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Recording Software

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MATTICUS

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« on: August 17, 2011, 05:38:40 PM »
Hi, I am looking to set up a home recording studio, i play guitar mainly and that will be my main instrument that i will be playing on tracks along with vocals, but i am looking for software that i will also be able to easily build drum tracks on, as well as some synth and bass as i dont have a drum kit or bass guitar but hope to purchase a midi keyboard.

I have been writing songs for a long time now but never properley laid them down and i'm hoping to eventually do it professionally.

What is the best software out at the moment that will fill my needs and help me to get a professional finish?

I've been looking at Reason/Record, pro tools, ableton , cubase, sonar & cakewalk but cant decide which will best suit my needs.

Thank you
« Last Edit: August 17, 2011, 07:56:59 PM by MATTICUS »

Kafla

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« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2011, 07:03:29 PM »
This is £55 if you enter soundcloud at checkout
http://www.store.cakewalk.com/b2cgbp/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=10-MCDS6.00-20E
At that price I think it's pretty spectacular!

ric

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« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2011, 09:27:57 PM »
Cakewalk looks brilliant ... there are cool Steinberg softwares ...

I use MixCraft5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0skprOT4UE

It has drums (which i am exploring but not yet) ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYAcOYHzzU8

and full midi connectivity. You would need a computer interface though, there are many. I use M-Audio USB FastTrack (mark 1, practically obsolete but cool for my humble needs). You'd probably also need a preamp to boost FastTrack, i ended up using a Yamaha analogue mixing board, but just for the preamps which are superb. The quality i can now squeeze out of my SA500 with the addition of a stomp box is positively frightening compared to where i was at say even 1 year ago, relying on a practice amp as a preamp - don't go there: real guitar amps will fry the tonal quality by the time it hits your pc, unless you are planning to mic your amps - can't see any reason why you couldn't do that with a preamped decent microphone

have only scratched the surface of MC5 relying more on real-time instruments than software which i use like an old fashioned multi-tracker, but the possibilities are awesome

experimented with Reason and it lost me but all these softwares are great if they hit the sweet spot for your musical style

the more powerful your computer the more fun you will have - certainly wouldn't recommend MC5 on anything under a 2 Core.

Ric

Ramshackles

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« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2011, 08:43:31 AM »
Any software is good enough to get a 'professional finish', so I would generally recommend the cheapest/free ones, especially for your needs, such as Reaper or N-Track.
10000000000 time More important for getting a professional finish are;
a good mic and good placement
decent preamp
good monitors
some control over the ambient response of the room

The cost of these things really warrants spending as little as possible on software.
If you generally go 'ugh, freeware...', for your own benefit I suggest you at least look at the features and reviews of Reaper and compare them to more expensive products like sonar, logic, cubase, pro tools etc

Pescatore

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« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2011, 10:36:34 AM »
In my experience Reaper is good - but a bit complicated.  Reason/Record is more "dance"/loops orientated so if that's your direction great if not Cakewalk/Cubase are both good.  Most S/W has demos so you can download and try them out to see which suits.  To be honest whatever you use will have quite a steep learning curve - DAWs are so powerful nowadays that there's a lot to learn. 
Also consider looking at a soundcard/ audio interface with bundled software - I managed for years with the Cubase Se that came free with my soundcard.
Finally, if your PC is a little long in the tooth don't go for the latest and greatest version of the big DAWs (Cubase etc) - they do eat up resources.

P