Well unfortunately there really isn’t any cheap way to do it, but here goes. If you are going to derive some modicum of quality you will need a mixer, probably the most important aspect of the home studio. As far as a good inexpensive (relative term of course) one goes, I suggest a mackie 1204 ($399 US), it’s a very powerful little mixer that you can expand a studio around. You can find other mixers for about $199 and up, but if you can afford it, or have the patience to save, it’s the way to go.
The benefits of a mixer, as opposed to plugging straight into the computer are numerous. First off, its good at leveling out the signal, and gives you volume control at many different points between your instrument and the input on the computer. Second, you can EQ the signal before it gets to the computer, allowing you to tailor the sound a bit, or alter it how you see fit. I find I usually use the EQ to make a shitty signal sound normal, as opposed to making a good signal sound better. Third, once your work on the computer is done, you can run the signal out through the mixing board again giving you additional chances to clean anything up. Lastly, and this goes with point one, different devices have all sorts of output levels, so running everything through the mixer, will give you more consistency, because you get set everything to the same level.
Moving on, the next thing will be a mic, for which the Shure 58 will do the job nicely. I’ve used mine for years, and it has been durable and worked flawlessly. The 57 is the industry standard for miking (sp?) snare drums, and I believe its frequency range is tailored to that a little more then the 58.
Now on to the last, and potentially most expensive thing, the sound card. The most inexpensive way, would be to get a 1/4 inch (the size you plug into your guitar) to 1/8 inch (the size you plug into your walkman) adapter, and connect the out on the mixer to the input on the soundcard. Almost every sound card has a 1/8 mic input, so you probably already have it. The second method will require you to get a card with RCA inputs on it, and then connecting the mixer RCA out to these inputs on the card. Last I checked these cards started about $199. The final solution would be to get a card with 1/4 inputs, and use the main outs (usually balanced which means good sound quality) to connect to the 1/4 inputs on the soundcard. The ultimate affordable (again relative) is to purchase the Digidesign Digi 001, which is a little more fancy version of the final solution I mentioned above. It features a soundcard with a custom processor, and an interface box with 18 inputs and outputs. Bundled with it, is the world famous Pro-Tools program, (a slightly stripped down version from the 4,000 actually). The amount of functionality and flexibility you will have is mind boggling, and you will be set for many years with a system like that, all for $799.
One other thing, cake walk is good, but try to get your hands on CuBase VST, its much more powerful. You may be able to find a ‘trial’ version if you look for it on the Internet. Finally get a compressor ($149 or so), it’s the single most important signal processor you can own. Btw the Digi 001 is the only system I’ve mentioned here that will let you record multiple tracks at once and keep them separate.
Good luck!
