ShortScale.org

i don't know much about it. any good? easy to use?

don't do it. go with cakewalk instead. the latest version (sonar 5) is incredible. . . very guitar friendly.

cakewalk isnt that great really, its alright but theres plenty thats better. nuendo is a better version of cubase (a bit of the crap taken out, good stuff left in, plus you can do video easily). logic is better still, very versatile, bit harder to pick up but once you get it you probably wont wanna use anything else.

if you're actually paying for it, i saw go pro tools (without doubt)

meh, to each his own i guess. i've been using cakewalk for like 8 or 9 years. i've got the producer version of sonar 5, and it's packed with great features.

gaybear wrote:i don't know much about it. any good? easy to use?

It works, but it's hard as shit. It's german, after all.

thanks for the advice guys! i sw a deal where an a/i came with cubase, headphones mic and somethin' else, and was just wondering if i should go for it, get software seperately.

Get a protools rig of somesorts, like an mbox or 001 off of ebay, protools is used in every studio in the world, so you could go to a studio to record something like drums or whatever, take that protools session home with you, record your own guitar tracks or vox, return to the studio and have it mixed. To me protools is very user friendly and straight forward when it comes to operating it, and the customer service is out of this world!

ah, good cusomer service is a definate +

i'm with cowbell, if youre buying an interface you may as well make it digidesign. especially if you want easy of use. i'd be happy to answer all your pro tools questions too.

basically if you wanna do just midi stuff (dance music style) cubase is ok
just audio - pro tools
both - logic

thats a kinda general way of thinking that applies fairly well, though you can certainly do both in all 3 applications.

pro tools is the best audio recording software ive used by some distance.

gaybear wrote:ah, good cusomer service is a definate +

also a lot of protools interfaces come with the latest version of software...protools, reason, ableton live, etc. So look for the ones on ebay that may have those included with them, some of the older models have sampletank also.

you can always get a crack of the new software, i know it defeats the point slightly, but when you have to buy hardware to get the software i think upgrades should be free or at least cheaper than they are.

the pro tools stock plug-ins are improving all the time, and they keep adding neat little fetaures, so the newer the better really.

pro tools eq 3 = nice

Gaybear, track down the album Pressure Chief by CAKE, they recorded the entire album with a protools digi001 and a G3 mac, no shit! they recorded in a house with no major acoustic treatments, just a diffusor here a pillow there, just like we do it ourselvers do.

"the studio" is a myth. generally unnecessary if you have a good idea of what you're doing, and functioning equipment.

nah, there are still studios out there with setups you couldn't duplicate at home. neve boards, huge rooms, tr00 iso booths, and collections of gear you and i can't afford to assemble. there are still some joints out there with 2" tape (but you'd have to spend a small fortune on media and the techs to run it), but patching pro-tools into a real studio setup gives you the best of both worlds: low-cost tracking in a world-class environment.

aen wrote:"the studio" is a myth. generally unnecessary if you have a good idea of what you're doing, and functioning equipment.

Bollocks.

We record Drums, Bass and Guitars all at the same time in a live room with baffles and then overdub vocal parts and lead guitar. Can't do that shit at home.

WHy not? Have you no pillows? Does your home depot or whatever not carry PVC?

True enough, a studio is cool, and handy. But it's kind of like, maybe an USA DELUXE telecaster, wheras at home you can rock your own MIM standard, and get just as great a song, dig?

Plus you can spend oodles of time tweaking, and not worrying about the clock/pocketbook equation. Nobody to make shape your sounds into their visions, etc.

Rooms are important--but people record in houses all the time. Some houses have great acoustics and that's really all that's important. Beyond that, it then comes down to gear. Recording in pro-studio is nice since all the gear is typically right there. If you're in a different space, you need to bring in your mics, preamps, outboard gear, cables, etc. It really comes down to individual setups. Crap recordings can get made in studios and good recordings can come out of a bedroom. It's all in the details.

The problem with saying the studio is redundant, is that most people don't really have a good idea what they are doing and "functioning equipment" should really be replaced with at least "adaquete" or "reasonable quality".

I agree the studio is not a necessity, but i would add that in some cases it's certainly a benefit. If i was close mic'ing a snare drum for a quick sample, I'd happily do it in any average room (the room i'm sat in now for example) but if i was recording a drum kit, I'd want the best sounding room possible.

Grandaddy recorded albums in houses since the beginning (as far as I'm aware), but when they did it, they basically converted a few of the rooms of the house to function as a make shift studio.

Someone already said it, but acoustic treatment is the key here. There is a reason studios spend thousands and thousands of pounds on acoustic treatment, and it isn't because purple foam is pretty (albeit an added bonus).

Also, how big is your mic cabinet exactly? Buying a decent mic cabinet will probably cost you less than 5 days with Albini. (And no, a couple of sm57s and a samson condensor is not a versatile mic cabinet).

What about outboard gear? How many outboard compressors does the average home studio have? 2, maybe 4 if theyre lucky. Of course you could compress and then bounce, but then if you find that your compressed bass doesnt quite work with your new guitar overdub, you gotta go back and compress that bass again. Plus what quality is it? outboard compressors can easily cost in the region of ?1000 each.

To sum that up, three very important things that will be better in most pro studios than most home studios.
The room
Microphones
The front end (what the mic signal hits first)

Of course, none of that stuff is neccesary to make great sounding records, and you could go out and spend 10k and turn your spare room into a worthwhile setup that will get great results. But please dont go saying studios are bullshit just because you cant afford them and you own an sm57 and a soundcard.

(this post shouldve been way better, but i decided mid-writing it there probably isnt much point, and i cant be assed really)

We managed to record our last demo round at the drummer's house.
Mostly live as well, with the only overdubs being the vocal tracks and a few guitar parts.
We put the guitar amps at opposite ends of the kitchen facing away from each other. The guitars were played in the living room along with the guide vocals and the bass was DI'ed.
The drums were recorded upstairs at the same time.

We only used 4 dynamic mics and an AKG condenser + a valve compressor when we recorded the vocals. We used Cakewalk (not my choice, it was the only audio software he had on his PC) and Firewire audio interface called a Firepod or something. The most difficult part was the monitoring really.
The room where we recorded the vocals had a wooden floor and gave a really nice sound, The kitchen sounded a bit tinny for the guitars, but we did'nt have time to go back and re-record them B4 the drummers girlfriend got home.
Have a listen here
Also if you listen carefully at the start of 'Clouds Make Faces' you can hear the dog barking next door

hahaha, the dog bark is perfect.
btw, really nice songs.