In the final part of his series on home recording basics (parts one and two are here and here, Graeme Allen discusses popular home recording software.
You mentioned software in your previous post?
I did indeed, you will need a program to do all your recording in. Most of them have the same basic architecture. For example, this is Garageband:
Garageband used to come free with all new Macs. These days, however, it’s available as part of the iLife suite of programmes, which retails for around £70/$100. This is incredible value for money, as Garageband will do 95% of anything you ever want to do when it comes to home recording. For most home recorders, it’s more than enough. Unfortunately for PC users, it’s a Mac-only application. There are similarly-priced recording applications for the PC, such as Cakewalk’s Music Creator, but experience suggests they don’t have same quality as Garageband, either in terms of usability or end results.
If you want to be a little more professional - say, for example, you want to work with a large number of software instruments or take fine control of your mix - you’ll need to step up a level to applications like Apple’s Logic (available in Express or Pro versions) or Steinberg’s Cubase. Here’s a screenshot of Logic:
Finally, here’s Digidesign’s Pro-tools, pretty much the industry standard. You can get a version of Pro Tools for just a couple of hundred pounds, or spend thousands, depending on the version and setup required. The consumer version, Pro Tools LE, is actually a bit cheaper than Logic. However, you have to use Digidesign’s own soundcard. In fact, in many of Digidesign’s Pro Tools sales configurations you get the software free and pay for the interface. Worth a look if you want to use what the professionals use:
All the above applications are digital audio workstations (DAWs). This is just the name given to the big bit of software you use for recording and sequencing your music.
If you look carefully, you’ll notice that there are certain similarities between them. These windows display your recorded material in the time domain. So at the far left is the start of the “session” with time increasing towards the right. The horizontal rows are separate tracks on to which you record what you want. The general method for building up a song tends to be similar between programs: make a track - choose the inputs and outputs of said track - plug in your microphone/DI box/whatever - and record.
The nifty thing about using a computer program is the capability to cut bits up, copy and paste, move things around and the like (also known as editing). You can also usually add all manner of effects (delay, reverb, chorus etc.) to your recorded material. The beauty of digital processing is that you don’t need a little physical box for each effect (as you did in the days of tape recording). All the effects are built into your DAW.
Sounds expensive…
It does, and one major problem with such a hobby is that once you’ve bought one bit of gear you’re on the slippery slope towards building your own Abbey Road in the garage. However, at this stage money is a bit less of an issue. There’s no need to go out and buy the full Protools setup just yet.
In fact, there are several DAWs out there: probably the most widely-used is Audacity, available for Windows, Mac and Linux. A home recording USB audio interface (such as the Edirol UA-4FX we saw in part one of this series) usually comes in at around £70-120, but you can get very simple interface boxes for just £20. £20 is also the price can expect to pay a similar price for a DI box if you need one. Microphones tend to be a bit pricier.
Bog-standard budget dynamic mics will only set you back £30 -£40 but will tend to be pretty awful. The industry standard microphone for live vocals is the dynamic Shure SM58, and costs around £80. I would personally choose a condenser microphone for around the £100 mark. They can be found cheaper from manufacturers such as Behringer and Audio-Technica but in my opinion are not really worth it. Companies like Rode and Se Electronics make some excellently priced microphones, as well as high-end models reaching into thousands of pounds.
One final consideration when budgeting is your cables. Don’t get the cheapest ones, because they’ll probably break at some point. The only indication you will get of such an event is that the sound will stop working, leading to hours of unsuccessful troubleshooting. The professional studio in which I do most of my work has approximately £20,000 worth of cables coiling their way all over the place. Obviously if your cable budget is anything like this you should fire your accountant immediately, but you see my point.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this series of posts. I’m going to be writing more about recording and music tech on Jamcast very soon, so watch this space!
Update: Bill has posted a video of a basic home recording setup, as well as an example of the kind of recording it can do with minimal setup.
Graeme Allen is the MD of Amati Studios, a company that works with some of the best mid-sized recording studios in the country.
In addition to his technical skills, Graeme is a first class musician in his own right, playing rock, blues and jazz guitar and classical violin. Visit his website at www.amatistudios.co.uk.
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