What recording software suits my equipment/needs?

S

SayWhat?

New member
Hi all

As you may have guessed by the lack of posts, im new here. I've played guitar for around 15 years, casually, and dabbled with recording in that time. I have just purchased a keyboard and was wondering what software would be best for me to record with.

Equipment :

Epiphone Wilshire guitar
Fender Mustang I amp
Yamaha PSR E343 keyboard

Essentially what I want to do is record drum tracks with guitar songs I already have (in my head), this is what the keyboard will be used for with regards to recording. I am not into dance/techno or any other music around those genre's, so the synth side of the keyboard does not interest me much when it comes to recording.

I didnt just buy the keyboard for drum tracks, that would be a bit over the top haha, I also bought it because Ive actually wanted to learn piano for a while so thought id kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Its the actual 'set up' and software side that I know absolutely nothing about. But both the amp and keyboard have USB capabilities so thought that was a good place to start.

Oh and the computer I have is a lenovo, running windows 8.

I know there are plenty options out there in the recording software world, but thought that if I gave a description of my needs then someone could point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance. :)
 
SayWhat? said:
Hi all

As you may have guessed by the lack of posts, im new here. I've played guitar for around 15 years, casually, and dabbled with recording in that time. I have just purchased a keyboard and was wondering what software would be best for me to record with.

Equipment :

Epiphone Wilshire guitar
Fender Mustang I amp
Yamaha PSR E343 keyboard

Essentially what I want to do is record drum tracks with guitar songs I already have (in my head), this is what the keyboard will be used for with regards to recording. I am not into dance/techno or any other music around those genre's, so the synth side of the keyboard does not interest me much when it comes to recording.

I didnt just buy the keyboard for drum tracks, that would be a bit over the top haha, I also bought it because Ive actually wanted to learn piano for a while so thought id kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Its the actual 'set up' and software side that I know absolutely nothing about. But both the amp and keyboard have USB capabilities so thought that was a good place to start.

Oh and the computer I have is a lenovo, running windows 8.

I know there are plenty options out there in the recording software world, but thought that if I gave a description of my needs then someone could point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance. :)
Click to expand...

On the computer, you should provide the hardware specs. Mainly RAM and CPU. We can assume USB. For software, I usually recommend Reaper. It is inexpensive, capable but does have a learning curve, as do many DAWs. But $40 for Reaper goes a long way.

Amp, not sure as many people here mic their AMPs. So, I can't comment on that. If you record alone, simple two channel interface does the best. Main area here is preamps and drivers. Most of the name brands, Presonus, Focusrite, M-Audio, Tascam, all do well in the budget area.

Keyboard for drums, well can't say this would be the preferred method. I would think a good set of pads would work better. Map it to drum sounds inside the DAW (EZdrummenr/Superior Drummer for example). Once you get the MIDI pattern in, then usually the mouse/editing does the rest of the work.

If you record vocals, lot of people start out with the SM58, not the best mic for recording, but it is simple to use. That would go through your interface. Also, take a look at room treatments. This plays a big role in the sound you get.

Lots of stickies to assist with this in the various threads. Little research on the site will help you a bunch.
 
Sorry should have mentioned the specs. Its an Intel i3, and has 4gb's ram. Sound card is standard/integrated, nothing to write home about.

My recordings will be alone and very much a 'home project', so the drum quality in the first instance wont be too important, I just want to have a play around and see what I can come up with to accompany the guitar. I wont be doing any vocals, and the world should rejoice to that very face haha.

Thanks for the suggestion, I have of course heard of reaper but never worked with it, I thought it was much more expensive than $40. I was looking at mixcraft 6 also but came here for other suggestions.
 
Reaper is $60 now (not $40)!
As long as both the amp and keyboard have USB you don't need an audio interface (assuming the keyboard USB is nto MIDI only). Plug one of them in, try a DAW (set up to 'see' the USB input) and try it out.
 
mjbphotos said:
Reaper is $60 now (not $40)!
As long as both the amp and keyboard have USB you don't need an audio interface (assuming the keyboard USB is nto MIDI only). Plug one of them in, try a DAW (set up to 'see' the USB input) and try it out.
Click to expand...

Wonder when that changed? OK, $60.
 
Yeah they are both USB midi inputs rather than standard midi, I made sure of that much at least. $60 is still cheaper than I was expecting it to be so no complaints here! Ill give reaper a go. Thanks.
 
You may want to consider Cakewalk's Music Creator 6 for a startup DAW. It is a slimmed down version of their X1 product, but is full features and has some documentation with it. It costs less than Reaper but will be more than you can handle for your first year or so. It is also a good starting point for upgrading to the higher-end Cakewalk products when you feel the need for more features. Good audio and MIDI support.

Glen
 
Thanks for the advice Glen. After watching some reaper video's I pretty much decided there and then that it looked like something I could (hopefully!) get my head around, so I went ahead and bought it.
Should my brain fail to compute, I shall give cakewalk a bash haha. :)
 
SayWhat? said:
Thanks for the advice Glen. After watching some reaper video's I pretty much decided there and then that it looked like something I could (hopefully!) get my head around, so I went ahead and bought it.
Should my brain fail to compute, I shall give cakewalk a bash haha. :)
Click to expand...

Godspeed and good luck on your adventure. Best of luck to both you and your brain :thumbs up:
 
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