Software for multi-location recording?

[gwandsh]

Wondering if there is a cheap software that can allow recording of guitar parts, then combining them? The idea is to have person 1 lay down a lick, send the recording to person 2, then person 2 adds their part to the recording, either appending it to the first or overlaying to have the 2 parts play together. Great tech explanation, huh?
Anyways, if something like this exists, it would make a great replacement for jam sessions for myself and buddies.
Thanks for any tips!

[agfsteve]

https://www.wikiloops.com/

[Brent Hahn]

People have been doing it since the first DAW. It's really easy. You export a sound file, send it to your collaborator, and they send you back a file with the same start point which you import into your DAW and line up with the original. No additional software involved.

[FrankHudson]

Yes, that's essentially how most recordings are made these days. The whole band in the studio playing at once is the exception not the rule. And it's become common for folks to just sent tracks to guest players who record their part somewhere than where the other tracks were done.

At a professional level, there can be issues with matching the mic techniques, room sounds, etc.--but at the "hey, I'm just having fun with my friends" level these things can be largely overlooked.

So all you need is software that can record one or more tracks at a time, which most recording software can.

Audacity is open source freeware that can do this. I think Audacity supports most operating systems out there.

GarageBand is free for owners of recent Macs. There's a version of this recording software with the same name for iPhone and iPads too.

Cakewalk is now available for free for Windows operating systems from the software's current owners.

Reaper is very low cost for home use, and has a generous trial software policy. MacOS or Windows.

I've not even looked at it, but ProTools Free is I guess, well, free. I'll let others that know it comment there. MacOS or Windows.

It's not even necessary that everyone use the same program. You learn how to export and import individual tracks as audio files for each of your contributors programs (another feature that is just generally part of recording software). If everyone is learning how to do this at once, using one software package may help you help each other though.

Share the files/tracks on your favorite cloud storage source. If they're short you could even email them (some email provider limit file attachment sizes).


If everyone has Macs, Garageband comes to mind as a good choice, with some presets that make it easier to setup tracks for vocals or acoustic guitar in various styles.

[FrankHudson]

Addendum to my previous post on this:

I think all of this software will let you record with the built in mics in most laptops and tablets, and of course phones all have mics. These aren't very great sounding, but for fun they'll work.

I actually thought my several generations back iPhone did a credible job.

Summer Silence recorded with iPhone 8 in the IOS version of Garageband with the phone's built in mic

For better one can get a USB microphone that will sound better, but if one already has a microphone (for example for PA/gigs) it's generally better to get an computer audio interface to plug it in (more flexibility for the future).

Someone here who uses the Spire Studio device may want to chime in. I think it might help some who are hesitant to go the recording software route.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

I've not even looked at it, but ProTools Free is I guess, well, free.

Based on what I've heard from people who have used it, Pro Tools One isn't worth the bother because of the limitations it puts on the user.

Originally Posted by FrankHudson

It's not even necessary that everyone use the same program.

Very true. So long as everyone has software that lets them bounce individual tracks to a .wav file, anytime someone adds a track to the production, the track can be sent to everyone else.