I remember a few years back there was a forum post about using Audacity in the recording of songs. I still have Audacity on my computer. What steps do I use to copy a backing track and laying down some sounds? Much appreciated. - Harpman
Beelzebob:
It took me a while to figure things out. Getting an audio interface and a mic at a price I could afford took the longest. I think it's a little easier now, you can find used audio interfaces from M-audio, linesix and many others for $50 or less on eBay or CL if you're patient. I think a Shure SM57 is a great mic to start with and it will always be useful, you can find them for $60 or so, again used on CL or eBay. The Sonotone mic gets great reviews for harp, you can find them on eBay and the price range is all over the place. Audacity is great free software. You used to have to install an mp3 encoder in Audacity, I don't know if that's still true. If so, I used LAME, there may be better free ones now. I think the free version of Sony Acid is the easiest software there is, and the mp3 encoder is already built in. You can download it at sonycreativesoftware.com. If you aren't recording from an amp (which will raise the overall cost a lot, obviously), you can use an amp simulator. Native Instruments makes a free version of Guitar Rig and IK makes a free version of Amplitube. Either works fine, I could send you my presets to get you started on those.
I always say if I can figure it out, anybody can. That's almost always true.
Harpman:
Thanks Beelzebob, this is my project for the week. - Harpman