great route to take. You're not gonna go broke, but you'll sound like you care about your craft that much more.
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