Post by Dub on May 12, 2008 15:11:00 GMT -5
Most of us have computers (we post here don't we?) of recent enough vintage to be useful for home recording projects. But what else do we need? I thought I'd start a thread here as a quick link to Fred Sterenberg's thread called Vinyl to digital...?
Quite a few forumites added information to that thread that is useful in a home recording setup as well as in converting old LPs to some digital format such as MP3.
Basically what one needs is...
You can buy an audio interface that also has the mic and instrument inputs on board. The trouble with that is you're tied to that configuration. If your mixer is a separate unit, you can swap either the mixer or the audio interface as needed. If your mixer isn't also a digital audio interface, you can also use it for sound reinforcement in live performance situations.
Also, as mentioned in Fred's thread, a device such as a Zoom H2 Recorder can also be used as an audio interface. This is a great unit for recording rehearsals, gigs, and saving ideas for new compositions.
I'm sure others with actual information will add their knowledge and experience here. I really just wanted to save a pointer to Fred's thread and summarize some of the ideas.
Quite a few forumites added information to that thread that is useful in a home recording setup as well as in converting old LPs to some digital format such as MP3.
Basically what one needs is...
- A computer (desktop or notebook) with a digital port sufficient to the task. This generally means a USB-II port or a Firewire (IEEE 1394) port. If your computer doesn't have one of these but it does have a PC-Card (Cardbus) slot, you can buy an expansion card with the needed port for a nominal amount.
- A PC operating system modern enough to support audio software. This generally means Windows XP, OS X or a suitable Linux variant such as Ubuntu Studio.
- Suitable software to handle the recording and editing. One very popular and useful program is Audacity.
- An audio interface for your computer that will plug into the digital port (USB-II, Firewire, etc.) of your computer.
- A mixer with the inputs you need for things like microphones, amplified guitars and perhaps MIDI input.
You can buy an audio interface that also has the mic and instrument inputs on board. The trouble with that is you're tied to that configuration. If your mixer is a separate unit, you can swap either the mixer or the audio interface as needed. If your mixer isn't also a digital audio interface, you can also use it for sound reinforcement in live performance situations.
Also, as mentioned in Fred's thread, a device such as a Zoom H2 Recorder can also be used as an audio interface. This is a great unit for recording rehearsals, gigs, and saving ideas for new compositions.
I'm sure others with actual information will add their knowledge and experience here. I really just wanted to save a pointer to Fred's thread and summarize some of the ideas.
- Dub
