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To the author’s knowledge, there is no specific guide available as to how to begin life as an online collaborator. This is quite possibly because it is an anything but specific field, as needs will vary depending on what forms of music you create, or what instrument you play. The guide below, therefore, is broken into two parts – a main section for those who play instruments or who sing, and a smaller section devoted to those who make computer-based music.
With the passing of time, it has become significantly cheaper and easier to become a digitally collaborative musician. Whereas expensive and specific software was once required to tap into the virtual studios of the Rocket Network, numerous options have now sprung up to replace these. In addition to whatever instrument the aspiring digital collaborator may utilise, the primary basics for home recording are obviously vital to sharing self-recorded music on the Internet, and at the most simple and cheap level, these are:
A Microphone
A recording interface
Recording software
A Computer connected to the internet
This last component is probably more than a little obvious, but it seems best to cover all bases in the interest of creating a complete resource. Many options exist in these other three categories, which shall now be further explored.
===Microphone:=== Most musicians with studio experience seem to have very strong preferences towards microphones, but in the end it is all a matter of taste. When purchasing a microphone, one cannot afford to be cheap, as low-price mic’s invariably offer poor sound quality and second-rate craftsmanship. However, decent entry level microphones are offered by all major manufacturers, such as Rode, Shure, and Neumann. The Shure SM-58 is a popular, basic, low-cost "do-everything" mic that has been used by studio pros worldwide. Australian manufacturers Rode, meanwhile, manufacture the acclaimed NT1-A, which is perhaps the cheapest “professional� mic around. This, however, is just a guide. If you have the opportunity to try various microphones with your instrument of choice before purchasing, then you should certainly do this.
===Recording Interface:=== Unless one has aspirations of setting up a complete home studio, most home recording artists can make do with a basic recording interface. Put simply, this is a device that plugs into your computer’s USB port, and which has several (usually 2-4) lines in for recording. A popular choice is the Digidesign Mbox, which offers two lines in and can run on battery power, making it extremely portable. A new entry to this market, however, is the Lexicon Omega, a box with 8 lines in on 4 channels, which lacks battery power but which offers more features for less money. Both of these have inputs for microphones and can provide phantom power, vital to ensuring that modern mics can function. Both these devices also come packaged with…
===Software:=== the popular application for recording is Pro Tools, used worldwide in most major studios, and The Mbox can come packaged with this software. The aforementioned Lexicon Omega, meanwhile, comes with a competing program called Pro Tracks. Both applications will probably require a couple of hours with their respective instruction manuals, but ultimately a mastery of this software will contribute significantly to what you can do as both a home recording enthusiast, and as a digital collaborator.
The world of the computer musician by it’s very nature means that collaborating online is only a step away from your current craft. Simply save your tracks, edit them to your own specifications, and you are ready to upload them and seek collaborators!
After you’ve mastered recording and editing, and have recorded tracks that you are happy with, the next step is to get online and find collaborators. Please consult the Collaborative Resources section for more help in this area.
--Nick Smethurst 19:05, 21 Oct 2004 (EST)
