Post No. 2 - 330 Days Left - Recording Software

     There are hundreds of recording programs floating around the internet that range widely in complexity, capability, and price. Digidisign's Pro Tools and Apple's Logic Studio are the industry leaders when it comes to the ultimate software; however, since these programs cost anywhere from $250 to upwards of $500, they are completely out of the question for the Budget Album Project. For our purposes the key word is "Free."

     Among the most popular free recording applications are Apple's GarageBand, which comes free on every mac, and the open source program Audacity. My first inclination was to use GarageBand because of the experience and comfort I have with it, but I found the chart at the bottom of This Page that compares the features of GarageBand and Audacity. After a brief look you will see that the two programs have complimentary features which, I believe, would work very well in tandem. Since there is no added cost for using one program or the other, I decided to utilize the strengths of both.

Added to the Gear/Expenses List:
   -  GarageBand 3.0.4 (Free)

 -  Audacity 1.2.5 (Free)

Do you have a favorite free recording program that you prefer over Garageband or Audacity?

Next Stop, Microphones!
~Ben


Photos courtesy of news.softpedia.com and uwgb.edu

Post No. 1 - 331 Days to go

Can a musician with no gear record and mass-market a professional quality album for under $500?

     The question above has been nagging me for years and after many hours of searching the internet, I still do not have a definitive answer. Thus, as a service to the world at large (or, perhaps, just to satisfy my own curiosity) I will try to find the answer on my own. My preliminary procedure is as follows...

I Will:
- Pick out 12-15 A Cappella arrangements of my favorite christmas songs
- Get the necessary rights to record and distribute them
- Purchase my own recording equipment (sans my existing computer)
- Record using only what I've purchased (and the computer)
- Have my album mastered by a professional
- Distribute the album over iTunes and other major music stores
- ALL for under $500.

     Because this sort of project has a tendency to expand to years in duration, there will be a time limit from the start. I will release the album on Black Friday, Nov 25th, 2011.

     I will regularly update this blog with a walk-through/journal of what I do and learn along the way so that anyone can follow this site and release an album of their own. In the right column, I will post my gear as I acquire it and keep track of my expenses. So far, I can only foresee one setback. As a newly-wed full-time college student, I do not have $500. I guess I will jump that hurtle when I get to it...


And now it's off to find arrangements and buy my equipment.
Enjoy!
~Ben