Need inspiration /recording help. Want to record EASY

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Well, I've been doing absolutely nothing over the last year since the band broke up .
My basses have been gathering dust , and I've had 1 or 2 upheavels.I am just coming out of a huge rut ,
and instead of selling everything, have decided to lighten up and record stuff.

Anyway,it may sound like I have alot at my disposal(gear wise) but , in truth I haven't got the foggiest
how to use it. I will give you an idea of the stuff I have in my possession, and hopefully you can help.

I have too many basses . I have mac mini. I have Line 6 ux1 with Podfarm./Riffworks. I have Logic Express.Plus an old
M-Audio Radium 49 usb keyboard.Also Garageband

What makes me mad is that, I grew up recording audio on cassette decks with ordinary peak meters.
NONE OF THIS COMPLICATED(imo)GRAPH LIKE AUDIO INTERFACE,

I will (probably) get an ipad midweek.I was looking at the Kaosiltor pro on you tube, which blew my mind.
It doesn't look too difficult to use.However , there are quite a few apps on ipad which are similar.

Now what I intend to do, is record my bass with ambient noises simultaneously. Without being put off
by graph type interface.

Could someone please advise me, asap as it looks like the ipad arrival is imminent.

Thanks

[Mornats]

I'd recommend that you start recording in Garageband. It's so simple to use and I got up and running very quickly. You can import you projects into Logic once you get the hang of Garageband and want something with more bells and whistles on. The user interface for Garageband is very uncomplicated and should be an easy way into getting your head round the stuff that's driving you mad. So, just jump in, have a blast and see what you think of the not-so-steep learning curve.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Thanks for that Mornats. After looking around the net, looks like you are spot on. I was looking at
alot of the Korg apps on the ipad,and what I basically want to do , is play bass with various ambient noises,
with various real sounding drums /choirs sounds etc. The ipad has a load of keyboardy stuff ,which looks user friendly and fun.
I was thinking of getting an ipad,an irig to plug the bass in and purchasing some apps . What do you think?

[rOB]

I'm afraid that I don't have any experience of that equipment or set up but I think home recording is great.

I use a very simple set up for rough demos of things for the band and any other ideas I have knocking around.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Thanks Rob . I ' ll do that . Unless someone else on here tells me not to get ipad.) What setup are you using?

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

seems like iPad is the way to go

[51m0n]

HOnestly its not too hard to get some ideas down, just get in there and have a go.

You can use this stuff much like a tape deck and capture ideas as rough as you like.

Once you feel confident that you can do that you will probably end up with questions about getting better recordings, and then we can show bits and pieces to help.

Most importatnly, just enjoy playing with the shiny toys

[Skol303]

Garage Band is a great iOS app, as Mornats has already mentioned - very quick and easy to use.

I'd also recommend having a look at Amplitube:

http://www.ikmultimedia.com/amplitubeipad/features/

... I have it on my iPhone and it's proved to be a very handy 'sketchpad' for messing around with ideas before working on them properly in other software. Only downside is you need to use IK's proprietary connector device - the iRig - which costs around £20. So it works out around £30 all in for the software and connector.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Thanks guys. Of course I'm not made of money,

but my birthday (which I. don't celebrate as much)is in a few days so I must treat myself.
Also I should be getting a small bonus(about half the cost of an iPad)from the company I work for.
So,iPad /amplitude here we go

[ras52]

Yep, I was in a similar position earlier this year. Used to use a Fostex 260 (?) cassette 4-track recorder/mixer, then took a 20-year sabbatical. My route was to get a Tascam DP-008 - digital 8-track at a quarter of the price of the Fostex! - with proper knobs (oo-err). Built-in mics as well, so ready to go with hardly any setup.

Then again.... speaking as a complete Applephobe, I will say I'm impressed by Garageband (based purely on my toyings in the Apple store).

Whatever way you go, I think most of basic options will allow you to export tracks into an all-singing all-dancing DAW if you want to get more fiddly later on.

Enjoy!

[rOB]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1323036069' post='1458612']
What setup are you using?
[/quote]
A very basic setup of Cubase & a Lexicon Alpha [url="http://www.lexiconpro.com/product.php?id=7"]http://www.lexiconpro.com/product.php?id=7[/url]

Works for me.

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Thanx guys. This week, ipad and irig.Garageband will also be tried. Then ,I record (something)

[rOB]

Best of luck

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

Cheers rob and all

[Mornats]

I've never used an ipad to record with so can't really help on that line but glad you're trying the Garageband route, it proved to be a real help for me when I sgtarted back in Feb this year.

If you're doing stuff in Garageband on the Mac Mini then you can get some nice free sounds to play with. First up is the free Kontakt player plus some synths from Native Instruments: [url="http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/?category=1339"]http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/products/?category=1339[/url]. Then also check out Sampletank Free: [url="http://www.ikmultimedia.com/sampletankfree/features/"]http://www.ikmultimedia.com/sampletankfree/features/[/url].

Garageband will supply you with enough drum loops to get you started but if you want to splash some cash on something a bit better then EZdrummer is a good one to go for. DV247.com may have some deals where you buy EZdrummer and get an expansion free.

I got Guitar Rig 4 LE with my audio interface so I've not really looked for free amp modelling software but I'm sure there's a whole load out there. Amplitude has a free one but the interface sucks as it doesn't easily tell you which amps are free until you select them.

Have fun!