How to record?

[shape]

Hi! i'm new here and i have a few questions that hopefully will be answered on this awesome site.
I'd like to start making my own music and record it, but i seriously have no idea how to do it. (not the creative part, only the recording)
How can I do it without buying a whole lot of equipment? can i connect my guitar directly with my laptop? Anyone know a good software with which i can add percussion? it should be preferably free. cuz im not rich and i can't afford buying a program for hundreds of dollars.
so ... anyone got a suggestion?

 

[7 Dying Trees]

Well, the main thing is getting a decent card, it's the one bit you can't really skimp on, as latency will just be a complete killer otherwise, and you need duplex (playback and simultanious recording) features.

You can get USB or Firewire ones, although the usb ones will be cheaper. Find a cheap one on ebay or something . If you get it second hand, you won't lose too much money selling it on either.

Past that, you'll need a sequencer (Which can be got via alternative means) to record into and to program drums on, by far the best way.


And voila! There you have it, recording on a budget. The soundcard for the recording iss the essential part though, as the laptops built in soundcard won't be adequate.

 

[nitelightboy]

Check out sweetwater.com . They have TONS of recording solutions. Some simple and cheap, others not so simple that only Bill Gates could afford. They also have great customer service and will be more than happy to talk to you, offer up advice, and make a few suggestions based on your specific needs and equipment.

 

[Stretchnutz]

Yo man, im also kinda new to "home recording" and i recently bought this,
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Line-6-GuitarPort-RiffTracker?sku=700519 and it so easy to use and start recording.After i installed it i was recording like 2mins. after its very user friendly, and it has a "session drummer" that ok but you can get more if you wanted to...check it out

 

[TwickNSisted]

If you are simply looking for a good, cheap, free multi-track recorder, I'd say look into Audacity. It's not comparable to pro-tools or anything, but it is definitely great for free software. As for a drum machine, look around. I'm sure you can stumble across some software on the net that will help you out.

 

[HamBungler]

Recording, aye?

Well, go with the people above, get a USB or Firewire interface, you can have a USB one for around $50 depending on what you get, or you can spring for a Multi-FX box with a built in USB port for recording. You can get the program Audacity which is a great free program for recording and simple mixing applications Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder and then for drum tracks, there's the free open-source drum machine Hydrogen - advanced drum machine for GNU/Linux

Hope this helps!