I fucking hate it. Just saying...


Pro Tools is the only good one?


What else are you guys using for computer retardation recording?

I have the software but nothing to hook it up to! It came with my Zoom hd16cd recorder that collects dust in my jam room!

I hate Cubase. And a ProTools setup is cost prohibitive.

Regardless of your personal computing preference, Garageband on Mac is one of the easiest, best sounding (amateur) recording applications I have ever used. And, it comes pre-installed on every Mac. Now, you're probably saying, "well I don't own a Mac.... and talk about cost prohibitive".

But for me, I would own a Mac anyway simply because of what I do for a living. GB was just a bonus. However, when I started using it, in conjunction with my 8-channel Firepod, I was completely blown away. I've made demos that people (with well-trained ears) thought was done in a pro studio.

My $0.02.

And now you can buy Garageband for $15 from Apple's new App Store. So if you already own a Mac, it's a no-brainer. Oh, and you can unpackage your GB files and send the raw WAVS to your engineer.

Cubase is a great program if you learn it's quirks like any other, it's not half as bad as Logic, which is really the most unintuitive, frustrating piece of software i've ever used, and it's strength is in programming, not tracking audio... terrible wav form reproduction...

Pro Tools really isn't any more cost prohibitive than any other DAW, esp now with the release of 9 you can use any interface you want (no longer tied to mboxes or 003's).

That being said, Pro Tools is my main tracking and editing software. I like cubase for some things, and I use Live almost exclusively to program and make electronica and the like. Almost any software has it's good points, and with how easy it is to crack em, try em all.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Protools 9. But that's still $300 or something? I guess I'm just coming from the perspective of as cheap as I can get, since I don't do this for living. So something that already comes installed on my computer is a pretty good deal.

I also forgot about Ardour. You can't be free.

http://ardour.org/

yea, it's something like that, but so is cubase. I certainly wasn't suggesting anyone pay for anything though =)

I've heard from several folks that they use Reaper and really like it. It's free, and I believe open source.

I'll have to check out Reaper. I really just want to be able to record stuff when I feel like it, without having to figure out why there is some stupid glitch or delay.

Heh. Gotcha. I certainly would give ProTools a try if it "found" its way onto my computer.

"Delay" could be anything. But if you're referring to latency, then it is most likely your hardware. What system are you running?

Reaper is not open source. And it's only free for a 30 day trial. After that it's $140 for a full license. $40 for a discounted license. Not sure what the full vs. discount offers you. I think more future upgrade options. Looking through the docs though, and it looks pretty damn sweet. I am going to give it a try.

Ardour is the open source and free DAW. But only runs on Linux or Mac.

I'm using a Tascam US1641 interface. It came with Cubase LE4. I never was expecting to get a real studio quality recording from it, but I figured it should be better than it is. With Cubase, it's a constant struggle. Yeah, the latency issue is pissing me off. Set it one way, I get pops and clicks. Set it the other way, it stops at random in the middle of playback or recording. And most of the time, when doing overdubs, there is like a half second delay from what I'm playing to what I'm hearing in the headphones.

I got it to stop doing the delay thing, but it started doing other shit.


Then... I downloaded Kristal, and it worked wayyyyyyyyy better than cubase! Somewhat limited but hey... whatever

Ahh, yeah, so it could be how the computer is transferring data from the interface. Or any number of nearly infinite computer anomalies. Or, Cubase just sucks :) Heh.

I downloaded Reaper last night and have been messing around with it a bit. It's really lightweight, very responsive, and so far I'm really impressed. You should definitely try it out.

Yeah, downloaded Reaper yesterday too, but have not had an opportunity to try it out yet. Probably try it out on wednesday when I have a day off.

Tell you what... I had a Tascam 2488, and although the amount of simultaneous inputs were limited to 8 at a time, it was awesome for an idea machine. Good hard drive, cd burner, and some decent on board fx too. I miss it. Wish they would have made that with 16 or 24 simultaneous inputs (with combo jacks though). I would not need anything else.

Anything worth recording for real would be in a legit studio anyway.

I use Studio One. Studio One was developed by ex-Cubase guys that got sick of the old and outdated software that Cubase and ProTools have continued on with. The Artist version was the free pack in software with my PreSonus Firestudio Project, but it's amazing. Everything's easy to use (drag and drop, etc), and i'd actually shelled out the $250 for the Pro version, but really, the Artist (free) version is so damned good. Plus, they let you register the product a few times as they understand that you may be working on a couple of different computers, and in the event that your computer crashes, you may be out all that recording work, but as long as you've registered with PreSonus initially, I believe they let you register it on five computers or so. I hate the dongle shit where you're treated like a crook.....I understand that they don't want you passing it onto your buddies, but that's an outdated business method, considering that Reaper also works on the same premise (though theirs is unlimited amount of times registered, I think).

If you don't actually want to buy Studio One, all you have to do is buy one of PreSonus' interfaces.....it's available, as far as I know, with the cheaper ones. The Pro version, the only thing that it has over the Artist version, is being able to process in 64 bit for all the plugins to reduce computer load, as well as allowing third party plugins and being able to send auxiliary outs to outboard processing (it also has a built in mastering program, too). If you use Sound Cloud (I don't), you can upload your songs right from Studio One to Sound Cloud. Their pack in plugins are excellent--the compressor is as good as any of the higher end compressor VST's that i've used. The sound quality is excellent, too--you're limited only really by your mics and preamps going into it.