I'd like to thank sci-fi songwriter John Anealio and author Patrick Hester for having me on their Functional Nerds podcast to talk about home recording and potentially totally ruin the good thing they have going with my fevered stutterings about home recording gear, the importance of finishing the song first, and when to be nitpicky vs. when to release the darn thing.
Also, I wasn't kidding about the pure terror, gosh I wish I could just relax and toss insightful witticisms back and forth with practiced ease.
Here's some post-show errata and links to stuff mentioned in the episode:
- REAPER recording software - since the last time I used REAPER, they've added a Mac OSX version, yay! Also, REAPER is "free" to mess around with but they ask for a $60 license fee if you plan to use it regularly. It's a ridiculously good deal.
- Alesis (not Roland, oops!) DM6 USB Kit Performance Electronic Drumset.
- The AKG C2000B condenser mic. Very good for guitar and vocals if you can't afford a Telefunken.
- M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB interface. I have the USB version but comes in Firewire if you need that. (Here's my first post about it.)
- Toontrack EZDrummer for better totally fake drums.
- FL Studio (nee FruityLoops) sequencing software.
There's also a bunch of stuff we didn't talk about, such as: headphone mixing vs. using monitors, "mastering" for earbuds, the challenge of recording in bedrooms, the George Lucas-y benefits of being able to retcon your own songs, etc. that probably would have been cool to cover but I probably would have talked for another two hours. But the takeaway, as Patrick mentions about halfway through, is this stuff is out there now, for any and all comers to try their hand at making recordings. So get to it!