I recorded my first album in high school. At least I called it an “album.”

My gear list included:

• A basic home PC
• A “free” version of Cakewalk Guitar Tracks I got from a friend.
• That skinny little dictation microphone that used to come with home computers. (Remember those? It was a skinny little microphone about eight inches long, mounted to a cheap little plastic stand, plugged into the sound card at the back of the computer. See pic at the end of this article.)

This was my first foray into recording. If you’re wondering, I shan’t be re-releasing that album. Whew, it was awful.