Computer Recording: Getting Started (Part 1)
Parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Welcome! This is the first installment in what will be a five-part series exploring computer-based recording and putting together an effective rig. The purpose of this guide is to help musicians turn their home computer into a recording workstation with the least confusion and fuss possible. There are five questions we will address:

What do you want to record?
What does your computer already have?
What audio capabilities and hardware do you need?
What are your software needs?
How do you set it up?
We'll wade through the various computer recording interfaces and tools out there and help you discover which setup fits your needs best.

1. What Do You Want To Record?
The desire to record your musical output is a natural impulse that most musicians feel at some point in their development. If you already own a computer it only makes sense to start recording, especially with the abundance of great recording gear that can turn it into a potent musical tool in a hurry.

Whether you simply want to get down a new song idea before it fades into the nether regions of your subconsciousness or have designs on producing masterpieces for adoration through the ages, a computer-based setup can get you there. It just depends on how much you want to get out of it. But it all starts with this question: What do you want to record?

For the sake of simplicity, we'll subdivide the people answering this question into three categories:

Those who are mostly recording by themselves
Those who are recording with a few other people or sources
Those who are recording multiple people and sources for professional-level music productions
For those people who fall into categories A or B: don't think because of the terminology used to describe category C that you will be unable to produce high-quality audio recordings. That's the beauty of a computer-based recording setup-with it, anyone is capable of churning out CD-ready songs.

A. I Can Do It By Myself (recording by yourself producing simple tracks)

If you find yourself in this first set of people, take heart, it's a big group. All around the world there are people recording in their homes with simple setups for a myriad of purposes. Some simply want to record their ideas for development. Others use their recording setups to help develop their abilities as a player. Those with a little more time are recording entire albums, one song at a time.

Usually you'll only need an interface (the piece of equipment that gets the sounds into the computer) with two to four inputs for basic connectivity, and if you're using a microphone you'll probably want a preamp (a low-noise amplifier that brings the low-level signal from your mic or guitar up to a higher level) to get the most out of whatever source you are recording with it.

At this point, it's also extremely important to make sure the interface or preamp you're thinking of purchasing has connections that match up with the equipment you're going to use to record. For example, if you buy a PCI card (a hardware circuit card that goes inside your desktop computer) interface that only has RCA inputs, you won't be able to plug the 1/4" cord from your guitar into it without purchasing additional equipment. So take inventory of any music gear you'll be using and note what type of outputs they have.

There are two basic types of interfaces that you'll be considering at this level: the above-mentioned PCI card, and the standalone USB box. They both perform the same functions, but in different ways that have their own inherent benefits and disadvantages.

PCI cards have one particular strength that makes them a favorite: they have extremely low latency. Latency is the amount of delay that occurs when playing through an interface into a computer. You see, even though computer hardware continues to get faster and better all the time, there are still teeny-tiny nanosecond delays that occur as the interface processes your analog signal and converts it to digital before handing it off to the computer. But don't worry, with the quality engineering that goes into today's technology, latency is practically a non-issue even with non-PCI based units. The reason PCI cards have a little less latency is because they are installed directly into your computer in an empty PCI slot. So obviously, before you purchase a PCI card, make sure that your computer can accept a PCI card.