Getting Started with PC Recording - Bare Bones Basics

So, you're ready to start layin' down some tracks? Here's a quick primer on PC recording for the absolute beginner - I'll go over the basic equipment and setup, show you some handy software for doing basic audio recording, give a quick overview of effects, and explain how to export your work for sharing with your audience.

Equipment you need:

- something to record, acoustic or electric (voices count!)

- A semi-modern PC (I recommend a minimum dual core / 2 GB RAM / 160 GB HDD / sound [duh])

- Audio recording Software or Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) - For this tutorial we will use the free, open-source program Audacity

- Audio interface: FYI, this is where things may get a bit complex, depending on your setup.

Budget Category (under $50)

If you only intend to record electric instruments, and are looking to keep costs low, I recommend picking up a Realtone Cable, which originally shipped with the videogame Rocksmith. 1/4" input on one end, USB on the other, and Windows has the drivers built in so it's essentially plug and play (also worked fine with OSX 10.6, never tried it on Linux). You can find them on sites like Ebay for anywhere between $10-25.

The plus side to using the Realtone cable is that it's incredibly simple - plug the cable into your USB port, open Audacity, select the "Realtone Cable" input, and start recording. The downside is that there is a good amount of latency, especially in Windows, so if you want to be able to listen to yourself in real-time as you're playing, the Realtone cable is not the way to go.

If you intend to record acoustic instruments or vocals on a shoestring, then a USB mic is the way to go. There are many, many variables that go into selecting the best mic, but for the sake of brevity I'm going to go ahead and recommend the Samson GoMic for this category. It has several modes of operation (cardoid, super-cardoid, full-room), good audio range/pickup, and costs less than $40 brand new and not on sale.

Plus sides are pretty much the same as for the Realtone cable - ease of use. The downside is pretty much the same downside you get with any cheap microphone, lack of audio quality. Not to say the GoMic isn't good, but it isn't as good as, say, a Shure SM58 running through a proper mixing rig.

Reasonably priced, IMO Category ($50-150)


Cannot say enough good things about USB audio interfaces, like the Presonus Audiobox or FocusRite Scarlett - a 1 or 2 channel unit can be easily bought brand new for under $100 ($120 - 150 if you need more than 2 channels). These devices normally feature both 1/4" and XLR inputs (with phantom power available on at least one input), headphone and monitoring jacks, MIDI capabilities, independent controls, and many of them come with decent DAW software, like FruityLoops or Studio One, included the box. You can also theoretically expand the number of input channels available by running everything through a mixer, then into the audio interface. Some interfaces will connect right up with your computer, others may need to have an install disc ran before the computer will recognize its new hardware.

Setup

First, connect your interface (Realtone/USB mic/audio interface) and install all the drivers necessary for the computer to recognize it (this occasionally requires a reboot).

Next, and assuming you haven't already, install audacity from Audacityteam.org - the latest version as of this writing is 2.1.2

* while on the download page, make sure and scroll down and check out the "Optional Downloads" section - here you can find effects and plugins, as well as the software you'll need if you want to export your finished work as MP3 (LAME plugin) or M4A (FFMEG plugin) files.

After installing and ensuring your interface is connected, open Audacity to the main screen, it should look something like this:

In the top-left, you can see the transport controls (pause/play/rec/etc); to the right of the transport are the visual monitors for the input and output, represented by a picture of a microphone and speaker, respectively. The large grey area that dominates the screen is the "stage," so to speak, where your tracks will appear when recorded.

Between the transport controls and the stage you will find the controls for your inputs and outputs:

Circled in red is the setting you will need to change - select your interface from the drop-down menu. 

Assuming your instrument/mic is already connected, you're ready to go! just hit the big red Record button in the transport region, or hit the 'R' key on your keyboard (to stop recording or initiate playback you can use the Spacebar). you'll see the waveform of your audio appear on the stage:

Congratulations, you've recorded some audio on your PC! Now you can edit it or add effects from within Audacity, or export the file for publication or editing in another software suite!

Adding Effects

highlight the region of audio you want to apply the effect to, then select the effect you want from the Effects dropdown in the toolbar. Not much built-in, but if you download the LADSPA plugin pack from Team Audacity's website it expands the options greatly.

Exporting

To export your work, select the section of audio you want to export (or nothing, if you want to export it all), then click File -> Export Audio. There are several default filetypes you can save to, including a few lossless formats; however, if you want to export directly to an MP3 or M4A file, you will need to have installed the LAME/FFMPEG libraries from the "Additional Downloads" section of Team Audacity's site.

By following this short tutorial you should understand the basics of recording audio files in Audacity. Feedback is greatly appreciated; if this post is found helpful and well-received I may have to turn it into a series :)

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Comment by jack bowers on April 9, 2016 at 2:40pm

Thanks for the info. I need to get up to speed in this area so your advice is appreciated. I ha 've a Zoom H4 handy recorder but my OLD eyes Won't let me use it well, so your ideas will be helpful. Anybody needing my Zoom H4?

Comment by Mark Bliss on April 6, 2016 at 3:01pm

Good and helpful info for getting started!

This can be a broad and complex subject, and there will always be questions and little details to potentially trip you up when getting started. Help is readily available.

One area that might have been useful to add at this stage is the subject of input levels. No matter the method, there are some things to be aware of. Mic location, proximity, volume levels, etc can create some issues that will need to be addressed.

Some example references on the subject:

Articles

E-Books

That additional info should help get you started. 

I'm with Carl on Mixcraft as a step up from Audacity BTW. More help available on that too if needed. Anyone with the need for more help or resources, let me know.

Comment by Fomhorach on April 6, 2016 at 12:32pm

Soundforge. Acid. Reason. Simple.

Comment by Slow Blues Dani & Ol' Grey Bear on April 1, 2016 at 10:58am

Really, really helpful! Recording video on my phone using the built-in microphone is all well and good for starters but this opens up whole new realms of possibilities. Besides, nobody wants to sit and look at my face more than once! Haha. I'll try audacity tomorrow. I'm going to have to record using the on-board mic for now but I'll try and get hold of a USB audio interface soon. Thanks again. Really going to be no-end of useful.

Comment by Carl on March 31, 2016 at 8:45pm

Nice one! A real handy read for newbies, I would however recommend a minimum 4 gig of ram though. I'm running 8 gig (double recommended for what I use) and x64 Windows and even then there have been times the PC starts to drag its butt.
I don't use Audacity (I use Mixcraft Pro 7 with synths through a Behringer mixer), so I can't comment on how it handles VST's but if it can there are plenty out there for free such as compressors etc. Perhaps you can expand on this and make it a series, I'd be interested to see where you go with it

Comment by Murdoc_420 on March 31, 2016 at 8:06am

Audacity is great. It's easy to install and use but also has more advanced features.

 Would be cool to see more articles going in depth into those features. (Like adding MKII's)

Comment by Cigar Box Nation on March 31, 2016 at 2:09am

Congrats, River Rat...  you just earned a slot in next week's featured articles.  (And a nifty Cigar Box Nation header image, too!)

Comment by martin baker on March 30, 2016 at 9:54pm

Many thanks for the info, this seems to be everything I need to know, now for the input!

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