Help! What Should I buy?

guitargirl7

guitargirl7

New member
I’ve been using Protools SE software with M-audio Fast Track and Avid Vocal Studio for the past few months. I’m definitely not happy with this software because of the endless amount of trouble it has given me. I can’t record a single song without white noise ruining the track, and have been told to do ridiculous things to try to fix a program that I shouldn’t have to fix.
Here is an example of the noise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZrH00YfiXU

According to the many forums I've posted in, the problem is 99% likely to exist within the software, PT SE, not the m-audio mic and fast track.
Check out this forum about it here: http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=290476

I’m at a point where I am about ready to return these products in hopes of finding a software, mic, and guitar recording device that actually works long term for the money you spend.

My main question is what recording devices/software should I buy?

Firstly, you should know that I am newbie to the recording world. I am going to need a product that is possible to manage for a beginner, and NOT, for lack of a better term, a piece of crap. Granted, protools SE was aimed for a beginner audience, had the brand name, and was completely disappointing in the long run. Regardless, I have faith that there is a product out there that will work as it should.

Secondly, I absolutely can’t afford to pay for a thousand dollar program. The thought of 300 dollars freaks me out, but I know you’re supposedly paying for what you get. Yet again, the protools SE software with Avid/m-audio products was around 200 for each bundle (avid recording studio and Avid Vocal studio). As you know, I didn’t get anywhere with high amount of money I spent on those products.

Thirdly, I am not looking to make a business out of recording. I am only using these products for recording my own material, which for now, consists of me and my guitars. Also, I am working off of a high quality Toshiba laptop.


If there is any other information you need from me, please ask.

Thank you!

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts, as I am ready to finally record some long over-due material!
 
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So the problem is the software and not any of your other equipment?


Personally I found Cubase to be the most warm and inviting and easy to figure out piece of software when I was looking to jump ship from Ableton.
Pro Tools just. Didn't feel like it belonged in my home studio. Maybe if I had a big commercial complex I would've MADE myself use it. But I just don't like it.
And that's not a knock on it as a program. Clearly tons and tons of people use it wonderfully, and it's capable.
But I just like the Cubase workflow better. And back when I was searching. Pro Tools would only work with MAudio stuff. Which was dumb I thought. And I didn't like that is uses RTAS or AU or whatever acronym than isn't "VST" :p
 
Oh, and
Ableton is also INCREDIBLY inviting. And really useful as a sketchpad/writing tool due to it's easy loop functions.
The only reason I recommend Cubase over it is because, if I'm not mistaken, it's limited versions (Cubase Elements $99 and Artist $250) have more features than Abletons limited version (Ableton Intro $99)
Full version of cubase will run you about $300-$500 depending on whether or not you're a student (or know a student that'll be willing to help you out with the gift of Cubase ;)) Ableton is from $330- $450 depending on the aforementioned variables.

I love and use them both. But Cubase was my first :)
It never hurts to know more than one DAW :guitar:
 
guitargirl7 said:
I’ve been using Protools SE software with M-audio Fast Track and Avid Vocal Studio for the past few months. I’m definitely not happy with this software because of the endless amount of trouble it has given me. I can’t record a single song without white noise ruining the track, and have been told to do ridiculous things to try to fix a program that I shouldn’t have to fix. I’m at a point where I am about ready to return these products in hopes of finding a software, mic, and guitar recording device that actually works long term for the money you spend.

My main question is what recording devices/software should I buy?

Firstly, you should know that I am newbie to the recording world. I am going to need a product that is possible to manage for a beginner, and NOT, for lack of a better term, a piece of crap. Granted, protools SE was aimed for a beginner audience, had the brand name, and was completely disappointing in the long run. Regardless, I have faith that there is a product out there that will work as it should.

Secondly, I absolutely can’t afford to pay for a thousand dollar program. The thought of 300 dollars freaks me out, but I know you’re supposedly paying for what you get. Yet again, the protools SE software with Avid/m-audio products was around 200 for each bundle (avid recording studio and Avid Vocal studio). As you know, I didn’t get anywhere with high amount of money I spent on those products.

Thirdly, I am not looking to make a business out of recording. I am only using these products for recording my own material, which for now, consists of me and my guitars. Also, I am working off of a high quality Toshiba laptop.
If there is any other information you need from me, please ask.

Thank you!

I can’t wait to hear your thoughts, as I am ready to finally record some long over-due material!
Click to expand...

