Help!

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youphilistines

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I currently have a tascam 424 mk3 and i am using shure sm58 for mic. I have an acoustic guitar that I run through an amp. This is it. I have been told that Cakewalk is good and looking at the prices, I am a little concerned. Why so cheap??!!? I can get the Guitar Studio 2 for $50 bucks. It's an 8-Track for crying out loud! is this for real?!!?? The Sonar XL is only $350 on Ebay(unused and not registered). Are these systems REAL 8-Tracks that sound GOOD? Are they really worth the money. They also come with drum tracks?! Do the drums sound good. WHY SO CHEAP??????????????? Can anyone give me advice? PLEASE.

I AM CONFUSED
 
Yo Philistines at the Gate...

You do realize that Cakewalk is software, right? It's cheap because you need a $1000+ computer to run it on, along with a $200 - $600 soundcard.
 
I have a pentium 3 in my computer now(850+mgz). I can get a really good soundcard for cheap if these cakewalk software programs are really good. Are they?
 
I have the pro audio 9 dlx ( dlx comes with two discs of samples) I think its a really cool program, it has way more than you would be using though, id go with your guitar studio version, but i have the capability of 128 real tracks! (only used about 25 so far:D ) So for the money i think its a great program. I have a stock soundcard and a mixer but i think thats enough and it sounds great, i only have about a -70 db noise floor! If you get involved with MIDI you'll be blown away by how much you can actually create and tweek with cakewalk, but it is confusing to learn at first. (unless your some kinda genius like some guys around here:D ) buy it.
 
They are good. I would recommend CW PA9 or Sonar though if you are serious about recording. The others are scaled down/limited versions. Less tracks, less effects, less overall power.

PA9 has been discontinued and replaced by Sonar. You can still find it around though, and the price should be decent since it's a discontinued product.

I would spend a lot more time researching though, as there are a lot of issues with digitial recording. This BBS is a very good place to start. You can also download demo versions of these products which will let you try them out before you buy. The limitation is that the demo's won't let you save a file - but they will give you a decent feel for the program's capabilities.

Your computer sounds OK (depending on how much memory you have and the speed/capacity of your HDD's). You will probably want a better sound card then the one that came installed with your computer (but you can still get started without having to spring for a new one).

Good luck. It can be frustrating as you go through the learning curve, but I've enjoyed it immensely.
 
125 tracks?!?!?!?!?
I must admit I don't know the first thing about computer recording. What would I need to be able to plug in and record? Mixer?(will my 424 mk3 work for that) Are the drum and other samples any good? Can I use condenser mic's? Are the effects that come with the software any good(reverb, chorus etc.)?

The price really seems to good to be true. I like a raw sound when recording, will the computer gloss it up?

Thanks for the responses!!!!!!! I'm really grateful that there is something like this around to help.
 
P.S. One thing you should know about track count is that these programs generally have unlimited track capability (or like 128, which is the same thing in my mind). However, the number of tracks that you can record simultaneously is a function of your sound card. Most consumer cards have a single stereo input - which means you can only record two tracks at a time. You can overdub, though, pretty much to your heart's content.

Some of the better sound cards will give you 4 or 8 simultaneous input capabilities.
 
I would only need to record one or two tracks at the same time. What are some soundcards that come highly recomended? what are their prices? I would prefer to spend less than $200 if at all possible. Right now I am tired of not having my songs come out onto tape the way that I want them to, so I would be willing to spend a little extra on a sound card to make sure that the sounds I am after will come show up.
Again, thanks so much for all of your responses to my questions. Maybe sometime in the future with the help I got from all of you, I will be able to help some poor novice with his/her questions.
 
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