Recording hints Preface

This brief tutorial is meant for beginners who want to know a little about home recording.
Remember: there are a few rules to follow, the rest is a matter of personal taste.

Personal computer

This is the first thing you need if you want to push yourself into home recording. You could also use a multitrack recorder, but a pc is much more versatile.
You need at least a 2 Ghz processor and 512 Mb of RAM if you want to use the latest software and plug-ins. Of course, faster is better, but not everybody can afford an expensive machine.
The core of your pc will be the audio card. Choose it carefully. Forget about popular consumer's products; buy your audio card in a music shop, not in a computer shop. When you choose one, be sure it is compatible with the rest of your pc. One problem that often occours is lack of compatibility with the motherboard's chipset, so be really careful about this point!
For those who do not own a pc yet, I would suggest to buy one directly in a music shop which deals with hard disk recording. Think carefully about what you need, explain it and let them do the work for you. Some could think this is not the cheapest solution, but I guarantee it is. You won't have to mess around with wrong hardware or software settings. Choosing the right matching hardware and software for audio editing requires a HUGE knowledge, so don't do it on your own unless you're a pro!


Microphones are indispensable if you have to record voice or acoustic instruments, such as a classical guitar or a violin.
There are two kinds of microphones: condenser mics and dynamic mics.
Condenser mics are mostly used for studio recording; dynamic mics are mostly used for live performances. I will not go deep into this, so assume that we are talking about what you will do at home.
Condenser mics have a larger frequency response; this means that they let you grab a sound wich is much closer to "real sound", but they are pretty fragile and expensive. If you drop by chance a dynamic mic, you will swear and that's it. If you drop a condenser mic, you will break it. That's why they are seldom used for live performances.
Condenser mics are suitable for voice and acoustic intruments. They are also used to pick up drum's cymbals.
Dynamic mics are used to pick up everything coming out of an amplifier: guitars, bass, whatever. If you use a dynamic mic to record your distorted guitar, you will hopefully get a smoother sound than if you use a condenser one. Besides, dynamic mics are more resistant to sound pressure; don't put a condenser mic in front of your 1000W bass ampli full volume. You're probably gonna break the diaphragm.

Mixing consoles/amplifiers

A mixing console or an amplifier is indispensable if you have to record anything with microphones. If you're a beginner, get yourself a mixing console.
Specific amplifiers for microphones are VERY expensive (don't spend money on cheap ones), so get started with a mixer. If you're gonna use condenser mics, be sure you mixer has a phantom power supply.
Plug your mics into the mixing console, and connect the mixer line outs to your audio card line ins. The game is done.
Remember(1): record everything with a FLAT EQ and NO EFFECTS. You will add these on the track once recorded.
Remember(2): the input volume (into the sound card) of everything you record should always be as loud as possible, but it MUST NEVER CLIP.

How to record...


use a condenser mic with an antipop shield. You need also a mic stand, you can't keep a condenser mic in your hands while you sing. Don't even touch the stand while you're singing, or else you will hear noises in the recording. Remember: condender mics are VERY SENSITIVE.
The closer you sing to the mic, the warmer the voice will be. This is because the closer you get, the more bass frequencies will be heard. I would suggest to stay 20 or 30 cm away from the mic. Just try it and choose the distance depending on your taste.

electric guitar/bass:

put a dynamic mic in front of your cabinet, right over one of the loudspeakers. Keep the mic very close to the cabinet. There is no "perfect" position for the mic: try different ones and choose yours by taste.

acoustic/classical guitar:

use a condenser mic (no antipop needed here). Put the mic near the soundhole, at a distance of 20, 30 cm. Try it, it always depends on the sound you like. Remember: the closer the louder, the warmer. But close is not always the best way!


this is very complicated, man! Here you need a lot of dynamic mics and also a couple of condenser ones. You also need an anechoic room (a room in which there is no reverb) to record it, and moreover you need to amplify every mic with a specific amplifier (or mixer). You also need an audio card with many inputs which can record many tracks at the same time. Basically, you need to go to a studio. Home recorded drums will always have a poor sound quality, unless you have the right room, the right mics and amplifiers, and you are a sound engineer. If you do not satisfy these requirements, and you don't have money to afford a studio, think about sampled drums.
If you are really stubborn about doing it at home, take a look at this.
Another way could be recording each part of the drums one per time, with a midi base in your headphones. Anyway I think it's pretty boring and unsatisfying for a drummer to do it like this.

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