what’s the best way to record instruments from your PC for free?
I have an adapter so I can plug my bass into my PC directly. I also have a couple mics. I downloaded Audacity…but the quality isn’t great. I’m not expecting stuido-quality…but what can you recommend for free?
And whats the best way to record drums that are two floors below my desktop? I have a mic for my fourth gen ipod…
Well if you can’t get good results with Audacity then you need to learn it seriously. Audacity is one among the leaders like Sound Forge, Wavelab, CE Pro etc. Seriously? Learn to use it.
A free audio editor would be the Nero Wave Editor that comes with a Samsung CD writer (if you have one) but it won’t give you good master EQ nor will it give you any form of compression. Meaning, a free editor will not give you what you need to make something good anyway.
And for recording drums that are two floors down… Errrm… Take your desktop downstairs as well buddy… Or else, wires around the house!
And once again, for that problem you’re having with Audacity, here’s another thing I just remembered.
AUDACITY CAN GIVE PRETTY STUDIO-LIKE PERFORMANCE.
All you need to master a “good” mix is a multi-band compressor (which Audacity has) and a good master EQ (which Audacity has). OK, so you might sometimes need the Normalization function (which Audacity has as well). So I really don’t see why you can’t get a good quality mix/master.
Bro, all of it takes a lotta patience and practise. Nothin else. All the best :thumb:
so is it better to hook my bass in directly or record via microphone? i have a Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass and a 100w Fender Rumble amp…
Depends entirely upon the kinda configuration you have and the kinda music you’re makin.
Recording through a mic is definitely better as it will give a natural/organic edge to your sound owing to the ambience… But if you don’t have a good mic I’d say try it both ways playing the same sequence and decide. I’d expect better results through direct PC plugging in case of a not-so-good mic.
Now the PC option again goes back to your sound card.
Recording stuff is a headache so I lay off of it anyway. 
Best advice: Experiment before you really dig into something. Give your technique some time.
I have a similar question too. If I want to record vocals, why would I need an amplifier? I remember a sales clerk telling me that I need an amplifier for the mic so the signal doesn’t drown out. Why can’t I do that with software? (Just increase the amplitude)
well audacity ISN’T one of the studio leaders, its a freeware alternative that does a good job at audio editing but lacks the special stuff that makes people buy the expensive software… but it’s definitely good enough for basic recording, because as phoenix said with an EQ and compressor etc you can do what you need to in audacity.
i’lll also echo him in saying that recording through a mic is much better than inputting straight to the computer.
if you want to get a good sound you should read up on articles on the net, there’s a lot of techniques you wouldn’t think of that help heaps… for example, if you’re playing acoustic music on guitar, you can record your song twice and pan the two versions hard left and hard right (in fact, its best if you record on different guitars to get nice tonal variation) so it fills out the sound and seems fuller.
there’s lotsa tricks like this.
get a demo of FL Studio - with ASIO4All - and you are set to record realtime audio.
Seriously the audio handling, control, effects and editing ease are way better in FL than audacity - and the VST implementation actually works. I record all audio (vocals, guitars etc) in FL and it works brilliantly - its so easy to do.
And FLs pattern/playlist workflow is so intuitive - i love FL 
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