Best Software to Record and Edit

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

My Yamaha keyboard and my phone and even my TV have a zillion features that I'll never care about until the day that maybe I do. But I didn't buy them because of how deep they can be, I bought them because of how well they work if you choose not to go deep. And that's one of the things I like about Pro Tools.

Also, just speaking for myself, I can get the job done on other DAWs but it's usually less fun, sometimes a lot less fun. If the process is more fun, maybe OP will want to do it more than twice a year. I'd certainly hope so, because when I do anything twice a year I have to pretty much relearn it from scratch every time, and that's something that has only gotten worse as I've gotten older. Again, just speaking for myself.

Hi Brent…
I agree. Recording gear is tools.

I'm also a photographer and I have multiple cameras and lenses because subjects & projects are very different. It's way harder to shoot pictures of myself than to shoot for others.

I have stand alone small digital recorders, and I have multiple computers, DAWS, interfaces, and mics.

A third reason why people came to the studio to record was because they bought the computers, software, mics, preamps and understood the software and learned to use it.

But when they were trying to record themselves, they found it hampered their ability to focus on the music & play/sing freely when they had to fulfill dual roles (recordist and player).

There sure are many ways and reasons to record.

These days I'd just rather do recording sessions with/for artists who are the ones building the project.

[pvfederico]

Lots of good advice here. Thanks.

But, I have to clarify a couple of things, if I may. Even though my use will be simple compared to others here, it will be frequent.

I live alone in a semi rural area of Mexico, so I need to be pretty self sufficient. (No studios or guitar stores nearby.) The guitar is a serious hobby for me. I play for a couple of hours every night -- seven nights a week. I have already bought the interface (Focusrite), a couple of mics, the mixer, etc. I'm just deciding on the software.

And, I just learned that Pro Tools First comes bundled with the Focusrite. However, the Focusrite site today couldn't download because it's "tempoarily unavailable," which seems odd. This is the message I get:

"Pro-Tools | First is temporarily unavailable for technical reasons. Currently, instead of Pro Tools | First, you will be redirected to a 30 day free trial of Pro Tools | Ultimate. We are working on a solution with Avid and we'll keep this page updated appropriately."

Abelton Lite and Ampify Studio are also bundled with it.

Sorry that I wasn't more clear in my original post.

UPDATE ON FOCUSRITE WEB SITE TODAY (12/03/21)

"Pro Tools | First has been discontinued by Avid and is no longer available. A three month free trial of Pro Tools (standard version) will soon be available for any Focusrite users by redeeming a code provided on this page. This offer will only be available to new Avid Pro Tools customers, and can only be used once. Avid are working to give us codes to deliver this offer and we will update this page as soon as we can."

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by pvfederico

Lots of good advice here. Thanks.

But, I have to clarify a couple of things, if I may. Even though my use will be simple compared to others here, it will be frequent.

I live alone in a semi rural area of Mexico, so I need to be pretty self sufficient. (No studios or guitar stores nearby.) The guitar is a serious hobby for me. I play for a couple of hours every night -- seven nights a week. I have already bought the interface (Focusrite), a couple of mics, the mixer, etc. I'm just deciding on the software.

And, I just learned that Pro Tools First comes bundled with the Focusrite. However, the Focusrite site today couldn't download because it's "tempoarily unavailable," which seems odd. This is the message I get:

"Pro-Tools | First is temporarily unavailable for technical reasons. Currently, instead of Pro Tools | First, you will be redirected to a 30 day free trial of Pro Tools | Ultimate. We are working on a solution with Avid and we'll keep this page updated appropriately."

Abelton Lite and Ampify Studio are also bundled with it.

Sorry that I wasn't more clear in my original post.

UPDATE ON FOCUSRITE WEB SITE TODAY (12/03/21)

"Pro Tools | First has been discontinued by Avid and is no longer available. A three month free trial of Pro Tools (standard version) will soon be available for any Focusrite users by redeeming a code provided on this page. This offer will only be available to new Avid Pro Tools customers, and can only be used once. Avid are working to give us codes to deliver this offer and we will update this page as soon as we can."

Thats interesting Pro Tools First is still listed on Avid's website but if you click the download Tab it still says "Pro-Tools | First is temporarily unavailable for technical reasons."
Do you have a link to the Focusrite page that says it's actually "discontinued" I could not find it on the Focusrite web site, maybe you have to have an account.?

