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RsplatPC, if you pick up DrumStation, be sure to check out the wide variety of drumkits they have available. I was such a novice when I first started using this stuff that I created my first album with the default drumkit, unaware that I could have been making much nicer sounds. It can be a little tricky at times to make it not sound like a “machine”, but lately I’ve taken to completing the ddum track for a song, rendering that as its own WAV file, then doing more editing in CoolEdit (reverb in particular is helpful). That helps quite a bit.

Luc, that’s a very good tip on plugging in a stereo directly to the 4-track. I only recently hooked up an older system right next to my 4-track, but hadn’t thought to connect the two.

Separator, DrumStation will let you change the volume of each and every piece of whatever drumkit you are using. if you create a beat that has a bass drum, snare, hitat, and cymbal, each of those levels are customizable, and each has its own set of effects that can be used, including a “shift” effect that allows you to play a piece slightly off the regular beat if you need to (often very useful if you’re doing a lot of fills).

Richard, if you already have a sound-proofed room, I would strongly reccommend going ahead and getting good PC or Mac software (the stuff I se certainly isn’t your only option!) and a digital 4 or 8-track recorder. With a decent microphone, you will be all set. The drumkit software is computer-based, and I don’t really know of any other alternative if you don’t have real drums.

For the simplest of setups, you could get away with plugging a microphone into the jack on your computer’s sound card, but the quality would not be great. I would strongly recommend shopping for a 4-track recorder. Depending on your budget, you may want to go with analog (tapes), though in general, the digital media is easier for transferring files back and forth.

If you are wanting simple voice recordings, you may not need the editing software, though it can be very useful in cleaning up background noise. Once you have a WAV or MP3 file, you can burn that to a CD.

If you have more specific questions that I can help you with, please visit my web site and e-mail me. I apologize for not getting back sooner. I check e-mail every day, and would be very happy to help. rick@barr26.com

Could you do that with this setup?

I couldn’t agree more about BOSS Digital recorders. I have the BR-1180-CD (http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/BR-1180CD/) and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

I already had an Shure SM-58 (who doesn’t?) but I also sprung for an Audio Technica Studio Condenser Mic which, honestly, is a difference of night and day in terms of dynamics (http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/53b8b7998922fb02/index.html). Mind you, I built myself a sound-proofed studio which helps a lot. If you’re in an area where there is any kind of ambiant noise, don’t bother with this condenser mic. It’ll pick up *and amplify* the pics I fiddle with in my pocket as I stand there singing. It’s that sensitive.

You say “The 4-track and microphone are pretty much all the hardware you will need…” but I think a cheap old second hand stereo (the kind with the big floor speakers) plugged straight into your digital board is a great (cheap) way of getting a feel for the sound quality and level you’re aiming for. Most of us (I think) grew up on those big monsters, so we know what they should sound like. Saves you having to burn a CD or transfer your stuff out onto some other media in order to really have a listen.

The kicker (pun intended) here is that the BR-1180-CD version comes with its own integrated drum machine that does everything described above. But if you can’t go that route, you might as well check out the open source option posted in a comment above. I like open source… here’s why:

Once you’ve transferred your files onto your computer, I recommend Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). It does everything those other (co$tly) options do. No question. I’ve done it. As an example… a few years back I hired a recording engineer to digitally remaster some old songs that I had on cassette from many moons ago. It cost me $400 for one tape and the resulting CD is nowhere near the quality required for resale (or radio for that matter). With Audacity, I spent $0 and was able to digitally remaster the same songs to the point that I’m actually considering not re-recording some of them. It’s that good.

The money you save on not buying any software will make the cost of the BR-1180CD more attainable.

Good luck!

http://www.hydrogen-music.org/

Oh, and if you use Linux, Jokosher is a great up-and-coming recording software. (Also free.)

here’s what can be done with garageband and the built mic on a powerbook

http://ackackack.com/index2.html

I actually combined mine with Reason, but that’s not cheap either.