We all know how Hendrix, Cobain, Jack White, and everyone in between at one point recorded themselves in a hotel room on TAPE using an old fashioned "4 track recorder." In 1967 and 1990 and 2006, they managed to do that. And get great analog sound.

How come in 2013 I'm supposed to be happy with all the digital toys?

I'm ready to be old school too.

WHERE DO I GET AN OLD FASHIONED "4 TRACK" ANALOG RECORDER LIKE JIMI HENDRIX USED IN HIS HOTEL ROOM TO RECORD "LITTLE WING"?

I don't want the complexity of abelton computer stuff.

Why is it harder for me in 2013 to find a way to record myself than it was for Kurt Cobain in 1989?

Or do you have a digital recorder you can recommend? How do I record myself? I'm not against digital if it sounds good and I guess that makes it easier to put on soundcloud, etc.

I just want a 4 track or 8 track or whatever recorder that lets me start to mess around making my own songs.

I even have a keyboard (Casio) that makes interesting sounds, including drums. It's from 1999 and has "MIDI". Is that even still used? The connection on the back seems to be some kind of weird huge multi pronged thing.

How can I use my keyboard, guitar, and mustang amp to record my own songs?

Thanks.

cassette tapes aren't the best for home recording (IMO), that's one reason they're hard to find now. With cassette tapes, every time the tape moves across the tape head, the tape stretches a tiny bit. When you rewind/record/rewind/record/rewind in the same spot (as we often do when recording) the tape can become 'fatigued', and then all your hard work starts losing quality. I wouldn't want to go back.

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Thanks. Okay, better, more concise question:

Should I buy one of the digital 8-track recorders that have supposedly studio quality mics and then record the sound coming out of my amp or keyboard with that, or should I use "garage band" or abelton or one of these things that plugs right into the computer? I want to record my own songs. I'm leaning towards a digital, portable recorder that I guess can be placed near the amp and records the real sound coming out, sort of like when they mic up a room to get a live sound, as opposed to plugging into the monstrosity abelton. I don't need all those effects. I am a little bit old school. I want to record what I'm playing, the tone my amp is giving, but I want 4 or 8 tracks so I can add some drums and keyboards too.

Is this what I need? http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... l-recorder


Thanks.

Put a, wanted: reel to reel tape recorder ad on Craigslist or check out old pawn shops.

I like both the computer route and the portable studio route. It sounds like you want a creative 'sketch pad', for that I'd opt for the portable unit like the link you posted above.

Reel to reel recorders are more difficult to bring with you to a hotel room...

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Okay, so this one records 4 tracks: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audi ... l-recorder.

What does that mean?

Does it come with the software that lets me then combine them into one "track" with 4 tracks?

I have the Zoom Q3HD VIDEO recorder, and I'm happy with the X/Y mics and stereo recording that it does. Handles volume. However, it is a Japanese company and the customer service was very weird. Like you're calling or emailing actual people in Japan who don't speak English. The software that was supposed to come pre-installed on the SD card that comes with it, for editing, never worked. Also the firmware update from the website won't install on the device. I followed the instructions.

It's one of those things I have not had time to deal with, since my very limited free time is spent trying to improve my playing, and the Zoom with the firmware it has does its job recording ONE video track of me playing, in stereo, and can handle volume, so I can hear what I sound like. But I can't edit the video. This is mildly irritating because I don't play mistake free, but I'll play well enough that I wouldn't mind putting it on youtube for like 85% of the recording. So I need to be able to cut out parts.

Like last night I recorded myself for 45 minutes continuously doing a little mini pretend gig. I played well for like 90% of it, but 10% of it sucks and I'd like to be able to EDIT the video, not because I'm embarrassed or care what anyone thinks, but people don't want to see the crap and also in between songs when I'm changing the tempo of the drums or tuning, for example.

I've done some decent recordings of myself the past 4 months, but it's all buried among hundreds of minutes of recordings where the recorder is rolling and I'm playing. Basically recording an entire practice session.

Now I want to be able to record 4 or 8 tracks and make a real song, from scratch, with me doing everything.

the old school way (using tape heads) was to have a recording head that was really 4 recording heads stacked together - so each head would only record on 1/4 of the width of the tape.

How is this done digitally? Hmmm, I don't know - anyone? I'm a little too old school to answer this one.

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You're asking loads of questions If you should edit your video , I will recommend a computer.

I found this video interesting at a time ; it's about recording on a Zoom R8 . At least you get an impression of what it takes.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlsofvcUIXM
I bought a R24 which can record 24 tracks - the R8 --does 8 !!

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You might as well dress yourself in animal skins and move in into a nice little cave for rent!

Just kidding!
Let's face it: they did it that way because there was nothing else!

And if you ask me, recordings of those times sound sh*****.

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STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Thank you all for all the replies. I tend to agree with this assessment re: sound.

I should be more clear re: the rationale for my questions. I’m a nontechnical guy (on purpose—at one point I almost became a computer programmer, no joke, but I purposely went the other direction even though I had the brainpower to do it [good at math]—the modern obsession with electronic technology annoys the heck out of me (except for electric guitars and this website)).

