New Interface

[Bobbsy]

I'm not awesome at all but am very proud of my mediocrity.

Just a general comment on pretty much all "included" software--it's usually a seriously stripped down version of whatever DAW it is (be it Ableton, PT, or any of a bunch of others). The main reason software is included is to trick you into spending the time to get used to a style of interface so that when you start to notice all the bits that were stripped out, you'll want to stick with the brand you got for free rather than re-learn everything again.

If it was me, I'd ignore the included software and downloaded the free trials of several brands to see which suits me best--you'll still have to buy something but at least you'll have made an educated choice as to which you like best rather than being tricked into going a certain route.

 

[Justsomeguy]

I'm not awesome at all but am very proud of my mediocrity.

Just a general comment on pretty much all "included" software--it's usually a seriously stripped down version of whatever DAW it is (be it Ableton, PT, or any of a bunch of others). The main reason software is included is to trick you into spending the time to get used to a style of interface so that when you start to notice all the bits that were stripped out, you'll want to stick with the brand you got for free rather than re-learn everything again.

If it was me, I'd ignore the included software and downloaded the free trials of several brands to see which suits me best--you'll still have to buy something but at least you'll have made an educated choice as to which you like best rather than being tricked into going a certain route.

I do completely agree, but on a less cynical note i think companies normally include a free DAW so people can get up and recording straight away. however, as bobbsy said, these free DAW's are often VERY limited (hell, the ableton one almost offended me by what they'd taken out) and if you've not ever used a DAW before then even if the free one doesn't really work for you, because you get used to it chances are you'll just upgrade rather than "risking" another DAW.

the focusrite interfaces come with a couple of free plugins each which are pretty darn good (better than most stock plugins) which also impressed me as it doesn't tie you into particular brand or software as they work with all the main DAW's and, i think, with any interface (i assume that because you can buy the plugins separately if you want them)

if you were happy with the way your old version of PT's worked in terms of finding your way around/workflow then stick with it. if, however, you didn't (and i kinda remember you saying you ditched it because it was the stripped down version) reaper, sonar, studio one, cubase are all great and most do free trials.

 

[guitargirl7]

I do completely agree, but on a less cynical note i think companies normally include a free DAW so people can get up and recording straight away. however, as bobbsy said, these free DAW's are often VERY limited (hell, the ableton one almost offended me by what they'd taken out) and if you've not ever used a DAW before then even if the free one doesn't really work for you, because you get used to it chances are you'll just upgrade rather than "risking" another DAW.

the focusrite interfaces come with a couple of free plugins each which are pretty darn good (better than most stock plugins) which also impressed me as it doesn't tie you into particular brand or software as they work with all the main DAW's and, i think, with any interface (i assume that because you can buy the plugins separately if you want them)

if you were happy with the way your old version of PT's worked in terms of finding your way around/workflow then stick with it. if, however, you didn't (and i kinda remember you saying you ditched it because it was the stripped down version) reaper, sonar, studio one, cubase are all great and most do free trials.

I must start by saying you all have great memories ^ haha! And you are correct. I had PTSE that came with a bundle, and it turned out to hurt me more than help me... Honestly, I really didn't mind the set up of PT. It was just that horrific white noise that the PTSE produced. I was slowly but surely starting to understand how to navigate the PT set up, and thought it wasn't all that bad. I downloaded a free trial of reaper, and, call me weird, but I didn't like it as much as the set up of PT.

PTSE was my first DAW, so maybe that's why I prefer the look. It's tricky to switch to a completely different DAW after you just start getting used to another. It's also a challenge because I can't really test any other DAW’s out right now because I don't have an interface that works properly. I'm definitely thinking about getting the Focusrite 2i2... I'm sure it'll do better than my fast track II. The ratings are awesome and 10x better!

From previous experience, I should've guessed that any DAW that comes with lower priced gear isn't going to be amazing to say the least. As many are saying, my only problem with PT is the price. A TON of people and professionals use it, so I imagine it must be doing something right… Not to sound petty, but seriously, why the higher price when so many of you are saying there are other DAW's just as good?

 

[Justsomeguy]

I must start by saying you all have great memories ^ haha! And you are correct. I had PTSE that came with a bundle, and it turned out to hurt me more than help me... Honestly, I really didn't mind the set up of PT. It was just that horrific white noise that the PTSE produced. I was slowly but surely starting to understand how to navigate the PT set up, and thought it wasn't all that bad. I downloaded a free trial of reaper, and, call me weird, but I didn't like it as much as the set up of PT.

