Pc or porta studio

C

curiousgeorge

New member
Hi guys
complete novice to all this which of the above is best for a novice.Im getting a headache thinking about it weighing up the pros and cons to both still cant make a decision .Any help would be great please thanks
 
Hey George,
It really depends on what you want to do and, maybe, what your background experience is, if you have any.

I suppose a portastudio is more suitable for the kind of guy who has his instruments/amps in order and knows his sounds.
It really lends itself to the 'get everything right and get it done' approach.

That's not to say you can't edit or work on portastudio recordings but broadly speaking that seems to be the kind of guy who uses it.

If you think you're going to want to do a lot of manipulation, editing, tweaking, using virtual instruments, even extensive comping, you might find a computer based setup to be more suitable.

Tell us a little bit more about yourself and what you do. :)
 
I'm simplifying but if you feel you can make the sounds that you want to record, maybe a porta is the way forward.
If you feel you'll want access to tools for manipulating, processing, or creating sounds, maybe not.

I guess these days computer recording is much more common but maybe that's likely down to the accessibility. Most people have a computer and some degree of experience with it.
 
If you get a nice high powered laptop, you can have both. I put my Tascam 1800 in a 4 rack gator bag, with a power strip, couple of mic pre-amps, etc. If I want to record a band, grab the laptop, mics, cables, grab the gator bag and I am mobile. If you have a docking station, when you get back, put the laptop back in the docking station, re-connect the interface and you are back to studio mode.

If you don't require mobile sound, then hands down, desktop is the probably best way to go. Or you could still have a desktop, and low end laptop for mobile tracking only.
 
I've got desktop PC in the smallest case I could find cheap. It's just barely taller than two rack spaces, and I have it in a six space box with my Tascam US1641 and a patchbay that gives me access to the holes in the back plus a wireless router and there's room on top to stick things. I usually use a laptop running VNC virtual desktop to control it, but my new phone will do it now, too.
 
well at the moment i have a Behringer xeynx 1204 mixer and uca 200 interface just wandered if a portastudio was any easier than my current set up
 
There's a learning curve to both...........but it's much easier to reach the ultimate limitations of the portastudio. I have a DP24 and it's an awesome unit.......but as I grew in knowledge it be came clear that I'd want to do a lot more than what the DP24 was going to let me do. You'll want more and new effects.........and unlimited tracks....etc...etc. I still use it for some basic recording and transfer the results to my DAW........but could easily do without it these days. Just my 2 cents.
 
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curiousgeorge said:
All its really for is getting a few ideas down and just basically having fun
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Unless you need to record mobile/on the go, the PC is a relatively cheap solution (assuming you need a computer anyway for other life things). The portable solution is more limited.

If you need to record scratch ideas on the go, use your smartphone. When working with a collaborator he will often sing over the rough instrumental tracks I send him, using his iPhone, then sends me that audio file in an email. I then bring this into the project, line it up with the existing tracks, and use this to further build the song based on the melody he's thinking of using.
 
curiousgeorge said:
pc it is then cheers guys
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I would choose a PC every time. Although using an all in one table top porta studio is kind of fun, a PC is much more powerful and you have room to grow, and allows you to add more hardware & software as you need. I only use desktops, as I like to get under the hood often to change, replace, or upgrade. A laptop has much more limitations, for example, try to place 3 physical hard drives in a laptop..one of many examples.

If portability and/or space is the main issue or criteria, and you can live with all the limitations, then a laptop or porta studio may have to do.

I actually have 5 desktop DAW PC's, and can run all of them together simultaneously with Cubase VST System Link. Or I can run just one at a time, or two etc. I synchronize them via s/pdif digital coaxial (RCA) when needed. Some DAW's are dedicated VSTi machines where I also record my midi into, one is a dedicated to everything guitar PC (soft sims, effects and even audio guitar tracks). Although I can do anything I want on any of them.
 
As others say, it depends what you want to do. I do mostly basic acoustic stuff and a portastudio does just fine for that. I have a Tascam DP006 and DP008 and I rarely need more tracks than they provide. I'm not into messing with virtual instruments and FX. I use Audacity to add a touch of reverb - enough to give a bit of life as I record in a small cluttered space and I use a bit of compression to iron out some of the peaks - again not too much as I don't want to lose all the dynamics. Works for me. I'm not after studio quality and I'm not chasing perfection, just something that I can put on You Tube.
 
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