The computer has gradually become an essential tool for most people… Guitarists, bassists, drummers, keyboardists, singers? Who at this point doesn't have social media wired into their brain, or rely on their computer for dozens of tasks? Well, it seems logical that any musician who starts to realize that in their own field (music, recording, production) there are also great support tools will become interested in recording and producing their own… demos? From that moment begins the arduous task of learning to handle the whole array of computer "critters" within our reach. It is a great help, although it sometimes becomes a nuisance for the musician, who must devote a lot of time to perfecting their recordings. At times it is frustrating to spend more time on these matters than playing. To lend a hand to all of you who want to embark on this adventure, to those who have already ventured in, and to the most demanding, we begin this help article, which will continue in May with an article by Roger Montejano, raising the level progressively. The idea is that nobody gets lost along the way while, at the same time, offering enough meat for those of you who already need to start fine-tuning.

We'll start in "light" mode and gradually increase the doses of technical information. Suitable for all audiences, let's begin.

What do I have at my disposal?
Perhaps describing, at this point, what you have at your computer's doorstep in the musical field is stating the obvious. However, keeping the promise that these chapters will be useful even for those of you who have just bought a computer and find it a "strange beast," we'll start from the beginning.

Right now we find two fundamental advantages: the first is the amazing set of tools for recording our songs on our own, helped by dozens of musicians, gear, technicians and sound engineers who, via software, will be in our "home" working with us. The second is the steady drop in prices.

The team that works for you
This first point, described as an advantage. Today's libraries (which have nothing to do with those of yesteryear) are developed by large teams. For example, to put together a quality vintage organ library, several sound engineers get together, along with recording gear costing hair-raising sums, top-of-the-line mics, instruments worth millions of euros and, usually, one or several "monster musicians" who create loops and grooves for the user. This means that when you open the library to use those Hammond, organ, etc. sounds, you open the work of this whole crew who, let's say, collaborate closely in recording your work, adding their efforts to your tracks. The result, adapting the libraries to your environment with a bit of effort and care, is wonderful.

In addition to libraries, you have awesome DAW software packages at your disposal. That is, the central unit of your studio. If you are even slightly familiar with them, even from afar, you already know what we're talking about: Cubase, Sonar, Pro Tools, Logic, etc. An enormous number of people work on developing all these tools that will ultimately put the icing on the cake of your work.

Falling prices
The world of the "home studio," for which I have finally found a satisfactory translation (at least for me), "personal studios," has been growing by leaps and bounds. As with everything, when there is more demand, more is manufactured, costs are optimized and more powerful products arrive, even at lower prices. Some time ago, buying a lousy audio card (interface) cost a fortune. Now you have basic USB or FireWire units at "ridiculous" prices that are perfectly usable. In short, it is easier and cheaper to set up your personal studio.

Recap
In the next chapter, led by Roger Montejano, an ISP Música contributor whom many of you have followed for a long time thanks to the ease with which he explains things that usually get people stuck, we will tackle more technical aspects that are very useful for those of you who are already digging deeper and fending for yourselves "alone" in the studio: gain structure, input levels, compression, use of playlists and markers, loop recording, pre-roll times, composite takes, multing, use of buses, etc.

In the meantime, let's quickly go over the essential elements.

Guide for total beginners
- To avoid problems and malfunctions you need a reasonably modern computer. This doesn't mean it has to be cutting-edge, but you should avoid a clunker from 2003.
- It's important to check the processor speed, and that the computer (if it's Windows) has been formatted not too long ago and is "clean." If it's a Mac, I'd say even better, but that comes down to taste and budget. Check that you have enough RAM (in both cases). Our musical work will often draw heavily on RAM. A fast computer with little RAM will also give you problems and bottlenecks.
- Interfaces. There are countless interfaces available, devices that act as the link between your instruments, mics, etc. and the computer. Current interfaces (all of them) have audio and MIDI connections. We'll delve into interfaces another time. The important thing to stress is that you should forget about your computer's stock sound card (probably a SoundBlaster or similar) and get a USB or FireWire interface specifically designed for this. Even a 30-euro one, because they exist.
- Software. Now you need to get DAW software, the hub that will serve as your virtual multitrack unit. Through it you will capture, mix and process your MIDI tracks, virtual instruments and audio tracks. Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo, Sonar, Adobe Audition? Others… You can take a look at the reviews published in ISP and at the ISP forum, where users debate their preferences for one program over another.
- We advise against using pirated software for many reasons.
It is bad for all users, because if the companies that develop software have no incentive to create products, we will stagnate. Besides, it usually causes a lot of problems on the computer (lost work, crashes, software oddities nobody can explain, scares, etc.)

- A pair of reference monitors (active, that is, self-powered) connected to your computer. There are very basic options from budget companies offering pairs of monitors (low quality, but enough to get started) that will serve as a much better reference than a hi-fi system or some cheap little computer "speakers."

With these elements you can start having fun, because it's a long adventure. Long in the sense that you'll be able to keep learning, constantly squeezing out possibilities, while at the same time expanding your gear. It's like an addictive hobby: improving your monitors, an interface with better preamps, better effects, more powerful software, a bass, upgrading your mics, a drum library you're dying for, etc.

But, obviously, you can add various helpful elements.

- Sampler libraries are very important. They used to be discs that triggered audio samples recorded in a static, fixed way; now they are very complex virtual instruments (not to use, but in terms of possibilities) that give us total flexibility with the samples, let us collaborate with other musicians and bring everything from real acoustic guitars to drums, backing vocals and an endless number of audio tracks into our songs, with absolute quality. The improvements in this field have been ease of use, lower prices (in many cases) and, above all, the flexibility to change the tempo, tuning and even the chords or notes we want to play at any given moment, without having to stick to a fixed audio loop.

Once you learn to handle the basic recording sections of the software you choose (Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, etc.) you'll have to start fine-tuning: control surfaces, better knowledge of mics, preamps, compression, signal capture, mixing basics… We'll take it step by step in this survival guide.

We're running out of space for today, but we'll expand on this text in the next issue with Roger's chapter. Essential tips for producing not demos but finished work, sometimes with jaw-dropping quality.

Don't go away yet, there's more to come….