Software Recomendations

[Roadstar02]

I just bought Alienware 17" laptop with a SSD running operating system and a HDD for storage. I have been away from recording for awhile and am presently using Audacity. For a free program it works great. But I'm thinking about purchasing PRO TOOLS which have used before. I mostly record guitars, multi-track and light drums, keyboards sometimes. I know there are a lot of other options

Any recommendations on experience with other programs? Budget is around $700. Thank you .

[Rudy4]

Use Reaper (the poor man's version of Pro tools...) and spend the other $640 on a nice mic or an instrument.

[MikeBmusic]

2nd vote for Reaper. The saved money will get you a lot of gear, acoustic treatment for your room ...

[AX17609]

Third vote for Reaper. Spend money on mics and room treatment, not software.

[mcasey329]

Hey I write software for a living. Take is easy on saving money on the program that takes many 1000's of hours to produce. I need to eat and support my habits and selling software does that.

I use reaper for smaller projects. I also have use ProTools for the larger ones.

I too use a laptop for my system. I just retired my 17" Alienware system and replaced it with a Mobile Precision fully loaded system and it works great.

Congrats on the new system

Marty

[muscmp]

i've used protools but didn't want to pay the exorbitant upgrade price as i also use reason, logic pro and ableton live.

i use logic pro the most as it has tons of content, brilliant editing features, a built in drummer, great virtual instruments and built in amps and stompboxes for both guitar and bass. it also has a built in arrangement feature that you can change around to your liking and drop in one of 16 drummers with each drummer having 16 drum patterns. it has sure made my life much easier as i am not a drummer.

play music!

[BoneDigger]

Another Reaper vote.

Todd

[Fran Guidry]

Originally Posted by mcasey329

Hey I write software for a living. Take is easy on saving money on the program that takes many 1000's of hours to produce. I need to eat and support my habits and selling software does that. ...

It appears that sales of REAPER support a very effective development team and an excellent web site. Do you really think there's merit in sending 10X the money to Avid corporate raiders, the guys who tossed the Sibelius team out on their ears because they seemed to feel that coders are interchangeable?

Fran

[DupleMeter]

I used Pro Tools (TDM) for years before moving to Digital Performer. I really like Digital Performer and have been using it since version 4...which is just about when native systems were catching up to hosted systems (like TDM).

I have considered Reaper, but I do this for a living, so I want to be able to call a company when I have an issue and MOTU has been a round a long time. I've also used it long enough to trust it with a break-neck deadline, knowing it will push through. Heck, I recorded all the choral parts for Halo: Spartan Assault in DP on a MacBook Pro in a big church during 2 days of recording & nary a hiccup (wish I could say same for the vintage M50s we rented for the session). ;-)

[mcasey329]

Reaper is not 10% of the cost. For commercial enterprises the cost is a little more than double because you can find ProTools and other major DAW everywhere. The price for a commercial product is inline with almost all other DAW's. Reaper is a good product and I use it for smaller projects.

I do believe there is merit depending on what you are doing. I get paid very well to architect software products. I have been tossed out on my ear many times and replaced by off shore teams or green card candidates who will work for next to nothing to get in the door. I use the best tools I can on the best computer I can. My clients appreciate my attention to the quality of my work and the quality of my tools.

Reaper will get the job done but so will a lot of other DAWs. Reaper is just the cheapest.

Originally Posted by Fran Guidry

It appears that sales of REAPER support a very effective development team and an excellent web site. Do you really think there's merit in sending 10X the money to Avid corporate raiders, the guys who tossed the Sibelius team out on their ears because they seemed to feel that coders are interchangeable?

Fran

[KevWind]

Reaper is very popular and indeed one of the least expensive relatively full featured DAW (ONLY) choices by itself. That of course in not the entire practical story.

When you compare apples to apples not so much. By the time you add in an interface and or mic pre/s or combo unit, the situation becomes more competitively priced. There are for example package deals that get you into plug and play DAW systems for $200 and up. Even with Pro Tools, you can now get into the starter PT Mbox package for as little as $299 for the PT express version.

[rickshapiro]

I’ve own a number of DAW’s (Reaper, Samplitude, Studio One, Cubase, Live, Reason, Trackton, ACID, Sonar X3 and a few others). I’ve been mostly using Cubase recently. What you need to do is find a DAW that is in-line with your natural workflow and tendencies. I would suggest rather than asking for recommendations based on “I mostly record guitars, multi-track and light drums, keyboards sometimes”, tell us how you create and record. For example, if you create by looping short motifs and building upon that Live is good. If you have a need to record quickly and keep momentum going Tracktion and Studio One provide a great single interface to everything you need. If you want a DAW with excellent tracking and master effects Samplitude is great. If you are going to tract a lot of live instruments at once Protools may be a good way to go.

I would agree with others, that you may get more mileage out of spending your dollars on a good mic or preamp.

Let me know, perhaps I can provide some assistance.