Which Recording Software Do You Use and Why Did You Choose It?

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Ken7

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There are many different recording software programs out there and for a newbie, it is very hard to determine which package is the right way to go.

So I was wondering if the Pro’s here could chime in and give us an overview of what recording Software you use and more importantly:

Why You Use It?
 
Sonic Foundry Vegas Audio.

It's clean, simple and effective. Not to mention the track bussing is handled very well. I'm very happy with it.
 
I'm just starting out, but have had nothing but good things to say about Cool Edit Pro. It's a great multi-track recorder PLUS a very good editor. Not to mention it's got great help files.

I looked at Cakewalk, but ended up liking CEP better. One thing though, is that CEP does not record MIDI. Not a problem for me as I only record guitars and vocals.
 
Cakewalk Sonar 2.2

I was able to upgrade very inexpensively from Pro Audio 9, which was the software that came bundled with the Aardvark Q10 soundcard/interface that I purchased.

Overall been very happy, except for some occasional instability, which I think would improve if I was able to switch to Windows XP (I use Win98SE at the moment due to lack of funds...)
 
After an exhaustive, months-long demo and search for the perfect DAW, taking into consideration everything from the audio engine, summing, automation, EQ, plugs, interface, resolution, hardware compatibility, etc., I finally settled (happily) on Steinberg's Nuendo.

I do my final tweaking during mastering in Nuendo. I can beat it like a redheaded stepchild and it doesn't complain. Most other programs fell apart from the abuse. That being said, most people aren't going to give their programs that kind of abuse.

From what I understand, Cubase SX is basically the same thing sans a few features for about half the price, also.

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com
 
if your looking on the cheaper side of things, n-track is very cool (and only $45 or $69 dollars depending on version) and then use goldwave (free!) to edit.

Kent
 
not a pro, but ill chime......

N-Track......

most of the features of the big guys at a fraction of the cost.......
 
Anyone using Accoustica?

I found Accoustica MP3 Audio Mixer (why its called that but then records as a wav file by default is beyond me?) and for my basic recording of church services on Sunday AM it works pretty cool - but it does do multi tracking and it was cheap -$25!

For what I am doing I really liked that it wrote directly to Real Audio files too - but I realize that for most of you serious musicians that would not be a key feature.

I know it works for me but I am interested in any thoughts you have on this product?!?!?

-Scott

PS - Goldwave for FREE? How - its shareware with a timer isnt it?
 
Cubase SX 2.......... great interface, great features, great editing...... very powerful -- handles video and audio as well as midi.... 'nuf said!
 
Re: Anyone using Accoustica?

Scott Adams said:

PS - Goldwave for FREE? How - its shareware with a timer isnt it?

Its shareware, but the demo is only limited by one popup when you open the program and 150 commands per session.....they make it a little too easy to get ripped off.......
 
...

i use Acid Pro 4 and Wavelab 4

use Acid to sequence my tracks, and wavelab to record, edit, and to do some final mastering touches to a rendered track

peace
LB
 
Sonar 3, Sound Forge 7, and Acid Pro 4

I use Acid for arrangement, Sound Forge for editing, and Sonar for mixing/multitrack recording
 
Goldwave for Free?

Gidge said:
Its shareware, but the demo is only limited by one popup when you open the program and 150 commands per session.....they make it a little too easy to get ripped off.......

AND a total of 3000 overall... I read the fine print. Now, I have only used 100 commands total playing with it a couple of times so I will probably use it until 3000 and then figure I got my moneys worth out of it and buy it so thats not too bad.

Does N-Track edit wav files like Goldwave does?

-Scott
 
MultitrackStudio v3.0 and GoldWave v5.06 because they are...

- Packed with Features

- Easy to Use

- Sound Great

- Rock Solid and Stabile

- Affordable
 
hi,

I have many different softwares and use the sonic foundry ( now sony ) products quite often because of their ease of use and driver compatibility. Have been using sound forge for mastering a very long time. I have wavelab 4 but still seem to always end up in the forge.

I think one of the best analog multitrackers out there is samplitude 7.0, for some reason, maybe a better sound engine algorithm, it seems to produce a better if only slight, end mix then sonar producer 3 or others I have on my machine.

I have a friend who owns a studio near me and he agrees that it seems to edge most multitrackers in this area. Thing is, it should not, not from a programmers point of view. I have examined the code and compared the sound engine to others, and can find no reason for this. I do not have magix's code (c++, delphi) to pinpoint this and have to examine it in assembly with softice.

samplitude has midi support but pales to sonar in this area. if recording guitars, drums, vocal, etc. is the plan and you need a do everything software. samplitude is hard to beat. it is possible to make an entire cd of your mixes and master them with this software alone.

let me add that this software is expensive and aimed at the pro studio market. not a good deal for people starting in recording unless money is no object.

although I don't have it, I have heard that magix music studio has many of the features that samplitude 7 pro has at an affordable price. check it out on this board with 'search'.

baba
 
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I'm ditching windows and n-Track all together and moving on to Linux. There's amazing audio software like the Ardour multitracker and JAMin mastering toolkit available for absolutely free and the OS is easier than windows to customize for best audio posiible performance. There's already plenty of native linux effect plugins available and you can also run VST plugins in Linux using the Wine windows emulator.


http://www.agnula.org/documentation/dp_tutorials/alsa_jack_ladspa/
 
I started with a class where they had Macs with MasterTracks Pro, which of course was a MIDI sequencer only with no audio capability.
I use SONAR 2 primarily. The main reason is probably history. I started with Cakewalk's original Windows version, Cakewalk Pro 2 for Windows, back in 1992 or so, after first learning about MIDI sequencing in a class where we used Passport's Mastertracks Pro on a Mac, and later on my own with a Commodore 64 and a Dr. T sequencing package. I really wanted to use MasterTracks Pro, but I couldn't afford a Mac. So I went with Cakewalk. Later, when Mastertracks was ported to Windows, I was already comfortable with Cakewalk, so I was not too tempted to switch. Turned out to be wise, as Passport went down the tubes not long after.

I've since also used Logic on a Mac in a film scoring class three years ago, but again I was not tempted to switch. It was fine, but it really didn't have anything over SONAR that I could tell.

I also use ACID Pro, which I really like for use with loops. SONAR does loops too, but I already owned ACID so I still use that most of the time for loop-based projects.
 
i started with Cakewalk Guitar Tracks. nice little 8 track system. put out 2 acoustic cds and 2 demos using that. i got sonar and hated it for about 4 months due to the fact i couldnt get it to record correctly... come to find out all i had to do was change the recording size from 24bit to 16 and everything was good. started using that mainly because i needed more than 8 tracks. now i use that coupled with FL Studio and I'm kinda happy...just wish i knew how to play drums but thats something software cant help me with
 
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