Audio Capture Software

[Roland]

Got a bit of a request to all the Lurkers. A friend of mine is looking for a recording software for capturing voice, i.e. singing, in order to make music. I'm completely oblivious to this sort of thing as I've never been musically inclined (although I'm a big fan of music). Her biggest requirement is that she must keep creative rights to her works - apparently some of the software out there take ownership over your rights because you used their software to create said works? Beyond that, the cheaper the better in terms of cost, although she'll want something that's easy to use and will do what she needs (I have no idea what other specific requirements she has, other than she wants to plug in her mic and record). I recommended Audacity to her (FOSS), as it seemed to me it would do what she needed, but again this is all gibberish to me. Oh, and she plays keyboards and drums, so if the software could work with them as well that would be great too.

What I know is that she has a basic Dell computer, a microphone and an adapter for connecting said mic to a generic audio port (3.5mm). It'd be great if she could find a software that would work with that, as she's not looking to build a rig just for music purposes (although I'm certainly capable of doing that much - hardware I understand. ) Anyway, I figured I'd throw this out there as we have such a diversity of people someone's bound to know something. Appreciate any and all help!

[DeeBye]

I am not an audi-ologist (I drive an Oldsmobile) but I recommend a tape recorder.

[Nystul]

For simply recording a vocal track (or whatever else is going into a microphone), Audacity would be fine. If she is looking to record vocal and mix it with various instrument tracks, then she might need something more sophisticated. There are a lot of options, but I can't give much advice without a better idea of what she is trying to accomplish.

[RTM]

Yep, Audacity works fine for what she needs and is free to boot. If she needs to do anything fancier than what Audacity allows for, check out Reaper. I used it to record few songs a few Christmases ago and it is WAAAAY more than what I need, but it has a ton of stuff built in and is constantly being developed by the same guy who made Winamp. It was full-featured and stable 2 years ago when I used it, so I would imagine that another 2+ years of development would make it even better. I think you can download it and use it as much as you want for 30 days and a license for an individual (as opposed to a company) is only $60. I finished with it within the 30 days but I ended up buying it anyway, it's just that good.

[Roland]

For simply recording a vocal track (or whatever else is going into a microphone), Audacity would be fine. If she is looking to record vocal and mix it with various instrument tracks, then she might need something more sophisticated. There are a lot of options, but I can't give much advice without a better idea of what she is trying to accomplish.

Thanks for the help Nystul (and the humor Deebye.) I'll talk with her again soon and see what other, specific requirements she has (maybe I can type it up here while I have her on the phone). It seemed to me like Audacity was right up her alley, but again it's all foreign to me. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Concillian]

I have no idea what's out there, but I used acoustica to record some of my dad's old vinyl to CD a few years ago. It was pretty basic. Don't remember the cost, but it was either free or cheap.