New again...after 16 years...Has much changed?

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captainL

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Well, I'm starting off again at newbie status. It's been a long time since I recorded anything....2008 ish. I had the full version of Cubase 3 or 4 ($$$$)?? Just getting setup and back into it and realizing I've forgotten a lot but its coming back to me.

I now have a dedicated (older computer): I5, 16 gig ram, 1 TB M2 drive - amazing how far computers have come - hoping there won't be any issues. Any problems if I add a graphics card to run 2 monitors? 6600xt. When I started they where still debating if digital effects will ever be as good as analog. I assume we are well past that point?

I have a little Komplete audio 6, KRK Rokit 6 monitors, sm57/58, minilab 3 midi thingy. The software is holding me back. Haaaa. I have cubase 14 AI. I've just dug into it but it doesn't seam as visually pleasing as the older version 4??? Maybe it's because I don't have the full blown version? IDK. I also have abelton lite (?) I played with it a little but I think I like cubase better because I'm more familiar. Maybe I should check out Reaper too?

Looking to get this setup so my kids can play around with beats and stuff and put some guitars/singing on top. I never used midi in the past so the minilab will be a new process for me. I used EZ drummer back in the day and also manual did midi note by note. Any referral towards cheap/free drum kits like that available these days? I don't need anything super complicated. I remember downloading a bunch of effects and stuff. Is it fair to assume most software has a good amount already loaded?

Just wanted to say hi. I'm sure I'll have some dumb questions in the future.

Mike.
 
Hi Mike.

Things have gotten better, as the technology has improved. I use Reaper, which is great for recording audio. It will do Midi, but other than using the drum plugin, I don't work that way. I don't make "beats", so I can't say how well it works for that. It's free to try for 2 months, not crippled in any way. Registering is only $60 so it's not a big investment. If you don't like the appearance, it is customizable. There are lots of themes which change the appearance.

It seems that Ableton was designed for for assembling beats. I don't use Cubase, so I can't say much about it but others do use it.

MTPowerDrumkit is a freeware program. It's free to use, you just have to skip through their nag screen when you load it, but if you send the author a few bucks they'll send you a license. It only has one drum kit, but it's loaded with hundreds of different patterns that you can paste right into a Reaper track, and the modify it as needed.

Unless you're also using the computer for gaming, I don't think I would invest heavily in a video card. The more powerful video cards tend to pull a lot of power (up to 200W or the 6600Xt) and that means more fans, which means more noise. A good microphone will easily pick up computer noise if it's in the vicinity. My old computer from 2015 has a VGA output and HDMI output so I can run two monitors with the internal Intel video.

For basic recording, an I5 should be plenty of power. I'm running a 4th gen I5 with Reaper and it works great.
 
All the versions of Cubase look like this, and I've been using it since the 90s - the appearance is pretty constant, just got darker for better viewing in the dark and light. The real differences are the abilities in the sound department. MIDI hasn't changed much but now with so many VSTi sound sources, every upgrade is better - just takes a while to get used to, but what you remember, mostly still works! Most versions of cubase come with a decent synth, and a drum machine - just make sure you log in to the steinberg app and you can download it. Pretty decent - if I use drums, I tend to use the Steinberg free one - plenty of kits and add on extras are easy. The Simon Philips ones I really like.
 
Hi Mike @captainL
Welcome back!

I can't help much with beats or Cubase but if you're looking for a GPU to be able to run two screens then knowing your pc specs would help a bit.
Do you know the CPU and/or Motherboard model number,
or the PC model number if it's off the shelf?

You'll need a spare internal PCI-Express X16 (or8) slot.
Rich is correct about most GPUs requiring quite a lot of power but if gaming + video editing is of no interest and you literally just want dual screen for your daw,
there are low power options. For example, I used to run a GTX 750Ti which is quite old now and not particularly impressive,
but didn't require additional power. It just plugged in to the PCI-E slot and that was that.

I think GTX 1650 requires no additional power too and is fair bit younger + more powerful.
 
TalismanRich said:
Hi Mike.

Things have gotten better, as the technology has improved. I use Reaper, which is great for recording audio. It will do Midi, but other than using the drum plugin, I don't work that way. I don't make "beats", so I can't say how well it works for that. It's free to try for 2 months, not crippled in any way. Registering is only $60 so it's not a big investment. If you don't like the appearance, it is customizable. There are lots of themes which change the appearance.

It seems that Ableton was designed for for assembling beats. I don't use Cubase, so I can't say much about it but others do use it.

MTPowerDrumkit is a freeware program. It's free to use, you just have to skip through their nag screen when you load it, but if you send the author a few bucks they'll send you a license. It only has one drum kit, but it's loaded with hundreds of different patterns that you can paste right into a Reaper track, and the modify it as needed.

