Way Newbie here... couple of quick questions

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tothemax

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I've been using Audacity with a Tascam US-122L Interface recording Stereo for some basic concept tracks - 1 mic at vocal height (on a short boom) 1 mic in front of my amp. I have Hammerhead loaded on my PC with Audacity.

1) How can I access Hammerhead, if the Tascam is active no audio on the PC seems accessible - or do I need to change the Audacity preferences to access the drum software and if so does that mean its coming into the system through the onboard sound card?

2) Cubase 4L came with the Tascam interface, I understand it has more capabilities than Audacity but many posts have said it's not very user friendly or intuitive. Is it worth upgrading to, others have recommended Reaper - personally I'm a little lost trying to mix with Audacity - so I'm not sure if going to a more complex program will help. I've done live mixes on a regular sound board before so I'm not hopeless it's just that the DAW is a little overwhelming.

3) Last question, I have an older Dell (about 5 years old) that I can use for a dedicated DAW machine (currently I'm using my home office PC which has lot's of non-music SW loaded but is a late model machine). Whats the minimum HP I can get by with to learn basic DAW recording and mixing - simple guitar, vocal, bass, and drum track. The Dell is about a 1.5 Ghz proc. with 2GB RAM I would be loading it with WIN XP. Audacity, Cubase 4L, or Reaper? Once I get a handle on the process I'll upgrade my hardware.

Thanks...

Max
 
1) In control panel> sounds and audio devices > audio set up the Tascam as the default playback device.

If HH uses the wavetable synth in the onboard soundcard you will have to use that. If HH uses samples you should be able to use the Tascam.

2) Reaper is free to try. More complicted than Audacity but not overly. Plenty of web resources available. Try Youtube for tutorials.

3) The Dell is borderline. Does it have a 7200rpm HD? That would be a plus. Otherwise, stick to the other computer. Set it up for different mode bootups, one for your business use and one for recording. In the recording boot only load the stuff you need for recording and leave everything else off. Including anti virus, screensavers, stuff like that.
 
I'd definitely either recommend going to that Cubase version or Reaper....much better than Audacity!
 
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