I'd like to record my first CD. Any advice?

Bill Sutton has some great columns on this topic:

Putting on the Disc
Second CD
Plan-nine and Preparation

Comments? Suggestions? Please post below.

Also see:

FAQ entry: How do I record a CD on a small budget?

How do I record a CD on a small budget?

"I've had a number of people in the filk community ask if I have a CD available for sale. I'd *love* to record a CD, but I don't have a lot of money to do it. Any suggestions and advice?"

I will be posting an answer based on the responses below and from responses to this Dandelion Report LJ entry.

From Scott Snyder:

"Making a CD for SALE is a labor intensive process.

Live recordings in your living room are okay, but don't compare to the quality of recordings that are for sale on your filk dealer's table.

There is no cheap way to do it, although there are less expensive ways.

The first thing I would do is to talk to one of your friendly filk producers - Bill Sutton and Bill Roper spring to mind - talk to them about your material, what you'd like to do, and what they suggest. They have mysterious connections to the underworld of filk musicians, and can often times make magic for you. Or at least lend you equipment and expertise. :)

If you really want to do this all by yourself - you're going to need to invest in a few things. A recorder (don't use your computer, unless you have an isolation box for it and can keep the fan noise out of the recording) - for cheap recorders I'd recommend one of the cassette or now digital multitrack recorders from Tascam. They are good quality and very inexpensive.

You will need microphones. If it's you and a guitar, then you will want at least 2 microphones. I'd suggest SM58's for ease of use, versatility, and value. They can be had for about $100 each (or less).

Don't forget cables and connectors to attach all these things together, plus two mic stands, and a set of QUALITY pro Headphones.

You will need a reasonable room to do this in - not too noisy, with lots of padded stuff around. Living rooms can work great, actually.

Know your material cold, it will save you lots of rewinding.

Get a good "live" you and your guitar (or instrument) recording down. Don't worry about multi-tracking if you have no experience. It gets messy. A good clean recording of you singing your song will be worth more than a bad multi-track mix.

If you REALLY want to burn these yourself, then you will need connectors from your recorder to your sound card. You will want to invest in GOOD audio recording and editing software - something like Sound Forge.

You will have to do a good deal of digital editing and post in order to take your recording and turn it into tracks that you can then burn to a CD. Seek advice from the pros, it's too complicated for me to tell you how to do it here. :)

Just as far as gear goes - I did a quick pick through Musicians Friend and found the following:

Shure SM58 x2 @ $99
On Stage stands x2 @ $15
Sony MDR-7506 Headphones @ $99
Fostex MR8 8 Track digital recorder @ $300
Mogami Mic Cables x2 @ $20
Sony Screenblast Sound Forge @ $70

Total of my shopping cart is: $753.85

This is a reasonable rig, and you should be able to make basic singer/songwriter recording with it with ease. The digital recorder means no post-recording conversions. And it transfers .wav files to your PC through USB, so no dealing with noisy PCI sound cards.

So - to me, saying I want to record it myself inexpensively means less than $1000 USD. :)

So - I will say one more time - Talk to a filk producer. They already have the gear, and will be more than happy to help you out or steer you in the right direction. You should be concentrating on your MATERIAL - have good songs and be able to perform them well.

Oh - and don't forget the Mastering! ;)"

From Graham Leathers:

"That really starts to depend on how small your budget is. You can get the software to run on your computer, yes, but you still need a decent mic. The recording is only step one. Then there is mixing, mastering, printing and duplicating. Recording, mixing and mastering costs can be reduced considerably if you can do much of that yourself, though it does take time. The printing and such, there are small production houses that will, if you present them with a master and your cover art work, and they can do the rest for you at minimal cost and they don't make you do a large bulk run, either. Yes, you can crank them all out on your own CD burner, but that does take time. You may find you are able to make better use of your time farming that kind of work out. You will also get better quality printing and discs that way. Even so, you can still sell your CD's at $10.00 US or even a little less and still turn a profit."

From Daniel Faigin:

"The biggest question is whether you have a CD burner on your computer. If you do, the answer is easy. Connect your amplifier's output (the one you would normally plug into your tape deck for recording CDs) into the line in on your sound card. You can use Roxio sound editor to grab the sound (use the mic inputs on your amp). Do a search for a tool called 'CD Wave' to split apart the wave file, and burn, baby, burn."

From "Mandelbear" on LJ:

"I'm now starting the recording process for my first CD, which is being chronicled on mdlbear_albums -- which was set up by my daughter chaoswolf as a way of prodding me into action. Having a deadline also helps.

My current advice (with the disclaimer that I'm at the very beginning of the process) is to invest in (or borrow) some good microphones and a pro-quality soundcard that will record 24 bits (more dynamic range means less need to fiddle with the levels up front).

Take some time to figure out how you work best: separate guitar and voice tracks? Start with a guitar+voice guide track? Live concerts in your living room? Try them all,

I'll know more about the back end of the process (editing, mixing, mastering, and paying for the print run) when I get there."

Also see:

FAQ entry: I'd like to record my first CD. Any advice?
.

Can you suggest some useful recording software?

