Recording gear. Need Help

[guenzka]

I am really wanting to start laying down some tracks and creating finished products of some songs I have written but have NO experience with recording gear so I need some opinions.

Not sure if I sould go with an 8-track all in one unit or an interface and software on my computer. I'm thinking I want the editing versatility that software will give me but not sure. USB connection not firewire.

Needs to be able to create drum tracks and bass tracks.

Don't know which way to go...what gear is quality, which are shit. I see there are a lot of software package but which r good and which suck?

Don;t need a lot of inputs since i will be doing all the playing by myself so 1 track at a time is probably fine but will probably want at least 8 total in the final product.

HELP :confused:

[Rex Rocker]

do you want to mic your amp or do you want to use amp emulation?

[Greatdeceiver]

If you are going mic way, which is a harder way for a starter and a total bitch if you dont have a decent amp, you will need a mic, mic preamp, and a digital converter.
Most of the rec gear comes as a package, that is, you get both a pre and a DC. I have a Mackie XD2 spike and I am satisfied with it. It has 2 channels and is a usb connected.

On the other hand, if you want to go emulation way, you would be well off with some POD

[Rex Rocker]

Just my opinion: mic'ing an amp is hard anyway, regardless if your amp is a Bogner Uberschall or a Line 6 Spider...

My guitarrist has gotten some very decent results mic'ing my other guitarrist's solid-state Randall G2 or his own Crate low-end half-stack, yet he only uses two SM57's plugged straight into his MBox, no preamps or no post-EQ'ing.... i would post clips, but they are his, not mine, so I kinda won't...

about recording interfaces, I've heard GREAT things about Presonus stuff, Firepod and Firebox, however, if you want to mic a drumkit up, you're gonna need several inputs...

I recommend you have a look into Presonus stuff, or, if you're interested, into Line 6 stuff as well... they recently introduced a rack-mountable TonePort (I think it's the UX8) with 8 inputs...

[guenzka]

I was thinking of mic'ing my amp but with your feedback I might reconsider. I only have a marshall MG so I was going to adjust the sound after the recoring which is why i thought some of the more versitile software such as Cubase or Pro Toolsmay be the way to go. I will never be mic'ing a drumkit. It is just me that will be playing and I am not a drummer. All i need is something capable of creating some pretty basic dbl-bass drum tracks (and bass tracks)to accompany the guitar work that I will be doing. This is also why I don't really need multiple inputs. I will only be recording myself one track at a time.

[Rex Rocker]

well... Line 6 stuff is easier to use and yields to more consistent results, and since you don't need that many inputs, I would suggest TonePort UX1 or 2 :)

[guenzka]

I read the specs on the UX2 and it sounds great but it doesn;t mention anything about drums. Can you create drum tracks on it? It talks a lot about the software and the sounds you can get from it but how is the software for editing and mixing tracks?

THX