Some suggestions Please

[Dave-73]

I have a very tight budget and wish to make some decent quality multitrack recordings, I am learning the guitar and experimenting with as many free downloads of music makers as I can. I have also spent a lot of time on the Sony playstations Music 2000 program and made some ok pieces of music but was very limited in the amount of work I could put in to it.. I now have a very slow P150mhz pc and a crap soundcard I realy am new to the whole music composition world and am limited with funds so I dont want to go waste what little cash I have on something that is not as good as Music 2000..
if anyone has any suggestions or web addresses that may help I would be gratefull

[AlChuck]

You just can't do too much with a 150 MHz Pentium; you'll only get three or four audio tracks if you are lucky... it's fine for MIDI sequencing but not much else.

[Tekker]

Computer Recording Software: I have Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 ($199) and I am very happy with it. You can download a demo at http://www.cakewalk.com/download/ (definitly not a waste of money!)

Microphone: I would strongly recommend (at least one) Sure SM57 ($79) this is the most versitile mic out there, and for the price, it can't be beat. It does everything from guitar amps/acoutsic guitars, is awesome on snares and toms, vocals, and also works good on kick drums.

(Optional) Mic Pre Amp: I would suggest the Art Tube MP pre amp ($100). You can get along with out a pre amp but it will make a major difference in the sound quality, and will also let you control the volume without having to change the mic input level on your sound card's mixer window.

This is should be enough to get you started, I hope this helps.

-tkr

[AlChuck]

I'm pretty sure Cakewalk Pro Audio requires at least a Pentium 200 MMX...

[Dave-73]

thanks for the tips
dave

[Tekker]

Yeah it is, I just went and got an old Musician's Friend mag that has the requirements and it's 200Mhz and 300 is recommended.

Just 50Mhz too short....doh!!

[Meshuggah]

You can probably get a 200Mhz processor for free these days...

[Sabith]

"(Optional) Mic Pre Amp:"!?!?!?

if U have a mic, your gonna need a mic preamp, and don't even bother with the one on your soundcard, because they are horrible and add a lot of hiss...

if you gettin a mic, but a preamp to go with it, no option

kinda like buying a guitar and not getttin strings......

Sabith

[Dave-73]

Thankyou for all sugestions, cakewalk runs fine on my scrapper or at least it seams to... I could get a 500mhz pc but not sure what soundcard what cables what anything to get ...this must sound rather stupid,,,soundcard is my main problem I think... I was looking at a few in the sound on sound magazine but this made things worse I think....so many different types by the look f it

thanks in advance

[Carter Simcoe]

be careful, cakewalk might appear to be running fine but how many tracks have you recorded? also have you tried using realtime effects? I might be wrong because I have never tried it but I cant see a 150mhz being capable of doing much.

[schwa]

Save your money and keep working with the playstation. It isn't possible to get started for less than around $200, and that's assuming a good PC is in hand. The $200 is for an ULTRA BASIC solution of a mic, pre, and software.

This is not an inexpensive hobby, and its really easy to spend hundreds before you realize it.

That said, keep reading the forums and you'll see what is up regarding the choices as you get sme cash together.

There was a thread a couple of weeks ago along these lines, and some people had some creative ideas. But even there, the person already had a PC and ended up deciding on a more expensive solution than his $400 target.

[SPINSTERWUN]

Dave-73

I agree with everyone else.

You should save up some money and wait until you figure out what you truly need.

You are going to need to purchase another computer, regardless if it is new or old.

By the time you save up enough money, you would have researched enough information to know exactly what you need and want.

But in the meantime, download "FruityLoops", that should work better than the "video game" option that you are utilizing.

peace...

spin

[hixmix]

You don't need a computer to create great music. If you have one, fine. If not, don't worry about it.