How to record and edit your own music with a USB audio interface and free ProTools SE or equivalent?

Answer 1

While it used to be the case that everybody and their dog belonged to a garage band that tried to make demo tapes by micing the entire band through a boombox microphone, the obvious technical limitations of this method allowed many creative efforts to languish or outright die in the dust.

In the digital era of home recording solutions, products such as the Line 6 POD Studio UX1 (for less than $200) or the M-Audio (by Avid) Fast Track Pro or C400 series for a little more than that, consumers can be blessed by a USB audio interface that allows for multiple instruments, multiple outputs, and hundreds if not thousands of tones within that little box that will expand your creativity as a musician, all from your bedroom or basement studio.

What sort of equipment or hardware do you need to record your own music into your computer?

The basic hardware required in order to properly record your instruments into your PC is known by the name of a USB audio interface – typically a standalone box manufactured by companies such as Avid, Line 6, Focusrite, Presonus, or Tascam.

The price of such a unit can range from a little over a hundred dollars to well over a thousand and moving upwards, though several models exist under the three hundred dollar price point which will be adequate for most musicians and even bands looking to capitalize on this technology.

Important distinctions between models to note include: the number of XLR input ports and output ports (for recording multiple instruments at once), the number of outputs and specifics regarding those outputs (whether they are for specific instruments or whether they have any particular features pursuant to tone), and what maximum sampling rate the device allows (determining the ceiling quality of your recordings).

The M-Audio (by Avid) Fast Track series is one of the most popular brands in this category, ranging from ~$150 for the mobile unit with fewer inputs to ~$250 for the C400, which allows four inputs and six outputs. The Line 6 POD Studio UX1 is a competing solo product against the Mobile, for the same price and adding a few more tones.

What software can you use to mix, edit, crop, clip, loop, and record you music?

While ProTools SE may be included as a light-weight, less-featured version of the industry standard with a lot of these devices, the professional MP9 version unlocks MP3 exporting as well as the automatic beat finder which will help align tempo properly for musicians who are wary of such things.

Free alternatives also exist, most notably Zynewave Podium. This fully-featured mixing program not only allows for bounce tracks to WAV (which can then be compressed to mp3 using other freeware solutions) but also encourages users to install plug-ins which can alter the tone of your instruments – guitar, bass, drums, and vocals alike – to great effect.

After assembling all the pieces of the band (the bassist or drummer just coming back from a beer run) and all of the pieces of the kit necessary to rock and record – an audio interface, software, some XLR cables, and of course, a dose of energy and creativity – aspiring musicians the world over can prepare to lay down some tracks and perhaps make a name for themselves on Bandcamp or YouTube.