need a recording program that does these things:

V

Veej007

New member
hey guys. i am looking for a recording program to use with my computer, but there are specific things that i'm looking for.

pc compatible, and not too resource intensive. i'm running a three year old p3 667mhz, win2000 (probably will be dual boot with win98se by the time i get this whole thing together) and all data stored on an external firewire drive.

midi support: can be limited. i just want to be able to use the stuff that's built into windows to sequence drums and make wackier sounds right alongside the audio stuff i'm going to record. i don't want to have to do them in separate programs and then combine them. of course, i also need to be able to export the audio generated by the midi tracks to the final product, which i'm guessing might be tricky since midi is technically just computer code. i'd rather not have to play track and run the signal back into a recording input.

sound bytes: i hope i can explain this well. my experience thus far has been with digital performer. one thing that i loved about dp was that all the tracks had beat markings on them, which were placed according to a tempo that could be user specified. this allowed me to work with very small chunks of sound, clicking and dragging and copying and pasting instead of having to actually *record* an entire track. it's quite interesting, actually, crafting entire songs out of tiny bits and pieces of sound. i'd like to find a pc program that will let me keep doing this.
 
You probably want to look into something like Sonic Foundry Vegas Audio. It's a multi-track recorder that has MIDI support as well as what you are looking to do with create songs out of "bytes". It also uses loops that you can download or buy for even more excentric sounds.
 
Another good choice is PowerTracks ($29) from PG Music. They also sell other MIDI based tools that work together with PowerTracks.

Ed
 
Ther is no more Vegas Audio. It's just called Vegas now and is targeted for video editing and production, but includes all the audio features that the audiocentric version of Vegas used to have.

As far as "bytes" (you really mean "bites" as in pieces, not the computer term that designates a eight-bit binary structures, don't you?) , most programs handle sections of pre-recorded audio just as well as they do recording a track full of new stuff. SONAR and ACID also include tools for slicing looped segments of audio and matching their tempos for building rhytmic tracks out of small audiuo segments.
 
AlChuck said:
As far as "bytes" (you really mean "bites" as in pieces, not the computer term that designates a eight-bit binary structures, don't you?)
Click to expand...
:D I saw the way he spelled it and put that together with the fact that I have done computers for a living for who knows how long... You know...
 
Vegas doesn't do midi, IIRC.

Acid does, but it's not implemented very well. Its audio features are limited too - but it's very intuitive, and is great for manipulating loops. It ships with Sound Forge XP too, an audio editor (to handle fixing some of the stupid things Acid does with your audio, like forcing you to record in stereo).

I started out on PowerTracks. It's a REALLY squirrelly interface. I don't recommend it.

The newest version of Sonar is supposed to work well with loops, and has good midi and audio implementation. So if you want an all-in-one, Sonar might be the way to go. I like Cubase, but the loop support isn't there.

Daf
 
what do you mean about squirrelly? i am very interested in powertracks (or at least i was), so if you could tell me what you thought of it it'd be much appreciated...
 
I second the Sonar recommendation. It's the only game in town if you want decent midi editing, powerful audio capabilities, and looping, all in one package.
 
Veej007 said:
what do you mean about squirrelly? i am very interested in powertracks (or at least i was), so if you could tell me what you thought of it it'd be much appreciated...
Click to expand...
It's a VERY non-standard interface - none of the usual windows shortcuts work in it, icons don't act the same. Not only non-standard, but often counter-intuitive.

A few months with PT was enough to convince me I needed a REAL sequencer - coughed up the cash for Cubase 5, been much happier since.

If you want a good cheap (free) program, try Computer Music magazine's Computer Muzys - come free with the included CDRom each month. Powerful little program, easy to use. Dunno about loop support, though.

Daf
 
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