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Post by blackcountrymick on Jul 18, 2015 6:37:53 GMT -6
Hi guys, as you are all aware I am probably the only person on the forum who does not record using a computer and DAW, instead I have been using a stand alone Boss BR800 digital recorder which has up until now served my needs very well. It has now developed a problem which has reduced the functionality of the unit, so I am thinking that it is time for me to take steps forward into the realms of computer recording.
So, my question to all you well versed users is what works for you etc. I am sort of thinking about a focusrite interface with Reaper DAW. Guitar tone generation would be from external amps etc as I already use with my Boss unit. Any thoughts?
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Post by jack1982 on Jul 18, 2015 7:18:10 GMT -6
Reaper is fantastic, I've been using it for quite a while now. It does everything I could possibly want, and dozens of things I didn't even know I wanted until I found out it could do them lol. Besides recording it has a whole host of effects like reverb, compression etc. and also a really neat noise reduction tool that can get rid of amp noise etc., and it can even give you a graph of how far out of tune your bends are lol. Of course there's a learning curve involved - what I did was start out with Audacity, which is a very simple, free program that you might want to fool around with for a week or two just to familiarize yourself with the basic functions of a DAW; though it's extremely limited in what it can do so you'd want to move on to Reaper quite quickly. There are tons of tutorials on Youtube to get you started using Reaper and more videos covering every imaginable feature of it once you get a bit more advanced. As far as interfaces, I love my Pod Studio UX1, it does everything I want and of course comes with the Pod Farm amp sim / effects software as well. You can use it with external amps just by choosing a clean preset in Pod Farm, which is what I do when recording my drum machine or bass played through my bass amp. I bought a Focusrite Scarlet Solo a couple weeks ago and at first had some problems with it (mainly that it outputs the guitar to channel 2 and everything from amp sim's to DAW's have channel 1 as their default input, which took me an entire evening to figure out). Then I was having problems with crackling and popping in the audio and the audio would stop entirely every hour or so. But I emailed their customer service - which is excellent, got a genuine computer expert to help me - and among other things she directed me to this page: global.focusrite.com/answerbase/optimising-your-pc-for-audio-on-windows-7?id=1071 and after following those steps my problems were gone. I didn't go so far as to disable my antivirus or anti-spyware software, but I followed most of the other tips. I've now been using the Focusrite as my main interface for a week or so and everything's going great. It's got an XLR input as well as a 1/4" guitar input, and has phantom power for condenser mic's. Only niggling problem is that if I turn my computer off and back on, I have to unplug the USB cable form the Focusrite, then plug it back in; otherwise it doesn't turn on for some reason. |
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Post by bluesbruce on Jul 18, 2015 7:18:30 GMT -6
You'll get a spectrum of opinions on this, Mick. I'm using a Focusrite Scarlett 18i8, have been very happy with the unit. I am recording on an Apple iMac computer, using Logic (an Apple program) as my DAW. I use amp modeling and effects in Logic, but you could certainly record from an amp, as you're proposing to do. I used to use a Line 6 UX2, which worked fine as well. I'll tell you though, that Line 6 unit was much more "technically challenging" - that is, I spent way more time messing with software, settings, authorization, updates, etc. than I do on my current setup. I think no matter which way you go, I'd warn you that there's a definite learning curve with computer recording. The trade off is that editing in a DAW will give you WAY more ability to modify and play around with what you've recorded. Of course, starting out you don't have to use all this editing power, but you can learn and pick up things as you go.
Bruce
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Post by Phil on Jul 18, 2015 9:02:13 GMT -6
Mick,
I'm using a $40.00 Behringer Guitar Link as my interface, Reaper as my DAW, and a stripped down version of Guitar Rig (came with the Guitar Link) or Amplitube free for amp modeling. I've never been satisfied with the sound of direct to computer recording, but it works well enough for my purposes.
Jack is right, there is a significant learning curve with Reaper, but it's worth the time and trouble to learn the basics.
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Post by cunningr on Jul 18, 2015 10:51:38 GMT -6
I am using GarageBand 10 as my DAW and an APOGEE USB interface. I also have a USB mic that I can use to record using my amp. Current I am using my pedal board going straight into the apogee. For emulation I can use GarageBand or I have the fender guitar pack for amplitude.
I want to change though to a setupike bruce and Jack have, more inputs for flexability, plus it has headphone amps and monitor outputs. Good luck.