[pvfederico]

Originally Posted by KevWind

Thats interesting Pro Tools First is still listed on Avid's website but if you click the download Tab it still says "Pro-Tools | First is temporarily unavailable for technical reasons."
Do you have a link to the Focusrite page that says it's actually "discontinued" I could not find it on the Focusrite web site, maybe you have to have an account.?

I cut and pasted the exact quote from within my Focusrite account, in the download section.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by pvfederico

I cut and pasted the exact quote from within my Focusrite account, in the download section.

Interesting makes sense I don't have account . Over on the Avid forum There is some discussion about the "temporarily unavailable" but nothing about discontinued or on the Avid website . Curiouser and curiouser

[terryj47]

Originally Posted by Daniel Grenier

Do consider Reaper. You can download it for free and they allow you to “try” it for as long as you want before buying it (which means you can use it free forever if you want. Strange sales approach but whatever). It’s $60 if you buy the licence I think (wich I did). Tons of great videos on their Forum or YouTube. Check out “ReaperMania” which is done by Kenny Goya (YouTube). I learned a lot from his clear and detailed tutorials on Reaper.

Anyway, good luck and remember to be patient (the learning curve nearly drove me nuts!).

Best $60 I ever spent on music gear. Unless you want to spend lots more...

[pvfederico]

Originally Posted by terryj47

Best $60 I ever spent on music gear. Unless you want to spend lots more...

Based upon demo videos of several DAWs on YouTube, the advice of experienced persons here, and the survey of AGF members, I will probably start with Reaper. I feel most comfortable with it.

I hope to install it and start using it over Christmas.

Thanks everyone.

[hubcapsc]

Do you ever hear about or use "ffmpeg"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FFmpeg

-Mike

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

I've been working on DAWs (day job) since about 1989, have at least dipped a toe in quite a few DAWs and I'm at least okay at Logic, Cubase, Fairlight, AMS Audiofile (still exists?), Studio One and Pro Tools. Of those, they all have little things here and there where they stand out, but the one that's far and away the best (imo) for overall editing and workflow is Pro Tools. Not free or even close to it, but you asked for best.

[phcorrigan]

IMO, there is no best. If you want a full-featured DAW at reasonable cost, take a look at Reaper. Free to try, $60 to buy.

I use Studio One and I'm very happy with it. As of version 5, Studio One Artist is now a full-featured DAW, although it doesn't have some of the advanced features of the Pro version. It sells for about $100, but is also bundled with many PreSonus hardware products.

I started with Studio One Artist, version 4, and only upgraded to the Pro version because that version of Artist did allow third-party plugins (version 5 does). When I upgraded I also considered Reaper, but stuck with Studio One because I was already familiar with it. I would suggest looking at the reviews for both of these.

[shufflebeat]

One more Reaper fan.

I've recently started teaching some recording tech and it's made me go back and examine my process and workflow and I'm impressed all over again with the way Reaper allows you to develop and adapt it to fit your own needs.

[Brent Hahn]

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

Do you ever hear about or use "ffmpeg"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FFmpeg

-Mike

No, I had never heard of it until until now. The Wiki article is interesting but pretty "autobiographical."

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

Do you ever hear about or use "ffmpeg"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FFmpeg

-Mike

I've never heard of it ..After looking at the wiki page I guess I don't understand why the average DAW user would bother ?

[shufflebeat]

Originally Posted by hubcapsc

Do you ever hear about or use "ffmpeg"?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FFmpeg

-Mike

That came up in conversation when I was editing video on PC for playback on Mac - a flaming nightmare. The process is a bit of a blur so I can't remember where ffmpeg ended up fitting in but I seem to remember VLC format conversion being involved at some point.

[rick-slo]

Check out:
https://www.musicradar.com/news/the-...for-pc-and-mac

I use Ableton Live and have for years.

Issue for me is DAWs have way more features and choice options than I would ever use for simple recording at home (just guitar in my case).
You can easily and quickly get confused and lost and use some incorrect setting(s). Work on setting up a default template you start recording
sessions on. Once happy with that your episodes of grief with be much decreased.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

I use Ableton Live and have for years.

Issue for me is DAWs have way more features and choice options than I would ever use for simple recording at home (just guitar in my case).
You can easily and quickly get confused and lost and use some incorrect setting(s). Work on setting up a default template you start recording
sessions on. Once happy with that your episodes of grief with be much decreased.

Yes user defined session/project templates are in fact one of the best features of modern DAWs and turn a repetitive chore Into a --launch -- click-- record situation, as fast or sometimes faster than many of the (supposed simple) all in one solutions many use .....