After you're done reading and sipping your cappucino, decide what kind of features you're looking for. This is really an interesting concept as you don't KNOW what you're looking for:
Ok, after you have thought about the above, check your wallet. Finding no cash, get out your credit card and a catalog. With an unlimited budget, you can afford an 8 track, but we all have credit card limits.
You can get a BASIC unit for cheap. If you have absolutely no money, this would be the way to go. These units include the Fostex (X18?) and Tascam Porta 01, 03, 07, and the Vesta.
Personally, I'd spend a few more dollars on a middle of the road unit like the Tascam 424. It has 2 XLR inputs, decent eq, and some nifty digital locating tricks. It'll do 4 tracks simultaneously and high speed.
I have the 464, which is a 424 with 4 XLRs, 12 inputs, 3 band eq, Cute Memory and Auto-punch Tricks
I wasn't thrilled with some of the Fostex units (one only had eq on the master), but your mileage will vary.
As for mics, you can never go wrong with an SM57 (unless you can afford a Neumann U67 tube mic). They run near $100 and work well on everything (not the Neumann's - they run over a grand if you can find one).
Do the final mix on some decent speakers and play it on different systems to hear how it sounds (we actually used to run a line to a car while we mixed to hear it on a car stereo - we are also a bit warped).
About a year ago, Electronic Musician had a comparison of a ton of units. Try to find it (I sure did, but it's still playing hide and seek in my house). Guitar Player also did a shootout. Can I be more vague?
I think not.
Lastly but not leastly, contact me if you have any more questions.
The thing to watch out for here is the dreaded, evil compression. This is the process by which bits of your music are discarded (hey, let's throw these out - he'll never miss them!) so you can fit more on a Minidisc or whatever. I prefer not to use these because I NEED TO KNOW that every little bit and byte of my opus is being stored for future generations.
After you've successfully plugged in, the sound has to go somewhere. This is where digital recording programs come in handy (and let's face it - spreadsheets SUCK). You can record directly into the Windows recorder if all you're after is one sound clip (blip, beep, fart, or other rude noise).
After this, things start to get a little more involved and you'll want some sort of sequencer. A sequencer will let you `sequence' your sound. Depending on the program, you can record one or more tracks of audio and also a bunch of MIDI tracks (so the computer `plays' your keyboard or drum machine along with what you recorded).
Some popular programs are:
Let's set up a session, shall we?
Track 1: drums (they play through the soundcard)
So now you have six tracks - two MIDI tracks and four audio tracks (assuming your hardward and software are up to the task). When you're done sweating over these, it's time to mix them down to MP3, WAV, cassette, CD, or whatever else.
Hey, that vocal's a bit dry - we need some EFFECTS!
So you can put reverb, echo, flanging, compression, and all sorts of other stuff into the mix without a million dollar studio budget. Some decent plug-ins can be found in freeware! The most fun thing of all is PITCH CORRECTION. Pitch correction is why your favorite artist sounds so good on cd but so horribly out of key when you see him live (listen up, Chili Peppers). By some estimates, over 80% of what you hear on the radio is pitch-corrected. And for a pittance, you can correct your own pitch on your own computer (unless pitch doesn't matter to you, Eddie Vedder).
That's the very short tutorial. More later, as soon as I make it up.
For comments or questions, write: me.
I probably won't be of much assistance, but at least I'm polite (in email only).
My advice on recording digitally
This is a bloody HUGE topic and I'm not capable of addressing all of it accurately, so I'll just make it up as I go along.
Some pertinent facts might leak through, but don't bet on it.
Digital Multitrackers
These look just like the portable multitrackers, but don't use tape for anything other than holding the box closed.
They record to Minidisc, hard drive, Zip drive, or warp drive (Captain - she can't take much more!!).
Just plug it into the computer
No, really, you can. I'd advise against plugging your guitar or mic into the power supply, but you can feel free to plug them into your sound card (you DO have a sound card, don't you?). You won't get the full effect if you don't have anything to record or reproduce the sounds. Speakers are also helpful.
Track 2: bass guitar (also through the card)
Track 3: rhythm guitar (recorded with a mic)
Track 4: rhythm guitar (directly plugged into the card)
Track 5: lead guitar (mic)
Track 6: vocal noises (mic)
Yes, effects can be yours. Years back you'd need huge amounts of money and racks full of instruments. Now it's done with PLUG-INS. These are simply pieces of software that do the effects digitally. They `plug in' when you install them. They come in two formats (VST and .. umm... not VST) and every piece of software that recognizes plug-ins has access to them.
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