Home recording set up - advice to get going please

[Gunsfreddy2003]

Evening all,

I am looking to set up a very small scale home studio for song writing and working on songs sent to me by band mates etc. I have a MacBook which has Garage Band on it although I have never really used it.

Questions is would it better to use this a starting point and buy a USB interface to record into Garage Band or is a hardware option better such as the Belkin 4 track recorder which records direct to an ipod or the Boss Micro Studio etc?

I am not a fan of programming drum machines but am pretty computer literate.

Any advice or guidance on this one would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

[RockfordStone]

[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='1031667' date='Nov 21 2010, 06:36 PM']Evening all,

I am looking to set up a very small scale home studio for song writing and working on songs sent to me by band mates etc. I have a MacBook which has Garage Band on it although I have never really used it.

Questions is would it better to use this a starting point and buy a USB interface to record into Garage Band or is a hardware option better such as the Belkin 4 track recorder which records direct to an ipod or the Boss Micro Studio etc?

I am not a fan of programming drum machines but am pretty computer literate.

Any advice or guidance on this one would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers[/quote]
i use usb interfaces as well as onboard sound cards.

if you are looking to just record a bass and not multiple inputs at once, something like a tascam us-144mk2 or a line 6 ux1 would be ideal

they are good quality bits of kit and are relatively inexpensive.

also try a programme called riff works, allows you to create songs to simple drum loops, handy for demo purposes

[ShergoldSnickers]

Garageband is surprisingly versatile even when you start to push it well beyond the basics. For personal stuff I use a Tascam US-122 USB interface, and for band stuff we use a Korg D888 8 track standalone digital recorder. The files this produces are then dumped into Garageband. It all seems to work fine. The Tascam US-122 sound quality is surprisingly good.

[Skol303]

Depends on your budget here, but I personally swear by Propellerhead software's Record:

[url="http://www.propellerheads.se/products/record/"]http://www.propellerheads.se/products/record/[/url]

Retails at around £200.

It's a dedicated DAW for home audio recording: very easy to use, incredibly stable (i.e. never crashes) and produces great-sounding results. This would be my pick of the crop.

A cheaper alternative (if you have a Mac) is Garageband, which comes installed free of charge: a good place to start delving into the world of home recording, but obviously limited in what it can do.

There's also plenty of freeware software on the market, which you can pick up for - free! Too many to detail here, but I'm something of a home recording geek and would be happy to comment on any that you're considering.

Best of luck.

[Skol303]

PS: I've used a Tascam us-144mk2 interface for years. You can't go wrong with these things: sturdy and good sound quality; a definite thumbs up from me.

[Gunsfreddy2003]

Thanks for the suggestion - I will have a look at their site and the products on it.

I have tried Garageband before and found it a bit difficult to use - I do like the look of the Riff Works stuff and have downloaded their free trial to see how I get on with it.

Have you used their stuff at all?

[quote name='Skol303' post='1032719' date='Nov 22 2010, 03:08 PM']Depends on your budget here, but I personally swear by Propellerhead software's Record:

[url="http://www.propellerheads.se/products/record/"]http://www.propellerheads.se/products/record/[/url]

Retails at around £200.

It's a dedicated DAW for home audio recording: very easy to use, incredibly stable (i.e. never crashes) and produces great-sounding results. This would be my pick of the crop.

A cheaper alternative (if you have a Mac) is Garageband, which comes installed free of charge: a good place to start delving into the world of home recording, but obviously limited in what it can do.

There's also plenty of freeware software on the market, which you can pick up for - free! Too many to detail here, but I'm something of a home recording geek and would be happy to comment on any that you're considering.

Best of luck.[/quote]

[paul_5]

If you're not recording more than two tracks at once why not consider a small Protools setup. Reason being that if you nail [i]that[/i] take on a home demo and want to use that take in an eventual studio recording, then most good studios will be running some incarnation of Protools, and you can simply open your project on their machine. Also you'll be learning how to use industry standard software and getting to know what it can do , so that if you're ever recording in a bigger studio then you'll be able to make better informed choices about editing etc... instead of relying on the in house engineers.

Just my 2p worth.

[51m0n]

[quote name='paul_5' post='1033358' date='Nov 22 2010, 11:11 PM']If you're not recording more than two tracks at once why not consider a small Protools setup. Reason being that if you nail [i]that[/i] take on a home demo and want to use that take in an eventual studio recording, then most good studios will be running some incarnation of Protools, and you can simply open your project on their machine. Also you'll be learning how to use industry standard software and getting to know what it can do , so that if you're ever recording in a bigger studio then you'll be able to make better informed choices about editing etc... instead of relying on the in house engineers.

Just my 2p worth.[/quote]

Its a complete nonsense to suggest that you can only use Protools recorded stuff in protools!

Because Protools just like any other DAW will happily use a stem from any other DAW.

