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Have you ever recorded you voice and after listening back to it think...

"Do I really sound like that"?

Sure you have, we all have.

Well guess what ... when you record yourself playing guitar or bass for the first time, you will think...

"Do I really sound like that?".

In my own development as a player, I can point back to 1995 as a major improvement point. That was when I bought my first multitrack recorder and was able to listen to my music after I finished playing.

Analyze Your Playing

Finally, I was able to listen to my playing and analyze what I was doing and what I needed to work on. When you're analyzing your playing, it is much easier to do it after you've played than while you are playing. This is where recording comes in handy. You can see where you're strong (i.e. my rhythm guitar is tight on this track) and where you need work (i.e. my legato is very sloppy).

By thinking about your playing in this manner, you can then hit the practice room and work on those things that will build up your weak spots. Your overall skill as a player will improve and your playing will be more balanced.

Writing Your Own Songs

In addition to the benefits of hearing / analyzing what you're doing for practice purposes, another benefit of recording your music is the ability to write your own tunes.  Believe me, nothing is as exciting as hearing  your songs come together one piece at a time and having the ability to share your music with friends. (or submit your demo to an agent, get famous and travel the world on a jet airliner - thank you very much Mr. Steve Miller!)

The Basics - Multitracking

The cheapest and most simple way to record your music is to get a cheap cassette player with a built in microphone. Even one of those mini-cassette recorders would work. You could also record via your PC sound card and a microphone.

However, both of those methods are old school and very limited in what you can do, recording wise. Pass on this method unless the funds just aren't there or you have very little interest in recording.

With that said, you need to know about Multitracking. The wikipedia link has some really good information on multitracking.

For the sake of this article...

Multitracking is simply the ability to place more than one track of audio on your medium of choice (i.e. reel to reel tape, cassette or digital) and hear the playback of all tracks at the same time.

For example, when you an idea for a song, you could create the following tracks:

Track 1 - Drum Pattern
Track 2 - Rhythm Guitar
Track 3 - Bass Guitar
Track 4 - Lead Guitar
Track 5 - Lyrics

When you finished inputing / recording your tracks, you mix them down and listen back to all instruments/voices playing at the same time - just like a song you hear on the radio (maybe not as good, but you get the point).

From a practice or improvement perspective, you could have the following tracks:

Track 1 - Click Track for tempo (you could use a drum pattern as well)
Track 2 - A chord progression that you want to write a solo for
Track 3 - your composed solo

When you've recorded everything, you can go back and analyze your playing, improve your solo, tighten up your rhythm, etc.

So, whether writing/recording songs or for a practice aid, multitracking is the way to go!

What Equipment Do I Need?

There are three choices here. I'll list them in order of "my" preference, favorite to least favorite ...

PC Recording - Digital Multitrack Recording - Cassette Multitrack Recording.

1. PC Recording - The PC has become an invaluable tool to players in the 21st century. If you practice with a PC, you have everything you will need to become a better player. There's access to the internet to get tab for your favorite songs, cool web sites that offer great tips and practice ideas like Little Rock Jams and backing track websites like our friends at GuitarBackingTrack.com.

But more importantly, PC's today have the hard drive space and processing power to handle multitrack audio recording. That wasn't the case just a few years ago.

So, if you already have a PC in your practice room, I definitely suggest going the PC route. It's digital, relatively cheap and very simple once you have the basics down.

First, you're going to need an audio interface into the computer. Something that will take your guitar and/or other instrument and convert the signal to digital. Many of these today also come with bundled software that will give you nearly unlimited amp and effect models.

My two favorites are:
 
Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3

and

Line 6 Tone Port UX1

Both track really well, provide great amp and effect software and are reliable.

Once you have the audio input, you'll need multitrack software. Some really good packages include Abelton live 6 and Guitar Tracks Pro. Both programs are fully loaded, recording programs that provide everything you need to track your music.

Once you have the interface and software loaded, you'll need to take some time to read the recording manual on how to arm a track (i.e. get it ready to accept your input), how to start the recording process, how to mix or bounce the tracks and for sharing, how to export to an mp3 file (all fun stuff and a good topic for a future article).

Once you have your tracks, you can then share with others via emailing the mp3 file or burning it to a CD. So, while there is a slight learning curve with PC recording, once you can do it, it is easy and scalable to whatever you want to do.

2. Digital Multitrack Recorders - Digital Multitrack Recorders, DMR's, are self contained units that have a set number of trackS you can record onto (i.e. 4 tracks, 8 tracks, 64 tracks, etc.). Many also contain onboard effects and drum patterns so that all you have do is plug in your guitar/bass/keyboard and record.

A draw back is that many of these units are hard drive based only, meaning, no CD burner to move or share files. So if you want to give a demo to a band member, you'll have to plug into your PC to export the file, put it on a memory stick or plug in a CD read/write drive. If you get one of these units, look for one that has a built in CD read/write drive.

Beyond that, they are small (good for the practice room) and self contained. A little more pricey than their PC counterparts, but if you can afford it, they are solid workstations.

The two brands I've used are Tascam and Fostex. Listed below are a few of the recorders I prefer.



3. Cassette Multitrack Recorders - Ah, the good old days! I still have an old cassette 4 track Tascam. Good times!

Now that i've tripped down memory lane, cassette based multitracks are the cheapest entry point to recording. Many times, you can buy these for well under $100.00. However, different from the PC and DMR versions, the cassette multitrack recorders do not offer built in amps or effects. And being analog, the sound quality is poorer than its' digital counterparts.

Now for the plus side. If you're looking for the ability to enter the world of multitrack recording cheaply and you already have your effects (i.e. stomp boxes or those built into your amp), you'll be able to record some cool demos just fine. Plus, cassettes are cheap!

Here are a few good choices...



4. Miscellaneous Gear - To do the job right, you also need to consider a mic and stand for lyrics / amp mic and monitors for playback. You could listen to the playback through earphones, but that would be tiresome after a while, not to mention possibly damaging to your hearing if you listen at loud volumes.

5. Recording Bundles - To make it easier to jump in, some companies are bundling everything you need, hardware, software, mics, cables, etc. If you like one stop shopping, check these out.



In closing...

Hopefully this long post has been of some interest to you. Recording your music is great fun and very addictive. In addition, it is of great use in analyzing your playing for continued improvement.

You don't have to break the bank to get into it, and will a little reading (manuals, internet for help topics, etc.), you will be recording in no time.

Have fun and let me know if you have any questions or would like to see more about recording like a how to on the actual recording process or a vlog entry demonstrating how to record.





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