Re: (TV) OT: Using your PC as a home studio?

[Joe Hartley <jh@brainiac.com>]

"Philip P. Obbard" <pobbard@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> Quick question. Can any of you recommend any good sites for learning about home
> recording, using my PC to mix/record multi-track stuff? I'm looking for user
> reviews of software/hardware, simple FAQs, etc.

Philip, start at http://www.fasoft.com/ and look at n-track, an
inexpensive PC based multi-track recorder.  The docs are very good
and there's an active forum for discussing the program.

ProTools has a limited version (up to 8 audio tracks) available for
free from their website @ protools.com, but I have not had much success
in getting over its learning curve.  That's because all the docs that come
with it point you to working throung a demo tune, but it isn't included
with the downloadable installation :-/

There's a book you can get for ~$30 at Guitar Center on learning ProTools
that comes with a CD which includes the demo version and the tutorial song,
but I decided to stick with n-Track; it's a lot more intuitive for me.

If you go with n-track, you'll want a WAV file editor to go along with it;
I like CoolEdit from syntrillium.com, but GoldWave is cheaper, and does
just about the same thing.

For audio hardware, the field's wide open.  I did my track on Test Patterns
with n-track and a Turtle Beack Montego card, which was about $75; the
biggest thing to look for is a _quiet_ card.  Too many of them (especially
the Soundblasters) have a noisy amp section.

I've been able to drop some serious money into the studio over the past
year, and have upgraded to an M-audio Delta 66 card and OmniStudio (the
best $400 anyone serious about home recording can spend), which is a 
little 4-track mixer that has excellent mic preamps built into it.  Check
it out at http://www.m-audio.com

I also recently bought a Behringer mixer and a new amp!  (Those of you 
sick of hearing me bemoan the loss of my Ampeg will be happy about this :)
I got a Fender Ultimate Chorus DSP, and this amp is GREAT!  It's giving me
just the sounds I wanted, and I'm about 3/4 done with the guitar tracks
on my tune for the next tribute disk.

Enough rambling; good luck with your efforts, Philip, and feel free to
drop me a line if you have any more Qs.


======================================================================
                    Joe Hartley - jh@brainiac.com
  "Say what you will about the sweet miracle of unquestioning faith. 
   I consider the capacity for it terrifying." --Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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