I’m not really advocating the analog sound that Jimi achieved in that broken up recording of Little Wing that indeed has all sorts of static and sounds terrible. I guess what I’m saying is I want to be able to press the “record” button (I’m advocating analog or old fashioned “methods" ) and play and have it recorded, and be able to do that 4 or 8 times and then combine it into a combined track. Great if the modern digital recorders even sound better, and even better if puts it on an SD card in a format that I can easily upload to youtube or soundcloud or bandcamp, etc.

I’m leaning towards one of the portable recorders and I might go with Zoom because I’ve been happy with the video recorder’s audio. It records in 330 AAC or whatever it is (super audiophile nerd level better than MP3s you get on iTunes even) and they are not lying that it can handle volume and bass and sounds great.

I also like the sound that I get “in the air,” in the actual real world, from my Mustang 4 amp. I’ve worked hard at getting tones that I like and I pretend I could play on a small stage in a dive bar. I want to record the tone I make with my amp, the way it would sound to a listener standing 30 feet away in the room hearing the Celestian speakers push air, solid state or not, not a generic “distorted amp tone” that I guess some of these computer recording things do. That’s why I bought the mustang 4 amp.

I guess I’m working my way towards my answer!!!

IT all depends on what you're trying to do doesn't it.... if you're looking to just capture a song idea, or do a few originals, and have them sound good, the bar is lower.

if you're looking for some mega production based project with a bazillion tracks, and all kinds of other "Stuff"... then, it's an up hill climb all the way unless you're going to pay someone to record, mix, master, etc.

for the DIY guy, the problem I see, with almost any PC based recording projects, is the learning curve to get proficient at using the tools, then furthering the knowledge to mastering it.

in both cases, I don't want to spend the time figuring that crap out,... I want to "record"..

I'm not a fan at all of pro-tools, for me,, it's a never ending goose chase
invariably I'll need to start rebooting cuz something aint right, or I find that I now need a USB update,, "ah crap now I need to update pro tools cuz my current USB drivers are not supported with the current version of pro tools"

it always seems to go that I spend more time trying to get the damn interface working properly, I've either forgotten what I wanted to record in the first place, or I'm out of time, or, I've become so friggen frustrated, that I'm just done for the day.

on the other hand, my 33 year old son, is an absolute GOD at this stuff.

I see that for you, it may be the same for me, where a reasonably good compromise would be something along the lines of a Roland VS series 8 track (VS880EX) or even the VS16 or VS24. They should be findable on eBay, they're NOT hard to use, and they do a pretty good job.

I have an 8 track VS that's probably 15 years old, and it's been rock solid for me, I turn it on, select a "new" song, plug in, press record........ no rebooting or hunting down usb drivers... none.... pretty flexible if you really want to expose the units capability, or pretty easy to just record a few tracks and mix/master.

And have you used the R24 and how do you like it? Only reason I ask is you make it sound like you just recently bought it and haven't really used it yet.

Thanks. This post came in at the same time as my last one. Exactly. Perhaps I should be ashamed because I’m only 37 and thus in the younger computer generation, but I choose to be like what you are saying. I don’t have time to spend 4 hours trying to figure out pro tools or abelton or whatever, and I have an outdated computer that I’m sure would get in the way. One of these little devices that let me press the “new song” and “record” button sounds good. And if it’s 8 or 16 tracks or whatever, I could take the time to at least learn how to do what these things let you do.

But when you say “plug in and record….” I want it to have good external mics (or at least internal mics) that can record sound in the air coming from my amp and not have the guitar plugged straight through the recording device. Like I want to use it to “mic my amp.” Seems like the zoom can do that. I will check out the VS880EX. Thanks again.

Please don't take this the wrong way but you have high expectations and requirements yet want it to be simple.

Maybe what you are asking for just isn't simple enough.

Even if you went tape you'd still have to convert it to digital to put on the internet. So even simple tape isn't so simple.

Video editing is a whole other world.

Apple tries to keep the digital world simple. So maybe an iphone, or ipad with recording software. Or Garage Band on a mac.

Maybe a book on home studio recording would be a good investment. I have a Tascam, two track digital recorder, pretty simple, sounds pretty good, does some basic overbuds. Probably can't get any more simple than that. I'll be moving to a pc and reaper software soon, but I can handle the tech side of that myself.

Another approach is a looper, Boss and Electro Harmonix, and others make pedals/loopers that have recording/overdub built in.

Good luck.

YES - I have used it . YES - I still do. YES - I love it

I guess I've owned it for a year . In the beginning I was eager to use it ''stand-alone'' , but lately I've found out that it is doing a very good job as an audio interface for my Mac , so I have retired my M-Audio interface . So I mostly record straight into Logic , and use the R24's controls and sliders to control Logic. Very convenient. I can hook up 8 mics at one time ,and record all 8 tracks simultaneously. Reason I wanted that option , is it makes it possible to make some pro drum recordings , when needed.

Also the built-in mics does a great job. But it is necessary to be able to hook up a couple of mics to record for instance the ''real'' sound from your amp.

You seem to be very impatient to make a good recording - but I guess you should be expecting some kind of ''learning curve'' before making it.I see inbalance99 is mentioning the same- and I guess he is right about Mac/GB - it is very intuitive!
Recording with good results requires some experience , and has never been easy to obtain. People goes to school for learning it proper. It is a reason for that!
That said - it has never been easier to make it than now ! And I think the ZoomRs are good , and will grow with you . Good luck with your choice !

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