Which USB Interface & DAW ? ?

[Stompbox]

I'm finally looking at setting up to be able to do demos of songs - - I have a pC that isn't in use at the moment so thought i could "dedicate" that one.

Now i need to sort an audio interface & to get the DAW/software - a guy i know has a Lexicon Alpha, and it comes with Cubase. I've looked at these & they are a very good (or it that "Cheap" ) price.

Well what opinions guys?

What is a decent interface - & which software (and do they have built in drums?) - is it purely personal choice, or are some of them "not good"?

Any help much appreciated ,

Cheers,


Geoff

[Zenitram]

For an interface it depends on what you want it to do. How many instruments will you be recording at once. How much are you prepared to spend. What have you used in the past. Do you mind second hand. Do you want/need midi ins and outs. Etc.

For software, Reaper is free, it does what every other sequencer can do, and is used by very many people.

For drums, do you want to programme them yourself, or use ready-made loops and beats? How comfortable are you with VSTs and plugins and all the rest?

[Rimskidog]

You need to think about how many simultaneous inputs and outputs you want and what your budget is before we can give interface recommendations. As stated above, Reaper is the cheapest DAW on the market and, if you just want to learn it for the purpose of creating your own demos, it will be ample.

[Stompbox]

OK - to give more info - the PC is running XP home, 1 gig Ram, Celeron R 2.6 Ghz processor. I'd probsbly be best with loops & beats on the drums - I have no experience of VST's or any PC based recording.

Budget wise I'd like to keep it low cost to see how I go on initially.

For inputs, most I would need would be 2 simultaneously. That would be vocal & guitar at one go. Otherwise Ijust want to put one track/instrument/vocal at a time in.
I'd like to be able to put 2 x line levels in at once if need be.
Outputs - just to be able to hear stereo playback or to monitor both channels as recording them - but to be able to hear the drum track .
Would I need a "Better" sound card - or is the line out OK to hear the recordings if I run them into an external amp & decent speakers? Cheers, Geoff

Edited December 29, 2012 by Stompbox

[51m0n]

Reaper isn't free, its $60.

It is certainly a full featured decent DAW for audio work (it lacks for video and notation, and some people find it misses out some mroe esoteric MIDI stuff).

If you are doing demo's, or full albums, and are concerned with the audio side first, then it will be fine.

A great 8 channel (expandable to 24 ) interface is the Steinberg UR824 - decent mic pres, pretty good drivers. It may not seem cheap but it is a massive amount of useable kit for the money.

If you need a couple of channels and are PC based then the pick of the bunch IMO is the RME Babyface - but it isn't cheap, MOTU interfaces are good, Focusrite Scarlet are OK, M-Audio can be useable.

You get what you pay for though most of the time though....