u/Pretend-Job-6486

Hi everyone! I've loved writing little songs since I was tiny, and I want to start recording some of the stuff I've written and putting it online.

But, I have basically ZERO experience with recording equipment, so I need help with my set-up, haha!

Could y'all help me figure out what I need to record decently but not break the bank?

My songs are typically a base of piano and vocals (and I plan to add some percussion and maybe some other basic instruments depending on the song).

I currently have a Casio CT-X3000 but no idea how to use it for recording 😅 However, I'd like to be able to record the piano from it right into my phone on bandlab and then listen to the piano when I sing and record the vocals. Phone is a Samsung S9. (Edit to add: I'll likely get an iPhone at some point so it'd be great if these options could work for an iPhone & Garageband too).

Any ideas?

ChatGPT recommended this mobile audio interface (though I see it doesn't have great reviews on Amazon, so I think I need something different) https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SREA2U--saramonic-sr-ea2u-usb-c-mobile-audio-interface

And this cord: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CMS110--hosa-1-8-inch-trs-to-1-4-inch-trs-stereo-interconnect-cable-10-foot?cond=CMS110d1

Along with these headphones: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HPM1000--behringer-hpm1000-multi-purpose-headphones

What would y'all recommend? I love the idea of like $60 price point, but I also know you get what you pay for.

*Cross-posted

TLDR: Have a Casio CT-X3000 keyboard and a Samsung S9 smartphone with BandLab. What cords/equipment would I need to record decent sounding songs with piano, vocals, and some percussion? Would love to keep it under $200.

I've been doing a lot of reading and hypochlorous acid seems like a very effective cleaner. However, it's decently expensive to by bottles of it, and it seems like it would be smarter to buy a generator.

But . . . Does anyone know of a generator that actually makes hypochlorous acid, and not just sodium hypochlorite (bleach)?

Many of them claim to make it with just salt and water and electricity, but I'm confused what happens to the sodium if you're using salt 🤔 Seems like it's gonna make sodium hypochlorite, and not hypochlorous acid.

Plus a lot of these generators (which of course are all really sourced from China) are sold on one site as a sodium hypochlorite generator, and on another as a hypochlorous acid generator.

So, are any hypochlorous acid generators even real, or are they all just sodium hypochlorite generators?

We have a 2014 VW Jetta TDI manual with 183k miles. We bought it in a terrible market and kind-of got urged into a stupid purchase by family members.

Currently at 5.99% APR with about 8k left on it. 7 year loan started in May of 2022. Monthly payment of $250. It's worth like 1-2k. I'm worried about the clutch (it's started to slip a little and will cost 3k to replace) though right now it's driving well enough.

Current plan is to pay off the car all the way and drive it until we have cash saved to buy another car for 10kish (will probably take 2-3 years to get to that point).

But, I'm wondering if the maintenance we will likely have to put into this car would make it worth eating the excess in our loan and just rolling it into a different car now. I think the APR we would get would be about the same.

What is the best plan financially? We have folks who aren't super great at financial advice when it comes to car buying so I'm turning to y'all for guidance 😅