Home studio

Big Davey

Hi guys I am looking to set up a home recording studio. Last time I recorded any music was about 15 years ago on a reel to reel 8 track in a friends house.
I have done a tiny bit of research and feel pro tools or similar would be way beyond me.
I was thinking something like ableton and a good laptop OR a straight to cd recording studio a simple 8 track ?
I play guitar based rock style music and would like a simple solution to getting a few songs down any advice would be very appreciated
Thank you

Sham Squire

I teach Ableton and have been using it for years. It CAN be used for recording the kind of thing you're talking about doing (and it's what I use for that very purpose) but I wouldn't recommend it. It is really more designed for electronic composition and performance. I would recommend a digital hard disc recorder for your purposes. The Zoom range of multitracks are always good quality and reliable but you really are spoiled for choice with those things and will set you back a lot less cash than a laptop, soundcard and software package. Boss, Korg, Yamaha, you name it, they're all very decent. If you out grow the multitrack you can always move it on and get into the laptop thing then.
If you have your heart set on the laptop and software route then I'd recommend Cubase, Logic, or basically anything other than Ableton. If for some reason you still want to go with Ableton then hit me up for any advice. Happy to answer any questions and tell you how I use it for recording bands and singers with guitars, etc. Good luck.

The Master

Moved to main forum

You'll get more replies here

The Master

You also have software options like Reaper, free to demo and then the license is quite cheap.
Handy if you want to dip your toe in the water and see what working on a laptop with a DAW can be like.

The Getting Started thread here in the forum is also a handy read for getting started

themountainman

Reaper is a great piece of software for the price. Just get an interface to your computer and software sequencer like Reaper and the possibilities are way beyond any hardware 8-track. I like the line 6 stuff to interface but I am sure there are plenty of other good options.

Big Davey

yes I am swaying towards a digital hard disc recorder as I am not the most technical of people and don't think the whole laptop tech thing is for me.
Is there anywhere to get a few basic lessons in home recording ?
Where are you based yourself ?

Sham Squire wrote: »

I teach Ableton and have been using it for years. It CAN be used for recording the kind of thing you're talking about doing (and it's what I use for that very purpose) but I wouldn't recommend it. It is really more designed for electronic composition and performance. I would recommend a digital hard disc recorder for your purposes. The Zoom range of multitracks are always good quality and reliable but you really are spoiled for choice with those things and will set you back a lot less cash than a laptop, soundcard and software package. Boss, Korg, Yamaha, you name it, they're all very decent. If you out grow the multitrack you can always move it on and get into the laptop thing then.
If you have your heart set on the laptop and software route then I'd recommend Cubase, Logic, or basically anything other than Ableton. If for some reason you still want to go with Ableton then hit me up for any advice. Happy to answer any questions and tell you how I use it for recording bands and singers with guitars, etc. Good luck.

Big Davey

themountainman wrote: »

Reaper is a great piece of software for the price. Just get an interface to your computer and software sequencer like Reaper and the possibilities are way beyond any hardware 8-track. I like the line 6 stuff to interface but I am sure there are plenty of other good options.

I checked out reaper on you tube it looks great but I am looking for something simpler I think.

paulo6891

There's no real difference between the DAWs in terms of some being beyond you and some being fine. Yes, some are slightly more user friendly, but they're essentially all the same. Ableton is going for around 80 quid though so that's not a bad deal, I never warmed to reaper. Although as has been said, Ableton is aimed at electronic musicians. if you're on a mac, try garageband! I used it before eventually moving to logic.

Just to note, I'd probably rather buying an audio interface and a mic instead of going from amp to interface to computer etc, think it may sound more "authentic".

Big Davey

The Master wrote: »

You also have software options like Reaper, free to demo and then the license is quite cheap.
Handy if you want to dip your toe in the water and see what working on a laptop with a DAW can be like.

The Getting Started thread here in the forum is also a handy read for getting started

Thanks will check out the getting started thread

ZV Yoda

Big Davey wrote: »

Thanks will check out the getting started thread

I was in your shoes a few years back. We originally went for the CD portable studio option, but after a while it was just too restrictive. They're quite fiddly to use and not very intuitive (back in the day, I also had a cassette based portastudio, so I did have a basic understanding of multitracking).

I'd recommend the laptop / software route. It might seem daunting at first, but in the long run it's far more flexible. To start off with, it probably won't cost any more than a standalone CD studio. You can add / upgrade as you progress, whereas as CD portastudio is all contained in one box.

Big Davey

ZV Yoda wrote: »

I was in your shoes a few years back. We originally went for the CD portable studio option, but after a while it was just too restrictive. They're quite fiddly to use and not very intuitive (back in the day, I also had a cassette based portastudio, so I did have a basic understanding of multitracking).

I'd recommend the laptop / software route. It might seem daunting at first, but in the long run it's far more flexible. To start off with, it probably won't cost any more than a standalone CD studio. You can add / upgrade as you progress, whereas as CD portastudio is all contained in one box.

Which one would you recommend ?

ZV Yoda

Big Davey wrote: »

Which one would you recommend ?

To be honest, the choice of software is just down to your budget / personal taste. As mentioned above, they all do pretty much the same thing.

My advice wold be to check out youtube for some tutorials of the main DAWs to see which one you prefer. The most popular ones include Apple Logic Pro, Apple garageband (pre-installed on Macs), Avid Pro Tools, Cakewalk Sonar, Steinberg Cubase and Reaper.

I went with Pro Tools, but could just have easily gone with Logic (Apple only) or Reaper (this is the least expensive software at $60 for personal use).

themountainman

Another free option, maybe just to get you started, is Audacity. I personally don't like using it, but it's pretty simple to get started with if you just want to get used to using digital recording.