GuitarTracks Pro or HomeStudio 2004?

[telecaster2]

Hello:

I am a newbie to computer recording, but an oldie to guitar playing. I've acquired a copy of Guitar Tracks 2 with my recent Johnson J-Station purchase (an amazing value @ $99, IMHO). There is an option to upgrade to Guitar Tracks Pro for $49. Or, I can spend a little more cash and move up to HomeStudio 2004. Short term, I want to record electric and acoustic guitar, some vocals, and bass and drum tracks. Down the road, I'd like to be able to add soft synth piano and organ tracks. Purchase of a midi keyboard / controller is something I will consider at that time. Reasonable learning curve is important to me. I have a Audiophile 2496 and a Behringer UB1204 Pro mixer on order. Already have a reasonable assortment of mics, etc.

My questions are:

1. Should I go with GT Pro or HS 2004? Why?

2. If HS 2004 is the suggested direction, what benefit would the "XL" version provide over the base version?

3. What products would you recommend to develop natural drum and bass tracks (hip hop / dance / techno sounds unlikely to be in my mixes...;-)

Finally, I am looking to keep costs reasonable.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I've learned a good deal from this board.

 

[Porter]

telecaster2,

Firstly, welcome to the BBS.

Personally I use Sonar, so I'm going by what I can ready. GT Pro vs Home Studio. Well you mentioned that you want to use midi which eliminates GT Pro as it doesn't have midi!

Home Studio vs Home Studio Xl... check out this link . If gives you a run down of the differences between Standard and XL, so the main difference is the Audio FX suites, the Dyad DXi and Spectra FX... I don't know about the last two, but this page gives you a run down of the FX's.

The Dyad might be your answer to Drums... failing that, you could always use Dyad to play the Drum Kit From Hell (I think)!

Porter

 

[BluesMeister]

Hi Telecaster2,

What Porter says is correct in every respect.

I have HS2004XL, and Dyad is not particularly easy to figure out, but it does work and I have used drum SoundFonts with it to very good effect.

You can fall back on Edirol Virtual Sound Canvas (VSC) to play MIDI sounds if necessary, but they don't sound particularly convincing.

Be aware that on my PC, VSC & Dyad most definately don't get on together. My system crashes every time I try to route SFs through Dyad if VSC is already in use for other MIDI sounds in that particular file.

You also need to have a separate audio track for each instance of Dyad. With VSC you only need one audio track.

--
BluesMeister

 

[Bulls Hit]

Like the lads have said, if you want midi, HS is your only option.

I use GT Pro myself, and it works well for me. The main benefit of an upgrade from GT to GT Pro is the ability to record from multiple ins. You also get more effects and Fruity Loops drums and the Revalver amp simulator.

Apart from midi, I'm not sure what other extras you get in HS