From previous experience, I should've guessed that any DAW that comes with lower priced gear isn't going to be amazing to say the least. As many are saying, my only problem with PT is the price. A TON of people and professionals use it, so I imagine it must be doing something right… Not to sound petty, but seriously, why the higher price when so many of you are saying there are other DAW's just as good?

Why PT's cost so much is an area of debate by itself you could also ask the same thing of Niké, addidas, or any major clothing line. the difference in quality between my £3 t-shirt from primark and my old £30 niké t-shirt is sod all and, in the end, you pay for the name. my view is that a combination of being the "brand leader" for years and the hardware 10 years ago was much better than the lower range interfaces at the time means it now has a reputation as THE DAW for professionals! however, as technology has advanced, even budget audio interfaces can do a pretty sterling job (which, to my mind, is why PT's went the "native" route to open it up to other users who prefer their own interface over the avid stuff). Also, other DAW's have come along that offer differences that suit different peoples needs. Saying that, although the HD price is still absurd, the standard one isn't hugely different in price from logic, cubase, studio one, although there's sooooo many versions of pt's that it does get mega confusing.

wait until you get the interface then to play around with different DAW's and accept that it always takes a bit of time to adjust to the different quirks. I started out on Cakewalk Home studio and loved it until i realised that it wasn't compatible with alot of newer interfaces that were hitting the market at the time. I used PT's for about 3 years and always hated it and so moved to Logic which suits me. i used Cubase for a year at uni and then for 6 months in a friends studio and couldn't get on with it with audio editing but it was pretty cool for midi and software instruments.

i'm gonna stick my neck out and say i don't like reaper as it doesn't feel intuitive to me, but in terms of what it can do and the fact that it's only £40 it's still an awesome DAW and i still recommend it to people starting out. as i said, Logic is my DAW of choice but it's only mac based, and it did set me back a few hundred quid (although i did get it at education price so it wasn't too bad), but as DAW usage is now really down to personal taste, i'd still very much suggest people try out as many DAW's as they can and chose the one that suits their needs.

 

[guitargirl7]

Why PT's cost so much is an area of debate by itself you could also ask the same thing of Niké, addidas, or any major clothing line. the difference in quality between my £3 t-shirt from primark and my old £30 niké t-shirt is sod all and, in the end, you pay for the name. my view is that a combination of being the "brand leader" for years and the hardware 10 years ago was much better than the lower range interfaces at the time means it now has a reputation as THE DAW for professionals! however, as technology has advanced, even budget audio interfaces can do a pretty sterling job (which, to my mind, is why PT's went the "native" route to open it up to other users who prefer their own interface over the avid stuff). Also, other DAW's have come along that offer differences that suit different peoples needs. Saying that, although the HD price is still absurd, the standard one isn't hugely different in price from logic, cubase, studio one, although there's sooooo many versions of pt's that it does get mega confusing.

wait until you get the interface then to play around with different DAW's and accept that it always takes a bit of time to adjust to the different quirks. I started out on Cakewalk Home studio and loved it until i realised that it wasn't compatible with alot of newer interfaces that were hitting the market at the time. I used PT's for about 3 years and always hated it and so moved to Logic which suits me. i used Cubase for a year at uni and then for 6 months in a friends studio and couldn't get on with it with audio editing but it was pretty cool for midi and software instruments.

i'm gonna stick my neck out and say i don't like reaper as it doesn't feel intuitive to me, but in terms of what it can do and the fact that it's only £40 it's still an awesome DAW and i still recommend it to people starting out. as i said, Logic is my DAW of choice but it's only mac based, and it did set me back a few hundred quid (although i did get it at education price so it wasn't too bad), but as DAW usage is now really down to personal taste, i'd still very much suggest people try out as many DAW's as they can and chose the one that suits their needs.

I completely get what you're saying... Turns out that the competition doesn't end with clothing and cars! I'll definitely be taking all of your advice on this one. Thank you for taking the time to respond!
On a random side note, I can't get over the fact that I'm able to reach people from all over the world through this thing... crazy! Since I was little, I've always been quite jealous of English accents. Although we're American, my sisters and I can do a pretty good impression! haha... or at least we like to believe we do!