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Post by blackcountrymick on Jul 18, 2015 15:16:59 GMT -6
Thanks for the feedback guys and pointing me in the right direction for some research, its really appreciated and may well save me a bit of money as well  . I'm off to have a good look at Focusrite now, the model Bruce has looks really interesting and at first sight appears to cover all connectivity and monitoring facilities that I had with BR800 (and more). More GAS!!!!! |
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Post by jack1982 on Jul 18, 2015 16:52:59 GMT -6
Pro tip: if you buy a new guitar to go with all that new computer recording stuff, it makes the transition much easier  |
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Post by cunningr on Jul 18, 2015 16:58:23 GMT -6
A guitar would be cool, but a decent mic to record your amp mic'd up is pretty cool. 2 mic'd even better you can record to different positions the mix the channels.
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Post by joachim on Jul 19, 2015 2:13:28 GMT -6
Mick, I have a Focusrite 2i2 and the quality seems quite good, but I get high latency with it when I use Reaper and Amplitube or a similar program in real-time, more than 10ms latency, which is probably around the limit of what feels natural. I got another audiocard included with Rig Kontrol 5, which you'd think is similar, but now my latency is down to 4-5 ms. Maybe newer Focusrite cards like the one Bruce suggests doesn't have this problem, but it's probably worth checking out before buying...
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Post by blackcountrymick on Jul 19, 2015 4:55:39 GMT -6
Pro tip: if you buy a new guitar to go with all that new computer recording stuff, it makes the transition much easier NO NO Jack!!! I'll never be able to sneak in yet another guitar, not without a divorce, and then I wouldn't be able to afford another one anyway......hummmmm |
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Post by blackcountrymick on Jul 19, 2015 5:04:19 GMT -6
Mick, I have a Focusrite 2i2 and the quality seems quite good, but I get high latency with it when I use Reaper and Amplitube or a similar program in real-time, more than 10ms latency, which is probably around the limit of what feels natural. I got another audiocard included with Rig Kontrol 5, which you'd think is similar, but now my latency is down to 4-5 ms. Maybe newer Focusrite cards like the one Bruce suggests doesn't have this problem, but it's probably worth checking out before buying... J, focusrite are claiming a latency of less than 1.4ms for Bruce's model when realtime monitoring using their mixer software, I don't know how realistic this is but it does sound really good. My existing set up gave me zero latency so my expectations are high!!! This was the reason I went with a stand alone recorder in the first place but the usability of it is nowhere near as good as even basic DAW software. |
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Post by cunningr on Jul 19, 2015 8:20:39 GMT -6
If you can afford a FireWire interface it would be the best solution against the latency. However those are costly.
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Post by blackcountrymick on Jul 23, 2015 10:58:53 GMT -6
OK guys I think I'm in business!!!!! The focusrite unit arrived yesterday, I have it set up and talking to the bundled Ableton Live Lite DAW with what appears to be no audible latency. Now all I need to do is get back to practicing Drivin' Blues and see if I can make a half decent recording . |
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Post by jack1982 on Jul 23, 2015 11:47:28 GMT -6
Congrat's Mick!
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Post by cunningr on Jul 23, 2015 15:32:54 GMT -6
Congrates, can't wait to hear a recording.
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Post by bluesbruce on Jul 23, 2015 18:46:05 GMT -6
OK guys I think I'm in business!!!!! The focusrite unit arrived yesterday, I have it set up and talking to the bundled Ableton Live Lite DAW with what appears to be no audible latency. Now all I need to do is get back to practicing Drivin' Blues and see if I can make a half decent recording . That's cool, Mick. Did you end up getting the 18i8, too? You can, of course, use the bundled software, but you may end up wanting a "full" DAW (Ableton is obviously hoping it will be theirs). Bruce |
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Post by blackcountrymick on Jul 24, 2015 15:20:13 GMT -6
OK guys I think I'm in business!!!!! The focusrite unit arrived yesterday, I have it set up and talking to the bundled Ableton Live Lite DAW with what appears to be no audible latency. Now all I need to do is get back to practicing Drivin' Blues and see if I can make a half decent recording . That's cool, Mick. Did you end up getting the 18i8, too? You can, of course, use the bundled software, but you may end up wanting a "full" DAW (Ableton is obviously hoping it will be theirs). Bruce Yes Bruce I got the 18i8, its got way more connections than I need atm but who knows where I may go with this recording thing . I may even look at the music production course some of you guys have done. |
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