Quote:
Originally Posted by SeamusORiley
Are other old guys, like myself, trying to put down some tracks on their own?
I am now thinking about the 6 string banjo!
I am glad I am not alone in fear of new tech. Fran's website is a huge help.
I'd like to put together a CD of acoustic music for my wife and kids, and eventually, for my grandchildren. I am only a hobbyist and this is something I have to do alone.
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You are not alone in doing this! I'm an Old Guy too, and even bought a 5-string banjo a couple of years ago to include in the instrument mix of the songs I record.
I use a small Boss BR864, which is an 8-track digital recorder that allows me to record two tracks at a time. If I need more than 8 tracks, I can mix the 8 tracks and bounce them to another two tracks, leaving 6 tracks again open for recording. I can do this up to 64 tracks. This is how I used to record on an old Tascam Porta 02 4 track cassette recorder, but I could only bounce tracks one or two times because the quality would degrade with each bounce. With digital recordings there is very little to no detectable loss when bouncing tracks!
The Boss has an internal mic, but I don't use it. Instead, I use a couple of dynamic mics (EV n/d767a) I had for live gigging already. It doesn't result in "pro" sounding recordings, but it's fun to do and I have created an archive of songs for my friends and family. The BR models have several built in effects such as reverb, chorus, and amp simulators. They also include algorithms for mastering. They are a little more complex than the old simple Tascam Porta studios, but basically operate the same way. I found it very intuitive and easy to use.
The BR-864 is no longer made and sold, but you can find them cheap on E-bay and Craigs List. The BR-900 was the next generation, and I think there is a smaller model that was produced also. I don't know how good the new models are, but if they are based on the previous units they should produce decent quality and be easy to use.