Home recording

[kaufman]

Back on topic, if i was just wanting to record myself on my acoustic mumbling along in my bedroom, would I be right in thinking i'll be fine with getting a fairly decent mic and this?

http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/m-audio-pro-tools-recording-studio--85479

Yep that is i think the older model but great price for that, I would pay the bit extra for the later model i think.

As for best DAW on windows, I'm not too sure, the free protools one is a great one to start and you can then compare. Sonar and cubase are still the most used I think.
I'm not a windows user so been out of the loop on that.

[jonny72]

Also on topic, what's the best free DAW for windows these days?

Don't know about free DAWs but Reaper is only $40USD. I use Ableton Live though that's not really suitable nor ideal for recording a band at home.

The Sound on Sound website is worth a read for anyone setting up a home studio, massive archive of articles though the last 12 months (I think) are only for subscribers. The articles on the recording of singles / albums are always worth a read, interesting one on the latest Foo Fighters album recently.

[Barry Scott]

Yep that is i think the older model but great price for that, I would pay the bit extra for the later model i think.

As for best DAW on windows, I'm not too sure, the free protools one is a great one to start and you can then compare. Sonar and cubase are still the most used I think.
I'm not a windows user so been out of the loop on that.

Pro Tools is the industry standard. It's not the somewhere to start, it's a destination! There is no equal. Seriously, learn Pro Tools and you have no need for another DAW, it's the benchmark all the others try and reach.

My mate is a sound engineer by trade, he says Pro Tools is second only to tape. (Which leads onto the Foo Fighters latest album - done on tape - previous albums Pro Tools.) And I think you'll find that's the general consensus in the industry. Pro Tools is the bollocks.

Edit: I see, Pro Tools SE.     

[kaufman]

Pro Tools is the industry standard. It's not the somewhere to start, it's a destination! There is no equal. Seriously, learn Pro Tools and you have no need for another DAW, it's the benchmark all the others try and reach.

My mate is a sound engineer by trade, he says Pro Tools is second only to tape. (Which leads onto the Foo Fighters latest album - done on tape - previous albums Pro Tools.) And I think you'll find that's the general consensus in the industry. Pro Tools is the bollocks.

Edit: I see, Pro Tools SE.      

Barry, a DAW is more about how it's used not how it's sounds, it's the 3rd party plugins and more importantly audio gear that is used alongside it that makes the records great.
Pro tools has been industry for years but not necessarily the best.
Granted it's used in most large studios though I used cubase for years and never got further than putting on eq and reverb. Logic made me realise the amazing things that can be done with audio and mixing, but everyone is different. I know people who love and use ableton and even garage is excellent.  
I know someone on this forum who uses sonar, so hopefully they can tell you about about that.

But you're right Barry that for a beginner the free pro tools is the way to go. least then they can decide if they like if or not

[jonny72]

Seriously, learn Pro Tools and you have no need for another DAW, it's the benchmark all the others try and reach.

Complete and utter bollocks. I know Ableton Live the best and it does stuff that Pro Tools can only dream about, yet has weaknesses at the same time - a lot of people move from Live to another DAW for mastering (especially at a pro level) for example. All DAW's are different, good at some things and bad at others.

[kaufman]

Complete and utter bollocks. I know Ableton Live the best and it does stuff that Pro Tools can only dream about, yet has weaknesses at the same time - a lot of people move from Live to another DAW for mastering (especially at a pro level) for example. All DAW's are different, good at some things and bad at others.

Exactly

[Barry Scott]

OK, my bad. I think I clearly don't have a varied enough knowledge to knowingly say from my own experience one is greater than the other.

All I know is, I used to sequence using Cubase and formerly Logic and perhaps because of misconstrued semantics, never considered them DAWs (yes I know what it stands for) I just thought of them as basic sequencers and a DAW a step up...

I suppose in my mind I've always looked at Pro Tools as the benchmark because it's on a kind of pedestal due to it's use by professionals.

I mean christ, my mate has a £20k desk for Pro Tools. I remember going to Turnkey on Tottenham Court rd and seeing their sick Pro Tools room. It's things like that, that have elevated it in my mind.

I suppose we all have favourites and stick to them. I thought Sonar was gash, I never liked Logic much (pre Mac) another mate won't touch anything else and I've never seen Ableton. (The early version a mate tried and hated it, so I gave it a wide berth - and I didn't want to change!)

[kaufman]

Barry, yep completely understand why you think that and a lot of people will say pro tools is the best and industry standard.
It's definitely the biggest brand.
You're right about logic pre mac, very hard to use i found but now it's one of the easiest to get around and comes with so many included software instruments and plugins.
There's also the fact that there's a nice amount ahem... cracked stuff if you know where to look or who to ask.