Jamesemt Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) I'm completely confused. I have recently come back to music after a 5 year lay off and have hooked up with a singer to write some original material. I had a dabble with Cubase and a powered controllable mixer years ago but have since sold the lot. I have a background in computer programming and am quite computer literate. Have an i5 laptop and a Galaxy tab s. I need to record and am debating whether to get a sound card such as a Focusrite Solo into a daw or whether I'd be better off keeping it simple and using a portastudio such as the dp006, which I could then stick the tracks into a daw at a later date/if I run out of track space without bouncing. Added to my dilemna is the need for guitar effects - I was going to buy a cheap Pod XT to tide me over. I like the immediacy of a hardware recorder but are they a bit old hat now? I can only really spend around £100 otherwise a Pod HD may have been the solution using as an interface and for effects. Any thoughts people? Edited August 3, 2015 by Jamesemt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 My first thought is that you should definitely go down the DAW route. But then I've been using one for years (so am probably biased) and if you're not familiar with them the learning curve is quite steep - but well worth doing if possible because the advantages are many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Focusrite-Scarlett-2i2-/111728331889?hash=item1a03870c71"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item1a03870c71[/url] http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/focusrite-scarlett-2i2/111730572832 Go for it my son! (Note: I'm no recording expert. But if you need a Focusrite, for 1-2 instruments this strikes me as a bargain) Edited August 3, 2015 by Grangur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 here's a recent thread that might help you out http://basschat.co.uk/topic/248509-beginners-guide-to-home-recording/page__fromsearch__1 personally I'm perfectly happy using audacity for knocking up demos, combined with the Hydrogen drum machine, and it doesn't cost a penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Are you going to just record audio? If so, the Scarlett's will be fine for your budget. But if further down the line you want to start using virtual instruments and Midi, all the Scarlett's mentioned above have no Midi I/O's. You will then need a USB Midi controller, so if you are using a Laptop you might be limited with available USB ports. Better (IMO) to buy an interface with midi I/O and a five pin din cable for your controller. You are covered for the future that way. If you have plenty of USB ports, it won't be a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 If you go down the software route there is an awful lot you can do for very little money, the audio interface being the most expensive outlay. Reaper DAW and effects [url="http://lepouplugins.blogspot.co.uk/"]LaPou[/url] - for guitar amps and cab sims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ras52 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 +1 for DAW. I was in a very similar position, I used to use a Fostex cassette thingy, then had an extended sabbatical. On my return I saw DAWs as a bit overwhelming and went for one of these: I got some good use out of it, but once I'd overcome my DAW-phobia, working with software was [b]so much easier[/b]. If you plan on doing any sort of editing it's virtually a no-brainer. Most entry-level interfaces come with some DAW software bundled, usually a cut-down version. Starting off with a reduced feature set can be good as you won't be distracted by all the bells and whistles! After playing with that for a bit you'll be in a position to make an informed decision about what you want from a full-featured DAW (or even if you need the extra features). Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Agree with the comments about price and convenience of a DAW. But I would say don't skimp on the important hardware. You still need really good audio preamps, a really good monitoring system and really good microphones to do professional work if you're recording real drums, guitars and vocals. And they're not cheap. Depends what you want really. You can get going and start to learn with some basic equipment that's not too terrible for a lot less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesemt Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Thanks for all the replies. Unlikely I'll ever touch midi. Won't be recording drms just yet, this is just as an introduction. The only pain is having to set the laptop up every time I want to use it. No one has suggested hardware so daw it will probably be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Another vote for the DAW approach especially if you doing to be writing stuff - the first time you end up thinking "I think we need to add another section here, or repeat this bit" etc you be very thankful your using a proper DAW. While they all have a fairly steep initial learning curve there is generally a youtube vid that shows exactly how to do the thing your stuck on. If your looking at line 6 stuff then I'd suggest getting the dedicated recording interface such as the UX1 since you get the amp farm VST plugin with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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