free software?

[Shaviska]

Hello!

Okay first off two things - I am very stupid and very poor. please be patient with me and dont laugh, Bassically Im trying to find some kind of FREE software that has the capability to record audio and also...you know...do the thing where you can write midi(?) and drum tracks and whatnot as well..doeant have to be anything good i just want to throw a couple of ideas together . I have spent far too much time downloading dodgy cluncky things only to discover you cant do the midi thingamajig or you cant save stuff cos its actually just a demo. Is there ANYTHING like this that is free? im guessing not and im sure i actually have to spend money but...dont have money !

thanks very much!

Shaviska

 

[kcearl]

Hello!

Okay first off two things - I am very stupid and very poor. please be patient with me and dont laugh, Bassically Im trying to find some kind of FREE software that has the capability to record audio and also...you know...do the thing where you can write midi(?) and drum tracks and whatnot as well..doeant have to be anything good i just want to throw a couple of ideas together . I have spent far too much time downloading dodgy cluncky things only to discover you cant do the midi thingamajig or you cant save stuff cos its actually just a demo. Is there ANYTHING like this that is free? im guessing not and im sure i actually have to spend money but...dont have money !

thanks very much!

Shaviska

no ones gonna laugh..times are tight


first of all use Reaper as your DAW...it will record midi and audio...it costs $60 but you dont have to pay it until you basically can...the only thing that will be hampered is load up times I think (pay when you can afford it as these guys are have an excellent business model...I hope they crush all the big ones eventually just for that)

http://www.reaper.fm/

next for guitar and bass amps try these guys...very good quality VSTs

http://www.acmebargig.com/

for a drum programme with a couple of excellent kits to get you started try here

http://www.drumcore.com/TemplateMain.aspx?contentId=65

for a vocal pre amp try this

http://music-production-tips.blogspot.com/2009/04/booteq-mkii-vst-plugin.html


a ton of great plug ins from Kjaerhus Audio

http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-series.php

and finally some soft synths

http://kunz.corrupt.ch/


if you cant make decent tracks with this little lot there's something wrong with you


dont forget to pay for reaper when you can...

 

[dodgeaspen]

Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhahhhhhahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad so this is just a paste (I don't want to re-type this all the time):

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/04...mp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470385421
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Gui...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/tips-techniques/168409-tips-techniques.html

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and tested suggestions that WORK: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm
(you'll want to bookmark and read through all of Tweak's Guide while you're there...)


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE and July 2009 issue they put out Samplitude10SE. FREE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

 

[Buer]

I'm quite a newbie myself, but I have been using Reaper for a while and would also strongly recommend it. However, I don't believe you can write and edit MIDI with it, I use FL Studio, however like you I am also very poor and stupid so I have the demo version. The downfall to having the demo is that you can't save your work, but if you finish it all in one sitting you can export it as an mp3 file, this works fine for me.

 

[Shaviska]

Thanks very much! thats all really helpfull, Think reaper looks pretty much perfect from what i can see on their site. I'll give that a go and if it all sounds dreadfull i'll start thinking about sound cards and all the other jazz I dont understand.

Thanks again!