Nirvalica, I think you're being a bit silly here?? Your Compaq Pentium I I is best left alone. It will not have the proper power supply for the new dual core Pentiums. You want a combo DVD/CD cutter, you'll also need a larger faster system hard disk drive and storage drive with proper fast memory, so basically, you need a complete computer not a screwball penny wise and dollar foolish piece of crap that won't fill the bill.

Go out and buy yourself a bare-bones computer, outfitted with a combo DVD/CD cutter and jumbo storage drive. That coupled with a FireWire ports and USB 2.0 and you're ready for prime time!

So if you don't have a computer, how are you playing with Recording.org? From your seventh-grade study hall? I think not?

I think not therefore I be not
Ms. Remy Ann David

1 Gb RAM? nope nope, you will go nowhere witht that amount.
Start from 2Gb. If possible, choose an HDD at 10.000rpm.
And listen to Remy: you need a GOOD power supply (for example: Chieftec)
good luck :)

READ CAREFULLY:

The motherboard in that compaq has a completely different CPU socket and a brand new Dual Core P4 WILL NOT FIT that socket. Waste of time and money.

Depending on what kind of recording you want to do (tracks, plugins, etc) a 7,200 RPM Hard Drive will do just fine, and 1BG of RAM will do fine for 10 or 12 tracks with light use of plugins. You don't need a superstar computer, but look at getting at least a P4 >2.0GHz. Also getting a computer with a motherboard with SATAII hard drive will leave you with room to expand later on.

The delta1010 is a good choice from what I hear, this device will replace a normal soundcard (usually onboard with the MoBo) that most computers come with.

Since you are "getting a job to save money" I am assuming you are a young recoring engineer and your budget is going to be drastically lower than it needs to be.

Realistically, a small setup starting from scratch is going to cost you a few thousand dollars. If you really cheaped out on the computer, might spend $1000 on that, a decent soundcard will help your recordings. The Delta 1010LT will work, there are also a slew of firewire soundcards out there (also known as firewire pre-amps or interfaces, etc...) These devices actually replace your existing soundcard, so if you got the Delta 1010lt, you don't need to upgrade the existing soundcard.

You'll also need software which will cost you anywhere between $300 and up.

You then need to invest in some microphones and a monitoring system (speakers). A good choice for mics are Shure SM57's. You can use them on just about anything and they sound totally decent, plus they are cheap, new they come in at around $115 - $130.

The alternative would be to get a multitrack studio. You can pick up an 8 track for <$1000 (TASCAM DP-01FXCD $600USD) and it's got everything you need (minus mics and monitors) They're easy to use and will get you well on your way to making decent sounding recordings with 1/10th of the hassle. Plus a lot of those Multitrack recorders have a VGA output so you can hook up the monitor and mouse (probably the only two usable peices of that old computer) to it and get more of a DAW feel and a friendlier interface.

lol, remy... i said i was replacing EVERYTHING in the computer except for the case. and for xian, ofcourse the cpu won't fit in the old motherboard. hence why im buying a new one. i am young so i can't spend too much. i have a standalone recorder Fostex MR-8, but i don't like it. plus, its not going to be just for recording. i want to use it for surfing the web, listening to music and stuff.

the computer im on now is the "family" computer. its in a different room than all my recording stuff, and i don't want to use this one.

i have a sm-57 and will get some condensers eventually. i don't have monitors, but i will get them eventually. now i know you are all making suggestions for a pro recording computer (or atleast close), but im just 16 and im gonna use it to record myself and band (when i make one). maybe record a friend or something, but not anymore than that.

thanx for the suggestions though.

Get a Dell.

You can forget using your PII case most of the power supplies that are 500w have a fan on top which your PII case does not. You will need to get a case as well. $50.00 can't buy much of a power supply I would be suspect of something that cheap. You will need to be in the $100 + range to get a stable power supply

Your hard drive will hold the operating system but that is about it I doubt you will get more than a couple projects on the hard drive before it is full. Any thing that small has to be old and very slow as well.

