Audacity questions

S

Sam Page

New member
Howdy folks, this is my first post!

Ok, here goes. I've got a bunch of songs that I want to record (and eventually sell). Some songs only involve an acoustic guitar and vocals, so I'll start with those. I am intrigued about recording on my home PC and distributing the music digitally. I have no recording experience so I want to start simple.

Now for some questions. First, is Audacity a good option for me? Second, are there any problems copyrighting songs produced on Audacity?
 
I think you would be much happier eventually using Reaper, so you might as well start using it now. Audacity is simple but, IMO, has too many annoyances and Reaper is far more powerful stuff. You can hold on to audacity to use as an external editor because Reaper has limitations in this respect.
 
Your questions were: "First, is Audacity a good option for me? Second, are there any problems copyrighting songs produced on Audacity?"

Yes. Audacity is a good option. It is relatively straightforward to use, and the learning curve is not as stepp as some other programs.

But, as Nave says, there are more powerful, more versatile programs around, of which Reaper is a particularly good example.

I am not sure what you are asking when you talk about copyright and audacity.

Copyright automatically accrues* to the creator of an original piece on its creation. For the legal system to know that a work has been created and to recognise your ownership of it, you need to register that work. For example, in Australia you would register with APRA.

Copyright is independent of the program (e.g. Audacity) that you use to create the work. Perhpas you could explain your specific copyright concern.

* There are exceptions to this, but they are the least of your worries at this stage.
 
All you ever wanted to know about copyrights. Whether you're in the US or any other country that has signed treaties, etc...

www.copyright.gov

About audacity... if you're looking to record, you'll probably be shopping for an interface. Choose one that comes with a free DAW, like Cubase, Ableton, etc.
 
Audacity is great for certain things. I sometimes use it to cut out a crappy section of a song after I've mixed the tape down to a wav file. It's also great for making your own custom ringtones. However, a lot of the effects are not very intuitive. I find the EQ very difficult (I like twiddling knobs). I haven't tried very many DAW softwares, but I like Ableton Live. The tutorials are a bit time consuming, but easy to follow and you're a lot better of than not using them.
 
I use REAPER because you can use MIDI. Audacity doesn't
So, what does that mean ? You can, for example, Import or Create MIDI drum patterns into REAPER, apply a soft synth VSTi <samples> for drums, and really bring your tunes to another level
You'll learn as you go. Even wanna re-try over and over. That's how you learn
 
Thanks for the substantive responses, folks. You got me thinking that I'll want to mix in synthetic sounds, like drum beats, with my vocals and guitar. Does Audacity have that capability? I gather that Reaper does.
 
Ahoy There, Nave!

nave said:
I think you would be much happier eventually using Reaper, so you might as well start using it now. Audacity is simple but, IMO, has too many annoyances and Reaper is far more powerful stuff. You can hold on to audacity to use as an external editor because Reaper has limitations in this respect.
Click to expand...


cool name. I like it :)

you mentioned eggZACTly what I need to know about. that being: using
audacity as an external editor as Reaper has limitations in this respect.

ok, I didn't know that. but I certainly believe you. I have Cubase SX3,
it's a legit copy I bought from a friend with whom I am trying to get some
projects going. he has Nuendo, which is a whole different can of worms,
in terms of discussion. and I have his old cubase.

cubase also apparently has limitations in the editing arena, and I am a
bonehead. so, we've already quite the recipe going here.

my buddy Ron (his real name) says I need to get cool edit pro 2.0 to
do editing with. NOW the guy tells me. so my first question is, where?
it's a gone product.it has ceased to be. this is an EX product :)

so, it's a ridiculous idea. would audacity be just as useful for converting
mp3 files back to wav files? or maybe something better than audacity?

thanks so much for any and all feedback on this
 
Yes, audacity is good for beginners. its your simple "click and record this track" then "click and record that track". its very simple to use, very simple to understand, and perfect for someone who is recording very simple music (nothing wrong with it, but it IS among the simplest to record). what are you using to get the music from your acoustic and your voice into your computer? Just mics that go into an interface?
 
nave said:
You can hold on to audacity to use as an external editor because Reaper has limitations in this respect.
Click to expand...

I missed that bit first time around.

Yes, you can use Audacity as an external editor in Reaper. Nominating it as such in Reaper, then double clicking on the track brings up Audacity.

This is what I used to do when I started with Reaper (because of this limitation in Reaper).

But . . . it turns out that editing in Reaper is not in fact that limited. By zooming in and isolating the bit that you want to deal with, Reaper's editing tools are more than capable of doing pretty all you would ever want to do.
 
Jet Audio

gecko zzed said:
I missed that bit first time around.

Yes, you can use Audacity as an external editor in Reaper. Nominating it as such in Reaper, then double clicking on the track brings up Audacity.

This is what I used to do when I started with Reaper (because of this limitation in Reaper).

But . . . it turns out that editing in Reaper is not in fact that limited. By zooming in and isolating the bit that you want to deal with, Reaper's editing tools are more than capable of doing pretty all you would ever want to do.
Click to expand...

sorry, don't mean to hijack a thread. so I'll mosey along :)

I bought a thing called jet audio, a file converter for 20 bucks.
let's see if I can figure out how to use it. cheers y'all!
 
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