Best software for what I want to do?

[Cross303]

I have hours of minidisc recordings of synth crap that I want to import into my laptop, edit out mistakes, mix levels, and put drums and other layers over top. I would also like to record live with my keyboard (maybe someday I'll try midi but too overwhelmed and confused right now). I ordered an M-audio 9900 sound card for my inputs, upgraded to 512 mb RAM, and an 80 gig hard drive. I have Reason 3.0 on my laptop now.

Basically, I need to know what the best software is for what I've described above. I don't think that Reason is what I was looking for. Are there plug ins that can acheive this with Reason or maybe just return it and go with something more suited for what I want?

Thanks for any help!!

 

[Riverdog]

Did you play???

Hmmm... Any type of multi-track recording software that can perform "on the fly" overdubs should work just fine (Ie: ALL of them...)

If you're going to add something to your recordings though:
- Is it something you can re-record?
- Does your MiniDisk recorder have digital outs?

I ask these things because going from a MiniDisk / you may lose some quality in the transfer... It also depends on the condition of your recordings... If they're hissy in the first place, you're going to end up with some of that in your new recordings and it may not "feel" right when you work on your mix...

You could try something like "Deck" from peak to start with...
It's just a multi-track recording software like Pro-Tools..
And I think there's a free or light version out there that may allow you to experiement to see if you get the results you're looking for...

Hope this helps...

 

[altitude909]

Mackie Traktion is supposed to be really easy to get into. If you are on a mac then Garageband. Those should have a pretty quick learning curve. Beyond that, take your pick: cubase/logic/protools/digital performer, pretty much any multitracking environment will do what you want. If you are new to the whole DAW thing, get something that is bundled with plugins (i.e. Cubase and logic come with a decent set of drum machines/synths/effects) so you can work right out of the box

Reason is probably not the right tool for what you are trying to do since AFAIK there is no support for recording directly into it

One thing you should do is learn midi ASAP. When you import audio into your multitrack, there is no time code for the recording so it will be at what ever pace you played at. The same will be true recording any audio to your machine (although you can play to a click track which will probably help). When you try to lay drums over it, chances are there will be glaring timing problems which will be difficult to fix if just editing audio (not to mention fixing mistakes)

When using midi, what you do is actually record the midi (which will be notes, velocity, after touch and anything else your keyboard has) instead of the audio. Then when you play back the sequencer, it will play the midi notes back into the keyboard just like you played it. The big difference is now you will be able to edit the midi score at the note level so if you played a bad note, just drag it to where it belongs. You will also be able to quanitize the notes if you start drifting off time.

 

[Soundmind??]

Reason will not work, it does not have recording capability other than importing samples. It is a great composition program with good synthesizers, instruments, effects, etc, but not for recording. Sonar, Cubase, Samplitude, Sound Forge, on and on.... can do excellent recording. If you have a decent PC or Mac, the main differences in these programs is the interface with the user (how they look and what menus/keystrokes do what). There is a difference in effects, types of plugins, etc that you should consider also. Good luck. BTW, there are freeware versions available too, though compatability issues may exist that will limit what plugins can be used, sampling rates, etc.