I've been recording at home with Cakewalk for the last 4 years or so.
Nothing fancy...just cheap, simple demos for my bands. The end result
sounds good, but not totally professional.
I'd really like to take a leap into some serious recording but I
really don't know where to start.
I assume ProTools is the software I want, but which version is the
most useful yet somewhat affordable? What other equipment is an
absolute necessity?
Also, what type of computer do I need (i.e. RAM, hard drive side and
processor).
I've got a relatively limited budget, so I'm looking for the basics.
Can anyone offer up advice on recording software and hardware and
computers for someone who wants to create solid, clean sounding demos
but doesn't really have the money to build a $100,000 studio in his
basement (or a $10,000 studio for that matter).
I've got roughly $2,000 to spend on a computer, software, mixer and
necessary harware, not including mics. I've already got plenty of
those.
Sorry if I come off sounding inept. But this is uncharted terroritory
for me.
Thanks

In article ,
John Yorba wrote:
I've been recording at home with Cakewalk for the last 4 years or so.
Nothing fancy...just cheap, simple demos for my bands. The end result
sounds good, but not totally professional.
I'd really like to take a leap into some serious recording but I
really don't know where to start.
I assume ProTools is the software I want, but which version is the
most useful yet somewhat affordable? What other equipment is an
absolute necessity?

I don't think that changing from Cakewalk to ProTools will do anything
to make your demos sound better at all.

Also, what type of computer do I need (i.e. RAM, hard drive side and
processor).
I've got a relatively limited budget, so I'm looking for the basics.

I'd spend my money on quality mikes, preamps, better monitors and
better converters in that order. The workstation would be last on my
list to change.


Best of luck,

Monte McGuire

Ditto.

I don't think that changing from Cakewalk to ProTools will do anything
to make your demos sound better at all.

Also, what type of computer do I need (i.e. RAM, hard drive side and
processor).
I've got a relatively limited budget, so I'm looking for the basics.

I'd spend my money on quality mikes, preamps, better monitors and
better converters in that order. The workstation would be last on my
list to change.


Best of luck,

Monte McGuire

In article writes:

I've been recording at home with Cakewalk for the last 4 years or so.
Nothing fancy...just cheap, simple demos for my bands. The end result
sounds good, but not totally professional.
I'd really like to take a leap into some serious recording but I
really don't know where to start.

If you've been recording at home for four years, you probably have
learned a fair amount. If that's the case, you limitation is probably
your room - you need to be able to really hear what you're doing so
you can improve it (or hear improvements when you add incrementally
better equipment.

I've got a relatively limited budget, so I'm looking for the basics.
Can anyone offer up advice on recording software and hardware and
computers for someone who wants to create solid, clean sounding demos
but doesn't really have the money to build a $100,000 studio in his
basement (or a $10,000 studio for that matter).

What's wrong with the Cakewalk that you've been using? What functions
are you missing that you need? The basic sound is determined by the
sound card that you're using. If it's the junker that's built into the
computer, you needn't take a big step of getting ProTools and all of
its associated hardware, just get a better sound card. Buy an Echo Mia
and put the rest of your budget into improving your monitoring (both
speakers and room treatment) so you can hear what you're doing.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

Hey John!

Stick with cakewalk! Buy some good monitors and a good soundcard, if you
don't already have one. Work on room treatment. Protools doesn't "sound"
any better than cakewalk, or nuendo, etc. And you'll waste a lot of time
learning a new software that could be time spent being creative.

Wally

"John Yorba" wrote in message
om...
I've been recording at home with Cakewalk for the last 4 years or so.
Nothing fancy...just cheap, simple demos for my bands. The end result
sounds good, but not totally professional.
I'd really like to take a leap into some serious recording but I
really don't know where to start.
I assume ProTools is the software I want, but which version is the
most useful yet somewhat affordable? What other equipment is an
absolute necessity?
Also, what type of computer do I need (i.e. RAM, hard drive side and
processor).
I've got a relatively limited budget, so I'm looking for the basics.
Can anyone offer up advice on recording software and hardware and
computers for someone who wants to create solid, clean sounding demos
but doesn't really have the money to build a $100,000 studio in his
basement (or a $10,000 studio for that matter).
I've got roughly $2,000 to spend on a computer, software, mixer and
necessary harware, not including mics. I've already got plenty of
those.
Sorry if I come off sounding inept. But this is uncharted terroritory
for me.
Thanks

Guys -
Thanks for all of the great advice. You've helped me more than you
probably know. Probably saved me a ton of money too.
I was very surprised to hear that some of you are able to do quality
recordings on machines with 1GHz processors. I've got a 1GHz Celeron
in my crap-ass PC. I would guess I simply need a bigger hard drive and
more RAM.
I'm also surpised to hear you all say Cakewalk is just as useful as
ProTools. I've heard so many people diss Cakewalk as "amateur" and
talk about PT as if it is the pinnacle of recording quality. I'll
invest in some quality mics and a new board and soundcard and see how
that does for me.
Again...thanks to all of you.
Any other advice is much appreciated.

In article ,
John Yorba wrote:

I've got a 1GHz Celeron
in my crap-ass PC.

Don't get your hopes up too high -- a Celeron is far less capable than
either a real P4 or an AMD chip of the same clock, for CPU-intensive
tasks.

I would guess I simply need a bigger hard drive and
more RAM.

Think faster more than bigger, and don't skimp on RAM. If you can put a
gig of RAM in your machine, you won't regret it. Faster, quieter disc,
and a cd writer, and a way to organize cdr's. If you want a jukebox
with a 200gb drive, build a mini-itx machine and put it near your TV
or whatever.

I'm also surpised to hear you all say Cakewalk is just as useful as
ProTools. I've heard so many people diss Cakewalk as "amateur" and
talk about PT as if it is the pinnacle of recording quality.

ProTools is a way of life, not necessarily a good idea for a small
budget. One reason it makes sense, is you can hire people who know it
inside and out. It's accepted in places that are slow to accept
anything new and slow to change anything once it works.

For everybody who says "protools sucks" there's someone happily using
it to turn out production work. If you're starting from scratch, there
are far less expensive options. Between Midi-OX, FLStudio, and Magix,
I hardly need anything at all. But I'm a musician, not a sound
engineer, and my goals are simple.