Recording help !!!!!!!!

[Newc]

... can't do as much as Pro Tools.

The big question here, however, is "Can you?"

It's one thing to have ProTools, but do/can you use/do everything it's capable of? Seems an awfully expensive and complex scratch pad to me, especially if all someone wants is to record. If you want a complete MIDI and VST compositor/editor/orchestrator, then yeah, ProTools or Die, but if you're just getting into recording, pass on it and start at the fast-n-cheap bottom.

[Spivonious]

The big question here, however, is "Can you?"

It's one thing to have ProTools, but do/can you use/do everything it's capable of? Seems an awfully expensive and complex scratch pad to me, especially if all someone wants is to record. If you want a complete MIDI and VST compositor/editor/orchestrator, then yeah, ProTools or Die, but if you're just getting into recording, pass on it and start at the fast-n-cheap bottom.

Yeah, I would never buy the full Pro Tools unless people were paying me to use my studio.

Free programs for the beginner:
Audacity
Sony Acid Express

Cheap programs for the intermediate user:
Sony Acid Music Studio
Pro Tools LE
Cubase Essential

[Grim]

The big question here, however, is "Can you?"

It's one thing to have ProTools, but do/can you use/do everything it's capable of? Seems an awfully expensive and complex scratch pad to me, especially if all someone wants is to record. If you want a complete MIDI and VST compositor/editor/orchestrator, then yeah, ProTools or Die, but if you're just getting into recording, pass on it and start at the fast-n-cheap bottom.

Renoise is a good alternative if you can get used to the vertical format, costs 58 euros.

[BenoA]

Check out Reaper. It's simple / easy to use. 30 day trial use and 40 bucks for license. I enjoy it over a lot of other DAW's out there.

Reaper user here too. Good software for the price. Comes with tons of plugins too. Get a Line6 UX2 or something like that and you'll be ready to rock quickly.

And if you check sites like KVR Audio and similar ones, you can find some real decent freeware VST FX.

I think you can easily get some decent recordings with the budget you suggested.

[Guitar_Symphony]

thanks alot guys....im thinking of going with the $200 pro tools.....ill see
again big help guys

[warlok]

The big question here, however, is "Can you?"

It's one thing to have ProTools, but do/can you use/do everything it's capable of? Seems an awfully expensive and complex scratch pad to me, especially if all someone wants is to record. If you want a complete MIDI and VST compositor/editor/orchestrator, then yeah, ProTools or Die, but if you're just getting into recording, pass on it and start at the fast-n-cheap bottom.

+1000!! Only reason I have as much as I do is I traded a guitar for the entire setup (PC with all software, monitors, etc..). I use audacity for most of the recording tracks and then SX3 for mixing/mastering (with alot of help my bro-in-law who has a degree in this crap..)

[wilkinsi]

Well, if I get an Eleven Rack, I get Pro Tools bundled with it. Normally, PT9 is about £479 alone. I once attended a Pro Tools demo, using a Focusrite/Digidesign Control 24 console and Mac. You can record the reverb tails from existing tracks, reverse them, create fades. That's just one small snippet of PT's capabilities. I agree PT is expensive, but I'd still like to try it myself someday.

[Newc]

Well, if I get an Eleven Rack, I get Pro Tools bundled with it. Normally, PT9 is about £479 alone. I once attended a Pro Tools demo, using a Focusrite/Digidesign Control 24 console and Mac. You can record the reverb tails from existing tracks, reverse them, create fades. That's just one small snippet of PT's capabilities. I agree PT is expensive, but I'd still like to try it myself someday.

And yet I could do all that and more in CoolEdit Pro back in 2001 because I spent countless hours dicking around with such things. I've yet to actually find a practical use for being able to do that, though.