Several days ago I discussed how to start the equipment side of your home recording studio on $75. The other side to recording is the software. Obviously, the assumption behind a cheap home audio setup is that you already have a computer at home. The question, then, is do you have a Mac or PC?
If you have a Mac, you have it made as far as recording software goes. Using the included GarageBand software on your Mac, you can easily record tracks, create layers, add effects, and manipulate the audio.
If you have a PC, you will need to download the free, open source program Audacity. Audacity is not nearly as nice as GarageBand, but it will do the trick for your initial home studio.
If you went the route of my suggested $75 studio setup which includes one microphone, you will capture better sound if you record each audio source separately. In other words, don’t just play your song into the mic. You will need to put the mic against your amp and record the guitar track, then record a second track for the vocals, and so on. Layering the tracks is very easy to do in the software mentioned above.
Good luck and have fun!
[...] Continue reading in part 2 of setting up your inexpensive home recording studio: Music recording/editing software. [...]