Recording Question ???

[MixGrafix]

other suggested options are cheaper, and better than Garageband, which i never liked in the slightest. studios run macs, but i sure don't.

There is the cheaper Windows excuse again. Since when is cheaper better? Your Yugo is better then my Ferrari. I will take the Ferrari anyday.

Hmmm... I wonder why studios run Macs? Maybe because they are better for music recording. Walk into 98 percent of studios in the world, and Macs will be there. If you read back, I am not a Windows basher, but everyone seems to be a Mac basher. I deal with computers for a living, and I know both systems in and out. Apple is simply better quality, and for $400.00 bucks he can do exactly what he wants to and does not have to download any drivers, or buy any software because it comes standard on Macs. He wants to record two tracks, syncronize them and export them to an MP3, and burn them to a CD.

I recorded half my project on Garageband, and then imported the tracks into Logic Pro and Pro Tools for the final mixdown.

HERE IS THE LINK TO THE MUSIC WE HAVE CREATED IN GARAGEBAND.
And to Moonlapse.. I bet you are running ProTools. I had that problem, and ditched it for Logic Pro and GuitarRig. Never an issue with my Dual 2.7 G5 with 8 gig of memory. No crashes, no hiccups, it just works.

And by the way, I do love Windows. 100 percent of my clients that run Windows have spyware, malware, viruses, networking issues, driver compatibility issues, and last but not least "the blue screen of death". Time is money, and the more time a computer is down, the less profitable that computer becomes. It keeps me very employed. So you can run your Windows Systems and bash me, but I really don't give a hoot what you think of my computer preference. I like what I like. And Opeth fucking rules. At least we agree on that.

 

[FRUGiHOYi]

What your teacher said is total bullshit. I use a Dual G5 in the main control room of our studio and the fucking thing has crashed on me more in 2 sessions than my home PC has crashed on me in 6 months. Don't buy into Mac elitism. Use both platforms and then make up your own mind. PC's running Windows XP, optimized well, are recording beasts - don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

@FRUGiHOYi: You got your chain a bit wrong there. If you are going the Guitar direct in route it's:

Guitar > DI (Direct Injection Box) > Preamp > Converter > PC

Now let me elaborate. Most audio interfaces (sound cards) function as A/D and D/A converters. When you put something into the 'line-in' of your soundcard, the soundcard itself is doing an Analogue to Digital conversion, which is why the sound of most economy cards isn't so flash.

Some newer sound cards even have in-built preamps or DI's on them. Some just have a simple 'instrument in' jack which lets you put the guitar right in.

When it comes to a mic'ed amp chain, it goes like this:

Guitar > Amp > Microphone > Preamp > Converter > PC

You need a preamp if you're going to use a microphone. Don't use the 'mic in' on your soundcard... and don't use any mics that can interface with a 1/8' jack. Seriously - don't do it. If you're even going to bother with the mic'ed route, get a decent mic (Shure SM57) that outputs XLR signals and a preamp that receives XLR signals (I'd assume by definition, all of them should).

Well, you lost me there. All I know is I can get some good recordings using my methods. I guess I could get even better sound with yours? Anyway, this guy is a newbie to recording so I think my way would be easier/cheaper and you can still get some good sounding recordings.

 

[opeth8]

Looks like I have lots of options.
I'll sort through all these ideas & put together some value/quality comparisons.

I appreciate the advice you've all given me.
I've been playing music for yrs as a hobby & have always wanted to put my idea's together.
Now I need to dig up all my old notes.

Thanks again

 

[affinityband]

Ah yes.. my school just built a studio for like £2000 or something. Its actually not bad at all. I mean i just finished my first recording (first time around the desks n ADATs in stuff) And im now totally obsessed with the sounds. I recently got 2 mastering programs, Soundforge 6.0 and t-racks. And both make the recording sound so so good. My recording was a close-mic'd version of bleak.

 

[Ermz]

Looks like I have lots of options.
I'll sort through all these ideas & put together some value/quality comparisons.

I appreciate the advice you've all given me.
I've been playing music for yrs as a hobby & have always wanted to put my idea's together.
Now I need to dig up all my old notes.

Thanks again

Good luck to you. The home recording thing is a bottomless money pit.

I'd really suggest that you sequence drums using samples at home... recording drums is just way too hard to do at a home set-up. You need to spend a lot of money on a souncard with multiple inputs (you're looking at about 8), and not to mention a ton of cash on all the microphones and leads... And the sound you're gonna get isn't going to be fantastic, unless your room is treated right and you know how to tune/mic drums properly.

Happy hunting though.

 

[MixGrafix]

Looks like I have lots of options.
I'll sort through all these ideas & put together some value/quality comparisons.

I appreciate the advice you've all given me.
I've been playing music for yrs as a hobby & have always wanted to put my idea's together.
Now I need to dig up all my old notes.

Thanks again

And send them to me and I will lay down some drum tracks.

 

[SPLASTiK]

Hmmm... I wonder why studios run Macs? Maybe because they are better for music recording. Walk into 98 percent of studios in the world, and Macs will be there. Most old school engineers I've hung out don't seem to know much about using computers either and Apples are pretty simple.

Because the first DAWs were on Mac's? A large chunk of major studios still run OS 9 too for plugin reasons.

I had that problem, and ditched it for Logic Pro and GuitarRig. Never an issue with my Dual 2.7 G5 with 8 gig of memory. No crashes, no hiccups, it just works.

Hope you didn't buy the 8 gigs at Apple store Logic can only utilize 2 gigs of memory if my memory serves correct anyways.

Not a big fan of Logic myself, I've used it since 6. 7 is still kind of buggy for me when I use it, I need more than two hands to count the crashes. $1000 is pretty expensive for some software... not to mention you have to pay for all those updates they come out with every once and while. Probably better off with DP at half the price.

 

[MixGrafix]

Because the first DAWs were on Mac's? A large chunk of major studios still run OS 9 too for plugin reasons.

Hope you didn't buy the 8 gigs at Apple store Logic can only utilize 2 gigs of memory if my memory serves correct anyways.

Not a big fan of Logic myself, I've used it since 6. 7 is still kind of buggy for me when I use it, I need more than two hands to count the crashes. $1000 is pretty expensive for some software... not to mention you have to pay for all those updates they come out with every once and while. Probably better off with DP at half the price.

I bought it with a gig, and bought the rest of the memory from Crucial.com. I have all the memory for video editing, and running Final Cut Pro, Logic 7, Soundtrack, and Guitar Rig at the same time takes that kind of power. I have had a few issues with Logic, but not nearly the issues I was having with Pro Tools. As for the price, it is expensive, but worth every penny to me in terms of user ease.

Don't get me wrong, Pro Tools is a fantastic program, but I love the simple integration that I can do within the "suite" of programs.