I was drinking with some old school friends last weekend and we always freestyle been doing it every time we kick since the early 90's. We never recorded anything besides some bullshit on tape. Well we got on this lets make cd just for us as a hobby and a reason to get together and get drunk basically. Nobody knows shit about recording or making beats. Is it difficult to figure it out and learn how to make beats on the computer? I just want to get a beat record our shit on it. I don't really have patients to tweak hella buttons and levels etc... What's the easiest way to start up with?
Recording music question
- Thread starter NoJive
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The answer to your first question is it depends on what you want to do, how you want to do it, how much time and money you want to invest in it all, prior music knowledge and learning ability.
The answer to your second question is if you don't have the patience to tweak buttons and levels, then the easiest way would be to get beats off the net, get a daw like Reaper (I use Reaper and Pro Tools), import the beats and record your vocals through your computers sound card with your computers mic if you have one.
That's the easiest no money way but you still need to know how to record in the daw but that will only take ten minutes to learn and even less with all the YouTube vids.
The answer to your second question is if you don't have the patience to tweak buttons and levels, then the easiest way would be to get beats off the net, get a daw like Reaper (I use Reaper and Pro Tools), import the beats and record your vocals through your computers sound card with your computers mic if you have one.
That's the easiest no money way but you still need to know how to record in the daw but that will only take ten minutes to learn and even less with all the YouTube vids.
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NoJive and NoJive
if you dont have the patience or the know how to make beats, just download some instrumentals. you can always find industry beats and these days a lot of producers just give away beats free trying to get their name out. you dont really need original or paid for beats if its just some casual freestyles and youre not recording it professionally or planning to sell it
You guys need to sit down and decide what it is you really want to do. If it's just rapping and fucking around that's one thing. If it's something more then you need to make purchases based on budget and future growth.
PC
recording interface with phantom power (focusrite or avid/m audiointerfaces can be purchased for around $100-200.)
Dynamic mic (Shure 57/58 can be purchased for $125.)
Condenser mic ($200 on up. Look into rode and sky brands.)
Pop filter ($25-$100.)
Monitors ($200 on up. KRK, Alesis, etc.)
So that is a BASIC setup. Computer, interface, mic, pop filter and monitors. This is if you want to test the waters. If you are just fuckin around, and aren't remotely serious or interested in anything aside from just fuckin around, get a computer mic with a 1/8 jack or whatever mic insert your computer has, download reaper (the company who makes it offers a free version) and go from there.
PC
recording interface with phantom power (focusrite or avid/m audiointerfaces can be purchased for around $100-200.)
Dynamic mic (Shure 57/58 can be purchased for $125.)
Condenser mic ($200 on up. Look into rode and sky brands.)
Pop filter ($25-$100.)
Monitors ($200 on up. KRK, Alesis, etc.)
So that is a BASIC setup. Computer, interface, mic, pop filter and monitors. This is if you want to test the waters. If you are just fuckin around, and aren't remotely serious or interested in anything aside from just fuckin around, get a computer mic with a 1/8 jack or whatever mic insert your computer has, download reaper (the company who makes it offers a free version) and go from there.
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NoJive and NoJive
At this point we are just fucking around. Some of shit we say is sick as fuck we all have a high level of creativity as far as word play. It be on a level of getting together bar b Q and working on an old school but instead of a car it's going to be this. I'm the only one with any type of computer skills but I'm impatient as fuck so I probably won't be the best one to be making beats. My homeboy is good making beats on the keyboard we use to rap to that back in the day and had it connected to a kareoke machine then we use to double the verses by flipping the tape with the beat and the verse on it and rapping exactly over it haha that's some back in the day shit for you
Let me tell you like this. Once you get bit by the recording bug it's basically over. You'll be on a quest to buy new gear, see new gear, use new gear, etc. So make sure you guys plan it out before you spend one penny because shit can get expensive real quick. If your friend is good at making beats then toss in another $100-$200 for a midi keyboard and then look into Reason or making the beats using VSTs. Theres also Maschine, MPCs, Roland Groove boxes, etc. It all depends on what you guys want to do and your work flow but the easiest and most cost efficient way is just grabbing beats from people on the net and networking with them.
Right now you're saying you're impatient but patience is required when making music. My suggestion is to learn the basics so you guys will know how to communicate with one another (musically speaking.)
Right now you're saying you're impatient but patience is required when making music. My suggestion is to learn the basics so you guys will know how to communicate with one another (musically speaking.)
Its not hard to record and make beats once you learn how to use the software. I would highly recommend studio one. The workflow is faster than any other daw I've used and it comes with a few instruments to get you started. Learning to record and make beats is so easy I've taught people in 10 minutes the basics. The real challenge for many home studios is the sound quality. If ur Mic, sound card and cables suck you can end up with poor audio quality for the vocals. Mixing and mastering is something that will make the tracks sound like what were used to hearing on a CD but it can take a long time to figure out how to make everything sound good.
So basically just get studio one, condenser mic, popper stopper, decent Mic cable (the cheap ones I've used in the past crackle, hiss, and get destroyed easily) and if u don't feel like mixing mastering........ just pay someone who knows what they're doing a few bucks to make it sound legit. Or don't mix and master if u don't care. Good luck.
So basically just get studio one, condenser mic, popper stopper, decent Mic cable (the cheap ones I've used in the past crackle, hiss, and get destroyed easily) and if u don't feel like mixing mastering........ just pay someone who knows what they're doing a few bucks to make it sound legit. Or don't mix and master if u don't care. Good luck.
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B-San and B-San