Things you will need to record music at home

Lets begin on some of the things you will need to record music at home. Just keep in mind this is for beginner home studio fun. This isn't some pro set up to open a recording studio. But don't worry you can make pro sounding stuff.

Computer

First thing i suggest is a half way decent computer. I'm using this set up. Pentium 4, 2g of ram, 160GB HD and a CD-R drive. If your set up is better then this, your more then ready to go. Remember one thing though, i run on a clean set up that i only use for recording i don't play games or surf the net on this.

Sound Input

Now that we have the computer we are going to need an input to record with. What i call the input goes by other names such as mixers or sound cards. What this does is bridge the outside world with your computer. This can be used to bridge your instruments/vocals or what ever sounds you would like to record live. Some are real pricey, while other you can get dirt cheap. I bought one off E-Bay for like 20 dollars. I will go in to detail about which ones you should use at a later time. For now we can keep it simple. They come in 2 forms. Internal or External. Difference being that one is plugged in to your mother board (Internal) like your other PCI cards. The external will be USB and sit on your desk. I recommend external to record music at home. It's just a little easier to set up. Plug and Play and be on your way. Plus they will give you easier access to inputting your guitar or vocal tracks. Some even come with midi.
I use the Tascam US-122 which the no longer make (They have a newer version) . It has all the options i need for recording music.

Software and Applications

This is the key to it all. This is what you will use to record, mix, and finalize your music. Now I don't know which is the best, (Remember I'm not going for a pro-studio.) but i can point you to great working items for reasonable prices. One of my favorites is the Sony Acid family of products. This stuff is real easy to use. It has multi track recording and sound effects. You can get this on the cheap to for around 60 bucks. There are others out there you can get, some input devices come with their own.

The last thing you need

This is the last key element. You need a little imagination. Not a lot, just a spark, and you will be on your way to hours of fun. I will give more details on items and utilities, but that's just the basics.

Stay tuned for more at Record Music at Home.

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