what is a good starter software program?

  • Thread starter Thread starter tcdave
  • Start date Start date
T

tcdave

New member
I am getting my brother's son, 14 y.o., interested in recording audio and midi.

Do you know a good software thats free or cheap that is decent?

He has a Pentium that is 200 mhz + 24 megs ram and soundblaster card.


Thanks,

tcdave

PS - I have pro audio 9 and sonar but the computer requirements are too high.
 
It's going to be tough on that computer. You might want to try some of the home studio software that they sell at computer stores. They are very limited but probably less demanding on the hardware.

Hopefully he is at least running Win98.
 
I run n-Track on a Pentium 150 and 32 MB of RAM and have had few problems. I've never used it with MIDI but have read quite a few users saying it's not too good with MIDI or very basic, at least. The audio side is fine and easy to use.
 
Yup, n-track is the way to go. I've used n-track with good success on a P 200, though I did bump its ram up to 96M. You may be able to get by with 24M, but it'll get tight pretty quick.

In any case, n-track is inexpensive and pretty full featured. You'll learn about most of what software multitracking programs can do and have a pretty good idea of what you need you next program to do- if you even need to "upgrade" to a different program.

It does crash a bit, though- all multitrackers do to a degree. So save your work often.

Take care,
Chris
 
Actually, I think you can download Acid Xpress for free. It has some track limitations, but other than that I believe it's full featured. Then there's the XP version of Sound Forge, which can be had for $59.

Something that may be of interest to your nephew is the AcidPlanet contests. If you're not familar with this, it's just a contest where you get to remix somebody's song. You get all the seperate tracks to play with, so it'd be a good introduction to mixing and production.
 
n-track is by far the easiest multi-tracker I've ever used. It's got more power than most beginners would know what to do with, plus support for dx and vst effects, and support for wdm drivers.

Acid is also extremely easy for looping and recording, but is more expensive when you want to buy the full version.
 
The limitations on the free ACID Express are far more than just track limitations... still, it gives you the flavor of how it works.
 
N-track a great low cost option. You can check out Quartz, also. They have a free version that's limited to 4 tracks.
 
I'd be surprised if any multitrack program would run with 24MB of RAM. Everything he does will be hitting VM, and he probably has a 5400RPM ATA33 hard drive (if that fast).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top