1. Familiarise yourself with the digital recording machine

Recording machines have come a long way since Thomas Edison first recorded sound using the tin foil phonograph. The very first sound recording was of 'Mary had a little lamb' in 1877. Click on the tin foil phonograph to hear a reproduction (produced in 1927) of the original recording.

Your 4-track digital recording machine looks a little different, doesn't it? Fortunately with a recording machine like yours, you can edit out any background noise and produce a quality recording.

Digital recording devices use memory cards to store the recording. As you've picked your machine up second hand, make sure it has a memory card. If not, you'll need to purchase one from a computer store. Although more expensive it's best to get a 128MB card if your budget can stretch that far (rather than a 16MB or an 32MB card) as you will be able to record more material onto it.

To familiarise yourself with the digital recording machine you are going to have to...

Once you have learnt all there is know about the digital 4-track machine, go and check your 'To do' list and see what you should do next.