is cakewalk the way for me to go

[ageofconsent]

Hello,

My name is Mark, and I am completely new to this forum. I've joined with the intent of researching and finding out from other experienced home recorders what the best tools would be for my personal use.

I am a singer/songwriter with virtually no experience at home recording. I have recorded some of my songs with a professional, and I've found that I do not have the budget for it any longer. Plus, I don't like putting the production aspects of my music in someone else's hands.

My sound could be classified along the lines of indie rock bands like the Red House Painters and Sparklehorse with a major lyrical influence from Liz Phair and Cat Power. It is acoustic/ lo-fi indie rock based.

My approach to production will be fairly minimalist. I would like to mix vocals, guitar, drum loops, and synthesizers with simulated keys and cello strings (plus a few nifty extra sonic sounds here and there).

For those who would like to give me advice, please give me advice! I am plunging into a world of which I know nothing. Any suggestions would be helpful. Would cakewalk music creator 2003 be ideal? Also, I'm planning on purchasing a brand new pc with windows XP. What hard drive requirements as far as MB and RAM would be ideal in order to have the least amount of computer crashes when running home recording software?

[James Argo]

Yo there, ageofconsent...
First of all, welcome to ...the most friendly board in the BBS ®.

I have recorded some of my songs with a professional, and I've found that I do not have the budget for it any longer. Plus, I don't like putting the production aspects of my music in someone else's hands.

...That sounds like our reason too. specialy, don't like putting the production aspects of my music in someone else's hands.

My sound could be classified along the lines of indie rock bands like the Red House Painters and Sparklehorse with a major lyrical influence from Liz Phair and Cat Power. It is acoustic/ lo-fi indie rock based.

...Any genre should be fine here. We all come from different kind of music style, and as long as we respect each other, all is fine. And Cakewalk will do the rest...

My approach to production will be fairly minimalist. I would like to mix vocals, guitar, drum loops, and synthesizers with simulated keys and cello strings (plus a few nifty extra sonic sounds here and there).

...Whoops, off course that's possible. But considering you're new to this home production thingee, I suggest you take it easy one by one. My experience is learning how to make a basic setup first, then a bit of MIDI, then go to audio tracking / editing basic, and finally to looping world. You'll get confused if you wanna master 'em all at once... Take a step.

Would cakewalk music creator 2003 be ideal? Also, I'm planning on purchasing a brand new pc with windows XP. What hard drive requirements as far as MB and RAM would be ideal in order to have the least amount of computer crashes when running home recording software?

...Well, for begining, that would be good. Or you may also look for Guitar Tracks Pro, or Cakewalk Home Studio. Th master is SONAR 2.2 XL (Pinger), but it deppends on vary parameter. About the hardware you may find a lot of thread asking the similiar question here in this forum, or in Computer Recording & Soundcard Forum on the lower side of this BBS...


Jaymz

[Steve T]

Hey that's weird. I just wrote a response to this one offline and in the meantime James has also written something. ...

Hi Mark,

Well I don't know Music Creator, however I do like the Red House Painters and Sparklehorse so I figured I'd chip in here . XP is a good bet. 512MB+ RAM. 2 hard disks is nice - one for audio, but not essential. As fast as you can afford CPU-wise. Try and get a quiet-ish pc, either one specifically built for music or a decent-ish brand (I have a Dell which is fine for me). Your soundcard will be one of your most important considerations so be prepared to spend a fair amount on a decent one (24 bit/96K if poss). If you have a mixer already fine, otherwise you'll want to make sure you have preamps and inputs either as part of the soundcard or separate. Number of inputs might be a consideration for you. Delta soundcards are pretty good. You want a low latency if you want to hear software effects as you're recording guitar / vocals etc.

In terms of sequencing, there'll be something in the Cakewalk range to suit. Things you may need in addition are a sampler, synths, samples, effects, mastering software. I have Sonar which I like, along with 2 or 3 other sequencers, all of which I use depending on my mood. What you will find with the budget sequencers is that you're often limited to the number of tracks and/or effects you can use in a project. If you're going to be using a lot try and head for a more "pro" sequencer or at least check out the specs first. Depends on the cash you have.

So...sorta depends on your budget and what equipment you already have. Be prepared to spend some time configuring your computer for best performance as an audio machine. It's a hassle, but necessary.

Steve T