Lyrics r tight, concepts r sick, Recording?

[El_Mero_Mero]

Hello everyone,

I am trying to put together some sort of mixtape, or at least songs that I can upload to Z-Share, Youtube, etc.

Lyric-wise I have absolutely no problem, no problem topic-wise, and for beats, I would just jack other rappers beats for 85% of the project (you kknow, like a regular mixtape.

The only problem is that I know absolutely nothing about recording. I just have a Dell Laptop. I'm not looking for my stuff to be P.Diddy-the best that money can buy quality, but, what can I do?

What software programs, etc. do ya'll use to record? Like if I download a beat, what do ya'll use to record your vocals on it. My girl says she has a microphone, but she's never used it in that way, and I don't know about the quality.

Anyway, I know this seems mad juvenile to those of ya'll that have been doing it for years, but I really already have material that I'm proud of. I just need to record it.

Of course with this 1st project, I don't want to pay for any studio time or anything like that (I will not make a profit out of this. It's just a way to stir up interest.) . My boy told me he had a little something for recording, but I'm travelling now (currently in Japan), and just need a quick solution to do it myself I guess.

Please let me know what I can do either here, or via PM. Thanks.

[pimpadelic]

if you just wanna d/l something that will record with decent (listenable) quality then get Audacity, it's pretty good. as for the mic an sm58 will do really, MF DOOM recorded Operation Doomsday on some ****ty mic & it added to the whole sound of the album. the main thing with recording is make sure you turn off any fans or a/c in the room, try hang up a blanket or something in front of the mic, if you can't do that, just make sure the room you record in isn't to echo-y.

[El_Mero_Mero]

Thanks for the response. I downloaded Audacity and will have time to play around with it tomorrow (I hope). I am truly computer software illiterate though.

Let's say I have an MP3 of a Cassidy beat that I want to spit over, what's the process look like? Upload the beat to Audacity or a similar piece of software, hook up my microphone, press record while spitting my verse until I get something that sounds decent, then save that as a "file", and then upload the file to Z-share, Youtube, etc.? Is that what I'm looking at hear?

I already got mad ideas, and if I can get a knack for recording something, then I can have a mixtape ready like in about a month, and when people ask me what I do, I can just give them a disk or a link. I'm in Japan right now, and then depending on money I'm either going to Europe or LA (2 places I've never been). If I'm hitting up so many spots, then it's essential to have something to show people, because then that shows them that it's nothing for me to hop on a track with them, and then this whole globablization thing can get moving.

So, thanks for all your help. Once again, these questions may be basic, so I appreciate you taking time to answer them.

[Roxx the King]

magix audio studio
condenser mic
m-audio interface box

[El_Mero_Mero]

Hey Roxx,

To sum things up I guess I'm just looking for something to pass out. I'm not expecting what can be called "album-quality" work. If I were to get these things you listed what would be my next step/steps.

I Wish I would've had the motivation to get this done while I Was in the U.S., cuz then I could've just showed up at one of you guy's homes and worked something out. But I may not be back till June 09 (depending on how Visas work and whatnot).

Anyway, I guess 15-18 joints recorded over industry beats, and like 3-5 original joints recorded with beats people offer on the internet would be what I'm going for with this project. Just having it will be a Christmas gift to myself. And will allow me to see if people think I'm actually good.

I mean, I've had people say they like my flow when I performed live before, but that was a while ago, and isn't the same as having the tangible.

So...my brothers from other mothers, share your wisdom. Thanks.

[Roxx the King]

trust me, you won't get al;bum quality with that, lol. thats what i use. it will cost you maybe 200 bucks total for those things. unless you talking about just plugging up a head set and spitting.

[Drumkitz]

First off cheif.. let me break it down to you. First you do need the quality standard sounding mixtape. The game is alot different since puffy, cash money came and made sure theyre mixes was on point. If you think your gonna get any intrest with a horrible sounding mixtape mixwise, nobody is gonna wanna listen to it. Especially since mixes are so clean in these days..You have to take the time to make sure the quality is on point.. Quality over anything. The first time some one gets an ear full of what you have you dont want it to sound like you recorded it in the basement even if you do..

If your girl has a mic im more than 100% sure its not the one you need.. you need an interface that has an XLR input in the back.. and you should get protools.. but it wont work without the digidesign or m-audio interface... so look into that.. as far as starters that will be your best bet... you gotta invest in sumn to get sumn.. all this free downloading will result in nothing coming out of it!!.. jus take about 500 bucks and hit a music store.. one that dont sell cds... an instrument store.. theyll have what you need!!! and i kno u got that if you have visas to live over seas (not tryin to count your money)...

[Drumkitz]

trust me, you won't get al;bum quality with that, lol. thats what i use. it will cost you maybe 200 bucks total for those things. unless you talking about just plugging up a head set and spitting.
hey man i did that!!!! lol.. but one time i was really desperate.. i took one of the big speakers laid it on its back and spit into the 15" part.. quality was hella boo boo.. but i did the song.. i was all of 12 years old at the time

[El_Mero_Mero]

Thanks for the support guys. It turns out my girl doesn't evenn have a mic. She was talking about a mic built into her MAC. Well, I guess it's going to be a longer process than I thought. Hopefully, by the end of it all, I'll be posting some music on this board.