computers, software and talent

[Even]

Wow. That sums up my blown mind. Mac puter and a good interface. Now what? Jimminey, I just want to record a decent demo and burn it. I am sure it's me, but every software package I have tried assumes I am a computer tech. I want to record guitar, play it back while recording more guitar, play them back and record drums.. and so on. Please don't say cakewalk, it hurts even to read the word.I half want to ditch the whole show and grab a cassett deck...

[Dragon]

So get a cassette deck. Nobody's forcing anyone to use a computer. The reason I talk about using computers so often is that they're very cost-effective for people who (a) want to record digitally and (b) are comfortable using them. They're certainly not the ideal answer for everyone.

[Even]

well I was hoping for a bit more advice or recomendations on good and easy software. I kinda gathered that from the basis of this page, suggestions on improving and getting quality music for the musician at home who is fairly serious about the music. <shrug>

[S8-N]

I was in this same boat about six months back... I knew I wanted to go the PC route because I was able to talk my girlfriend into buying a PC. I went with the cheapest high-quality software I could find... Cool Edit Pro... I knew dick about PC recording but figured out how to use the software in a few hours.
Cool Edit Pro has a weird learning curve... You can instantly begin recording on a novice level... and several months later you will realize that you havent learned much since. It is simple to use... yet I find myself tearing my hair out trying to do the simplest of things on it.
In a way I am recommeneding it, and in a way I despise it. It is the only recording software I have used so I am not the objective one.
Let me put it this way... When I first got my WAVE 8*24, it shipped with a trial version of Cool Edit Pro. I finished a recording that day, and it still sounds good to my ears. THen again... just the other day I was trying to accomplish what should have been a simple task using the software and I was ready to kick the monitor screen in...
Cool Edit Pro is hot and cold... One minute it is cool and the next minute you want to edit it out of your life...

[Eddie N]

download the n track demo from www.fasoft.com ... its really easy to use... and only costs 40 bucks if you decide to buy it....

- eddie -

[Matthew Walsh]

I recommend Vision DSP from the Opcode Web site (www.opcode.com). I personally liked it a lot better than Cakewalk, and it has about 10 times as many features ... and the learning curve wasn't quite as steep. I just don't think they've got as great of a PR department as Cakewalk does.

If you're just digitizing audio and not using MIDI, there's a lot of stuff on the program you wouldn't even use, so your learning headaches would be minimized. Vision can get you limitless tracks (since you can "bounce tracks to hard disk" and free up tracks) ... and on my iMac 233 mHz, with 160 MBs of RAM, I've been getting 18 STEREO tracks playing simultaneously with minimal headache. Plus, each audio track has a four-band EQ and spaces for up to four VST plugs, and the output fader also has an EQ and the space for plugs. It's a great audio multi-track program, and the download price from Opcode is $56 (which means you don't get a master disk or hard copy manuals or any tech support) ... but I'm cheap (grin!). You can download a bunch of PDF instruction manuals for the program from their site as well, and Opcode has a sub-site devoted entirely to the program.