 

[Chili]

On a random side note, I can't get over the fact that I'm able to reach people from all over the world through this thing... crazy!

It's even cooler when you start collaborating musically with people from all over the world.

We oughtta start a contest on how many different countries you can have represented in one song.

 

[Armistice]

I am possibly the awesomest member here and my opinion is final.

Get the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. I have one. It's ...well, awesome.

Forget wasting money on PT - get Reaper instead ( use the protools skin if you must ).

So, C.... link us to a tune - I want to experience your awesomeness through my ears, not just my eyes... you've been here long enough now!

guitargirl7 - you'd have to be doing the most thorough research of anyone on this site, eva... first the microphone questions, then the DAW questions and now the interface questions over the last couple of weeks... seriously just buy something and start. It's all good... there is no optimum solution at the $200 end of the market. Sorry. All the recommendations which have now been made over and over and over are good. Analysis paralysis is where you're at, it seems. Choose and begin.

You can thank me later....

 

[guitargirl7]

guitargirl7 - you'd have to be doing the most thorough research of anyone on this site, eva... first the microphone questions, then the DAW questions and now the interface questions over the last couple of weeks... seriously just buy something and start. It's all good... there is no optimum solution at the $200 end of the market. Sorry. All the recommendations which have now been made over and over and over are good. Analysis paralysis is where you're at, it seems. Choose and begin.

You can thank me later....

Ohh good lord, haha. I've already had a bad experience in just buying on a whim in the recording world. I've found that you lose a lot of money that way. Some people can afford to do it, others, like myself, can't. My apologies if I've offended anyone with all my questions, lol. I just like being able to talk to people who have been in the industry for a long while. I've learned a lot through this forum. You'll have to put up with me, I suppose. If it's annoying, just cover your eyes and move on to the next question. haha

 

[Justsomeguy]

guitargirl7 - you'd have to be doing the most thorough research of anyone on this site, eva... first the microphone questions, then the DAW questions and now the interface questions over the last couple of weeks... seriously just buy something and start. It's all good... there is no optimum solution at the $200 end of the market. Sorry. All the recommendations which have now been made over and over and over are good. Analysis paralysis is where you're at, it seems. Choose and begin.


You can thank me later....

actually a very good point! i went through a similar thing "um"ing and "ah"ing over a new laptop at the end of last year. 3 months later and armed with advice from everyone i trusted on the matter i still wasn't 100% sure what i wanted but seeing as i finally had the money in my bank and didn't want to accidentally spend it anything else i bit the bullet and went with what my gut/what everybody else had suggested. i had buyers remorse on the drive home, got home, opened it up, never looked back.... couldn't be happier

tbh, some english accent are awesome, some.... not so much. unfortunately as a southern stuck in the midlands i find myself mocked for saying words properly and adding extra "r" sounds where they should be, i.e "baRth" and "graRrrs" also, i kinda wish i was american atm so i could buy the gear i wanted without having to pay hideous import duties

and Chili; lets get on it! even if we all just agree a cover song and the parts we want to record and just dropbox files between everyone involved

 

[Armistice]

Ohh good lord, haha. I've already had a bad experience in just buying on a whim in the recording world. I've found that you lose a lot of money that way. Some people can afford to do it, others, like myself, can't. My apologies if I've offended anyone with all my questions, lol. I just like being able to talk to people who have been in the industry for a long while. I've learned a lot through this forum. You'll have to put up with me, I suppose. If it's annoying, just cover your eyes and move on to the next question. haha

You're not offending me, or anyone - as I think I said to you in another post, the aim of most of the advice you're getting here is to not have you spend unwisely on stuff that will be no use to you further down the track. Everything that's been recommended is good solid gear that will have a use in the future for you if you decide you want to pursue this to "the next level" and come into the money to do so.... so ask away. Most are champing at the bit to record and will not listen when steered in a useful direction by us Newbies regulars - you on the other hand seem to be going the other way!

All in good time, i guess. I look forward to hearing your efforts in the future...

