Best way to record / economical

[Robert Delahunt]

All,

I'd like to ask for advice: I want to record stuff but I'm very new to recording stuff, and I don't know what stuff I should get. I'll list what I have and my goals. Please give me advice, and thanks in advance!

Gear: '72 Twin Reverb, don't own any microphones, I have a toshiba laptop (with slackware linux and windows xp home installed), I have guitars (duh lol) and I have a Boss ME-50. I have a cable that can run stereo 1/4" to dual RCA and dual RCA to mini-jack (mic jack on laptop).

Goals: make decent recording of various guitar chops / ideas I get. I don't want anything super-professional in quality, but something I can cut mp3's of and post on my website without someone hearing it and saying "ew". Basically, just enough quality to sound close enough to CD quality, something that the lack of quality doesn't make people want to stop listening to.

I was running ME-50 Line Out into the mic jack on my laptop for a while, but it's an impedance mismatch and you can adjust the mixer levels, but it's still not meant to be this way.

Anyways, please let me know, give me advice! Thanks in advance!

 

[Christobevii3]

Re: Best way to record / economical

I got a black box from m-audio. It has some effects built in, but i still use my boss me-50 too for effects mainly.

I like that it has the option to play directly with the guitar straight into it for recording (quiet) or using a mic (loud). The mic that came with it was actually kinda good if i set it on a milk crate to record and turned my amp up. I think zzounds is where you get the mic free with it.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Best way to record / economical

"CD Quality" is such a mis-nomer these days...marketing buzzwords...

Who's & what CD are ya'll comparing to?!? :laugh2:

If you just want to record songwriting demos & the like on an easy to use rig I'd avoid the computer route.

Get an all-in-one box like a Roland VS or one of those Yamaha deals...all around their WAY easier to get a handle on & start using then any computer based rig.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Best way to record / economical

"CD Quality" is such a mis-nomer these days...marketing buzzwords... Who's & what CD are ya'll comparing to?!? :laugh2:
If you just want to record songwriting demos & the like on an easy to use rig I'd avoid the computer route. Get an all-in-one box like a Roland VS or one of those Yamaha deals...all around their WAY easier to get a handle on & start using then any computer based rig.

CD quality isn't a buzzword for marketing to someone who understands what the numbers mean. There's still recording quality and instrument quality (a toy whistle is a toy whistle at almost any recording bit rate / frequency). CD quality in terms of bit rate and sampling frequency: 44.1 kHz 16 bit stereo. Thanks, I'll see if I can find an example of the Roland VS.

Still, I'm after total recording economy since I have a family.... I wish I could buy one of those Boss ones....

 

[davedvdy]

Re: Best way to record / economical

"CD Quality" is such a mis-nomer these days...marketing buzzwords...

Who's & what CD are ya'll comparing to?!? :laugh2:

If you just want to record songwriting demos & the like on an easy to use rig I'd avoid the computer route.

Get an all-in-one box like a Roland VS or one of those Yamaha deals...all around their WAY easier to get a handle on & start using then any computer based rig.

They are easier to get started on, however, you might find yourself fastly outgrowing them. The only think I miss about my Boss is having a physical interface to work with, which could still be purchased. All the editing w/Computer based rigs is way more advanced than most machine deals, and you get more for your money, IMHO.