This will be a growing list of questions that we see most frequently in the forums. This section is managed by the site administrator, "flame", if you have anything you think should be added here, contact him, or, more preferable, drop him, or any admin, a message at the forum.
What's the best [sound card, mixer, software, etc] I can get?
Answer: These are impossible questions to answer, and are fruitless to ask in such a general way. There is no worst, there is no best, there is only what works for me and what works for you which is variable by music style, instruments involved, type of musicians and vocalists and more.
If you feel you <i>MUST</i> ask such a question, include more details to include those things. State what type of music your record, what instruments, all at once or one at a time, what you budget is, what you have tried or looked at already and why you liked or disliked it, what other gear you have and other such necessary information to be able to answer the question as clearly and accurately as possible.
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What do I need to get started recording on a PC?
Answer: You don't need a lot to get a very basic start. First, obviously, you need a computer. Any modern computer is powerful enough to do limited recording, a lot of RAM is helpfull as well.
Typically, a stock sound card that comes with any name-brand PC even the best SoundBlaster, is not meant for recording use, though with proper care can be used to get a start. I better sound card, that often does not cost more than the best SoundBlaster, is required for best results.
Finally, you need the software to record into. There are many different titles to choose from that cost anywhere from nothing to hundred or even thousands of dollars. You can check our Studio Gear section and links directory for listings and ask at our forum for specifics of each title.
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Which is better: hardware or software?
Answer: This is a matter of preference. Honestly, at this point in time you can do anything with software that can be done with hardware. There are only two exceptions to this: compression and distortion. Both of these can be done through software but they still sound better through external hardware (so far). The software required to provide the best quality will cost you a pretty penny just as the hardware does.
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What should I look for in a mixer?
Answer: Some things to look for when shopping for a mixer:
Low line noise
Enough inputs and outputs for what you want to record
Aux sends/returns
FX sends/returns
EQ
Phantom power
Low line noise. This cannot be stressed enough. If you have noise coming from your mixer, it will bleed into your signal and can be a pain in the butt to get rid of.
On the subject of the inputs/outputs, definitely make sure you select a mixer that has at least the number of jacks that you need. I personally like to pick up a mixer a little larger than what I need at the moment, so I have the option of expanding in the future or covering myself should I realize that I have more gear than I thought I did!
The phantom power can be used to supply power to your condenser mics.
Some mixers have built in effects; this can be viewed as an added bonus. If you do not need them there is almost always a way to turn them off. So essentially you get free hardware in addition to the mixer.
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Why do I need a microphone preamp?
Answer: With a good dynamic or condensor mic. you can record pretty much anything well. Vocals, guitars, anything. Downside? If you try recording the output its very quiet. Boosting it in software just makes it sound 'hissy' and thin. Solution? Microphone Pre Amplifiers. These boost the line level (eg volume) of an incoming aduio source (eg the sound from your mic, or anything else theyre connected to) to a level that is suitable for audio recording.
Most consumer level soundcards will have a mic input on them, but dont be fooled, theyre usually awful quality compared to a dedicated preamp, and should be avoided at all costs.
Some preamps also add their own color (or colour for us brits) or distinctive tone to a sound, which can be good or bad - its all down to your opinion. Generally tube pre amps give a nice desirable warm tone to your sound.
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Answer: You can view a plugin much like you view a rackmount effect processor. That effect processor plug in to your mixer to allow you to access it's functionality.
A plugin is a software effect processor that can be accessed by your software in it's effect loops.
The difference is that a rackmount hardware unit can only be used in one instance, all signals routed to it are effected the same. Software plugins can be used multiple time with multiple setting in any given project.
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What is a device driver and how do the different types differ?
Answer: A device driver is a small application that tells your operating system how to talk to a piece of hardware. With sound cards there are a few common driver types. ASIO, WDM and MME being the most common.
ASIO, which is often considered the highest performance, lowest latency type, was created by Steinberg and Echo Audio and is now supported by many manufacturers of sound devices and software.
WDM is the Microsoft supported standard of driver, which is also quite high performance and very commonly supported.
MME is Microsoft's older driver type. For the purposes of recording, it is advised that you avoid this driver type.
ASIO and WDM are the most commonly used. It's hard to say which is better, as it really depends on how well any given driver was written for a specific product.
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What is this talk about compression?
Answer: Compression is your friend. Compression takes the incoming signal and makes it more consistent in its levels. The most obvious place for compression is on vocals. Vocals almost always need compression due to their nature. Be careful though, if you over-compress your signal it will end up sounding thin.
For more info read this
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Answer: Essentially, they re-route the signal. When all your gear is hooked up to it, the patch bay just acts as the inputs and outputs. This can save you a lot of time trying to move gear around and re-connect it to different places.
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Is it possible to remove vocals from a final mix?
Answer: The short answer of it, no not really. Some plug-ins are available that can reduce the presence of vocals in a mix but they cannot remove them.
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Answer: Sampling is the process of recording a snippet of sound to later be used in a musical project. The sample could be of an instrument, a piece of music from another song, a vocal part or even a clock ticking or dog barking.
Samples are generally loaded into a sampler, which allows you to play the sound over different notes, to make it higer or lower, or make a melody of it.
Samples from copyrighted work (other songs, films, tv) should be cleared by the copyright owner before being commerically released. A good argument for this is story of The Verve's 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'. It used an illegal (eg : uncleared) sample of a Rolling Stones string section, and lead to all royalites from the sales of it being paid to The Stones after they sued the band.
Legal, and quality, samples can be downloaded from our friends at PowerFX through the link to the left.
For more on sampling, visit our sampling and field recording forum.
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Answer: One possible quick fix is to go into your SB Mixer and change the Recording from "What You Hear" to "Line In" or "Mic" depending on what input you are using.
If that doesn't fix it it's a signal routing issue, you need to mentally follow your signals and see where they meet before entering the sound card.
Answer: Mastering is just preparing the collection of tracks for a single CD, making them the same percieved volume, spacing between songs, EQing them and such so they sound like they all belong together and they sound as good as possible in any listen situation...basically the final polish to give the entire production a more professional, finished sound before replication.
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Answer: There is a good chance they both are. There are many different ways to do almost everything in a studio. People just have acquired different ways to do everything, so you are getting everyone's individual opinions and methods.
Try everything you hear and see what works best for you. That's the best way to learn what works best in your particular music style and recording style.
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Why does everything only come out of one side of my stereo (typically the left).
Answer: Because you are using mono cables with stereo jacks, or stereo cables with mono jacks. Stereo jacks, often called "TRS" (tip, ring, sleeve) have three separate contact point to carry both sides of the stereo signal and the ground in one cable, if you stick a typical two contact cable (tip, sleeve) in there it will only carry one side.
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DOES TYPING IN ALL CAPS GET MY QUESTION ANSWERED FASTER?!?!?!?!?!
Answer: No. Neither does telling us to hurry or posting your question more than once. We try to answer all questions as quickly as possible. This website is a hobby for everyone involved, and it is done in everyone's spare time, not as a job. As we get more members question get answered faster, but asking to hurry or using all caps really does nothing but annoy people.
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Do I need a microphone to record, or can I use osmosis?
Answer: Ummmm, yeah, you need a mic.
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