Does it matter which OS I use?

FenderKid29

New member
I'm fairly new to this Home Recording with the computer business, as a lot of us are here heh. But, I'm new enough to wonder which operating system would work best for recording. I mean should I stick with windows? and if so which version, go with linux? mac? i mean what would be preferred for recording. Probably sounds like a stupid question, but I was just wondering...


-Andy
 
Forgot to mention...

I have a home built PC, with 512 mb DDR PC3200, Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Plat, 2 80 gb WD hard drives...2 guitars, 2 vocal mics, an amp and some chords...lol just to give you an idea of the situation. I also have the Logitech 5.1 surround...but I need your input on what I might need and why...Thanks again.
 
Personally, i would say Windows is going to give you the most sound card compatibility and software availability...
Ive recently switched from XP to 2000 pro and am happy with it, it seems to use less resources and is the most stable windows yet...
and judging by what you have already, youre probably going to want to get a better quality sound card or at least a little mixer...
 
Yeah I've been thinking about switching over to Windows 2000 Pro. But a lot of the guys I work with have been telling me that XP is probably the most compatible. But, I'm looking for stability as well. And about the mixers...I've been looking into getting one of them as well, but really don't know where to begin. My old guitar teacher told me I would need monitors because my logitech speakers are going to color the actual sound. And he also mention condenser mics or something or the other, lol. I'd like some input on any ideas you might have, or anyone else as well. Thank you greatly...Andy
 
Well,
as far as mixers and monitors and all that, it mostly comes down to what you can afford...i wont go into specifics on brands or anything because its alot of ground and if you look around this site you should find most of it already is out there...
again, personally, as an amatuer at best, i would say the first thing to look at is a good sound card, most "pro audio" sound cards will record at higher sampling rates than your SB Audigy will and are designed specifically for recording audio, not just playback...depending on the # of inputs you need you can get a good quality M-Audio card for around $149 or so nowadays...i think that would be the best option to start with. if you get some of the higher range ones like the Delta 44, they come with breakout boxes so you dont really need a mixer...if you keep your SB card or get one of the 2 channel cards, you will likely need a mixer because you will need a way to plug your mics and guitar into the computer. Behringer makes decent cheap mixers, Mackie makes good mixers, just figure out what you want to record and when ( a track at a time vs. a whole band at once, etc.)
Your computer speakers will color the sound and that is a bad thing you will want to address down the road, but IMO your first priority should be getting the best audio you can IN to the computer before you start worrying about what comes out...
Stick around here, theres alot of people that know a whole lot more than i do on this stuff, (and may even correct things ive stated here so far ;-) ) and they have all been very helpful when its needed, so check out the site some more, you will find comments and opinions about most all the gear available from entry level to pro studio quality to help guide you.
good luck...
 
Thanks again for the info. I really appreciate your help. But again, being a newbie...what does IMO mean? And the type of music I want to record is basic Acoustic stuff. Just me, the guitar, and the mic, track by track. I also have a pretty descent keyboard I'd like to throw into the mix. Another thing my old teacher recommended was renting mixing equipment and monitors and what not. But like I said, I don't know what type of monitors and mixers I'd need for the type of recording I want to do. For a while I was throwing in drums with the keyboard, until someone told me I could do it with a program and that it would sound better.
 
IMO= In My Opinion...

you still havent said what your budget will be so ill give you some ideas for a "barebones" budget system...
doing track at a time you can start with something like this for $149
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...52016504118/g=rec/search/detail/base_id/52393
that will give you up to 4 inputs, two are standard analog inputs so you would want something like this
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...g=rec/s=mixers/search/detail/base_pid/631238/
that will give you two preamps you can plug your mics into or acoustic, and line level inputs you can plug your keyboard into...what ever you plug into the mixer will go to right and left channel in on your sound card...you can record in stereo or pan the main out to either side right or left to just record "one" track at a time, or pan each individual track to R or L to get two "seperate" tracks recorded at once
with those things you can do basic recording for $200 more than youve invested already...
as i said this is a basic "entry level" set up, you could forgo the mixer all together and just get a two channel preamp...actually that may just be a better idea
there are 5 pages of them listed here
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/sid=031009142424199106052016504118/g=live/s=mixers/search/c=4639
take a look, or search for preamps one here...for a two channel preamp you will likely spend at least twice as much as that mixer i posted above, but it may be worth spending the extra $$ now if you can spare it and not end up having to buy better stuff later.
One last note, that sound card also has SPDIF in, that is a digital audio interface, if you have digital audio you can get an additional 2 tracks from that card...later if you decide 2 tracks at a time isnt enough look for preamps that have digital SPDIF out if you want to expand.
hope this is helping...
 
FenderKid29 said:
I'm fairly new to this Home Recording with the computer business, as a lot of us are here heh. But, I'm new enough to wonder which operating system would work best for recording. I mean should I stick with windows? and if so which version, go with linux? mac? i mean what would be preferred for recording. Probably sounds like a stupid question, but I was just wondering...


-Andy

xp or 2k, windblows has alot of software...
 
