Tip: Computer & Digital Recording
Computers, their operating systems and applications software are complex technologies that are sometimes difficult to fathom, even for geeks like me. I highly recommend that you learn the basics of what a computer is and how it works. Here is one source for training (there are many others, including the "Dummies" and "Complete Idiot" guidebooks):
Basic Computer Training
I also recommend that everyone who is interested in doing their own demo recording check out the Recording Institute of Detroit's Audio Specialist Course. It's free. It will take some of the mystery out of recording. Here are the links:
Recording Insitute of Detroit home page.
Audio Specialist Training Course.
The RID glossary is excellent. Use it to clear up any terms that you are not sure about.
You CAN get high quality sound out of most any PC using any good Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software package along with a SoundBlaster Live! or equivalent sound card. (And that is the correct term for your recording PC: Digital Audio Workstation.) In fact, if you are still running an old Windows 98 PC, you can get a free copy of Pro Tools to run on it. This will give you 8 tracks to work with - more than enough for an average home demo. Cakewalk ($89.95) is a decent program. So is Sonar ($499). Nuendo is professional studio software, priced out of reach for most home studios ($1,499 to $2,499 depending on version). There are many others out there.
Whatever software you use, there are three key things that can spell the difference between low fidelity (lo-fi) and high fidelity (hi-fi) digital recording: your microphone, your "sampling" rate, and your input level setting. These are the "magic" factors for the most part. Deficiencies in any one of those means a poor recording. Studio Buddy (you do have this, don't you? It's free from TAXI) says a Shure SM-57 mic is a "must have" in your studio; you should probably have a good condenser mic also. Your sampling rate (the number of times per second that your computer stores the sound it "hears") should be at least 44 kHz. Your recording input level meters should always be in the green range, never the red. (Audio tape was somewhat forgiving; you could red-line the meters without distortion. Not so with digital recording where redline = distortion. Always)
Audio recording and production are vast subjects comprising part science, part art form, that require years to master. I have tried to distill my limited knowledge into a few basics that you can use. With these basics attended to, you will achieve acceptable demo sound quality.
Basic Computer Training
I also recommend that everyone who is interested in doing their own demo recording check out the Recording Institute of Detroit's Audio Specialist Course. It's free. It will take some of the mystery out of recording. Here are the links:
Recording Insitute of Detroit home page.
Audio Specialist Training Course.
The RID glossary is excellent. Use it to clear up any terms that you are not sure about.
You CAN get high quality sound out of most any PC using any good Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software package along with a SoundBlaster Live! or equivalent sound card. (And that is the correct term for your recording PC: Digital Audio Workstation.) In fact, if you are still running an old Windows 98 PC, you can get a free copy of Pro Tools to run on it. This will give you 8 tracks to work with - more than enough for an average home demo. Cakewalk ($89.95) is a decent program. So is Sonar ($499). Nuendo is professional studio software, priced out of reach for most home studios ($1,499 to $2,499 depending on version). There are many others out there.
Whatever software you use, there are three key things that can spell the difference between low fidelity (lo-fi) and high fidelity (hi-fi) digital recording: your microphone, your "sampling" rate, and your input level setting. These are the "magic" factors for the most part. Deficiencies in any one of those means a poor recording. Studio Buddy (you do have this, don't you? It's free from TAXI) says a Shure SM-57 mic is a "must have" in your studio; you should probably have a good condenser mic also. Your sampling rate (the number of times per second that your computer stores the sound it "hears") should be at least 44 kHz. Your recording input level meters should always be in the green range, never the red. (Audio tape was somewhat forgiving; you could red-line the meters without distortion. Not so with digital recording where redline = distortion. Always)
Audio recording and production are vast subjects comprising part science, part art form, that require years to master. I have tried to distill my limited knowledge into a few basics that you can use. With these basics attended to, you will achieve acceptable demo sound quality.
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