On Choosing A DAW

[Tunesmith]

Before I used the Atari ST, I actually sequenced on a Korg M1. It was tedious, but it worked.

I was a whiz on the Roland W-30..and i sold the Ensoniq ESQ-1 ( worked in music retail as well of and on) All those keyboard sequencers were pretty tedious I must say! And the hardware based sequencers as well...I had MIDI workshops in my home and taught folks how to use ti all...

It was fun!

Linda C

[Tunesmith]

Dear Paul,

Yes that is very helpful..I did some research on what you mentioned..would Windows 7 Aero Blue Lite Edition be good to use? And by Vi's do you mean virtual interface? I've been using a Roland workstation DAW for a long time, so this is all new to me..tho i do program and work with Windows based PC's/(Win 8.1 right now). Switching to the PC DAW world for my audio recording is a little dawnting! I mean even things like plugging guitars and mics into what in order to track, etc...the Roland you just plug into it..
I'm feeling a little archaic!

Thank you!

Linda

[Tunesmith]

Yes...I am thinking it may be best to be advised on the put together! I am going to keep researching..

In the meantime I still have to work with what I have..

I've listened to more of your very good pieces on SC..

Thank you very much for your input!

Linda

[Len911]

Switching to the PC DAW world for my audio recording is a little dawnting! I mean even things like plugging guitars and mics into what in order to track, etc...the Roland you just plug into it..
I'm feeling a little archaic!

It's really fairly simple. First you need an audio/midi interface. The most common today are "usb audio interface". That's what you plug your guitars, mics into. Depending on the features of the unit, this is where your preamps, headphone jack, monitor in/out, midi, a/d, d/a converters, etc.

Whatever daw you have, you open it and choose your usb audio interface as your in/outs. The name of the device will appear as well in the ins/outs you choose.

Years ago, I had a Roland VS880 hardware daw. It's a simple transition. In fact, many of the usb audio interfaces include a limited daw to get you started. The limited daw even though it might be limited, can probably do circles around the Roland hardware built-in daw.

[Tunesmith]

Paul and Len,
Thank you very much for your input! All of you..I have decided to sell my vintage gear and use the $$$ towards a current setup...depending on what I get for it, will determine what I can afford..
I joined Taxi in September..I have had 2 forwards so it has been encouraging, but what has been really rewarding is recording again. For the past 10 years I haven't done any. Busy with other work, but live performing a lot. I have been way out of the studio loop, whereas quite a while ago, I was way in it.
I am going to piece together the best I can for the least $ I can and post my progress in hopes it helps someone else new to the technology.

I have had to put together PCs in the past for multimedia production..ie, buy a bare bones system then put in what I needed. Using what you have told me as guide and additional research, I will do this..I did look into pre-assembled just for audio recording PC's and they ask pretty high prices for them.

Three questions I have are 1.is it better to have a tower than a desktop 2. do you put the PC in a separate room or housing to eliminate fan noise etc 3.Is it best to use Win 7 over Win 10?

Thank you again!

Linda C

[Len911]

Three questions I have are 1.is it better to have a tower than a desktop 2. do you put the PC in a separate room or housing to eliminate fan noise etc 3.Is it best to use Win 7 over Win 10?

1. The larger tower type computers have more space and therefore easier to assemble, also have more bays for when you add hard drives, etc. If it wasn't for space for numerous hard drives, and because there's really no need to add a "sound card", and not really necessary to have a graphics card, and because hard drives are larger, the case can be made for a small case. The computer I assembled for me is a large tower, and for my mother who really only uses internet, a small see-through box that sits on her desk.

2. Choose silent fans. The technology has come a long way, and they aren't that expensive. The tower I assembled a few years ago, I don't hear the fans, I'd have to actually open the case to see them running,lol!

3. Windows 7 is nearing the end of it's support. That said, I am still using xp on my music computer. I use a separate computer for my internet, an old xp machine that I upgraded to linux. The problem though would be later on when you want to buy a software and windows 7 isn't supported. That has happened to me occasionally with xp, windows 7 is the minimum supported.

[Len911]

...
And if anyone is looking for a free option, I actually just learned about Ardour (http://www.ardour.org), which is open-source.

Does anyone have experience with their Windows version? Thanks, Tom

Why not use Reaper with it's never expiring demo period and $60 after that?

[jdstamper]

Worth mentioning here, Sonar is now free, and re-named as "Cakewalk by Bandlab" https://cakewalk.bandlab.com/

Jim

[hummingbird]

Tracktion 6 is now free.