Author Topic: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio  (Read 3118 times)

Seineseeker

  • Biting the cherry of existential delight
    • The Art of Pleisure
How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« on: 30 November, 2009, 01:58:14 pm »
Any reasonably priced ideas? I have an electric piano with midi output, and I have a guitar!! What hardware/software can you get to use my laptop to record stuff. Yeah I am feeling creative....!

nicknack

  • Hornblower
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #1 on: 30 November, 2009, 02:11:42 pm »
Assuming you only want to record 1 or 2 tracks at a time any old multitrack recording software should do. I use an old copy of Cubase on the odd occasion I want to do something like this. Kristal would appear to be free and should do the biz, but I've not tried it (praps I will, hmm...).
Anyway - it's all pretty straightforward, the only slight difficulty concerns latency. That's the inability of the computer to sync input and output for monitoring purposes when overdubbing. In practice it's not that much of a problem cos you can easily shift the tracks in time after recording.
If you want multitrack input and decent monitoring then it's dedicated hardware you need. Megabucks.

<edit> Just playing around with Kristal now. It is free for personal use and appears to do what you want. The demo track is loud.
There's no vibrations, but wait.

Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #2 on: 30 November, 2009, 02:22:47 pm »
On the hardware front you will need a midi interface and a sound card with decent line in at the least. Since we are talking about a laptop then you will probably want a USB ones. You can get single box with both such as this E-MU 0404. You can pay anything from around £100 to thousands it depends how serious you are. Line 6 do some nice PC - guitar hardware and software if electric guitar is your thing.

You then need software for recording and processing / editing. You often get cut down or older versions of the big apps for this thrown in with the sound / midi cards and for playing around with they should be all you need.

If you want to go the Linux route then there are things like Ubuntu studio that comes preloaded with loads of sound recording and editing software. You can boot it from a live CD and give it a try. If you do want to go this route I would check on the appropriate forums about what hardware is supported.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Rhys W

  • I'm single, bilingual
    • Cardiff Ajax
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #3 on: 30 November, 2009, 05:55:02 pm »
You then need software for recording and processing / editing. You often get cut down or older versions of the big apps for this thrown in with the sound / midi cards and for playing around with they should be all you need.

 Good advice - Tascam interfaces often come with Cubase, M-Audio come with cut-down (but still very powerful) Pro Tools.

Seineseeker

  • Biting the cherry of existential delight
    • The Art of Pleisure
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #4 on: 30 November, 2009, 07:55:10 pm »
Thanks, I'm going to check out this stuff.

vorsprung

  • Opposites Attract
    • Audaxing
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #5 on: 01 December, 2009, 10:01:05 am »
I am looking into this as well

I want to install a version of Linux and use that which makes it a little more complicated

I did a lot of stuff with computer based recording about 10 years ago but as you can imagine things have moved on a lot since then

Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #6 on: 01 December, 2009, 10:04:37 am »
You can't use a standard Linux distribution as the delay is too long in the sound architecture. You have to use a specially compiled kernel hence Studio Ubuntu and several other specialist distributions.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Seineseeker

  • Biting the cherry of existential delight
    • The Art of Pleisure
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #7 on: 01 December, 2009, 02:06:06 pm »
Does the kind of software you get for this stuff come with a facility for making a drum track? Or do you need to buy some software that kind of integrates with it?

Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #8 on: 01 December, 2009, 02:08:18 pm »
Does the kind of software you get for this stuff come with a facility for making a drum track? Or do you need to buy some software that kind of integrates with it?

Might or might not depending on what's thrown in. For a drum track you need some drum samples and a sequencer to string them together.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Seineseeker

  • Biting the cherry of existential delight
    • The Art of Pleisure
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #9 on: 02 December, 2009, 09:55:24 am »
Does the kind of software you get for this stuff come with a facility for making a drum track? Or do you need to buy some software that kind of integrates with it?

Might or might not depending on what's thrown in. For a drum track you need some drum samples and a sequencer to string them together.

So, as a rule, any software you have on the PC for making music won't seamlessly link into any recording software? So you have to maybe have a separate PC for that which you link in?

Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #10 on: 02 December, 2009, 10:05:56 am »
Normally you would record some music using your software whatever it was then load it as a track into your sequencer. You would then record a drum track using a drum machine sequencer as a separate track and then load them both into Cubase or whatever and play them together.
This is complicated as some multi-track software studios also let you have plugins that are drum machines etc so you can play with creating the drum track right inside the multitack editing software. There is a standard for plugins but I can't remember what it's called. Software synth etc can also be plugins as can effects.
Boot Ubuntu Studio from a live CD and you will get the idea. Worth playing with as its free and gives you and idea of how that type of software works in general that also applies to commercial stuff on Windows.
I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.

