posted
So I wrote a song for Halloween that I was hoping to link on hatrack but I could not find a suitable way to record it from my keyboard to the computer, and then compress it into MP3 format. Then a slew of tests hit me and promptly forgot the project.
Frankly I'd really like to be able to record music onto my computer as right now it's all in my head and I know it will eventually disappear if it does not get saved somewhere.
I'm not interested in buying really expensive mixing boards or anything of that sort. I just need a decent way to record. I mean I've recorded my keyboard playing directly from my headset microphone and the quality is sufficient for my needs, but I don't have a good program for recording songs of up to 10 minutes in length.
Nor do I have a means of converting my sound files into MP3.
Any help would be appreciated, be it convincing me that buying the hardware for quality recording really isn't that bad an investment, to, "Hey BlackBlade here is a recording program I use that I know works well."
Posts: 14316 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Sound Forge will record stereo as long as you like. Acid will do multi-track.
with both you can get free fully functioning 30 day demos.
also, you can google "Audacity" or "Kristal"... they are free recording software which I have downloaded but not yet installed, so I couldn't tell you how well they work.
Posts: 3846 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I've used audacity for simple stuff on my other machine -- it's adequate for what it sounds like you want. It works with the lame mp3 encoder and it'll do multitrack.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I love Audacity. It also is one of the few that I have found that works on Linux, which is what I have.
Posts: 44 | Registered: Nov 2006
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Goldwave is another good alternative. I tried Audacity once, but found it to be less user friendly than Goldwave.
I think the two programs are probably roughly equal in terms of their functionality. GoldWave just seemed to get along with me better. Posts: 692 | Registered: Feb 2000
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We used Audacity for the Reading Out Loud Club here at Hatrack and it worked really well. I found i to be pretty user friendly, and it has a good amount of functionality as well.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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We also use(d) it for the a cappella singing group. Good stuff. Easy enough for my three year old to use, but good enough that I recommended it to my semi-pro musician dad.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Goldwave requires you to buy it....the free download is only a trial version....complete functionality, but a limited amount of commands before the version locks you out.
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I use Goldwave, and I did end up buying it, but when my trial period ended I still had full functionality. I just had to close out the notice when I first started it up.
But then, this was a few years ago. The latest version may deal with that differently now.
Posts: 1945 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I use Amadeus II. I have a mac so the cheap side programs are less available still. For sequencing I have Logic but hate it. I prefer Cubase SX3 if you can spend half a grand on a really sweet program. Super sweet. Otherwise the UBER simple approach would be to download a free mp3 recorder like Goldwave and cross your fingers that you'll like it. Chances are it will be buggy and never be adequate to your needs.
If you want to buy a reasonable but EXCELLENT program, try Cool Edit Pro. This is a fully functional sound editor with lots of great extras for PC.
Posts: 9912 | Registered: Nov 2005
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