Hi all. So I am relatively new to bass, but not to music. But I've never tried to seriously record anything. My question to you guys today is about that. I know nothing at all about it and would like to look into building a basic setup. Software, audio peripherals, etc. My end goal is to record tracks into a laptop and do some basic arranging, I can get cash advice online and buy expensive software. Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks!
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As Tony mentions, Audacity is free and is a good place to start. You can do a lot with it. Learn Audacity and you're set to take on more complex software.
Use the free software and the built in audio card for now to see if you like recording. Many change there mind. If you need a mic (recording anything acousticaly) then save your money for that, it will make the most difference. Than an audio interface (mic pre). Most come with software.
Here are a few recordings I did using Audacity on the weekend. I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out.
The mics are home made using a matched pair of primo EM-258 capsules.
Rrecording hardware is my 1st Gen focusrite scarlett 2i2 and the mic line driver I've been developing, which allows me to run the mic capsules off the 48V phantom power.
There may be a small difference between the channels in the very low frequencies. I think the left channel currently has 1uF coupling caps and the right has 100nF. Left channel the line driver is flat to 10Hz, right it is down about 0.3db at 20Hz. I'm probably going to modify the left channel to have 100nF as well.
I didn't have wind screens on the mics so there is some buffeting at points.
The mics were positioned either side of a camera snout bag to give some semblance of a dummy head.
There was a lot of low frequency noise and I've done a high passed version of the birds recording.
Things done in Audacity post recording were basically just cutting (I did three recordings of 30 minutes each!) and normalizing the levels. I think with the thunder I normalized to -1db and the birds to -3db. The second birds one I also did a high pass at 150Hz 24db.
A pic of my mic setup is attached as well 😉 The rain_and_thunder_3 one the mics were not in this position but were instead on the table in the background and I think oriented so that the left mic would have been parallel to the wall. You can see a spectral imbalance between the channels in this one, I'm guessing due to wall reflections.
Tony.
The mics are home made using a matched pair of primo EM-258 capsules.
Rrecording hardware is my 1st Gen focusrite scarlett 2i2 and the mic line driver I've been developing, which allows me to run the mic capsules off the 48V phantom power.
There may be a small difference between the channels in the very low frequencies. I think the left channel currently has 1uF coupling caps and the right has 100nF. Left channel the line driver is flat to 10Hz, right it is down about 0.3db at 20Hz. I'm probably going to modify the left channel to have 100nF as well.
I didn't have wind screens on the mics so there is some buffeting at points.
The mics were positioned either side of a camera snout bag to give some semblance of a dummy head.
There was a lot of low frequency noise and I've done a high passed version of the birds recording.
Things done in Audacity post recording were basically just cutting (I did three recordings of 30 minutes each!) and normalizing the levels. I think with the thunder I normalized to -1db and the birds to -3db. The second birds one I also did a high pass at 150Hz 24db.
A pic of my mic setup is attached as well 😉 The rain_and_thunder_3 one the mics were not in this position but were instead on the table in the background and I think oriented so that the left mic would have been parallel to the wall. You can see a spectral imbalance between the channels in this one, I'm guessing due to wall reflections.
Tony.
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We are using Reaper in our recording/mixing/mastering studio along with other software.
It is not free, but is very cheap ($60 for individuals). But it has trial period, after which it runs full featured, but after 10sec reminder on every start-up of the program.
It is easy, comes with some plugins and is perfect for recording and editing.
For arrangement and composition - other softwares are better.
Hope it helps!
It is not free, but is very cheap ($60 for individuals). But it has trial period, after which it runs full featured, but after 10sec reminder on every start-up of the program.
It is easy, comes with some plugins and is perfect for recording and editing.
For arrangement and composition - other softwares are better.
Hope it helps!
Funnily the OP and the one who did the Necro seem to be spammers. The topic is always a currebt one though.
Audacity always comes up, but their User interface and stability were bad even before they were bought.
Reaper is very capable if you put enough work into its ergonomics (in contrast to audacity that is possible).
StudioOne is good and fast as well and there are limited free versions of it.
Soundforge brings up warm memories, and in the 90s it was one of the best.
These days I recommend Ocenaudio for single track recording and destructive editing. It is donationware and has lots less bells and whistles than wavelab or a full DAW, but it is very usable for simple tasks.
Audacity always comes up, but their User interface and stability were bad even before they were bought.
Reaper is very capable if you put enough work into its ergonomics (in contrast to audacity that is possible).
StudioOne is good and fast as well and there are limited free versions of it.
Soundforge brings up warm memories, and in the 90s it was one of the best.
These days I recommend Ocenaudio for single track recording and destructive editing. It is donationware and has lots less bells and whistles than wavelab or a full DAW, but it is very usable for simple tasks.