 

[Travst]

I'm returning to this thread after a couple of days away. You've done some good research and gotten some good answers here. I did the same kind of research before I made my first purchases. I went with the Saffire Pro 24, but my budget was a bit larger. After looking at the Ableton Lite version that came with it, I tried Reaper and stuck with it. However, I wasn't invested in any particular DAW at that time and wasn't eligible for student discounts. The Ableton Lite version is very limited as was mentioned in this thread.

My experience with the Focusrite/Reaper combination has been very good. I didn't find their Mix Control software to be intuitive for a newbie, but once I needed to do some routing to inserts and the like, I picked it up quickly. Their tech support is excellent and the support on their site is pretty deep.

Reaper has a good manual that comes with sample files so that you can follow along with the examples given in the text. I learned it that way and supplemented the tutorial with the "5 Minutes to a Better Mix" video series that's on YouTube. That is an excellent source of tips for the new user, and I've become a big fan of TheRecordingRevolution because of the videos.

 

[ecc83]

Many folks on several forums will agree with me that one of the best AIs about at the moment is the NI Komplete Audio 6.

Very solid build, very solid drivers (it is said RME had a hand?) very clean pre amps and very good converters and the fastest latency of any AI barring a few exotica, RME, MOTU etc.

You also get some blinding software including the pretty powerful Cubase LE5.

I have one and if I can run any tests on it for you PM me.

Dave.

 

[CFox]

Many folks on several forums will agree with me that one of the best AIs about at the moment is the NI Komplete Audio 6.

Very solid build, very solid drivers (it is said RME had a hand?) very clean pre amps and very good converters and the fastest latency of any AI barring a few exotica, RME, MOTU etc.

You also get some blinding software including the pretty powerful Cubase LE5.

I have one and if I can run any tests on it for you PM me.

Dave.

I was thinking of getting the KA6 before I picked up the Focusrite 2i2 on a spur of the moment over the counter price haggle.

NI software is top notch also. I own Komplete 7 and am very happy with it.

KA6 will come with the latest NI freebies and vouchers for sure.

NATIVE INSTRUMENTS : HOME | HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE FOR MUSICIANS, PRODUCERS, DJS, GUITAR AND BASS PLAYERS


To the OP. I have loaded up Ableton and just didnt find the appeal of Reaper. From what I read here and elsewhere it's great in a live setup with its block arrangement function.

 

[xayero]

Sorry if I interrupt in discussion, but found this thread and I decided to post here rather than creating new one.
First of all Hi as I am newbie here, in this "enormous cave of recording knowledge".
So I finally decide to buy some new gear for my home studio, and definitely first thing that I need is audio interface. For a long time been using EMU 0202 USB but it's just not enough for me, also some driver compatibility issues started to break out with win7 and my DAW.
I am working on PC with win7 x64 my DAW is Presonus Studio One (version 1).
Price range is about 250$.
I record most of songs using midi, but I am also guitar, bass, keys player. Not much of a singer but would be nice to record some vocal tracks if needed. I don't record drums so many inputs are not required for me.
Another issue is should I buy firewire or usb interface. In both my laptop and desktop pc I have FireWire port, but I am afraid its 1394a so it's the old one.
I consider to buy one of those:
-Roland UA-55 Quad-Capture - heard that amazing drivers and preamps turn this into great usb interface
-Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 - it's FireWire and seems decent, also read that there are no problems with my DAW
-Presonus Firestudio Mobile - bit more expensive but for sure compatible with my setup
So what interface should I buy? Usb FireWire? One of above? or something different?

 

[Chili]

Sorry if I interrupt in discussion, but found this thread and I decided to post here rather than creating new one.
First of all Hi as I am newbie here, in this "enormous cave of recording knowledge".

Hi. Welcome to the site.

You have a lot of questions and you need to start your own thread instead of interrrupting this one. It'll be easier to help you than to carry two conversations in the same thread.

have fun.

 

[ecc83]

Hi X, I am nearly as noob here as yourself but welcome. Don't want to be a repetative BOF but do look at the NI Ka6, better latency than many Fussywire devices. If your pc does not have a Texas Instruments FW chipset FW is not advised.

I had not heard of that Roland until about 3 weeks ago but everything I have heard since has been good. But, I HAVE a Ka6 and if 4 in 4 out +S/PDIF is enough connectivity for you, best bet IMHO.

Oh! And BTW the EMu 0404 usb was a very good AI but I had heard, as you have found that the W7 drivers were troublesome. A pity and a shame EMu!

Dave.