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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Recrding What Software ?
Posted by: vdcraats Feb 13 2012, 09:25 AM
Hi there,
I want to record my guitar and add drums and stuff with my keyboard.
This is the hardware I have
Ibanez RG350DXZ guitar
Yamaha keyboard with USB output
DigiTech-RP155 with a USB output http://www.digitech.com/en/products/rp155
I tried SONARX1 but it's realy hard to set this up.
The software forgets my inputs all the time.
What Software can I use best to make and record music ?
vdcraats
Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 13 2012, 09:53 AM
Cubase is for me the best software for home recording. You can record midi, audio, use virtual instrument and lots of plug ins.
http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/cubase/start.html
There are a lot of guys here using "Reaper". I've never used it but it must be good because everybody is happy with it...
Check it out:
http://www.reaper.fm/
I use Nuendo which is very similar to Cubase but more oriented for recording studios.
Posted by: tonymiro Feb 13 2012, 10:36 AM
Pretty much any of the commercial recording/mixing daws is adequate for home/project and even professional use. The difference between most recording/mixing daws is down to work flow,computer platform and maybe a few non-essential extras like vstis and sometimes compatability with other musicians that you work with. So it tends to come down to which one you like and can easily get around.
For pcs:
Cubase is big in Europe and outside the USA and like Gab says it comes with a lot of extras. Nuendo is more post production.
In the US people historically use Pro Tools but be aware that PTHD is different to PTLE - the former is found in pro recording/mixing studios (long story about this which I'm nt going to repeat here) whilst the latter is more home/project orientated. Some people think that because PT (or more correctly PTHD) is in so many pro studios that it must be the best - it isn't as there isn't that much difference. PT until very recently locked you to having to use their hardware as well for the sound i/o - I think you still have to use Accel HD hardware for PTHD but are free to use other hardware for PTLE. IMHO HD hardware is good but dated whereas the LE hardware is average at best for its price. If you want to use PTLE just be aware that you might need to check that your hardware will be compatible.
Outside of those you also have others like Sonar (which isn't a good workflow for you), Reaper, Reason/Record, Live! Sequoia and a few others. Two big advantages of Reaper are: you can download a full working version and try it out (most other daws will let you try a limited/crippled version of their software). If you are happy and choose to buy a license to use it the license is $60, licensing Cubase is more like $300-400.
For macs:
PT again has a big market share but again be aware of the comments above. There's also Logic , which recently came down in price and doesn't require that you use there hardware. (You can also get mac versions of most of the pc ones).
For linux there's stuff like Rosegarden and most pc daws can run under emulation.
On top of all those there are other daws that are not focused on recording/mixing:
These go from Sadie (for pro mastering/post production studios; we use it 
) at £6000 (yes six thousand) through Nuendo, Soundblade, Soundforge, Wavelab to stuff like Audacity and Goldwave (free software) for basic waveform editing.
Posted by: vdcraats Feb 13 2012, 11:05 AM
Thanks you guys.
About 10 years ago I used Cubase. I had a midi keyboard back then.
But back then the midi sounds sucked. It wasn't the real thing.
The great thing about SonarX1 for me is that I can load new real sounds into my keyboard.
Real drums and real cool synthesizer stuff. But the program istelf was bugy.
Does Reaper and/or Cubase have real sounds ? so when I play my keyboard Cubase or Reaper change my sounds to more realistic sounds ?
The standard midi sounds in my Yamaha keyboard are nice but not great. When I loaded up my keyboard in SonarX1 I sounded like DJ tiesto :-)
I would like to compose something. But when I play my guitar with real guitar sound and then put some standard midi sound next to it It doesn't sound that great.
How do you guys do this ?
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Feb 13 2012, 11:47 AM
About 10 years ago I used Cubase. I had a midi keyboard back then.
But back then the midi sounds sucked. It wasn't the real thing.
The great thing about SonarX1 for me is that I can load new real sounds into my keyboard.
