pc recording necessities?

[Vurt]

Hello, and thanks in advance for any help here...

I've been using a cassette based 4-trk, am sick of it, and am thinking of making the leap to pc recording using Wavelab 3.0 and a sound card in the 300-800$ range.

Questions:
1. Is Wavelab suitable to use as an all-encompassing recorder, mixer, editor, etc? Now, I've been reading past posts and aricles on the site that discourage this in favor of recording via something else and editing only with Wavelab, but keep in mind that I'm not trying to compete with Mutt Lange or Steve Albini. Just good demos. So, can this be done?

2. Along the same lines, actually - I've been reading the manual for Wavelab and am not clear on the recording process. Are different signals recorded on separate 'tracks' that can each be edited *separately* from the rest of the mix, or must this be done during recording prepartion? I've read in some posts that Wavelab deals with 2 tracks and would really appreciate some elaboration from anyone familiar with it.

3. If Wavelab and a soundcard aren't enough, what else is recommended?

4. Is there any use for my existing preamp and reverb boxes?

5. Who wants to buy a TASCAM 424?



thanks a lot,

Adam

 

[drstawl]

Using even a two track soundcard and some multitrack sequencer software, yes, each track becomes a separately editable file. You mix down in software.
The wave editor works in conjunction with the multitrack sequencer. Some S/W has this all integrated. Some doesn't.
And a good pre-amp is nothing to throw away just because you'll be recording the signal digitally.
And why toss the 424? It makes a very useful device for mixing the click track with what you're playing in headphones. Using it won't affect the quality of the actual recorded signal.