Producing Your Own Spoken Word Music Part II

By now your ecstatic and on your way to Comp USA. If not your visiting Trackmasterz.com and buying one of their beats. For those of you on your way to buy a computer keep reading.

For a laptop PC we recommend Toshiba.

For Desktop PC’s we recommend Acer. For around $600 USD you can get an Acer computer with 2GB RAM (PC4200), AMD 64×2 4400 Processor (an AMD dual-core processor), and a NVIDIA GeForce 6100 graphics with up to 256MB (this is a video card). This is well beyond the minimum requirements. Acer is new to stores but has been around for years. The specs I’m spitting out you can find on line at BestBuy.com. Just go to computers, click by brand, and click on Acer.

With respect to warranties:

I’d recommend getting some kind of warranty, but make sure you read the manufacturer warranty first. Why? Usually you receive a 1yr manufacturer warranty with your purchase. So if you don’t have the cash, don’t worry about getting the Best Buy, Comp USA, Circuit City, or where ever your shopping warranty. The warranties they try to sell usually do not start until the end of the manufacturer’s warranty (I used to work for one of those stores won’t say which one).

SOFTWARE & SOUND CARD

Now that you’ve got the computer let’s talk recording software. Recording software is also referred to as a “sequencer”. It is a computer program that records music. There are two types of sequencers,  audio and MIDI. MIDI sequencers are used to make beats/tracks (the music). Audio sequencers are used for vocals and can be used for music. MIDI sequencers CANNOT RECORD VOCALS!!

There is one catch to picking software; IT HAS TO WORK WITH YOUR SOUND CARD. The sound card intakes your vocals and processes most sound operations. Your microphone or mixer will be hooked up to your sound card. You cannot use the sound card that comes with the computer your purchased (it’s too cheap). You must purchase a sound card designed for audio recording. Sound cards can be purchased at Sam Ash, Guitar Center, Musician’sfriend.com, or other same type stores. (You can get student discounts at studica.com or journeyed.com)

Making Music and Recording Vocals

Now you have to ask yourself a question; Do you want to record music, your voice, or both? We’re assuming both.  We recommend going with Digidesign’s Mbox sound card(any model). Why? It’s professional quality sound for $450 and it comes with Pro-Tools recording software. Digidesign makes Pro-Tools and Pro-Tools has been the industry standard for years. The Mic pre-amps on the Mbox are incredible.  Mic pre-amps give the signal to the microphone; they play a big role in the quality of the recording.   Digidesign makes the sound cards that are housed in most professional recording studios. If you ever want to take your recording to a professional studio you should have no problem.   Your both using Pro-Tools!!

 Just Making Music

If you only plan on making music then go with Reason 3.0 (by propellerhead).   This is a powerful MIDI sequencer and it is slowly becoming the industry standard.  The processors and effects are amazing and the number our sounds are endless.  We use the term endless because you can sample into Reason and you can use their device called the “Combinator” to combine sounds and make your own.  If that is not enough, numerous companies make sound refills for Reason.  You can purchase refills for $40-100 in price (unless you buy a massive refill which will cost you a lot more).  **Reason re-wires to Pro-Tools so if you want to record vocals go by your Mbox as well**

 NOTE: Reason and Pro-tools are Mac and Windows compatible