Musician Gear & Tech Discussion

o.k. im looking to buy a simple guitar recording software for basic recording!! i only have a guitar an amp and a computer so i need something simple that can record my guitar and be able to transfer to c.d or any other format! also i want some effects and stuff! but easy to use and all for around $150-$200 i did some research but would like to her some real opinions from experience!! so please help out! i might be buying one in a few hours and your opinions will help what i go buy!!

Personally, I love fruity loops.

Advantages:
great interface for setting up drum parts, key parts, etc... as long as you don't need a staff.
auto set tempo on import of drum tracks etc is nice.
can record audio just like any other prog
can use vst plugins... simple and quality fx plugins.

disadvantages:
no staff interface
can't do as many tracks as 'the big boys'
can be picky about the driver... make sure soundcard has quality asio support!

M-audio fast track usb ?

software could be anything from FREE stuff like garage band to something you might actually have to pay for.

Another cheap option is a copy of Sonar Cakewalk LE?

Get a Tascam US-122 With mic.

They sell this package at Axe Music for $200 approx.

It comes with Cubase LE for recording......that's everything you need for now.

Cheers!

I am a big fan of the M-Audio fast track. The only issue I found with it is that it can be very finicky and spazz out if you move it a lot. Make sure you don't put anything on top of the box and never move it, it's plastic and not very durable.

Software: I use Logic, lots of people swear by Pro Tools, garage band is free, fruity loops is free.

http://www.reaper.fm/ its $40 for personal usage and is as fully featured as anything. Stable as hell and very performance minded.

Everything in my profile was recorded with Reaper using a Firepod.

Jorma

Sounds pretty good. I'll check out the software.

I assume you used your stage gear, and Reaper produced this sound?
It certainly has that Marshal or equiv sound that pushes so hard.

thanks
Talbot

o.k. im looking to buy a simple guitar recording software for basic recording!! i only have a guitar an amp and a computer so i need something simple that can record my guitar and be able to transfer to c.d or any other format! also i want some effects and stuff! but easy to use and all for around $150-$200 i did some research but would like to her some real opinions from experience!! so please help out! i might be buying one in a few hours and your opinions will help what i go buy!!

I had a similar situation low budget and all. I picked up Fast Track MAudioII comes with basic pro-tools and I bought an Audio tech-AT220 for acoustic recordings. Both on e-bay for a total of $180.
Pro tools essentials gives you basic effects reverb,delay, 7 band EQ, a variety of pre-set amps and guitar sounds, and controls over everything from highs to lows, pre-amp,distortion etc... Haven't used it for vocal recordings yet so don't have much of an opinion on the vocal effects. I read a lot reviews beforehand and for what I'm doing all roads led me back to the MAudio interface.
I love it but I haven't worked with any of the other products I see listed by other BM patrons. It took some time to learn the software and all its capabilities and I'm still learning but well worth the $$. IMO

I am a big fan of the M-Audio fast track. The only issue I found with it is that it can be very finicky and spazz out if you move it a lot. Make sure you don't put anything on top of the box and never move it, it's plastic and not very durable.

Software: I use Logic, lots of people swear by Pro Tools, garage band is free, fruity loops is free.

I would like to just add to the mention of Fruity Loops is not free, its trial based. To actually load/save anything you have to purchase it for $49 $99 $199 $299. Additional to this they like you to also buy the VST's. Unless you purchase the $299 version.

Also older Mac's did not come with a full version of iLife. Initially iLife was given only as a demo package to new Macs. The later Mac's eventually got iLife packaged in full and free. I was a bit bugged years ago when I had to go and buy iLife for my then new Mac. The upgrade to the new iLife is cheap only $10 -GarageBand is part of iLife-

And those who loved PlayerPro (which was around before GarageBand for Mac). Still used it for their new systems. It was still stable even across all the changes Apple did. Funny as that was, it was nice. I used to use PlayerPro and GarageBand together. It is still very much free. And also another nice thing is PlayerPro development has resumed as of Feb 12, 2011 .. http://playerpro.sourceforge.net

I would like to thank the other users who also submitted links. Did not know of some .. so will also go check them out.

I like to Amp Farm by line 6 and Riffworks for recording. Really easy to operate,. the Amp has many cool tones for guitars acoustic and electric, many bass/vocals tone. you can jam on line with other people and post your songs

Jorma

Sounds pretty good. I'll check out the software.

I assume you used your stage gear, and Reaper produced this sound?
It certainly has that Marshal or equiv sound that pushes so hard.

thanks
Talbot

MikeTalkbot,
I just tried to message you via your profile...but Im not a paid member..perhaps I should consder it.

Thanks for the compliment. The song "Damaged in Transit" is actually a PodXT using cab impulses via Reaper. The other 2 are using an Engl Fireball that I no longer have....all using reaper.


If you get it and have questions let me know.
-Jorma