The bare bones suggestion is not a bad option.

It is obvious by your post that you do not have a lot of experience in building a computer. If you are intent on building something I would find a local enthusiast to help you select what you will need but be aware most of these entusiast build gaming machines not audio machines. What is good for gaming is not necessarily good for audio (ie overclocking and that high powered video card you want).

If you go through with what you are planning you will find that you have a bunch of parts which you cannot use together or that some parts are totaly inadequate for the task.

You should just use your pII computer to start off with buy your audio interface and save your money till you can aford to get quality components that will usable together.

General use computer + audio recording computer = disaster waiting to happen enough said here. The only possible way to make that happen is with dual boot partitioning.

Kent L T wrote: You can forget using your PII case most of the power supplies that are 500w have a fan on top which your PII case does not. You will need to get a case as well. $50.00 can't buy much of a power supply I would be suspect of something that cheap. You will need to be in the $100 + range to get a stable power supply

Your hard drive will hold the operating system but that is about it I doubt you will get more than a couple projects on the hard drive before it is full. Any thing that small has to be old and very slow as well.

The bare bones suggestion is not a bad option.

It is obvious by your post that you do not have a lot of experience in building a computer. If you are intent on building something I would find a local enthusiast to help you select what you will need but be aware most of these entusiast build gaming machines not audio machines. What is good for gaming is not necessarily good for audio (ie overclocking and that high powered video card you want).

If you go through with what you are planning you will find that you have a bunch of parts which you cannot use together or that some parts are totaly inadequate for the task.

You should just use your pII computer to start off with buy your audio interface and save your money till you can aford to get quality components that will usable together.

General use computer + audio recording computer = disaster waiting to happen enough said here. The only possible way to make that happen is with dual boot partitioning.

like i said, this isn't going to be "ideal" conditions for recording. the video card isn't a necessity, and it won't be one of my main focuses. and i said i will be getting a 250 GB harddrive too.

if what i picked out is inadequate, can you please find some parts that will be just as fast (if not faster), will be under $850 total (that means including everything i mentioned i.e. video card, tv tuner, motherboard, processor etc....), and can be used for general use.

you guys are looking at this like im starting a recording studio. no, i will record myself for fun basically. it doesn't need to be hardcore audio recording. the delta soundcard may be overkill for what i need. i just want about 6 inputs and for it to sound good. that seemed to work....

so help me find a dual core processor thats 3.6ghz or more
a motherboard that will work with it and has 4 ddr2 slots.
a videocard
hard drive that is atleast 180 gb
ram thats atleast 1 gb
dvd/cd burner
power supply of atleast 500 watts
and the tv tuner.

maybe i should explain this computer not as a recording computer, but general use that has the capability to record.

Well the dell option sounds good to me then. It will be less trouble and probably cheaper than building one.

Kent L T wrote: General use computer + audio recording computer = disaster waiting to happen enough said here. The only possible way to make that happen is with dual boot partitioning.

Good thought Kent. I have such a machine and I dual boot to a heavily tweaked version of XP Home. I took me some solid computer time to get XP reduced to only the bare necessities allowing the most possible resources left available for audio use. It was a painfull process but I finally got a bootable copy of Windows XP Home that I dubbed "Streamlined For Recording" that works really well. Until I have my dream DAW, this will have to do.

Here are my suggestions for partitioning from a 200 GB HDD:

C: (RECORDING) [152GB] - this will be for tweaked windows xp, project files and cubase ONLY, nothing uneccisary here.
D: (WINDOWS) [8GB] - this will be your regular old windows partition, install nothing on this partition except windows itself. period.
E: (DOCUMENTS) [40GB] - this will be for all your programs and documents and whatnot

There is an invaluable program called nLite which you can download for free from the manufacturer, you can use this program to create a bootable xp disc and take out all the extra stuff that is usually included with windows. Take out nearly EVERYTHING, internet explorer, messenger, all of it has to go. The only thing is remember to leave network capabilities so you can activate windows.

thats a good idea for the partitioning. i was thinking of keeping the 35 gb hard drive for programs and windows and stuff, and the 200 gb hard drive for music and files that take up alot of space.