Real drums and real cool synthesizer stuff. But the program istelf was bugy.
Does Reaper and/or Cubase have real sounds ? so when I play my keyboard Cubase or Reaper change my sounds to more realistic sounds ?
The standard midi sounds in my Yamaha keyboard are nice but not great. When I loaded up my keyboard in SonarX1 I sounded like DJ tiesto :-)
I would like to compose something. But when I play my guitar with real guitar sound and then put some standard midi sound next to it It doesn't sound that great.
How do you guys do this ?
I use Cubase 5 these days, and used Nuendo 3.11 version for long time before that. They both come with very good stock plugins, including some basic analog and digital synths and plugins to get you started. The thing is - if you want more serious sound, you can install more serious plugins, but that will add to the price. For drums, you'll need drum sampler, EZDrummer is a nice entry-level choice.
If you tell us what kind of keyboard sounds you're after, and what's your budget, we can recommend couple of interesting synths.
Posted by: JTaylor Feb 13 2012, 11:57 AM
I was actually getting on the forum to post something almost exactly like your question! I just got a Boss ME-25 and the Sonar LE "award-winning" software was included with it. I was really excited about it because, up until now, I have only used Audacity. All I can say is, I am glad that Sonar LE was included in the package and I did not pay for it separately. If I had, I would be severely upset. It was a nightmare. Every time I turned on the power to ME-25, Sonar had to re-recognize it, I had to adjust stuff to get rid of the delay (it never did go away entirely) and the whole experience just sucked. After the pedal and the new guitar, there is no more money left to play with, so I'm sticking with Audacity. I only play as a hobby, so Audacity suits me just fine and is very easy to use. However, if I were a professional, I would be looking at the stuff these guys have mentioned.
Posted by: vdcraats Feb 13 2012, 12:35 PM
Great to hear I'm not the only one with problems with Sonar :-)
I'm glad i didn't buy it and just tried it out.
I think I'm going to try out Cubase. I'm also just playing as a hobby. When I play a lesson I also would like to record what I played and hear it back.
The Boss ME-25 looks great :-) I'm also very happy with my Digitech RP155. I can get the sounds out of my guitar I always wanted too but never could :-)
I Just bought the RP155 because it had a USb port and it wasn't very expensive. But I was suprised how great my guitar sounded with al the cool effects.
I'm also on a small budget I saw a Cubase 5 that wasn't that expensive because Cubase 6 is out.
If you tell us what kind of keyboard sounds you're after, and what's your budget, we can recommend couple of interesting synths.
I havn't got a big budget. The sounds don't have to be that perfect but just better than the standard midi sounds.
I'm going to try out Cubase. A drumset just has too sound like a drumset :-)
Posted by: Ivan Milenkovic Feb 13 2012, 12:59 PM
I'm glad i didn't buy it and just tried it out.
I think I'm going to try out Cubase. I'm also just playing as a hobby. When I play a lesson I also would like to record what I played and hear it back.
The Boss ME-25 looks great :-) I'm also very happy with my Digitech RP155. I can get the sounds out of my guitar I always wanted too but never could :-)
I Just bought the RP155 because it had a USb port and it wasn't very expensive. But I was suprised how great my guitar sounded with al the cool effects.
I'm also on a small budget I saw a Cubase 5 that wasn't that expensive because Cubase 6 is out.
I havn't got a big budget. The sounds don't have to be that perfect but just better than the standard midi sounds.
I'm going to try out Cubase. A drumset just has too sound like a drumset :-)
I believe you will be quite content with Cubase. If you want to get started with this software seriously, and save some headache in the long run, you might want to check out excellent Steinberg's own video tutorial about Cubase/Nuendo. It serves as a great introduction (and beyond) to this DAW. You can find samples on their official site. You can also find some structured video training tutorials on YouTube.
Posted by: derper Feb 14 2012, 12:32 AM
I really don't know much about DAW's, but there is also "Reason" and "Adobe Audition". I've heard good things about both.
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