OxidisedLizard wrote: I currently record with a microphone and Audacity. I also have Cool Edit Pro.

I'd like to be able to record voice, electric guitar, classical guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, piano, double (string) bass and trumpet at a decent quality (not all at the same time, though maybe 3 or 4 simultaneously). I want to be able to do multitracking effectively. What do I need to buy? A preamp? Do I need better editing software? I don't mind spending up to about £200 ($350).

Also, how much would I have to spend before I'd be approaching commercially-produced CD quality?

Thanks.

From what little experience I have I can tell you there isn't a dollar figure that we can tell you that will make your recordings professional. Good gear can and will certainly help, but experience is the key. For instance if you are familiar with Damien Rice he recorded a lot of his album, "O" on a simple 8-track in friends houses and apartments.... now this CD isn't a perfect example of professional (some people don't feel it is all that great from a production standpoint). However, commerically you can see that he has sold a little more than a handful of records.

So, quality isn't always quantity (of cash you'll doll out on gear) - but good gear helps.

As far as suggesting something I'll leave that up to the more experienced to help you out - personally I'd probably purchase a small mixer and run that into the computer to record.

Hope you find some answers!

Dave

1001 times

so, do you think you're the first beginner with a low budget that wants high quality results? there's an oxymoron for you. this question has been asked and answered a thousand times. there's nothing to gain by asking it again. save yourself some time and RESEARCH. you will not be "near cd quality" anytime in this decade, if ever... unless you learn to find your own answers. get some magazines, research the internet, search the forum here, network, experiment, etc...

and as much as people don't want to admit it...talent on the end of the mic is more important than hardware in the computer case...GIGO!

to everyone, not just you my friend;
it's really annoying to see the same question asked over and over and over and over and over again. at least post a question on hardware or a technique to encourage substance in the forums.

dont know where I heard this story.....

A young man came up to Mozart and asked him about becoming a great composer.What he must do and so forth....

Mozart replied by telling him to stick with minuetes.

Shocked, the young man says, but Mozart you were writing symphony's when you were 9.

Mozart replied, yes, but I never had to ask anyone how.

Basically I agree with the other folks here. It's as if you've never picked up a music or recording magazine or book? Anyway, your microphone is most likely plugged into your Sound Blaster type card which is crap! I suggest you invest in something like the M-Audio, MOTU, Presonus or other manufacturers of 4 to 8 input sound card interfaces. That will pretty much set you back what your budget currently is. Some of those interfaces have microphone inputs on them, some don't. In which case you would want to purchase a small but professionally reliable and sounding mixer. You're now looking at double your budget. Then you still need some more microphones, the most affordable and versatile would be the venerable Shure SM57/58 series of dynamic microphones and for that condenser sound, some of the Russian and/or Chinese and/or Australian made microphones would do the trick. Now you are quadruple your budget.

If you're really cheap? You may just want to install a second or even a third cheap Sound Blaster card provided you have enough PCI slots inside your computer to accommodate that. Supplement that with some crappy Radio Shaft bargain microphones and you will be making some beautiful awful sounding recordings. You might also want to look into possibly purchasing a used copy of Cool Edit Pro for multitrack production?

There it is, all spelled out for you.

Your mother
Ms. Remy Ann David

To those of you who have given a useful, non-flaming answer, thank you. To the others, I certainly have researched this, and am continuing to do so, but consider asking expert advice a valuable part of my research.

I'd also like to point out that I didn't say that I wanted to record at CD quality. All I want is to get an idea of how much you have to spend to achieve a certain quality, so that I can better gauge what quality it is realistic for me to achieve and how much I want to spend.

To those of you who didn't even bother to read my first post (RemyRAD), I already have Cool Edit Pro and a microphone.

OxidisedLizard wrote:
To those of you who didn't even bother to read my first post (RemyRAD), I already have Cool Edit Pro and a microphone.

WHATCHOO WAITIN FOR?

Lets jam