How does a songwriter/musician get recorded?

if you have decided you want to start recording your own music your should first decide how much money you want to spend and what kind of multitrack recorder you want to use. If you want to use a computer based system first decide if you can afford a mac and if so which one. The reason I suggest a mac is because I have found it to be a better computer as far as latency and sample rate during the recording process. It also tends to handle plug-ins better. If you don't want to use a computer you can look into either a small digital 8 track recorder or you could use a completely analog console with a analog tape recorder. This is not recommended due to the cost of 2 inch tape and the cost of an analog console. I suggest using a mac and either Cubase 4 or Logic Pro if you are serious. Next you want to look into a digital to analog converter and analog to digital converter also know as an audio interface. Something with 1 or 2 input with mic preamps would due just fine. Get a cheap condenser microphone and an xlr cable and your set up to record. Any questions about specifics just ask

You can record it to the computer, try using cakewalk..

First, you have to be sure that all the songs are thought out and rehearsed very well because, if you are going to be in a studio, it will be a lot easier and your wallet will be thankful to you. I don't know if your question was about making a recording at your home or recording in general, but if you want quality and not to lose your nerves & time on setting up basic equipment required and noodling with the audio editing programs, pro studio is a way to go.

you could find a local recording studio ,where I live there are a few pretty good recording studios that charge $30.00 an hour for recording and $30.00 an hour for mastering.If you have your songs down and are just going to play guitar and sing you should be able to do 10 songs in around 10 hours or less.so figure $300.00 for recording if you can do it in 10 hours and about the same for mastering.Or you could buy a digital 8 or 16 track,and record the songs yourself,but quality would depend on your ability to record.you can get a good digital recorder is around $700.00 less if you don`t get one with a hard drive or cd burner.There are also some excellent programs you can use to record right on your computer,but again your quality will depend on how good you are using the program.

Of course, the other alternative, if you don't want to go in a recording studio, is to record yourself. If you're just starting out, you will have a hard time getting a good sound in the start, but in the long run, it can prove an efficient way of recording rough mixes of your songs before doing the final recordings. I recommend Cakewalk Sonar (software). You can get a cut down 'Home' version with all the basic functions very cheaply. There are more expensive versions with more features ('Home XL', 'Studio' and 'Producer' editions). You'll need a microphone. Shure SM58 is a classic for vocals. You could get SM57 if you're more focused on instruments. People might have different opinions on what microphones to use, but these are classics. If you want to record cheaply without picking up reverb from the room you're in, make a small "room" out of mattresses and record from the middle of this "room". If you want to do good mixes, you might want studio monitor speakers that have a flat frequency response. I guess it depends on how much you want to get into the whole sound recording thing. If you just want to do a pre-production for yourself before going to a studio, you might not care enough about the sound to get good micorphones etc. If you want to recording and mix everything yourself, you'll need some time (and perhaps some books) to get the basics down.

The best way is to start playing small show and trying to get know... that's what my band did and we have our first cd coming out this Feb and we're going to seal a record deal this june, so just get out there and show off....

There are listings in the phone book for recording studios. Call them and ask their rates, explain what you want. They'll have questions about what you want to record, musicians that sort of thing. You might also be able to find someone with a home studio who can do it for less than a professional studio. For those, try posting on craigslist or any local musician forums.