New Home Recording Rig

I was all set up to do some home "studio" recording using the MacBook Pro, but I had to give it back when I got laid off.  So I've been trying to figure out a new rig, since I'm determined to get a new CD made pretty soon (the newest one I have now is from 2006).

The advantage I have this round is the Harmony box, which, along with adding harmonies when needed, also has nice reverb and vocal compression, which as karaoke enthusiasts everywhere know, make you sound better than you really are.  On my previous recordings, I had to add reverb via software after the fact.  With the box, I'm less likely to overuse it, as I'm prone to do.

To do decent recordings, though, you need to be able to hear yourself (guitar and vocals) through headphones as you're recording, so you can hear your usually-unnoticed mistakes, and any outside noises that are getting into the recording (dogs barking, loud trucks, etc.).  I could use a Windows box, but they don't do real-time monitoring, and hearing yourself a half-second delayed is *really* confusing.  Fortunately, the iPad can do it with no detectable delay, so I've settled on recording on the iPad, and then transferring the file to my Windows laptop for trimming, editing, etc.

Unfortunately, the iPad (and Windows boxes, for that matter) only have mono microphone input.  On the MacBook, the mic was stereo, so I could record the guitar and vocal on separate tracks.  That's nice if you want to edit one part but not the other, or to balance the mix after the fact.  I could record the two parts separately -- play the guitar part only, counting measures in my head, and then overdubbing a vocal over that on a separate channel, but disconnecting the guitar and vocal just doesn't come out very musical.

So, I'll make do with performing both parts at the same time, on one track.  All I have to do is get the mix right before I start (by trial and error), and simply not make any mistakes.  Easy!  That'll result in recordings with guitar and vocals (with reverb and optional harmony already built-in, courtesy the box), exactly like what you get at a live show.

I might decide I'm clever enough to add some more stuff (bass, a lead guitar solo, keyboards, or even cello, like I did on my Christmas CD), or I might decide to keep it "honest" (i.e., "live equivalent").  I guess I'll try a few things and see how it goes -- I'll probably end up with a little of each.

I've found appropriate software for the iPad, and cables to run the output of the harmony box (which is guitar and vocals combined) to it, and then back from it to the headphones, so I'm all set up back in the bedroom, er, "home studio".  And it's kinda cool that the iPad can just sit right there on the music stand. Now all I gotta do is figure out how to keep the dogs from barking, the guy next door from mowing his lawn every other day, and the room from reaching the 90's in the afternoons...