Nirvalica wrote: like i said, this isn't going to be "ideal" conditions for recording. the video card isn't a necessity, and it won't be one of my main focuses. and i said i will be getting a 250 GB harddrive too.

if what i picked out is inadequate, can you please find some parts that will be just as fast (if not faster), will be under $850 total (that means including everything i mentioned i.e. video card, tv tuner, motherboard, processor etc....), and can be used for general use.

you guys are looking at this like im starting a recording studio. no, i will record myself for fun basically. it doesn't need to be hardcore audio recording. the delta soundcard may be overkill for what i need. i just want about 6 inputs and for it to sound good. that seemed to work....

so help me find a dual core processor thats 3.6ghz or more
a motherboard that will work with it and has 4 ddr2 slots.
a videocard
hard drive that is atleast 180 gb
ram thats atleast 1 gb
dvd/cd burner
power supply of atleast 500 watts
and the tv tuner.

maybe i should explain this computer not as a recording computer, but general use that has the capability to record.

xian wrote: Get a Dell.

For real though, it is going to be cheaper and less hastle to go to the store and buy a pre-packaged home computer.

You're asking for the world in a carry-on here, it's gonna be tough to find all that for under $800 with a monitor, mouse, and keyboard. What I am saying is to set your sights a little lower, or set your budget a little higher. Go to Best Buy and pick something out, then find a job and save your coins and buy it.

Nirvalica wrote: you guys are looking at this like im starting a recording studio.

Well, you did come to Recording.org to ask about setting up a computer for recording.

well, monitor, mouse, and keyboard is fine. i have one. i don't really think you can get such a good computer as you could building it yourself buying it at best buy. plus, it'd have to be a $600 computer if i want to add the soundcard. i know i came here to ask about computers, but i think i specifically said it wasn't going to be a full on recording machine, i would use it for other stuff. and just raise my budget, rememer, im 16 w/o a job. getting $800 will be hard enough, let alone trying to get more for a lesser computer...

There is a common misconception that building your own computer means that you will automatically save money. This is not neccisarily true. I'll use Dell as an example. A ginormously huge company like Dell can buy things in bulk. Let's say Dell wanted a bunch of 200GB hard drives, let's say 20,000 of them. They go to the manufacturer and say "We want these HDD's for $65 each, not $85 like you're selling them to everyone else to." The manufacturer says "Ok, no problem" because at $65 they're still going to turn a profit, lets say, of $15. So that's $300,000 profit for manufacturer and $400,000 savings for Dell.

They can do that with everything.

Your case is slightly different though, you could get away with saving some cash by getting a barebones kit like Kent said. You can find deals at places like TigerDirect.com. You'll then need to add a HDD, possibly a network card, buy windows xp, as well as your sequencing software, but for $600 you might be able to pull it off.

Problem with using Dell is that you can't necessarily specify motherboard, RAM, chipset. All of which are crucial when determining a stable audio workstation. Which is why there are companies devoted to building audio machines.

Regarding RAM: I've done fine using 1 Gig of RAM with as many as 16 inserts and sends going at the same time along with several VSTis and 24 audio tracks. Running Cubase VST 5.2b which is the last update for Cubase VST Standard on Windows 2000 Pro. RAM is really more crucial when you are dealing with samples that have to load into memory. So if you're using Sampletank, Kontakt, Gigasamper, Battery to any great extent, yes abolutely you will probably need 2 Gigs or more but with a mainly audio and Midi or VST HOME studio, 1 Gig will do just fine. I doubt if most hobbyists will use more than that.

