Any suggestions for home recording/song building software?

G

gerrards

New member
Hi all,

I'm looking for some software that will allow me to set down drum tracks, bass and any other instrument that I can find synthesised on it. I also want to be able to record myself singing on one track and playing the guitar on the other.

Once I've done this I want to then combine all tracks into one song which I can file as an mp3 or wav.

My PC set up is a 2.6ghz processor, 1gb memory, XP o/s.

Can anyone help with suggestions? I've tried the demo version of Reason but it seems extremely complicated and doesn't appear to allow me to record without using a midi.

I must stress that I do not have midi capability.

Thanks in advance,

Gerrard
 
well i first think you should get midi capability....its only like 30 or so dollars. For the software my choice would be cakewalk homestudio for your current application. You can get the hang of it and if you feel like progressing you can move into Sonar
 
Thanks for that. What advantage would MIDI give me? At the moment I do *very basic* recording...i.e. microphone plugged into sound card and me singing and playing guitar at the same time while recording via Nero...
 
gerrards...
as always i recommend - yes - try other software.
in fact demo lots of software.
but try powertracks that i use from pgmusic.com before making a final decision..
very easy to use. if you doubt me talk to other users on the forum at pg and try the demo. it will do everything you need to do.
another i use and like , but more complex to set up and use is magix music studio. also more expensive.
powertracks also has a suite of included fx for vocals, guitar,bass,drums and other instruments including mastering facilities. ie..you can do a complete album in the software without using anything else. even has a software drum machine built in that allows you to even build your own drum styles.
one time saver is you pick a style and create a drum track. usefull for demoing song ideas if no drummer at hand.
the quality of your recordings as ive said many times on here purely depends on the quality of mics/mixer and soundcard that you use.
if you have q's - just ask.peace.
 
gerrards said:
What advantage would MIDI give me?
Click to expand...
Not much if you don't have at least a rudimentary ability to play the keyboard. How were you planning to "set down drum tracks, bass and any other instrument that (you) can find"? Most software will let you draw in the notes using the mouse, but what a pain. And it will sound very sterile, most likely.

If you mean that you have drums, bass, etc., and you're going to record actual live sound, Good for you! You have lots of options, even without MIDI. Just as an example, Kristal is free: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php?section=details

Do you have a microphone and preamp?
 
You would want midi if you want to be able to use drum sequences or if you want to use sythesizers and are not confident in your ability to lay down tracks as audio.

For your main package, try a bunch of eval packages. I personally would recommend either a Cakewalk package or a Cubase/Nuendo package.
 
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