Can you suggest some useful recording software?
I will be posting an answer based on the responses below. Also see comments posted at the end of this Dandelion Report LJ entry.

Related FAQ:
How do I record a CD on a small budget?

---------------

From "Mandelbear" on LJ:

"There's getting to be a lot of free software for recording and editing. We're using a program called Audacity which has a very simple interface and is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. The downside is that it's limited to recording two tracks at a time -- that's enough for most solo projects.

If you're willing to experiment with Linux, or already hooked on it, you need to visit the following three sites:

Sound and MIDI software for Linux -- the ultimate reference site for all Linux-based audio software.

Planet CCRMA -- everything you need to turn a RedHat or Fedora distribution into a recording studio.

The AGNULA Project -- A GNU/Linux Audio distribution -- funded by the European Commission and producers of a complete distribution called DeMuDi (Debian Music Distribution), which is what I'm using currently."

Any advice on how I should/shouldn't be marketing my CD?

Grizelda has a new CD to sell, a compilation of filk songs she's written over the years. She's pretty darned proud of it. Gomer already has several commercial CDs for sale, and is new to the filk community. Both Grizelda and Gomer are wondering how they should or shouldn't be marketing their products.

On the one hand, it's cool that Grizelda's hard work has paid off and she'd like everyone to know (and buy!) her new CD. On the other hand, the majority of the filk community is there to share and enjoy their music with each other, and heavy-handed sales pitches may turn them off Grizelda and her music. Gomer is especially worried that people might think he only joined the filk community so he could sell more CDs.

Please post your suggestions using the comment form at the bottom of this page. I posted some below, but also see the responses to this Dandelion Report LJ entry.

SUGGESTIONS FROM THE FILK COMMUNITY:

From redaxe on LJ:

"I'd say this, to both: speak with the dealer(s) at the con(s) you are at, and ask if they might be interested in carrying your CD. Each has a different case to make as to why; different dealers may or may not be interested, and they'll all have their own usual terms. Find out what those are, and, if you can reach a deal, great!

For Grizelda, I would say definitely mention the CD at every event you're at. Especially mention it to all the people whom you know for years in filking; the folks who request your songs, for example, are likely to want your CD. (Some may not be able to afford it at present; be prepared for that.) Put the news about your CD on your website, blog/LiveJournal, in rec.music.filk, and wherever else the folks you already know are likely to be.

For Gomer, I would say tread more lightly. Like Grizelda, you can and should mention your work on a website or blog, if you have one. But although your CD is probably technically and musically excellent, your concern about acceptance in the filk community has some merit. Spend time with filkers; sing for and with them; go to cons, including filk cons, and mention your CD in passing, or if asked. ("I saw your CD at the dealer's table -- is it filk?") Once you've established that you are NOT just passing through, then sure, post announcements in rec.music.filk. and other places that filkers, per se, are likely to see them.

In neither case would I suggest doing a sales spiel (unless it's the sort of thing that's in character for the person as known; especially for a parodist, it's possible to put together a comedic routine); provide the information and let your reputation in the community sell the disc."

From tigertoy on LJ:

"'d consider three different situations where G might talk about their CD:
At their concert
If either G has a concert at the con, they're entitled to assume that people are interested in their music, so an unsolicited mentioned that CDs are available is appropriate, and maybe a hint or two during the set. (If a song is well received, for example, mention that it's on the CD.) G does need to avoid turning their set into an infomercial, though. Saying it a couple of times will get the message to those who want it, and trying to force it on the rest will quickly become a turn off.
In open filk
Gomer should definitely not say anything unless he's asked. Even Grizelda should not make an unsolicited mention of her new CD, unless she can honestly say that several people who have asked her if she has a CD in the past when she didn't are now in the room. If someone does ask "Is that song on an album?" or "Do you have an album out?" of course either G should take advantage of the opportunity.
In conversation
Neither G should be trying to aggressively push their albums into conversation, especially with someone they don't know well. If Grizelda knows someone well enough that the actual making of the album is a reasonable topic, as opposed to just that it exists, that's fine.

The convention is about personal interaction and live music, not about selling things, and it only takes a little bit of commercialism to become crass."

From Blake Hodgetts:

There's nothing wrong with tastefully announcing a new CD in online filk communities such as rec.music.filk, or the "filk" and "filkhaven" communities on LiveJournal, but it would be seen as bad form to do so repeatedly or with too much of a commercial slant. Such announcements are more likely to be met with enthusiasm if the artist is already a recognized member of the filk community, however, so this points up the importance of actually being an active filker (attending cons and filk circles) if you want to gain this sort of acceptance. Gomer's concern is well-placed in this regard. You can't just pretend to be a member of the community, as filkers know whom they know and can be quite biting towards those they don't.

Another important thing to do is to get to know the established filk dealers; they'll do a certain amount of publicity for you in the course of their own business. The major filk dealers in the US are:

Random Factors
filk.com/DAG productions
Southern Fried Filk
Dodeka Records (Bill & Gretchen Roper)
Juanita Coulson

Note that filk.com also runs an online filk radio station; getting airplay on filk radio is a great way to get publicity."