Thanks again for your help. That pretty much sums up what i've been asking. I took a look at those options you gave me from musicians friend and those don't sound like a bad deal at all. There's only one other question I have to ask...I've played guitar now for almost 13 years and I still don't have an friggin clue what preamps and preouts or any of that crap is? And I was also thinking about renting equipment to. I know around here at the local music stores they have mixers and stuff for rent. So I'm definetly starting off though from what you gave me for ideas.
 
everybodys gunna hate me for this one but.......Win 98 se has been the most stable OS i've ever used I've never had it crash no matter what machine or program I've put on it. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've used XP and 2k and hated em, there memory hogs like a mofo. Yeah xp looks pretty and all but I got alot of conflicts w/ either hardware or software. And the whole locking up in the middle of a session:mad:. Yes my computer is up to todays standard too.My 2 cents.
 
Hey any 2 cents is welcome here. I'm looking for advice and that's why I came to this forum for different ideas and inputs on different subjects and what not. I really appreciate all your help guys. And variety is always a good thing. But that does sound pretty damn lucky though, cuz I used to have Win 98 SE and it used to have really bad problems. But, that's Microsloth for ya...I think I'm doomed with the MS Curse either way I go...Thanks guys again!
 
Dioxide said:
everybodys gunna hate me for this one but.......Win 98 se has been the most stable OS i've ever used I've never had it crash no matter what machine or program I've put on it. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've used XP and 2k and hated em, there memory hogs like a mofo. Yeah xp looks pretty and all but I got alot of conflicts w/ either hardware or software. And the whole locking up in the middle of a session:mad:. Yes my computer is up to todays standard too.My 2 cents.

what i would have figured by now is some Co would have made code to run 98 like 2k or xp, yeah, crash proof, well, not killed proof really, winblows will always lock up, just hate the reinstall every 6 monnths, 98 was small and worked good for what it was, all this new crap is way bloated but at least it's hard to kill a system, but not imposible ;)
 
I pondered this dilemma recently. Should I go with a mac/win, laptop/desktop, or custom/commercial system. It came down to this for me: I ended up getting a P4 windows xp desktop from dell. I was using Windows 98 and loved it except for a few complaints. Windows Xp is good for my new system because I get to use all the included software and my audio mixes without displaying "System not fast enough to process all effects/channels". So far (2 weeks), I haven't had any problems running audio on XP. It is early though, and I know MS is laden with glitches with any of their OS.
I think it comes down to what audio program you are planning on using, what inputs you want on the computer, and your familiarity with various OS/programs combination.
Good Luck!
:>
 
You'll all love this one...

I have a 1.4 AMD with XP on it, but that's my gaming computer.

For my music studio computer I have a Lexicon Core2 sound card, running into Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.

The computer that it runs on is a Windows 98 with only 300 Mhz. ;)

And, it works just fine for me.

My sound card wasn't compatible with AMD, so when I upgraded to a new system, I just kept my studio set up where it was. No complaints here yet.
 
You'll all love this one...

I have a 1.4 AMD with XP on it, but that's my gaming computer.

For my music studio computer I have a Lexicon Core2 sound card, running into Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.

The computer that it runs on is a Windows 98 with only 300 Mhz. ;)

And, it works just fine for me.

My sound card wasn't compatible with AMD, so when I upgraded to a new system, I just kept my studio set up where it was. No complaints here yet.
 
You'll all love this one...

I have a 1.4 AMD with XP on it, but that's my gaming computer.

For my music studio computer I have a Lexicon Core2 sound card, running into Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.

The computer that it runs on is a Windows 98 with only 300 Mhz. ;)

And, it works just fine for me.

My sound card wasn't compatible with AMD, so when I upgraded to a new system, I just kept my studio set up where it was. No complaints here yet.
 
You'll all love this one...

I have a 1.4 AMD with XP on it, but that's my gaming computer.

For my music studio computer I have a Lexicon Core2 sound card, running into Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.

The computer that it runs on is a Windows 98 with only 300 Mhz. ;)

And, it works just fine for me.

My sound card wasn't compatible with AMD, so when I upgraded to a new system, I just kept my studio set up where it was. No complaints here yet.
 
Yeah, right now I'm running XP. But i was debating maybe dual booting XP and 2k. Just for the occasional game I might like to play. But mainly, like I said i'm using the comp for recording. I have Fruity Loops Producer Edition v4 and Cakewalk Home Studio 2004. I also have Cubase SX or whatever it's called. But i'm more familiar with Cakewalk. But another question I have real quick...How do i create drum beats for acoustic guitar music in Fruity Loops and is Cakewalk Home Studio 2004 good? And also any suggestions on different programs I might try.
 
Speedy VonTrapp said:
You'll all love this one...

I have a 1.4 AMD with XP on it, but that's my gaming computer.

For my music studio computer I have a Lexicon Core2 sound card, running into Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.

The computer that it runs on is a Windows 98 with only 300 Mhz. ;)

And, it works just fine for me.

My sound card wasn't compatible with AMD, so when I upgraded to a new system, I just kept my studio set up where it was. No complaints here yet.

heh, suggestion, when HR post message hangs, just wait, it will post, sooner or later ;)
 
Dioxide said:
everybodys gunna hate me for this one but.......Win 98 se has been the most stable OS i've ever used I've never had it crash no matter what machine or program I've put on it. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've used XP and 2k and hated em, there memory hogs like a mofo. Yeah xp looks pretty and all but I got alot of conflicts w/ either hardware or software. And the whole locking up in the middle of a session:mad:. Yes my computer is up to todays standard too.My 2 cents.

I actually agree with you on this Dioxide. I have Xp and 98se and 98se has been more stable for me also.
 
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