When I flew into the air quite a few thousand dollars into a recording studio, a sound engineer friend, a cool suggestion. "Why do not you buy an ADAT, and some tracking at home?" So I purchased that venerable 8-track digital tape machine and saved tons of time and money, all my synth tracks on the tape. That was my introduction to home recording, and oh, the fun I had since I was!
What to include the essential pieces of hardware and software you need at home?
There are somany opportunities to do so! Now that you read this, you probably have a computer, so let's base our home studio on the computer. We begin with an understanding of the various functions that we need filled in home recording. Then we will understand what the best hardware and software products, it is done. In general, the principle which I recommend to use less devices with more features. This approach saves time and money in general. As you advance in your recording skills go, you canmore specialized equipment.
There are two different phases, to include in a song. One is the "in" phase, focusing on everything to get your music performance into a basic recorded form, but with many tracks you need. The second phase is the "out" phase, where you know that raw processing music, and create the stereo will be final version.
The "in" phase - sending the music on your computer
Music can be stored in your computereither as audio or MIDI. Audio is really sound recordings. MIDI records no sounds, but only the digital instructions for playing an instrument. It's like a combination of a pianist and sheet music. Without an instrument, he can not make music. Are With MIDI, you save the note and volume instructions to be later played on the instruments of your choice.
Although some programs allow you to MIDI notes into your computer through your computerkeyboard, and other programs have music generation features that allow you to create an entire backing band without playing a note, the best solution is a velocity sensitive MIDI keyboard. It gives a much more realistic performance. For example, playing a key softer will record a softer note. Other features, such as aftertouch, allow you to add vibrato and other realistic effects.
Audio simply means actual sounds. Audio tracks will include vocals, acoustic instruments, and electronic instruments whose sounds you want to use. You would do well to get at least two microphones. Some microphones are better constructed song, while other instruments are optimized. Moreover, with two microphones, you can record in stereo, or two soloists at the same time.
Receiving the music in your computer
All of this is the music to get up-to-door in your computer. How do you get it from the inside? With an audio interface thathas: a microphone jack, the microphone cable and preamp function fits (so that the signal is strong enough to be properly recorded), phantom power (if you have a condenser microphone, which she needs), a line input for synthesizers and sound modules, and a MIDI interface. Remember the principle - less products that do more. Some may find it easier to all the audio sound, mics and all run through a hardware mixer (with phantom power and effects) and sending that pre-processed signal to the audio interfaceLine input. You still need the MIDI interface function for your MIDI recording, though.
Once your audio and MIDI are inside the computer, the software is about. For our recordings we use what is an integrated audio / MIDI sequencer. Famous names are Cubase, Cakewalk and so forth. These programs record multiple tracks of audio and MIDI in perfect synchronization.
Now you have all the devices you for the "in" phase. What you need to take account of the many titlesaudio and MIDI you have recorded and make a song out of them?
The "out" phase -- making MIDI into music
We mentioned that MIDI is simply digital instructions, it is not actual sounds. Now we will need to create actual sounds from those instructions. There are two options for this: external and internal.
External sounds come in little boxes called sound modules (or keyboards with their own great sounds). Sound modules have hundreds of high-quality patches that re-create every instrument in the orchestra, classic electronic sounds, spacey new synthesizer creations and sound effects. To use it, send back the MIDI out of the sequencer program through the Audio MIDI interface and output in the sound module. You then take the audio output from the sound module back into your computer via the line input of your audio interface and puts them on a new audio track in the sequencer. It is now a real sound and is perfectly lined up in theother titles.
Internal sounds in many different types. Tools that you use in your audio / MIDI sequencers are VST instruments and software synthesizers. The latter may automatically come with your audio interface, or require installation like any other application. The second option is a full-blown sampler / synthesizer program, such as "Reason" that you connect your sequencer to through a software function "Rewire." And there are also sound modules that come in the formPCI cards that you physically install on your computer.
Fine-tuning and the effects
Almost every song will use spatial effects like reverb and echo. You may find that some tracks are slightly out of tune. For other, it can be discussed at a consistent hot must be removed. For all of these is, you want an audio editing program or plug-in. A plug-in is simply a function that you can add to your basic sequencer program. Plug-ins are available for all types of functions, includingHall compression, equalization, noise reduction, pitch correction and so on.
An audio-editing program is a standalone program that does all these things. With most audio / MIDI sequencer, you can configure your software to call up the audio editing program and fix the track without the sequencer.
Mixdown
If you have all your tracks and sounds recorded, you need to mix up to stereo. Here, too, can be done to them in an internal or externalFashion. To do it externally, you need a hardware mixer. This method limits you to the number of tracks you can send independently through your audio interface and to process the number of tracks your mixer can. Nevertheless mixer enter a true surface to work and often include quality studio effects, reverb and all.
Internal mixing, use your audio / MIDI sequencer to mix the whole song in two tracks. The advantage here is the expanded number of internallyTracks that you can use. The disadvantage is the difficulty in mixing with a mouse on a computer screen. There are, however, hardware mixing surfaces which simply control your software program.
Mastering and burning
Once you have your stereo mix, you want to put the finishing touches to her. These include a wider sense, compression, equalization, noise reduction, a fading in and out and brings the record up to a normalized level of volume. Your audio editing program shouldable to treat them adequately, although there may be special programs that are to be handled, offer higher quality and many other functions for improvement.
Then you're ready to burn your song to CD. Odds are that your CD drive letter came with a program that has just that, and you do not need anything more. I mentioned that you have a CD-burning drive might need, right? Well, now I have! And when searching for MP3, most audio programs encode and MP3s.
And that's it! Now you have everythingYou need to feel your musical magic at home. Have fun, but I need not tell you, because that is just like that.