Making and Recording Music With Computers - Part 1 - Hardware [aboutcomputer99.blogspot.com]

Making and Recording Music With Computers - Part 1 - Hardware [aboutcomputer99.blogspot.com]

Question by bitchennn: im looking for a music computer program? hey im looking into starting my own side project by myself. i wanted to basically get some type of computer program that i could create heavy metal/rock/hardcore instrumentals, buy a microphone to sing into then kind of mix it all together. does anyone know of any type of computer program that i could do this on? Best answer for im looking for a music computer program?:

Answer by Peter W
garageband ableton live propellerhead reason are some examples

Answer by adrek09
If you are looking to record guitars, bass and voice you will need to make a combination of some software. You will have the main software where you will record the audio channels for each instrument and/or mic, set volume levels, choose speaker balance, etc and if you want a little bit more quality I strongly recommend you to get a separate software that works as a complement with your main software but It will be more dedicated for a given instrument. Examples of the main software I mention are: Pro tools, Cubase4, Cakewalk: Sonar, Adobe Audition They´ll do practically the same for what you are looking for, however check the prices because some of them are more for studio purposes than others. Examples for the dedicated instrument software are: Guitar Rig 3, Guitar tracks pro Once you get both softwares you will have to take a look at the manuals to figure out how to make them work together since it changes from one software to another. You can still record guitars, and other instruments with only the main software but you will be missing the cool effects of a dedicated guitar software. If you want to throw in some drums I recommend you to take a look at Ezdrummer, it works with the main software as well.

[music on computer]

The Dubuque Symphony, the Colts, the orchestras and bands of the various educational organizations, orchestras that play a variety of dance music, musicals at The Grand Theater and the Bell Tower Theater, and musical performances at Mystique and the ... Letter: Music in Dubuque: Quality, quantity and diversity

This article is intended for people looking to get started with recording music on a home computer. It is the first part in a series of articles.

If you're in a band and you're looking to make a great home demo. You're a singer/songwriter interested in the digital age. Or maybe you have an acoustic guitar and you want to throw down a track or two. A drummer with no guitar player, a bass player with no drummer? Sometimes folks, you don't need the whole band. Maybe you just want to try and sell jingles.

That's the first part of it gang ... PASSION to create YOUR music. If you're reading this, I can only assume we're both locked in there.

THE COMPUTER HARDWARE: You'll read a lot about this major player all over the internet. It is the heartbeat of your audio machine. You're Tower of Power per say. Monitor, keyboard and mouse included. Right about now, questions start to arise about the machine.

How much ram? What's a Gigahertz? I'll need a huge hard drive right? PC or MAC? My computer is 5 years old, your nuts! Is the one I'm using to read this going work?

If you're just getting started, everyone will tell you that bigger is better ... don't be sold. Be smart and do some research. (Maybe this article is your start?)

Here are some REAL WORLD things to keep in mind, along with, some personal recommendations. Heck, I'll even tell you what I use personally. I don't see this as any magic secret.

HARD DRIVES: With mass USB storage now-a-days, you need a hard drive to "run and support your programs" not to keep everything on. Let's just say it crashes one day ... I'm sure most of the people reading this have "been there" with a computer before (or maybe two?)So, I'll spare the details. In a nutshell, your time, effort and passion have all been wasted. Tips & Recommendations:

The best thing you can do is designate an "Audio Computer" Don't do your taxes on it. Don't create grandma's birthday card on it. (Graphic programs and audio programs don't get along ... AT ALL!) Internet is not required (and is forbidden on any audio machine I own) PC'ers ... go with a bare bones version of XP MAC'ers anything above system 7 should do just fine.

Having said all that ... an 80GB (and up) hard drive will suit your entry level audio needs just fine.

PROCESSOR & RAM: This one is easy and relies solidly on the individual's patience. If your comfortable multi tasking you may not need the fastest, jerk your head back in the chair system. This all comes down to you, the individual, and how your work (or intended to work) with your audio computer.

First things first, If your just getting started riding ponies, you're probably not signing up to ride the bull the next day. There is no need to go out and buy a so called, Audio Computer for $ 3000.00. If you can, hey that's great. But, if you're just getting started and know zilch, by the time you grow into that system, you'll want (not need) another one.

Tips & Recommendations:

o SYSTEM A (If you want to work fluently)

Start with something like an E machine ... 1GB ram and say a 3.0 processor (stick with intel ... audio software uses it as the "norm") You can use others (AMD etc) but extra configurations may have to be tweaked ... and if your just getting started ... YOU WANT TO GET STARTED!

o SYSTEM B (If your budget is restricting ... who's isn't)

You can take it down a notch ... say 512 ram and a 2.0 processor (keep it intel) So, what is the sacrifice here? Audio files need time to "render". With the system above (SYSTEM A) ... an average render is 2-3 minutes. With SYSTEM B, it's about 7-10 minutes. Back when I first started recording ... 15 minutes was "state of the art". More "lock ups" transpire with lower ram amounts as well. E-bay has some great machines worth looking at too.

OTHER COMPUTER STUFF: Your going to want to make sure the system has a few USB ports (4) and a few fire wire ports (at least 1). I'm not going to get into the breakdown of these ports or explain how they work because ... who cares, you jus t need them to plug audio gear into and that is that ... why take it further? The box, or ad you read when looking for a computer, will tell you everything the system has to offer. It will also tell you how many of these two ports it will have.

Let's jump to all the fun stuff ... Oh! That's right, my system. Well, after reading what you did already, I chose a fairly decent rig (at the time) on a moderate budget.

Are you ready? I use (its times like these I wish these companies paid me)

A Gateway GR550 (don't think they make 'em anymore) don't get me wrong here, systems now-a-days will blow this computer off the map ... but it's about what you need, not what the industries push you need. The only thing I had to do was upgrade the ram an extra 512MB to make it a 1GB. This audio machine is one of the main beating hearts of my studio today.

INTERFACE Hey there's a crazy techie word ... but just in case you haven't noticed, you can 't plug a guitar into your new machine. That's where the interface comes in. An interface is the link between your guitar/microphone and your computer.

YIKES! Tons on the market ... more decisions you'll have to make. USB or Fire wire? Let's just take the easy route again. USB is a cheaper connection as far as "audio signal" goes. What I have noticed over the years was more "clicking" and "popping" while recording and playing back with a USB interface. Get yourself a firewire (told you) Here are a few to review:

Toneport (USB) great for younger starters Stealth (USB) great for younger guitar players

Hey, Moms and Dad's ... these make great Christmas gift's for your inspiring musical offspring!

Hey, Moms and Dad's ... these make great Christmas gift's for you!

M-Audio 1816 (FW) MOTU (FW)

I bet you want to know what I use huh? ... I currently have an M-Audio Project Mix. I started my recording birth with a Delta 66. This used a PCI port and required a "card" be installed into your computer system. I'm a bit of a computer geek, and have no fears when it comes to opening them ... but if you do, PCI is not your route. Again, use the new technology for the same price.

Today it's Fire wire. I must say however, PCI was THE MOST RELIABLE way to record. Don't worry; Fire wire is a very, very close second, with USB coming in at third.

Well gang, this will conclude part one HARDWARE. Do some more research and get yourself a great starting audio rig. Part 2 we'll get into SOFTWARE. This part is so much fun; it may be two articles long.

Until next time.

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