Can you record your voice and instrument at the same time?

>For example: Can I plug my acoustic guitar and a vocal microphone into the computer and record both at once?

How would you plug them in? You only have one stereo input that you can record to one channel. For multi-tracking, you need an audio interface that puts out two or more digital channels.

(Not quite right: the built-in input is stereo, so you have a right and a left channel. If you could manage to pan one source hard left and the other hard right, you could accomplish it. For that you need a mixing console that allows you to pan the inputs.)

Recording guitar and vocals at the same time in stereo is fairly common, but you'd need some way to combine 2 mic signals into a single stereo miniplug going into your computer which would require some piece of hardware like a mixer.

OR...

You could use just one mic, positioned strategically between your guitar and vocals, plugged into the computer.

HOWEVER,

The very best thing to do is get an audio interface - you can get cheap ones these days - and easily record both your guitar and vocals simultaneously, or separately, track by track.

fallingrafters wrote:

can record your voice and instrument at the same time.

here is a tutorial that shows how using an inexpensive mixing console:

http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/Tutorials.html#allaboutrecording2tracks

(Let the page FULLY load. The link to your answer is at the top of your screen)

fallingrafters wrote:

Wow, thanks for the input everyone! I'm thinking of going with mattimattmatt's advice on the one microphone to just pick up the vocals and guitar. Would one of these do the trick? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Behringer+-+USB+Studio+Condenser+Microphone/3183123. p?id=1218382978030&skuId=3183123

Yeah, that'll work. It's not the greatest mic that ever lived... but it'll work! 🙂

Here are some other USB mics:

http://www.sweetwater.com/c981--USB_Microphones

The trick with using one mic for both your guitar and voice is to make sure you position it well - the right distance vertically between mouth and guitar, and the right distance away from where you are so that both sounds have room to gel, but not too far away that you'd lose clarity. You can also use positioning as a kind of mixing. For example, if there's not enough voice, just move or point the mic closer to your face. Good luck!