Recording/editing software

[tom_the_LD]

Hi everyone, did a search and didn't find anything which answered me

 

I am looking for some recording software to use for recording bands and general bits at home (coursework). I have an M-Audio Delta 10-10 Soundcard.

 

Obviously the cheaper the better but I know all too well that for good software you have to pay!

 

 

I am running XP home

512MB RAM

1.4GHZ Processor

 

Although soon I am getting a new computer which will have

 

XP Home or Media Edition (Although will go to Vista in about 6 months)

1GB possibly 2 GB RAM

2x 2.4GHZ processors (4.8GHZ total)

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

 

Tom

[paulears]

XP pro would be better if you have needs for networking between 2 machines at some stage.

 

Jury isn't even in the jury room yet for vista. The respected sources of info are waiting to see what the response is - with audio applications being quite specific and relying on hardware, much depends on the support vista gets from the main players - like M-Audio in your case.

 

Software depends on what your requirements are. Are you only interested in audio, or is midi required? If so, then you're looking at a sequencer, not just a recorder. That said, I rather tend to use Cubase SX for all my audio needs, not because it is best, just because I've been playing with Cubase for years. Other people are likely to recommend Audition, Sound Forge, or even the free Audacity. If I were you, I'd go to the Sound on Sound website sos where this kind of things is everywhere!

 

The interface is fine - I have some M-Audio kit that hs always been solid.

 

Before you go dual processor, read SOS carefully - there is an article about this in this month (or could be last months) issue. If you need location capability, then why not consider the carillons - Turnkeys own design. The insides are fairly normal, but they are quieter, amazingly solid chassis, 19" rackmount. Worth a shot.

 

Dont forget removable storage and bags of memory, and you are away.

[tom_the_LD]

I have a sperate program which I use for doing my MIDI files (Cakewalk Express). The reason for dual is some of the stuff I do is very CPU demanding and many demanding applications at once.

 

I might get XP Pro as networking will eventually need to happen - dependant on funding of course!

 

That is the reason I am not going to Vista instantly

 

A) Many bugs and security issues

B) Vista needs to prove it to me

C) I need to be sure that stuff I am buying will work well with Vista

D) I generally dont buy something until quite a few builds on.

[ChazzQuire]

Hello. I have recently brought a copy of Cakewalk Sonar 5 (studio) for £60 from turnkey, it's been drastically reduced now Sonar 6 is out. [link]. The main reason I chose this software is because it is what's run at college- so ensures compatibility. I use it for multi-track recording, and audio editing as well as MIDI sequencing. I'm happy with the package, and it comes with some dynamic effects, reverbs and choruses as well as a couple of soft synths.

 

Well worth considering.

[paulears]

You'll find the audio community don't even do normal windows upgrades. If you get a machine from an audio dealer, they tweak and prod virtually evry setting - Vista wil be good for one thing, though. You can set a priority on what runs in the background. Far too easy on XP for the damn thing to suddenly start up something in the background that corrupts your files.

 

Don't forget that twin processors only 'might' give you better audio performance - You will find many comments from dissapointed twin procesor upgraders who couldn't measure any difference, and from time to time, actually found the machine slower. Important things tend to shift towards how many firewire sockets there are - at least 2 and probably 4 would be great. There are lots of flashy PCs around that don't do audio very well at all, and plenty of quite basic machines that do it very well. Ordinary computer dealers have no idea about audio, don't ever expect good advice from them.

[MarkPAman]

................. or even the free Audacity.

 

Audacity

 

As it's free and really quite good, I think you should download it now and start using it. As time goes on you'll work out what features you use for what you are doing, and find yourself wishing it had some other features. Then you'll know what to look for in software to buy.

[tom_the_LD]

Funny you all should mention that.............. just before I wrote this post I downloaded audacity to give it a try. I think I will do that Mark.

 

EDIT: removed computer name

[Bobbsy]

Before anybody purchases Vista for an audio-oriented machine, they should read in detail the information on THIS LINK. The Blue Room isn't a computer forum, so I won't say any more other than that I won't be buying Vista for a long while.

 

Audacity is a nice bit of freeware for simple stereo recording and editing. However, the OP mentions that he will be using a Delta 1010 sound card which implies he needs a multitrack facility (which isn't Audacity).

 

Several good bits of software have been mentioned, but I'd like to put in a plug for Adobe Audition which is what I use.

 

It's not a cheap piece of software, but it comes with all the processing I've ever needed built in rather than as extra plugins. The number of tracks it can handle is limited only by the speed of your processor and the amount of RAM you have. It works well with modern dual core/dual processor machines. On a personal level, I've found the UI easier than some of the others mentioned, but that's a personal thing. Other people may have other preferences. I can honestly say that I've recorded and mixed hundreds of hours of material on Audition (well, it's predecessor, Cool Edit, then Audition) over many years and had almost no problems and many successes. Cooledit/Audition is also the audio editor of choice at the BBC by the way.

 

Audition DOESN'T do midi, but the OP mentions having Cakewalk anyway. In fact, that's exactly what I do...I have Sonar 3 for MIDI and use Audition for audio work. The other downside is that the OP's present machine is a bit underspecced for the current Audition, but the newer one should be fine.

 

You can download a 28 trial of Audition from the Adobe site.

 

Bob

[tom_the_LD]

Just an update for everybody - I know this isnt a computer forum but I feel this is quite vital - My new machine will not be the dimension as I am going to build one myself still 1GB RAM but the processor will be an intel core 2 duo with 2x2.4GHZ

 

Thanks everyone for your comments

[Adam Brinkworth]

2x 2.4GHZ processors (4.8GHZ total)

 

Are you relating the Core 2 Duo to two seperate CPU's? If so, the proccessor does not actually work in that way. It is one proccessor combined onto one chip. I doubt you will actually get 4.8Ghz out of the cpu. Although, it is the best CPU out at the moment, for benchmarks when using audio software.

[MarkPAman]

Audacity is a nice bit of freeware for simple stereo recording and editing. However, the OP mentions that he will be using a Delta 1010 sound card which implies he needs a multitrack facility (which isn't Audacity).

 

Bobbsy, I guess you may have an older version:

 

Recording

Audacity can record live audio through a microphone or mixer, or digitize recordings from cassette tapes, vinyl records, or minidiscs. With some sound cards, it can also capture streaming audio.

 

Record from microphone, line input, or other sources.

Dub over existing tracks to create multi-track recordings.

Record up to 16 channels at once (requires multi-channel hardware).

Level meters can monitor volume levels before, during, and after recording.

from here

 

Like you ,I use Audition, so have not actually used Audacity as a mltitrack recorder, but it does look as if it works as one.

[Dj Dunc]

Im using audacity at the minute to record my GCSE music backing tracks. It works fine as a multitrack recorder at school, and happily plays them here,

 

dunc

[Bobbsy]

Apologies. As Mark has surmised, it's a while since I've played with Audacity and back then it was a basic stereo editor.

 

Bob

[Rob_Beech]

Midi and audio together in one package I've always liked Sonar, I've just got v5 from turnkey aswell now the price has dropped. Its a good alrounder and should do everything you need it to and if you are happy with going for the previous version at £60 or £100 for the producer edition (like mine) then its not going to break the bank.

 

I do however agree you should try audacity out first, if that does do everything you need it to you can save yourself even more.

 

Rob

[niall]

another one for audacity. I've not upgraded it in a while, but I dont have multitrack input so I never saw the point. I do have audition, but I've never taken the time to sit down and learn it, so still use audacity!