I 8-)am not 100% sure where this topic goes. But anyway, is there a way to record yourself singing and playing at home on a Macbook? I would like to be able to multi track the vocals, and even record the piano first, then record the vocals and add them together in a good solid mix.
Is there anyway to do this at home on a Mac?
Mods, if this is in the wrong section. Please feel free to move it. I apologize.
I also would like to put it on a CD and even a MP3 file if possible??
Hi, I am a big home recording buff and can help.
Software-wise, you’ll need a DAW which stands for digital Audio Workstation. This comprises a recording and mixing interface, midi sequencer, samplers, soft synths and various post-production effects and goodies. The top of the range is your pro-tools set-up running into thousands. Protools, Logic and Ableton all do fairly affordable options (less than $500) and all are great.
If you don’t want to go too professional, there are two other options. Ardour is an open-source DAW. I have never used it but it is free and has a good reputation. Another option is garageband which you may already have insatlled on your mac as it comes with the iLife suite (it depends how old yr laptop is). Garageband is a little limited for my taste but I still use it for recording ideas. It is user-friendly and if you are new to the world of home recording it is a great way to get your toes wet.
As well as software, you’ll need hardware - basically this will be an audio interface that plugs into your USB or firewire socket and allows instruments to be plugged into it. There are a mutitude of these from companies such as Roland, EMU etc, it is worth doing some research. I recommend buying a mcomputer music magazine - in the UK we have a great one called SOund on Sound, i don’t know what you might find in the US, but they usually have product reviews and advice, worth getting, just to familiarise yourself with the scene.
Although there is a mic input on the mac, do not use it if you want yr recordings to have any kind of quality. The hardware attached to these sockets is not hi-fi, it is designed for podcasts at best.
Get good mics. Shure make the SM57 (for vocals) and the SM58 (for instruments). These are both industry standard and are very affordable, especially on eBay. Cheap karaoke mics are as bad as the input sockets on the mac.
Finally I recommend www.harmony-central.com which has all kinds of reviews and files that will be of help.
Good luck, and when you’ve created something nice, post it here!