what's everyone using to record?

greg_usa

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I've been messing with musical instruments since I was a kid but never really got too deep into recording or editing or anything... i have a new macbook and i'd love to start using it for recording and maybe mixing. what are some of the simpler ways people have been recording on here and making those awesome videos? Aside from the photobooth on the mac of course - I've been able to figure that one out - but that's about it. lol.

I do have some equipment that I haven't used in a couple of years.. I have a couple of condensor mics, a a pre-amp to power them, and a Boss 16 track digital recorder. I'm thinking that use software of the laptop instead of using the digital recorder. the macbook came with garageband as well as iMovie.. anyone use those tools?

i know this is a broad question but I figured I would just see what people have to say. And I'm sure this has been discussed - so my apologies if it's repeatative.

Anyway - Gracias!
 
I'm a big Pro Tools fan, because I can import my session at any location that has Pro Tools all the studios I engineer at use tools. I have not tracked any uke stuff I'm sure someone here has great mic choices for uke, for acoustic guitar I love the Neumann U-87.
 
I'm a big Pro Tools fan, because I can import my session at any location that has Pro Tools all the studios I engineer at use tools. I have not tracked any uke stuff I'm sure someone here has great mic choices for uke, for acoustic guitar I love the Neumann U-87.

Yeah - i've heard good things about Pro Tools but I think it's way over my head! Do you think Garage Band is more user friendly for a beginner? I'm a complete novice with using these softwares. BTW- I like the 'Suicidal' signature... I just happened to be listening to the Art of Rebellion last night.. love those guys. Saw them once live in '94 - whoa - just dated myself. hahaha!
 
I am currently using a Flip Ultra and I was surprised at how well it does. (Borrowed it from school. Our media specialist offered it to me and I took her up on it..) I tried using a Tascam US-122 usb audio/midi interface, an AKG C 3000 B, GarageBand and iMovie. Definitely better sound, but I have found no way to sync video and audio in iMovie. I just put the audio over a winter snow video. I will be experimenting with Final Cut Express, GarageBand, the Tascam and the AKG mic next week. (Spring Break and no plans to go anywhere.) I know I can sync audio and video with Final Cut Express. Just have to figure it out.
Regards,
Ray
 
To be honest I have never used Garage Band I know my son uses it just to mess around. There are many softwares that are excellent the more features the bigger the learning curve most of the time. I love Suicidal I have seen them many times in 91 there was a mini riot lol....Art of rebellion is a great album good luck man.
 
If you're using a Mac (as I am) you really can't go far wrong with Apple Logic - it will have everything you will ever need. Apogee also make an excellent soundcard with stereo preamps that can be controlled from within Logic. Logic is considered by most to be the main competitor to Protools although I personally feel it has a bigger feature set - also it doesn't require dedicated (very expensive) hardware.

Logic:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB795Z/A?n=professional_software&fnode=MTY1NDAzOA&mco=MTA4MjgxMDM&s=topSellers

Logic Express:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB788Z/A?n=creative&fnode=MTY1NDAzOA&mco=MTA4NDU2Mjc&s=topSellers

Logic Forum:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1201

Apogee Duet:
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1201

Apogee One:
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/one.php

You know, having thought about it a bit, Unless you're handling 64 tracks of automated MIDI you'll probably find Logic express is adequate although I don't think in has a convolution reverb. Failing that, I heard some pretty amazing stuff done with Garageband (which shares the same architecture as Logic Pro/Express) and that came free with your Mac:)
 
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Cheapest (as in free) way to shoot a live performance video:

Fire up iMovie. Use the built-in webcam and built-in mic. You'll get some noise from the fan, but it'll do the job. My first few videos were done this way.


Cheapest (as in free) way to do a multi-tracked/punched/tweaked recording:

Fire up GarageBand. Not as full-featured as Logic or ProTools, of course. But it's free with your Mac, and that's tough to beat! It's pretty easy to learn the basics.

The drawback is that, if you want to have a video of you playing all these parts, it's very tough to edit all the clips together in iMovie and have it stay synced to the audio. (A basic video can be done by lip-syncing along in a single take to the multi-tracked recording you did earlier.)


Ways to greatly upgrade both of the above for a bit of extra money:

Use an external mic and/or use an external video camera instead of the built-in ones. I use a mic that has a built-in USB interface to my Mac. But since you've already got some good mics (and a pre), you could get away with just buying a standalone interface. Something like this might do the job, for example.

Is the Boss recorder you have the BR-1600CD? I think you can hook it up to the Mac via USB (it mounts like and external hard drive). You won't be able to record directly into GarageBand through it, but you could record into the Boss and then transfer the track(s) into GarageBand for editing and such. A bit of a pain, but it would save you from having to get a USB interface.

JJ
 
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What about PC users? I'm looking to find an easy way to start recording both audio and video. I do have a Logitech web cam that has a built-in mic, but I have mixed feelings about the sound quality. Any suggestions? BTW, I do have access to some good audio mics.

--Dave E.
 
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What about PC users? I'm looking to find an easy way to start recording both audio and video. I do have a Logitech web cam that has a built-in mic, but I have mixed feelings about the sound quality. Any suggestions? BTW, I do have access to some good audio mics.

--Dave E.

