- 1). Purchase at least one high-quality external microphone. Depending on how many voices/instruments you'll be recording simultaneously, you may need to invest in several microphones. Plan to spend anywhere from around $100 (for a Shure SM57 or 58) to more than $3,000 for a Neumann U87.
- 2). Invest in a USB Audio Interface. M-Audio's MobilePre USB is the best-selling interface in the United States, according to MI SalesTrak figures from 2006 to 2009, and is priced at $179 as of September 2010.
The interface allows you to plug guitars, keyboards, and microphones in directly and record them to your computer with pristine sound quality. The unit comes with Pro Tools SE music and creation software included as an added bonus. - 3). Buy several pairs of quality, closed-ear headphones; you won't want the sound leaking out into your microphones. Make sure your headphones aren't turned up too loudly during recording sessions or you'll experience feedback and risk damaging your ears.
- 4). Open a sound-recording program such as Pro Tools, Audacity, WavePad or Adobe Audition.
For the purposes of this tutorial, we will be using WavePad. However, the basic functions of audio recording/editing programs are essentially alike no matter which software you choose. - 5). Press the red "Record" button (keyboard shortcut: F5) to perform a test recording. A record dialog window will pop up and allow you to name your file, select the recording sound device/input, and set your recording level.
- 6). Press "Rec" (or F5) to begin your test recording. Record at least 30 seconds of voice, or whichever instrument you are about to track, including very loud and very soft sections to determine a safe overall range for recording levels. Keep an eye on the waveform meter to make sure you're not getting a distorted signal.
- 7). Playback your test recording by pressing the "Play" button, or the space bar on your computer keyboard. If all sounds good, repeat steps 5 and 6 to start cutting tracks.
- 8). Press "Stop" when you are finished recording, and playback the track. Re-record as many takes as necessary until you are satisfied with the sound. Close the record control window and the recorded track will automatically open in the sound editor.
- 9). Add special effects (such as echo, reverb, pitch modulation, etc.) to your tracks as desired in the editing window. You can also edit out mistakes and delete unwanted sections by highlighting portions with your mouse, then hit "Del" to remove them.
Every audio editing program has varying commands and features; read the user manual that came with your software package to learn these commands and keyboard shortcuts. - 10
Mix your individual recorded tracks (guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, vocals) together. If your software program does not have mix-down capabilities -- for example, WavePad does not -- you'll need to upgrade to a pro version such as MixPad. - 11
Save the file in WAV or WMA format when you are done working with it. Or use the "Save As" option if you want to save your mix as a separate file. - 12
Open Windows Media Player, select your recorded file(s) and add them to your music library. You can now create a custom playlist and/or burn the tracks to CD for listening in the car or on your home stereo system.
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