If you arent happy relying on the inhouse engineers why on earth would you be in that studio? To my mind there are only three reasons to go to a studio and they are (in order of importance), the quality of the engineers, the quality of the live room, the quality of the kit. If the engineers aren't on their game I wouldnt consider going there. I would feel completely at ease asking an engineer/studio for examples/references before booking a session too.

Edited November 23, 2010 by 51m0n

[NJE]

Hi Mark,

There is so much about both in terms of software and interfaces. If you already have a mac I would suggest using Garageband as a strating point. The older version I have is more than capable of making good quality demos and basic tracks and I have actually heard people do some incredibly well produced tracks on Garageband. The more recent versions are incredibly good and the amp simulations are very capable.

I have friend who is in the business and does a lot of jingles, session work etc and he always reccommends Garageband as a starting point and then Logic as a next step up. He runs Protools as well but really doesnt like it so a lot is just preference.

The other thing is to get a good quality interface. Personally I swear by Apogee, either their 'One' or 'Duet' as do a few friends of mine. It is superb quality and very intuative. I am pretty sure they both only work for Mac but that could just be the 'One'. Between me and my friend we have been through Line 6, Tascam, Lexicon, M-Audio and various other interfaces over the years and the Apogee just stomps all over them in terms of sound quality and if you get more involved in recording you wont need to upgrade.

Recording is great fun, even just getting down bassline ideas, have fun.

Nathan





[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='1031667' date='Nov 21 2010, 06:36 PM']Evening all,

I am looking to set up a very small scale home studio for song writing and working on songs sent to me by band mates etc. I have a MacBook which has Garage Band on it although I have never really used it.

Questions is would it better to use this a starting point and buy a USB interface to record into Garage Band or is a hardware option better such as the Belkin 4 track recorder which records direct to an ipod or the Boss Micro Studio etc?

I am not a fan of programming drum machines but am pretty computer literate.

Any advice or guidance on this one would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers[/quote]

[ShergoldSnickers]

I'd be very tempted to stick with Garageband for now. This should possibly be the most immediate plug in and record DAW out there. The last thing you need when beginning is complexity - much of which you won't use or will find time-consuming and ultimately off-putting. Garageband does reward exploration, and it is deceptive in it's simplicity. It does have some depth once you start using a few workarounds. I haven't yet found a compelling reason to upgrade to Logic Express for example, this after years of use and having used a few other DAWS in the past.

Having said all this, if Garageband still doesn't fit you personally then there is no point in suffering the pain. Find something that does fit you - there is a reasonably wide choice.

[url="http://www.reaper.fm/"]REAPER[/url] commercial but not too expensive at around £95
[url="http://www.apple.com/logicexpress/"]Logic Express[/url] - around £130
[url="http://ardour.org/"]Ardour[/url] - freeware and open source
[url="http://www.motu.com/products/software/dp/"]Digital Performer[/url] - commercial, around £220
[url="http://www.mutools.com/"]MU.LAB Mutools[/url] - commercial, €25 or €75 depending on version
[url="http://ntrack.com/"]n-Track Studio[/url] - commercial, €65
[url="http://traverso-daw.org/"]Traverso DAW[/url] - freeware and open source

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_workstation"]More on here[/url]

[Gunsfreddy2003]

Cheers guys for all of the advice coming back here it really is appreciated.

Ok so it would seem sensible to stick with garage band and I am going to buy a sensible USB interface as suggested. How do I move on to get different drum loops or programme hits and accents etc - do I need a dedicated drum machine?

Also if I wanted to add basic keys is it sensible to get just a keyboard module and use the standard sounds in Garageband?

[quote name='ShergoldSnickers' post='1033534' date='Nov 23 2010, 09:08 AM']I'd be very tempted to stick with Garageband for now. This should possibly be the most immediate plug in and record DAW out there. The last thing you need when beginning is complexity - much of which you won't use or will find time-consuming and ultimately off-putting. Garageband does reward exploration, and it is deceptive in it's simplicity. It does have some depth once you start using a few workarounds. I haven't yet found a compelling reason to upgrade to Logic Express for example, this after years of use and having used a few other DAWS in the past.

Having said all this, if Garageband still doesn't fit you personally then there is no point in suffering the pain. Find something that does fit you - there is a reasonably wide choice.

[url="http://www.reaper.fm/"]REAPER[/url] commercial but not too expensive at around £95
[url="http://www.apple.com/logicexpress/"]Logic Express[/url] - around £130
[url="http://ardour.org/"]Ardour[/url] - freeware and open source
[url="http://www.motu.com/products/software/dp/"]Digital Performer[/url] - commercial, around £220
[url="http://www.mutools.com/"]MU.LAB Mutools[/url] - commercial, €25 or €75 depending on version
[url="http://ntrack.com/"]n-Track Studio[/url] - commercial, €65
[url="http://traverso-daw.org/"]Traverso DAW[/url] - freeware and open source

[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_audio_workstation"]More on here[/url][/quote]

[lowdown]

[quote name='paul_5' post='1033358' date='Nov 22 2010, 11:11 PM']If you're not recording more than two tracks at once why not consider a small Protools setup. Reason being that if you nail [i]that[/i] take on a home demo and want to use that take in an eventual studio recording, then most good studios will be running some incarnation of Protools, and you can simply open your project on their machine. Also you'll be learning how to use industry standard software and getting to know what it can do , so that if you're ever recording in a bigger studio then you'll be able to make better informed choices about editing etc... instead of relying on the in house engineers.