I have found a way to make it work, but I'm sure others have found much better ways to record.

I use a Snowball mic recording into Audacity. (There are other more sophisticated audio recorders about, but I've got used to this one now, and it does everything I need.) If I'm making a video, I use Sony Vegas. It's relatively cheap. (I did find one freeware video mixer, but I found it a nightmare, as it wasn't user-friendly at all.) My webcam is pretty rubbish so I record video on my normal everyday camera then sync everything up afterwards in Vegas. A long way of doing it, but it means I don't have to buy any more equipment.

One good thing about both Audacity and Vegas is that they are common enough that kind people have written guides and/or made video tutorials to help new users. There are some on YouTube. I've found them invaluable.

Good luck with your recording. I hope that has helped and hasn't just confused you even more :)
 
seems like you need an interface that will work with a laptop. If you have mics and a preamp you will be good to go.

I have a pair of large diaphragm condensers, Studio Projects C1's, also an AKG C1000s. I think that a big part of getting a good sound from a uke or guitar is recording it in stereo because when you use decent mics you record what's coming off the entire instrument, which is what you hear if you sit and listen to someone playing. I have some GIK bass traps and absorber panels in my space which I move around depending upon what I'm recording. Room treatment is necessary for getting a good sound and getting a good sound is what it's all about. Those with the budget should consider setting aside $500.00 for treatment.

Nothin' else fancy at present, just a Presonus firebox with Cubase LE4 into an iMac running OSX 10.4.8. I have a pair of small Yamaha powered monitors. I think GarageBand is great, easy to use no brainer option for the Mac.
 
I began by using my mobile phone to record several tracks (with a metronome in my ear). I superimposed them, synched them in Audacity, and added a title frame in Windows Movie Maker:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA4f6CTq-08

When I got hold of a laptop with an inbuilt webcam and mic, I recorded straight into Windows Movie Maker, then cut off the front and the end of the track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hhhlKCBB-Y

Upon receipt of my video camera, I began using Sony Vegas to edit the video.
Here with the inbuilt microphone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W8ymHYbVjQ

Here with a dynamic microphone plugged in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lza5gdVbY8E

I will be buying a condensor mic this month. Then I will record into Audacity whilst simultaneously recording onto the camera, and synch in Vegas. I will also have a go at multi-track recording with multi-track video.
 
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I used to use Windows Movie Maker with my Logitech 9000 webcam as the video source, and my son's Zoom H4 selected as the microphone. I also use Audacity to make audio only recordings. I finally had to give the H4 back, so now I just use the webcam's built in microphone. I have to turn the recording volume in MovieMaker or Audacity down very low to keep it from popping. The Zoom did a great job, but once I upload the songs to YouTube, I can't tell much difference. I'm not sure what YT does to the videos, but whatever it is it can make good mics sound mediocre.

My next ukulele may be a Zoom H2 :)
 
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AnnaUK,

How sophisticated is Audacity? I'm curious about effects and number of tracks that can be laid down.

Also, I visited Sony's Vegas page and saw a couple of versions of the software. I saw prices from $39.95 to $599.95. Which one did you go with? Nice multiple split-screen stuff on your You Tube site.

BTW, I did notice some sites saying they had "free" versions of Vegas. Know anything about that? The radioactive symbol on one of those sites made me kind of suspicious. Invitation to virus attack? Eek!

--Dave E.
 
I began by using my mobile phone to record several tracks (with a metronome in my ear). I superimposed them, synched them in Audacity, and added a title frame in Windows Movie Maker:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA4f6CTq-08

When I got hold of a laptop with an inbuilt webcam and mic, I recorded straight into Windows Movie Maker, then cut off the front and the end of the track:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hhhlKCBB-Y

Upon receipt of my video camera, I began using Sony Vegas to edit the video.
Here with the inbuilt microphone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W8ymHYbVjQ

Here with a dynamic microphone plugged in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lza5gdVbY8E

I will be buying a condensor mic this month. Then I will record into Audacity whilst simultaneously recording onto the camera, and synch in Vegas. I will also have a go at multi-track recording with multi-track video.

So how did you input the mic into your computer? Also, have you tried running two mics into a mixing board and then into your computer? I think that would improve the balance between vocals and instrument--ie. you need to bring your vocals up a little bit more into the same level of clarity as your uke.

BTW, great performances!

--Dave E.
 
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I love Ableton Live, as far as software. It's the easiest thing I've found for just jumping right in out of the blue and recording something. By far the nicest UI of any DAW that I've used, too. My setup goes like this: Shure MS81 SDC -> Rane MS1b Preamp -> E-MU1820 Audio Interface -> Ableton Live.
 
So how did you input the mic into your computer?

It goes into the camera. I have a Kodak Zi8, which I bought because it has a microphone input.

Also, have you tried running two mics into a mixing board and then into your computer? I think that would improve the balance between vocals and instrument--ie. you need to bring your vocals up a little bit more into the same level of clarity as your uke.

I agree. I'm still finding my feet with all this technology, though. When I get a condensor mic, I will have the two microphones needed (or I will when I can borrow my daughter's dynamic mic). Mixers scare me a little, and in any case, it will take me some time to save up for one.

BTW, great performances!
Thanks!
 
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