Unless you're also using the computer for gaming, I don't think I would invest heavily in a video card. The more powerful video cards tend to pull a lot of power (up to 200W or the 6600Xt) and that means more fans, which means more noise. A good microphone will easily pick up computer noise if it's in the vicinity. My old computer from 2015 has a VGA output and HDMI output so I can run two monitors with the internal Intel video.

For basic recording, an I5 should be plenty of power. I'm running a 4th gen I5 with Reaper and it works great.
Click to expand...
Nice. I'll have to check out reaper and don't mind spending a little money. I'm not really a beat person but my kids are more into that stuff. I played with abelton and I had a pulsating consistent sound in the background when using the minilab. consist. Haven't tried troubleshooting it. Its not there in cubase though. I have a separate gaming computer, I was just thinking running two monitors would help work flow.

Thanks for the info!
 
rob aylestone said:
All the versions of Cubase look like this, and I've been using it since the 90s - the appearance is pretty constant, just got darker for better viewing in the dark and light. The real differences are the abilities in the sound department. MIDI hasn't changed much but now with so many VSTi sound sources, every upgrade is better - just takes a while to get used to, but what you remember, mostly still works! Most versions of cubase come with a decent synth, and a drum machine - just make sure you log in to the steinberg app and you can download it. Pretty decent - if I use drums, I tend to use the Steinberg free one - plenty of kits and add on extras are easy. The Simon Philips ones I really like.
Click to expand...
I think I remember color coding my tracks. But that makes sense, it has just gotten darker and only color codes a small part of the track instead of the whole thing? I figure there's millions of VSTis these days. I remember using Gsnap - only way I could make my vocals sound good. lol. I'll look into the steinberg stuff.

Thanks!
 
Steenamaroo said:
Hi Mike @captainL
Welcome back!

I can't help much with beats or Cubase but if you're looking for a GPU to be able to run two screens then knowing your pc specs would help a bit.
Do you know the CPU and/or Motherboard model number,
or the PC model number if it's off the shelf?

You'll need a spare internal PCI-Express X16 (or8) slot.
Rich is correct about most GPUs requiring quite a lot of power but if gaming + video editing is of no interest and you literally just want dual screen for your daw,
there are low power options. For example, I used to run a GTX 750Ti which is quite old now and not particularly impressive,
but didn't require additional power. It just plugged in to the PCI-E slot and that was that.

I think GTX 1650 requires no additional power too and is fair bit younger + more powerful.
Click to expand...
Thanks! I actually have about 30 GPUs 1660 super, 6600 - 6800xt, all the 30 series, and 8 4070s. Ha, I might put the 1660 in it. I might be into crypto and home mining, not profitable right now but fun to mine spec coins. That's why I figured I'd build a dedicated computer, I have so many left over parts. Running a MSI b450 tomahawk max 2, 16 gig of unmatched cheap DDR4 ram (Figure I could improve the ram if needed. It has a I3-9100 in it right now. I also have a I7-6700 but I think the I3 is faster. I have an un-activated windows 11 home on it. Trying to figure out if I need any of the activated features. Right now the task bar won't go away and blocks the bottom of cubase. I need to try another monitor or just buy a cheap windows license. You know anywhere to get a cheap key? I'm not really a computer builder and have been running Ubuntu in the past.

Thanks!
 
You can colour anything - the whole track or just snipped bits of it. I snip and colour most tracks. The black is actually better I think. I'd not want to go back now. pref/appearance/colors will let you change the colour of most items including the desktop if you cannot get on with it.
 
Hi Mike, another vote for Reaper here* but also try the free version of Cakewalk. My son uses it with Reaper and turns guitar into MIDI data and then of course any instrument he wants. It is very bright and colourful...a boon to these old eyes!

The NI KA6 is a very good interface, very good stable drivers and can run pretty low latency (your PC should be fine unless it is 'bloated')
There are two issues with the KA6. The phantom power is very weak, you can barely get 3mA out of each preamp and the preamps don't have masses of gain but I found I could run a '57 with the gain at max and still the 'room noise' was greater than pre amp hiss and I live in a very quiet area. One fix to both problems is a small mixer. I have a Behringer Xenyx 1202 and the pres are very good, it used to feed inputs 3/4 but now does that on a MOTU M4, an interface I can not praise highly enough.

* I think once paid for your kids can have reaper on their phones?

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Hi Mike, another vote for Reaper here* but also try the free version of Cakewalk. My son uses it with Reaper and turns guitar into MIDI data and then of course any instrument he wants. It is very bright and colourful...a boon to these old eyes!
.............

* I think once paid for your kids can have reaper on their phones?

Dave.
Click to expand...
Reaper is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux. No Android or I-phone versions that I know of.
 
He's already got Cubase 14? He said he is quite familiar with it, but didn't like the colour (which he can change?)
 
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