Just my 2p worth.[/quote]


Not really true,
As has been said above, using stems between DAW's is one way [and quite normal these days]
OMF is another way...although some DAW's do have minor problems with this.
[url="http://www.fileinfo.com/extension/omf"]http://www.fileinfo.com/extension/omf[/url]

Or just Export the Audio files onto a Disc and then import.
Saving as a Pro-tools session would let you use the Pro Tools plug ins,
But then again a lot of engineers have their own preferences, and its not always Pro Tools plugs in, and more and likely Top gread outboard stuff.

Another +1 for Digital Performer, but then again its all down to work flow really....
Plenty of people like Reaper.


Garry

[NJE]

Drums wise I would go for software drums. Again the new Garage Band has quite good drum loops and you can program your own once you start getting more involved. I can also highly reccommend EZ Drummer. It is relatively inexpensive but if EQ'd well and mixed properly it can sound unbelieveable. Againa friend of mine does huge ammounts of production music, jingles, radio beds etc and he uses it very often along with some more expensive stuff but he loves it for it s ease of use and sound to cost ratio.

Keyboard wise you can get some very good but very affordable M-Audio stuff at the moment. great place to start, all USB and it will work with what Garage Band as a starting point.

NJE


[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='1033545' date='Nov 23 2010, 09:14 AM']Cheers guys for all of the advice coming back here it really is appreciated.

Ok so it would seem sensible to stick with garage band and I am going to buy a sensible USB interface as suggested. How do I move on to get different drum loops or programme hits and accents etc - do I need a dedicated drum machine?

Also if I wanted to add basic keys is it sensible to get just a keyboard module and use the standard sounds in Garageband?[/quote]

[Gunsfreddy2003]

Hi Nathan,

You have confused me now - I was all set to go for the Line 6 USB interface as I had heard good things about it but now the Apogee stuff looks good. Is the Line 6 not better because it has the option for amp modelling and effects etc?

Mark

[quote name='NJE' post='1033524' date='Nov 23 2010, 09:03 AM']Hi Mark,

There is so much about both in terms of software and interfaces. If you already have a mac I would suggest using Garageband as a strating point. The older version I have is more than capable of making good quality demos and basic tracks and I have actually heard people do some incredibly well produced tracks on Garageband. The more recent versions are incredibly good and the amp simulations are very capable.

I have friend who is in the business and does a lot of jingles, session work etc and he always reccommends Garageband as a starting point and then Logic as a next step up. He runs Protools as well but really doesnt like it so a lot is just preference.

The other thing is to get a good quality interface. Personally I swear by Apogee, either their 'One' or 'Duet' as do a few friends of mine. It is superb quality and very intuative. I am pretty sure they both only work for Mac but that could just be the 'One'. Between me and my friend we have been through Line 6, Tascam, Lexicon, M-Audio and various other interfaces over the years and the Apogee just stomps all over them in terms of sound quality and if you get more involved in recording you wont need to upgrade.

Recording is great fun, even just getting down bassline ideas, have fun.

Nathan[/quote]

[NJE]

Hi Mark,

The line 6 stuff is good I know people who use it and like it a lot, but I think you can outgrow it very quickly and if you get further into the world of recording you will start wanting better kit. Their modelling software is good, i used it for a while and so did my best friend but I think the GarageBand amp modelling and effects stuff is as good if not better now. I went to the Apogee stand at a music show about a year ago and even the guy at Apogee was saying how good the Garage Band modelling software was at the moment. I could be wrong here but apparently a lot of what goes into Logic has filtered down into it.

A lot of it is budget and how far you want to go really. My mate does the Radio 1 jingles so needs a high quality audio and therefore a high quality interface and runs the 'Duet' in the studio and the 'One' as mobile interface for his laptop and it really performs. He is actually just about to buy the MarkBass software for recording bass as he says it has some of the best sounds he has come accross, so if you just doing bass that may be an option. If you want to record guitars and everything then Guitar Rig is very good. Saying that good tones are available for bas with no modelling and just good EQ.

I dont know a lot about this stuff, just picked up loads from friends, but I know GarageBand, Logic and Apogee just work incredibly well with Mac.




[quote name='Gunsfreddy2003' post='1033633' date='Nov 23 2010, 10:33 AM']Hi Nathan,

You have confused me now - I was all set to go for the Line 6 USB interface as I had heard good things about it but now the Apogee stuff looks good. Is the Line 6 not better because it has the option for amp modelling and effects etc?

Mark[/quote]