audio/video recording setups

John,

If you've got a Mac, you're ready to go. You will have Garageband, which is a program for multichannel recording, and you've got iMovie, which is a video editing program. The only other thing you need is a way to get the sound from your guitar into the computer. To do this, you need an audio interface. Lots of options here, but something like this Scarlett USB Solo unit would let you either record direct or else mic an amp (you'd have to have a mic too then, obviously).

Scarlett USB Solo: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E6T56CM/ref=s9_acsd_top_hd_bw_boEu3_c_x_1_w?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-3&pf_rd_r=FH08TN2KHZ2V183J0288&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=e04d979a-72a5-5483-8f31-a69718937909&pf_rd_i=11973691

You'll probably get all kinds of advice here on this question! Good luck

Bruce

Bruce, what amp simulation software do you use on your Mac produced videos - the free version of Amplitube?  I am thinking that recording a real amp directly using a camera with a good microphone, or recording an amp into Reaper (or perhaps garageband) using a microphone in front of the amp is perhaps easier for a start.

I've got a PC, so maybe with a Mac, Bruce's suggestions would be much better.

I use Reaper for recording audio - for $60 after the free trial expires, it's far less expensive than most other "Digital Audio Workstation" programs and does far, far more than I could ever need. It does have a learning curve though, I spent a lot of time just figuring out the basic features. I'd usually go to Youtube and type in "how do I [insert something here] in Reaper?" and there are tons of tutorials to explain things (I'm not real big on reading the instructions  ). I actually started out using a free recording program called Audacity, which is much simpler so if you've never recorded on the computer before, it's a great introduction. But it also does far less than Reaper, so I eventually took the plunge

Like Bruce said, you'll need some sort of interface to convert the analog signal from the guitar to a digital signal for the computer. I'm using a Focusrite Scarlett interface - they come in a variety of prices depending on how many inputs and outputs you want. The Scarlett Solo Bruce mentioned would work great; I'm using the Scarlet 2i4 simply because it has powered 48v mic inputs if you want to use a condenser mic. 

I use amp simulation software - there are many brands available but I've got IK Multimedia's Amplitube software.  Pretty much all my electric guitar stuff I've recorded for a long time now has gotten its sound from that.  If you want to use an actual amplifier, of course you'll need a microphone.  Pretty much any interface will handle both 1/4" and XLR inputs.

For video I use a Logitech webcam which sits perched atop my computer monitor.  It's probably a "Logitech HD Webcam C525", which costs around $30.  You download some software that allows you to see what the camera is seeing and adjust the brightness etc.  I sit in front of a window and some days it's cloudy and other days sunny, so I'm constantly adjusting the picture settings.  It can do that automatically but one time the light was reflecting off my guitar into the camera, and as I'd move around slightly, the camera would keep brightening and dimming the picture, which looked rather comical.  So now I turn off the auto-adjust and do it manually.

To create the videos I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio software, though if your Mac already comes with iMovie, you may be set.  The program has "tracks" much like audio tracks in a recording program, but one of them will be video.  So you import the video track you recorded with your webcam or phone, and the audio track you've recorded in Reaper or Garageband, and sync them up by dragging them back and forth until the sound is in sync with the video.  Then add your fade-ins and fade-outs etc.  

And you've got a group of people on the forum here that would be more than happy to answer any questions you have and believe me, getting all this stuff set up and working for the first time will definitely involve some frustration lol 

I just want to add that the single most important thing you can do to improve the quality of your videos (even if you just use your phone) is good lighting. There are tons of YouTubes that'll show you how to position the lights and what Kelvin scale the bulbs should be, etc. You can use cheap shop lights from Home Depot and use regular old wax paper as a diffuser. I'm all about doing this as cheaply as possible.

If I owned an amp (which I don't) I would mic it and forget about the frustration of trying to get a good tone with modeling software. A $100.00 SM57 is still the mic of choice for many studio engineers. Although I think it's common practice to mic an amp with 2 mics, an SM57 AND a condenser mic, in a studio. An SM57 by itself will work just fine.

The bottom line is that you can produce very high quality video and audio without breaking the bank. If all goes well you can buy a higher quality digital SLR camera in the future, but I don't think you need anything more than what's already been discussed to get high quality audio.