OK, what software...

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Bigus Dickus

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Been asking a lot of questions the past couple of weeks, hope I don't get politely asked to leave! :)

Anyway, I have mics on the way, along with the DBX 386 mic pre and A/D converter. I'll be sending the digital signal to my computer through a Delta Dio 2496 soundcard.

I'm doing grand piano recording, and will only have two channels to worry about (of course, both the 386 and Dio 2496 limit me to that as well, good thing I don't need more simulatneous channels for now).

Now I'm to the point of choosing the right software. As said, I'll be dealing primarily with two channels (simultaneously) with the occasional solo instrument or vocal when I'm bored. I have the option of recording in 24 bit 96 kHz (or 24/41.1, or whatever I choose), so I'd like the software to complement that. I'll also need some decent DSP to help "repair" the damage by recording in a bad room... actually, I might try to erect a sound tent and make the recording pretty dead, so all reverb and/or room effects might need to come from the software.

Mixing and mastering of course, some decent EQ capabilities as well. I've already spent more on the mics/pres/mounts/stands/cables than I inteded to (I always do that... :( ), so keeping the software on the cheap (and no more extravagant than I need) would be a major plus.

If this sounds like a listing of the most basic features of every piece of recording software on the market, try not to laugh at me too hard. :) In that case, just give me your favorite that would suit my needs.

Someone has already mentioned n-Track, but it seems like a lot of people are abandoning that ship.
 
I'll also need some decent DSP to help "repair" the damage by recording in a bad room...
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Acutally, no amount of DSP at your fingertips will make it better than the room it's recorded in. The telt idea sounds like the way to go...

Two tracks isn't alot, but I would nevertheless go for one of the big sequensers, like Sonar, Cubasen n-Track or Logic (if you use mac). Download the demos and try for yourself. Personally I like Sonar, but whatever I say, you must decide what you like...
 
No other suggestins? :(

OK, so there's N-Trak for $50, and Sonar for $500. Surely there are some "favorites" here for budget recording that will handle my limited needs.

Or, since many people seem to be leaving the N-Trak train, what are it's deficiencies?
 
Sure, we can all tell you our favorites. Mine's Nuendo. Vegas is cool, too. There, feel better?

Actually, moskus has given you great advice. One, get a good sound first because DSP is always a poor substitute at best.

Second, go download some demos and see what you like. What matters is how you like to work. CoolEdit may serve you well for what you describe wanting to do. Me, I need something more tailored to mult-tracking. You know, recording software doesn't have a sound. Plugins do, A/D converters do, mics do. Programming code doesn't.

Lastly, don't worry. We would never ask anyone to leave politely.
-kent
 
As Columbo said, just one more thing. Your budget, please. You nearly gave us a clue in your last post. You mentioned some prices, and used the term "budget recording". We need to know what that means to you in order to make helpful suggestions.

You want good for cheap, and don't plan much in the way of multi-tracking, take a close look at the CoolEdit products from Syntrillium. Cheers.
-kent
 
Budget: I'd like to keep it under $100, but if there was really a large difference in the quality (and number, availability, etc.) or plugins, features (like 16-bit vs. 24 bit) etc. then I'd go up to ~$200.

My biggest question, really, is about the DSP plugins. Are there standard DX plugins that work with all programs, or most? Are plugins proprietary for each software? I really don't want to be stuck with some software and decide later that I need a certain digital effect, or EQ, or something like that and then find out that it just isn't available for my software.

Aside from that concern, the quality of plugins does matter to me. As said, I'll probably have to add all ambience and reverb etc. digitally, doing the recording as dry as I can (I'll try the room first, and work with it a bit, but I don't have high hopes). If the DSP effects used by a certain software are especially cheesy or unrealistic sounding, then that's the kind of information I'm looking for.

Yes, I can do some trials of different software, but as you're aware there's a dozen of them out there, maybe more (and I don't want to overlook a valid option just because I'd never heard of it). Also, some effects that are important to me might be limited in a trial version... I don't know, not really familiar with what features are disabled for each software's trial version.

Hope that helps you help me more! :D
 
The two most popular flavors of plug-ins for the PC world are VST and DirectX. All the major players (that I know of) on the PC platform support DirectX. Sonar, Nuendo/Cubase, and N-Track (and possibly others) support VST as well. There is a DirectX "wrapper" for VST that allows VST plug-ins to be used by apps that support DirectX... it works okay in my experience, though it's sometimes a little tempermental on my system.

If you don't need MIDI, I've been using Vegas Pro happily for some time now. Vegas Video has dropped quite a bit in price lately (don't let the word "video" throw you, it's excellent for audio). You might check it out.

The only other multitracking SW I've had any experience with is Cakewalk... and it ended in tears after years of being in that abusive relationship. I finally jumped ship, instead of upgrading to Sonar, and have been much happier. Just my experience... lotsa happy Cakewalk/Sonar users out there.
 
Hey! If you're only gonna need two tracks at a time go get Sound Forge 6. It will handle this recording chore and is a great editor as well.

It also comes with Vegas LE which would help if you wanna play around with overdubbing after the fact.

www.sonicfoundry.com

Free demos available.
 
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