Rhys W

  • I'm single, bilingual
    • Cardiff Ajax
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #11 on: 02 December, 2009, 10:10:44 am »
No, there are all sorts of instruments built in to the software. I use Logic, and I load up a drum kit into the sampler, pulled into the mixer as an "audio instrument" track. Then just program a rhythm, either using a keyboard (C=bass drum, A=snare... for instance) or just putting notes down as mouse clicks on a grid.

cometworm

Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #12 on: 02 December, 2009, 03:38:35 pm »
I've been resisting this for fear of mac-fanboy accusations, but ... but ... [mac nerd] Garage Band, bundled free with macs, does all of this (including taking midi input, afaik) without needing additional software. Can you trade in your laptop for a basic MacBook? [/mac nerd].

Jaded

  • The Codfather
  • Formerly known as Jaded
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #13 on: 02 December, 2009, 03:44:28 pm »
Yes, it does Midi. Miss Jaded uses a USB (musical) keyboard and Garageband to learn/practice piano at home.
It is simpler than it looks.

Seineseeker

  • Biting the cherry of existential delight
    • The Art of Pleisure
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #14 on: 02 December, 2009, 04:35:08 pm »
I've been resisting this for fear of mac-fanboy accusations, but ... but ... [mac nerd] Garage Band, bundled free with macs, does all of this (including taking midi input, afaik) without needing additional software. Can you trade in your laptop for a basic MacBook? [/mac nerd].

That's very interesting!!!!

JT

  • Howay the lads!
    • CTC Peterborough
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #15 on: 02 December, 2009, 04:56:55 pm »
Also Macs don't suffer from latency issues as much as windows machines.
a great mind thinks alike

Manotea

  • Where there is doubt...
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #16 on: 02 December, 2009, 05:12:13 pm »
I've been resisting this for fear of mac-fanboy accusations, but ... but ... [mac nerd] Garage Band, bundled free with macs, does all of this (including taking midi input, afaik) without needing additional software. Can you trade in your laptop for a basic MacBook? [/mac nerd].

Actually, garage band was one of the clinchers for getting Ms Manotea the Elder a macbook for college, her being a multi-instrumentalist (albeit of the recorder variety) so she could be a sort of baroque mike oldfield.....
 

Rhys W

  • I'm single, bilingual
    • Cardiff Ajax
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #17 on: 02 December, 2009, 05:25:49 pm »
Have a look at some Garageband video tutorials.

Seineseeker

  • Biting the cherry of existential delight
    • The Art of Pleisure
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #18 on: 03 December, 2009, 12:40:54 pm »
Have a look at some Garageband video tutorials.

Thanks, you have convinced me. I need a new PC so I might as well get a mac and be done and dusted.

thing1

  • aka Joth
    • TandemThings
Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #19 on: 03 December, 2009, 03:12:34 pm »
I am looking into this as well

I want to install a version of Linux and use that which makes it a little more complicated

I did a lot of stuff with computer based recording about 10 years ago but as you can imagine things have moved on a lot since then

Back in my school days I did a lot of sequencing on an Atari ST Mega 4 and a Yamaha MSX before that (Good God we're talking 20 years ago! <shudder>) and to be honest, I found that lot easier going than getting sound working on any contemporary Linux build!

In my mind, audio is still the achilles heel of Linux as a desktop platform. As soon as one architecture is in danger of reaching stability, 2 new ones are invented to replace it (it seems). (yeah yeah you can make it work, but you just know the next time you run 'apt-get upgrade' the whole lot we unravel again)

So, somewhat grudgingly, I'm "+1" for the Mac on this one.....

Re: How do I turn my laptop into a recording studio
« Reply #20 on: 06 December, 2009, 10:39:04 pm »
I am looking into this as well

I want to install a version of Linux and use that which makes it a little more complicated

I did a lot of stuff with computer based recording about 10 years ago but as you can imagine things have moved on a lot since then

Back in my school days I did a lot of sequencing on an Atari ST Mega 4 and a Yamaha MSX before that (Good God we're talking 20 years ago! <shudder>) and to be honest, I found that lot easier going than getting sound working on any contemporary Linux build!

In my mind, audio is still the achilles heel of Linux as a desktop platform. As soon as one architecture is in danger of reaching stability, 2 new ones are invented to replace it (it seems). (yeah yeah you can make it work, but you just know the next time you run 'apt-get upgrade' the whole lot we unravel again)

So, somewhat grudgingly, I'm "+1" for the Mac on this one.....


Definately. Decent support for my Soundbalster Elite is what is keeping my switching my main PC to linux.

I think you'll find it's a bit more complicated than that.