[SOS]

Hey guys, I have really terrible recording software and I'm looking to get a something a hit higher quality but have a tight budget. I'm getting a macbook pro soon for my birthday do you think garage band is good enough to use for a good sound if I get I good mic aswell? If so what mic would you suggest getting that will give me a good quality record? Baring in mind I only have about £200 to spend

[Ramshackles]

Go free;
Reaper is excellent. http://www.reaper.fm/
Traverso also looks very good. http://traverso-daw.org/

Garageband is also perfectly capable, but I wouldn't spend money on it when those other 2 are available.

Røde NT-1A is a good all-round mic and in your budget. I hear good things about the Audio Technica AT4040 as an all purpose mic aswell. It also depends a lot on what instruments you plan to record?

One thing to bear in mind is you will also need some kind of audio interface and preamp for a mic (read: http://www.thomann.de/gb/onlineexpert_171_1.html).
If you can save and double your budget you can get a good preamp with the audio interface and good mic.

Bear in mind, if you are not used to recording, haven't used a condenser mic before or whatever, then you will probably be surprised at how good any $100 condenser mic sounds.

In getting a great sound, the 'out of the box' gear (anything thats not software/computer) will always be more important than the 'in the box' gear. So, save your money for OTB gear, use the ITB gear thats freely available

[SOS]

Go free;
Reaper is excellent. http://www.reaper.fm/
Traverso also looks very good. http://traverso-daw.org/

Garageband is also perfectly capable, but I wouldn't spend money on it when those other 2 are available.

Røde NT-1A is a good all-round mic and in your budget. I hear good things about the Audio Technica AT4040 as an all purpose mic aswell. It also depends a lot on what instruments you plan to record?

One thing to bear in mind is you will also need some kind of audio interface and preamp for a mic (read: http://www.thomann.de/gb/onlineexpert_171_1.html).
If you can save and double your budget you can get a good preamp with the audio interface and good mic.

Bear in mind, if you are not used to recording, haven't used a condenser mic before or whatever, then you will probably be surprised at how good any $100 condenser mic sounds.

In getting a great sound, the 'out of the box' gear (anything thats not software/computer) will always be more important than the 'in the box' gear. So, save your money for OTB gear, use the ITB gear thats freely available

Well it comes with GarageBand so what I ment was will that be okay or should I get something else?

[Ramshackles]

Garageband is more than enough to get started with. No point having a top of the range DAW if the signal going in is rubbish. Concentrate on getting good outboard gear first

[chrislong170273]

i have recently discovered Record from Propellorheads, after being a dedicated Cubase user. I now can't imagine not using it, so creative. Has all of the Reason modules as well. Not actually sure of the price as I have it at educational cost

[Ramshackles]

i have recently discovered Record from Propellorheads, after being a dedicated Cubase user. I now can't imagine not using it, so creative. Has all of the Reason modules as well. Not actually sure of the price as I have it at educational cost

£230. On a budget, I'd take Reaper any day at $60 and save the money for things that you cannot avoid to spend good money on: Monitors, audio interface, preamp etc

[chrislong170273]

yep you're right, if you need free then dont get record! think i'm so used to using Cubase and Record, never actually used Audacity or other free programs