Give us details man. Whats your budget, what do you already own? Do you have a computer you want to record to, or would you like to have a studio in a box? Nearly everyone on here will tell you go the computer route. If you have a computer what are the specs? The better and more detailed your description are the better we can help tailor a response that will fit your needs. What is that mixer you currently have?

Vlaric wrote: If it helps, I want to try to record everything with only one microphone. I'll be recording drums, bass, and guitar.

Are those three being played at the same time or is it you playing them one at a time and building up multi-tracks?

You won't get a good result by using only one mic on a drumkit. The simple recipe is for four mics: one on the kick, one on the snare and two overheads. You would either record the four mics to four separate tracks or use the mixer to take the four mics and mix them down to a stereo pair of tracks and record that.

If this is the sort of way you want to go, you'll need a computer with an interface that has either two or four mic inputs.

As Jeremy said, give us an idea of budget and what equipment you have already and we can make more constructive suggestions.

I currently have this:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/product/buy_behringer_europower_pmh3000_powered_mixer?full_sku=631248

My computer is AMD Athlon dual core processor running Windows XP Professional with a 24-Bit Creative Audigy SE Sound plaster.

My budget is $500 and under. I already have a computer(obviously) and I was wondering what software I need and what kind of microphones I should get. Also, I want to know what else I'll be needing for recording. I will be building up multi-tracks.

Just a recap, I already own:
-Headphones
-Mixer(http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/product/buy_behringer_europower_pmh3000_powered_mixer?full_sku=631248)
-Computer(Amd Athlon Dual Core Processor w/ 24-bit Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE sound card)

you can get a shure DMK57 from this dude on ebay brand new for 299.99. Thats 3 sm57's, and a shure beta52 with clips and a case to boot. Give me a shout, and I will give you the contact info. 500 bucks wont get you anywhere really. You MIGHT have enough money left to score an interface, but nothing thats worth a dying rats last screw. Build this piece by piece. Get the mics first then you could atleast have someone play, and listen back through comp speakers or headphones, and gould go as ghetto to come out of your headphone out to record it as a single track on your computer, and listen.

I have looked on ebay for an interface with atleast 4 pres, and 8 channels, and have found maybe 2 in your price range. One I have never heard of, and the other is an aardvark q10 which is a pretty darn good interface for your price range. The aardvark company went belly up, and you wont get any support on this interface, but you can still get updated drivers thanks to some very kind folks. Its a bit of a gamble, but the interface is definatly worth 200 bucks all day long, especially on your budget.

'Scuse me, what's an interface, and what do I need it for?

***Noobie perks up and says - "I got this one boys."

Vlaric wrote: 'Scuse me, what's an interface, and what do I need it for?

An interface is a piece of hardware that allows you to connect a computer (usually via Firewire and sometimes USB) to your instruments/mics/mixer. It works a lot like the sound card you have in your computer. The difference being that even the entry level recording interfaces have better inputs designed for the studio (i.e. Line, XLR, MIDI, etc.) and are capable of producing better results than your basic computer sound card. You need one if you ever hope to record something other than using that little 1/8" connector on the back of that Audigy that, I'm sure, produces less than perfect results. Plus, with an audio interface, you are able to record multiple tracks at once just like in the example Boswell gave with recording a drum kit.

not all interfaces are going to have preamps. You NEED preamps to run a condensor mic, either the ones in the interface or an outboard unit that you would buy seperatly. The M-audio delta1010 interface NOT the delta 1010LT soundcard has 8 (10 really)channels, but not a single preamp. This unit is popular for very good converters. The Presonus Firepod has 8 (10 really) channels, with 8 preamps, with good converters. The Firepod is popular for its preamps, converters combination for the price. For about 400 bucks the Firepod is like a sore pecker....you cant beat it.

So, other than an interface and more mics, what else will I need?

Hi Vlaric;

lets start with what you have and get you recording.
your PC is fine and this should be your sound card, right

what was ment by interfaces, is the mic line, except the one they are talking about is a box on a cable that comes out of the card so that you dont have to go diging around the back to plug in to the line in, or/mic plug.

a cheep interface

they can get a lot more technical but you can resurch that on your own.

Next you need a recording program.
there are as many of those as microsoft has updates.
go here and start with this free one. Its called acid express

join this site also if you want to post your music/recordings and get reviews from other artist, Its all free

This should get you started, plug the mic into the mic line on the back of your sound card or hook that mixer to it and plug the mic into the mixer :D

wooo second thought dont plug that mixer into your sound card unless you follow (and understand) the instructions as it is a powered mixer for running speakers

let us know how you make out, I mean how you do it, I mean give us the details...... Brad aka bwmac

bwmac wrote: Hi Vlaric;

lets start with what you have and get you recording.
your PC is fine and this should be your sound card, right

what was ment by interfaces, is the mic line, except the one they are talking about is a box on a cable that comes out of the card so that you dont have to go diging around the back to plug in to the line in, or/mic plug.

a cheep interface

they can get a lot more technical but you can resurch that on your own.

Next you need a recording program.
there are as many of those as microsoft has updates.
go here and start with this free one. Its called acid express

join this site also if you want to post your music/recordings and get reviews from other artist, Its all free

This should get you started, plug the mic into the mic line on the back of your sound card or hook that mixer to it and plug the mic into the mixer :D

wooo second thought dont plug that mixer into your sound card unless you follow (and understand) the instructions as it is a powered mixer for running speakers

let us know how you make out, I mean how you do it, I mean give us the details...... Brad aka bwmac

Thanks for the info Brad, I'll post as soon as I get everything ready.

I found out my friend has this thing called 'FL Studio'. Is this a good recording software or should I stick with Acid Express?

That depends on your learning curve

FL studio or http://www.fruityloops.com/ fruity-loops is good at what it does but I have never endured the learning curve to come close to mastering it. I have heard that it is good for building beats and for the synths that it uses.
You must understand that there are many programs out there and there is nothing wrong with trying them out (that's what I did) try all the free trial versions that you can find but not all at once because you will get frustrated. when ever you hear about a program find its home page and put it in your favorites so that you can down load it when you are ready.

Remember that once you down load it you may only have 30 days to try it out. Some are fully operating but with a beep noise every 30 seconds or so. I have a copy of FL that I got from a recording mag CD, which is another good way to check out programs. Buy some mags with the CD in them, they are awesome and sometimes have great tutorial videos.

Let me know how it goes.
Brad