Easy. For your recording software ( DAW ) use what more and more ppl are using. REAPER. REAPER | Audio Production Without Limits

The licence is $60 and demo is uncrippled. You can even change the skins to a protools setup if you want to impress your friends. lols.

I recently bought a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 for $170 Australian and it's been hassle free on my Samsumg dualcore Windows 7 laptop. The preamps are very nice too.
 
Murdersgalore said:
Wow...nice post. Do you work for Reaper? lol
Click to expand...

Nope I just hate PT and PT snobbery. I used to use CEP then Adobe Audition but got sick of its resource hogging, incompatibility issues, lack of features and ripoff upgrade pricing policy.

This may only be a slight exaggeration when I say that:
"Buy Reaper and all your wildest dreams will come true" ® .
 
All this love affair with Cubase and Reaper aside, whatever DAW you're using is most likely NOT causing the noise that's ruining your tracking, so a new one is unlikely to fix it.

Seems like you have other problems. Don't expect a new piece of software to fix anything...

Find what's causing the noise and fix that. Give us some more info on what you're recording and how you're recording it, with as much detail as you can, and perhaps we can help.
 
Armistice said:
All this love affair with Cubase and Reaper aside, whatever DAW you're using is most likely NOT causing the noise that's ruining your tracking, so a new one is unlikely to fix it.

Seems like you have other problems. Don't expect a new piece of software to fix anything...

Find what's causing the noise and fix that. Give us some more info on what you're recording and how you're recording it, with as much detail as you can, and perhaps we can help.
Click to expand...

He's using the PT that ships with the M-Audio. It's a driver conflict causing the prob - or the unit itself - or the operator.
 
Yeah. You may just be picking up the "air" of the room :o
And the answer to your problems might be some compression and/or noise reduction
 
Can you post a sample of the noise?

Is the noise in every track that you record?

What microphone are you using?
 
You might want to have a look at PreSonus Studio One (I can't post links yet :() software. This is what I use and it works very well.

If you are not ready to make the jump, you can always try the demo version of software, they don't take too long to install :P

Some products you may want to look at may include:

  • Reaper
  • Studio One
  • Cubase
  • Sonar X1
The bottom line is to use what you are comfortable with, not what your friends use or what the 'industry' standard is. I have found that I work better with Studio One than Reaper, but others will disagree.

So, my suggestion is you come down to a 3 or 4 products and download their trial, record a song or two with them and see which you like the most. Good luck!

Also, what are you trying to record when you get white noise? (eg. Vocal, guitar etc)
 
dastrick said:
Can you post a sample of the noise?

Is the noise in every track that you record?

What microphone are you using?
Click to expand...

Here is an example of the noise: White Noise: 100% Pure Sound - YouTube
This is a track on youtube, but it sounds the same way on my tracks. The only difference is that it is not continuous, it is chopped up into pieces of the recording. The problem, is in PT SE, the software. At least that's what I've read about for the past few weeks.

I'm using an m-audio mic, and monitoring through Sennheiser headphones.
 
Armistice said:
All this love affair with Cubase and Reaper aside, whatever DAW you're using is most likely NOT causing the noise that's ruining your tracking, so a new one is unlikely to fix it.

Seems like you have other problems. Don't expect a new piece of software to fix anything...

Find what's causing the noise and fix that. Give us some more info on what you're recording and how you're recording it, with as much detail as you can, and perhaps we can help.
Click to expand...

Please re-read my main post again, I've updated it for ya'll. It has more information on PT SE and the noise I've been hearing. As you will read, the problem definitely is within PT SE.
 
First things first. You need to do some trouble shooting to confirm it is Pro Tools.
Download a free trial of some other daw and record a bit in there to see whether or not the noise is present. The noise you're having is quite common in recording. Nothing will ever be 100% clear naturally... well... almost nothing.

Ableton - Downloads
 
Like has already been said, that noise can't be just caused by your DAW. DAWs don't create sound, but it could be caused by drivers or your interface, or what is plugged into your interface. YOu are getting white noise - are you picking up any signal on mic or guitar plugged into your Fast Track?
As has been suggested download another DAW's free trial (or Reaper!) and see if the problem persists.
 
Do you get the same white noise problem when you plug the mic directly into the PC? Just trying to see where the problem is located.
 
Another thing, sometimes crippled demo versions of plugins will shoot occasional white noise into the signal path as a way to encourage you to buy the full version. Are you using any demo versions of plugins?
 
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