which interface, which software?

R

randywilliams

New member
I'm sure this question has been asked many times over the years, but I'll ask again, as options change so quickly. I want to produce basic songwriter demos with guitar (acoustic and/or electric), vocals, bass, mandolin chop, maybe congas. I want the ability to layer tracks, edit levels, and add basic effects. I want to run it all though a Dell Vostro laptop with Windows XP.

As of now, I am leaning toward an M-audio FastTrack Pro interface which has Ableton Live Lite software. Am I on the right track? Should I consider adding Cubase or Cakewalk or ProTools software? I don't have the time to put into a really steep learning curve. Simple is good.

All guidance is appreciated. Thanks.
 
Reaper. It's as good, or better in some areas, as the DAW's you've listed. Free to try and inexpensive to licence. At least give it a go. If you don't like it, you're not out anything but a little time.

www.reaper.fm
 
randywilliams said:
I don't have the time to put into a really steep learning curve.
Click to expand...

Pick an application, any application, and stick with it. They all do similar things, though in various different ways.

But you need to be realistic. Your desire not to go through a 'steep learning curve' is inconsistent with an aspiration to quality results. It's a bit like saying, "I want to be a doctor but I don't want to spend all the time in med school".
 
Ableton Live Lite's a great beginner DAW imo (even though it will do you all the way to expert)...purely because the ease of get ideas down quick..a very clean clear GUI and some very good tutorials within the programme...

I use Sonar which is similar to the others but will cost you, and takes a bit of reading (sometimes it feels like it is too featured)..Live Lites free with your choice of audio interface so it seems a no brainer

Id also say one other thing...for some reason I think Ableton has a better audio engine..it justs sounds a little clearer though that could be my imagination :)
 
Last edited:
First, stay away from ProTools because you won't be able to use your new interface with it, lol. You would have to buy some kind of proprietary digidwhatever in order to track in protools. Frankly, in this day and age, it's ridiculous for a brand new recordist to lock himself into that proprietary dinosaur unless you have a lot of film scoring in your future...

I'm gonna' make another vote for Reaper. It's powerful, but it's not hugely confusing, in my opinion. However, I didn't start on it, so I don't know. The truth is that the software you pick, no matter what it is, will be 1,000x easier and faster to master than the art of recording. I frankly see no reason whatsoever to pay $400+ for cubase when Reaper is out there for $60.

One warning, I think Reaper is still really buggy on a Mac, so if that impacts you in any way, there it is.
 
kcearl said:
Id also say one other thing...for some reason I think Ableton ... justs sounds a little clearer though that could be my imagination :)
Click to expand...

And please don't listen to people who try to tell you that any audio recording software "sounds better" than any other. Math is math, and within an extremely (humanly imperceptible) degree, they all sound the same.

That's not to say that you can't have better results with better software...your mixes might actually SOUND better if you're using a DAW you like, but in any controlled test that's ever been done (and there have been many), the results are always that they all sound the same.
 
chrisharris said:
And please don't listen to people who try to tell you that any audio recording software "sounds better" than any other. Math is math, and within an extremely (humanly imperceptible) degree, they all sound the same.

That's not to say that you can't have better results with better software...your mixes might actually SOUND better if you're using a DAW you like, but in any controlled test that's ever been done (and there have been many), the results are always that they all sound the same.
Click to expand...

surely one DAWs audio engine could be better than another's??


I said it could be my imagination...I always record stems in live then take them to sonar for mixing and I find a difference..

but that could also be psychological as Lives GUI is bright whereas sonar is pretty dark..strange but true

is there a documented controlled test on the web?
 
kcearl said:
is there a documented controlled test on the web?
Click to expand...

Yes.

Also, you can test it yourself. Google "nulling."

Seriously, if one DAW sounds different than another, there is something seriously wrong. I wasn't jumping your shit or anything...just trying to steer they guy clear from becoming one of the "PRO TOOLS MAKES STUFF SOUND MORE BETTER AND PRO" crowd.

There's a newish mixing program (not a full DAW) I saw discussed on Gearslutz that's just for mixdowns that's supposed to actually emulate an analog console, and that's its selling point, so that WILL sound different.
 
chrisharris said:
Yes.

Also, you can test it yourself. Google "nulling."

Seriously, if one DAW sounds different than another, there is something seriously wrong. I wasn't jumping your shit or anything...just trying to steer they guy clear from becoming one of the "PRO TOOLS MAKES STUFF SOUND MORE BETTER AND PRO" crowd.

There's a newish mixing program (not a full DAW) I saw discussed on Gearslutz that's just for mixdowns that's supposed to actually emulate an analog console, and that's its selling point, so that WILL sound different.
Click to expand...
The only real advantage protools does have over the other DAWs is the ammount of stuff you can get for it...and the fact that more mastering houses can accomedate it.

This might be a red herring but ASCII code and EPSIDC are based on math out to 7 or 8 places...now that might make the math better in the Apple than the PC...it might sound better too...but Ive never heard the difference.

In my mind if the program is more stable and doesnt crash as much as the others...its the better DAW...if it came with your box...all the better because you shouldnt have compatability issues.
 
chrisharris said:
Yes.

Also, you can test it yourself. Google "nulling."

Seriously, if one DAW sounds different than another, there is something seriously wrong. I wasn't jumping your shit or anything...just trying to steer they guy clear from becoming one of the "PRO TOOLS MAKES STUFF SOUND MORE BETTER AND PRO" crowd.

There's a newish mixing program (not a full DAW) I saw discussed on Gearslutz that's just for mixdowns that's supposed to actually emulate an analog console, and that's its selling point, so that WILL sound different.
Click to expand...


I didn't think you were jumping on my shit mate...no probs, I was genuinely inquiring

the stuff I found on the internet was mainly in other forums and just ordinary folks like ourselves, I wondered if there was something more official..

actually Id always heard that Samplitude had the best audio engine not pro tools..on the ableton forum there were folks complaining that it didn't sound as good as there other daws..strange as I found the opposite...

but like I said its all about how you perceive it..sonar can seem a bit dark and mud like compared to abletons appearance and workflow so that'll be where it stems from


a mixdown only daw would be interesting... that's basically all I use sonar for now I have abletons full version..anyone wanna buy sonar 8 studio? ;)
 
chrisharris said:
Seriously, if one DAW sounds different than another, there is something seriously wrong.
Click to expand...

Not quite true. There is a very slight but occasionally audible difference in the sound when you do a final 16-bit mix due to differences in dithering vs. truncation. Up until that point, I would agree that there should be no audible difference. Even then, the difference is generally pretty unimportant. :)
 
darrin_h2000 said:
This might be a red herring but ASCII code and EPSIDC are based on math out to 7 or 8 places...now that might make the math better in the Apple than the PC...it might sound better too...but Ive never heard the difference.
Click to expand...

You're joking, right? Just making sure.

In case somebody didn't get it, IBM mainframes use EBCDIC encoding for text files. It has nothing whatsoever to do with numeric computation, nor does it mean anything with regards to PCs or Macs.
 
darrin_h2000 said:
The only real advantage protools does have over the other DAWs is the ammount of stuff you can get for it...and the fact that more mastering houses can accomedate it.
Click to expand...

I'm not looking to get into a ProTools debate. I used it briefly, but I'm not sure what you mean by "the amount of stuff you can get for it." And frankly, any mastering house will be able to accommodate any major file formats, and damn near all of the the really obscure ones too. It's how they make money. I would just hate to see a kid read this thread and think that he's going to have trouble getting his mixes mastered unless he uses ProTools, because I don't believe that to be true at all.

Back to the question at hand...

http://www.reaper.fm/download.php :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top