Recording question

[walmartrules]

I downloaded a recording software off the internet and tried to record some stuff. i used a computer mic soo yea....anyways, it didnt sound very good. when i played chords you could actually hear the pick touching the strings. coul it be the guitar, amp or the software? i also recorded in a preety small room.

[kevbud187]

it could be the microphone. you need to invest in mixer board and instrument mics or send the output from the amp to the mixer or mic the amp. Anything works but do not use a comptuer mic thats a no-no

[Metalheadcreep]

Well you can mic your amp, even with a cheap mic from radioshack, so your setup would look like this-

Guitar>>Amp>>Mic>>Computer

Or if you can't really get a decent sound out of your amp, or are looking for a more convenient way, then I suggest a guitar modeler such as a Line 6 pod, or a Johson J station. If you can afford a Pod xt then go for it, because it's the best way with the usb direct recording, which means what you hear is what's recorded, and there is no latency. If you can't afford the Pod xt, then I would recommend you go to ebay and get a Johson J station which IMO is better than the Line 6 Guitar port, and Pod 2.0 because you don't need to go purchase the metal pack to get a decent metal sound, and you could find one for about 100 bucks on ebay. Your set up would look like this-

Guitar>>Pod or J station>>Computer

As far as Programs go I would recommend Tracktion, which I use to record and mix, and it goes for about 80 bucks. It's a simple multi track recording program with lots of free plugins such as wah, delay, chorus, reverb, flanger, ect. You can also set up a drum sampler which take the midi drums and gives them a more realistic sound. As far as other programs go I heard Adobe Audition and cakewalk are good, but I'm not to familiar with them as I found Tracktion the simplest and easiest to use, so I stuck with that one.

For some tips

-NEVER record with your amp direct to your computer. It will sound like **** and could do some serious damage.
-Pan one layer of guitar hard left, hard right, and in the center for a "wall of sound" effect which you may have seen if you saw classic albums; Metalllica.
-If your going to pan your tracks you're going to have to record each layer seperate as it won't work as well if you were just going to copy and paste each layer.
-Don't go crazy with effects, I've learned from experience
-Have Fun You should be good to go.

Here are a couple clips of tracks recorded with a pod live xt, mixed in tracktion with the sampled drums.

http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=530230&t=7327

http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=540932&t=7327

Heres a couple clips of tracks recorded with a j station, mixed in tracktion with the sampled drums.

http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=524250&t=7327

http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=524264&t=7327