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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Recording → Brand of Reccrding Equipment
What do I need for recording my songs and what is the best brand?
You need a microphone, you need something to convert the audio data into digital data, you need something to record that digital data.
Alternately, you need an old cassete tape boom-box and a bunch of D cell batteries. (It worked for Nirvana, after all.) The best brand for that was JVC.
The questions you've asked don't really mean anything until we know what you want from your recordings. Are they going to be just for your own amusement? Are you putting together a demo tape? Are you recording more than one person? What kind of space do you have for recording? How much money are you willing to spend? What are your quality expectations? Have you ever done recording before?
The answers to those kinds of questions will inform the answers to yours. You can spend as little as free for Uncle Wierdo's old tape box, or if you're fortunate, millions of dollars on fully treated recording spaces with the finest Neumann microphones God ever invented.
Here, we tend to focus on economically reasonable basement and garage style recording. There are a ton of aspects that would make something the "best" brand, depending on what your needs are. For me, whatever is fairly mobile, durable, and easy to use is best. For you it may be something else.
So tell us your plans, and you'll get all kinds of help. 
Well it's just for my own amusement. But if I get better it might change. I might put together a demo tape. Im only recording one person. I have my bedroom which is pretty big. I can upgrade to a different room though. I am willing to spend anything under 800 dollars. My quality expectations are not terrible but not the greatest most expensive stuff. I have not done recording before.
Hope that helps! 
That's excellent. That much money will get you some nice kit but for what you're doing I don't think you'll need to spend that much.
Really the only decision you need to make is whether you want to use your computer to record, or if you want to use a dedicated digital tracking recorder. I'll get to that in a bit.
Lets start with microphones, though, as that is really where the rubber meets the road. Lots of people here use MXL condenser mics as they are inexpensive and easily available. They aren't suitable for typical stage use (fragile and subject to feedback) but for bedroom recording they're a screaming deal. They are also commonly sold as a pair which are perfect for stereo recording acoustic guitars, or vocal and guitar simultaneously.
http://www.amazon.com/MXL-990-991-Recor … e++package
I own two of this package. Pete (bensonp) also owns it and gets great results.
Other affordable condenser mics I'm fond of and own are AKG and CAD.
Point is, you want *condenser* microphones rather than *dynamic* mics. And don't forget stands for them. They're cheap. Buy two. And also don't forget cables. Don't buy cheap ones. You'll just end up replacing them. Get good quality 15' or 20' lengths. Monsters are a little more money but they have a lifetime guarantee and are built well.
Another mic option is to get a USB mic, although for recording music I'm not fond of them as they limit you to one channel and you are bound by the digital converter that comes with the microphone. You also can't upgrade a preamp or A/D converter as you can with regular old microphones. Some people are fond of them, though, and get good results. But if future expansion is a need, I'd go with XLR mics.
So now you have your nice mics set up on their new stands and plugged into your new cables. Which begs the question "What do I plug the other end of the cable into?"
If you are going to use your computer, then you will need an audio interface. USB is pretty common, cheap, and easy to set up. I use TASCAM, Pete uses Asus, and we were recently looking at. Get one with at least two channels in (because you have two microphones) and that has phantom power (because you have condenser microphones.)
If you are going to use a dedicated bit of kit, get at least a two track. I've got a Fostex MR-8, but am probably going to upgrade to the latest TASCAM multitrack. This is the way to go if you think you might like to record on the back porch, or over at a friends house. You don't have to pack up your entire PC that way.
Anyway, look around and see what you can find. Ask a lot of questions and if you can get to a store, handle equipment and ask for demos and stuff.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Recording → Brand of Reccrding Equipment
