Mike2007, this is quite a beginner question here? It would be nice to know what kind of computer you have so as to be able to establish if it is powerful enough to do what you want do? Just for fun I will assume that you have a modern Pentium 4 or apple equivalent computer?

There have been some recent releases by numerous companies of mixers, which can be used for live PA work and recording and feature built-in analog to digital converters and a FireWire interface that can plug directly into a computer that has a FireWire port. Companies like Mackie, Phonic, Soundcraft and others are coming online with this combined technology. The beauty is is that the mixer is your sound card your sound card is your mixer you can use it with or without your computer and to make live multitrack recording while doing PA if you have your computer with you! I think that's awesomely awesome?!?

What kind of important microphones do you need on a limited budget? The answer is..... A whole bag full of Shure SM57/58 microphones. Don't you, you need condenser microphones? No. Aren't they better microphones? Sometimes but not always. But I want the best sound quality. How much money you got? But I saw a XYZ 1 inch gold's butter capsule condensation microphone for $80? It sounds different from an SM57. Is that better? Sometimes not always.

What kind of software should we use? The kind that isn't stolen.

Study hall is over, now back to class.
Ms. Remy Ann David (study hall monitor)

RemyRAD wrote: 1 inch gold's butter capsule condensation microphone

lol.... thats great!
i want one!

How about this?

OK, first of all. We have a Samson XM410 Powered mixer with 6 channels. Can I do anything with that. If not, i need something to record into the computer for less than $300. It doesn't have to be great sound, we just need a simple cd demo.

IMHO - your $300 will be better spent hiring someone to record a demo for you. You won't likely get someone with much experience for that price, but $300 isn't going to get you anywhere on your own recording project.

I recorded a couple demos for $300 when I was getting started - might do it now if I liked the band.

So you're telling me I can't anything decent for about $300?

Well. For about $300 I got an EMU 1212M, a Behringer ADA8000, and Cubase SL3. I had to watch ebay like a hawk for about a month to find the deals to get that stuff for that price(and yes, Remy, the Cubase is legal), and while its decent sounding stuff, its about as inexpensive as it gets. That gets me 10 inputs to record with, though I couldn't use it to mix a live show(actually, I probably could, but it wouldn't be very fun). If you happened to live in the Minneapolis area, I would consider helping you out. Though I would have to take your $300.

I have $300 in patch-bay cables..... $300 in guest headphones.......$300 in my reference speakers....NOT the studio monitors....

What I'm saying is $300 will get you next to nothing as other posters have pointed out. AND if you happen to find enough gear to 'get started' what kind of results are you expecting with the bare minimum in both equipment and expertise?

Would you even have enough cables to hook it up? Would you know how? Would you know where to start?

For $300, you could probably find a decent studio that, once you explained your situation to, would give you some off hours time and you could make it a learning situation so when you DO have enough cash to get enough gear to actually record, you would at least have a bit of an idea whats needed and how to go about it.

DOH! I am sorry, I spent $400 on that setup.

listen to these guys mike. It's a mistake to discount what someone advises you to do simply because they arent telling you what you want to hear.

This is expensive.
I look at my gear, and the only 4 things that were less than 300 bucks are my midi controllers and their midi patch bay, and my audio patch bay. None of which generate or process any audio.

Think about what you need, not what you want
Save the money to buy something quality that will last you a long time and sound good in doing so.
If you are serious about this, you WILL find the money to make it happen.

Ok everyone. I understand where you're going with this, but let me try explaining our situation first. ALL we need right is a 1 or 2 song demo to send to a couple of venues. They don't have to sound great or even good. They just gotta be able to hear what the music is suppose to sound like. we just need the demo to get these gigs. Also, I don't think it would be wise to spend alot of money on studio time since we're not even thinking about putting this out for the public. It's just to give a sample of what we sound like to a couple of places in order to play live. I hope that helps.

By the way, thanks with the help everyone. I really appreciate it.

-Mike