When it comes to audio, processing power and throughput are the real important factors. a 7200rpm drive is fine for most people. Unless you are doing multi layered 64+ tracks, a 10000rpm drive is overkill. It's nice, but not necessary. Any PIV cpu should be sufficient since the majority are 3.0 GHz and up.

Yes a new case and power supply would be a smart investment. Antec Sonata as far as a case and power supply come to mind.

The worst thing about cheap cases and power supplies is that they are noisy. The fans are noisey and the rattle of the cheap sheet metal case amplifies the fan noise.

We're talking home studio here. For a student, no less. So lets take the whole idea into perspective. Is this person planning to woo Sony with his home recordings? Maybe in dreams but in reality, he'll probably want to practice a bit first.

Regarding the 1010LT: consider that this unit is designed with the intention that you are going to use a mixer (and likely a patchbay)for the front end of this. Other units by M-Audio would be more reasonable like the Fast Track pro. Only two interfaces but preamps built in and phantom power, no need for an external preamp or mixer. It's always a good idea to dip your toe in the water befor you soak yourself and realize you don't swim all that well.

hueseph wrote: Problem with using Dell is that you can't necessarily specify motherboard, RAM, chipset. All of which are crucial when determining a stable audio workstation. Which is why there are companies devoted to building audio machines.

Yes but he made it very clear that this is not going to be a stable audio workstation, but a general use computer that is capable of recording... and he's only got a $600 budget.

xian wrote: [quote=hueseph]Problem with using Dell is that you can't necessarily specify motherboard, RAM, chipset. All of which are crucial when determining a stable audio workstation. Which is why there are companies devoted to building audio machines.

Yes but he made it very clear that this is not going to be a stable audio workstation, but a general use computer that is capable of recording... and he's only got a $600 budget.i understand what you mean, and it makes sense. but i want specific parts, which i bet dell doesn't offer. and same with the barebones kits, its good, but they don't have the same processor/motherboard i want.... ive decided that for the same price as the power supply i want, i can get a brand new nicer looking case with a power supply. so i will do that. the only parts of the old computer i will use is HD, probably some of the cards, the cd drives, zip drive, and the keyboard, monitor, and mouse.

Cresta wrote: 1 Gb RAM? nope nope, you will go nowhere witht that amount.
Start from 2Gb. If possible, choose an HDD at 10.000rpm.
And listen to Remy: you need a GOOD power supply (for example: Chieftec)
good luck :)

What are you talking about? I have an iMac G5 with 1gig of RAM and have zero problems running DP 4.6 with 32 tracks, tons of plugs, and BFD!

You don't need the best of everything to start off.

I run a tweaked Vaio as my first real DAW.

---2.6 P4 with Hyperthread
---2gb 2700 RAM
---XP Tweaked/App Hard drive is C:/D: partitioned - 80gb ATA 100/7200rpm/2mb cache (Once this drive loads XP and the App, speed isn't a huge concern on this drive)
---Z: Drive is a 300gb ATA 100/7200rpm/16MB Cache for Write only (This drive also contains the Audio Temp files)
---300w Power supply - Thats right...All thats needed.
---DVD/CD writer with 8mb Cache
---256mb GF6200 for the Adobe Audition 2.0 Spectral Graphics
---Lynx 2-A PCI Interface (No joke)
---Adobe Audition 1.5/2.0

RE20 with Mackie Onyx 1220. Vocals Only.

No Floppy, No unnessecary USB/Firewire/Fans. My page file usage is at 34 MB and CPU is dead when I get ready to record via msconfig reboot and tweaked XP Home (no internet).

*The Ideal setup with the hard drives would be 3 seperate physical drives - 1 for OS, 1 for Apps, 1 for Write Only - thats for a dedicated DAW, otherwise you would consider a dual boot setup if you didn't want to mess with the msconfig. *Partitioned drives may protect data but the one "needle" still reads/writes for all active partitions regardless - this effects the speed of the drive. I work in the IT department of an insurance company, my co-workers helped me consider my options after deciding to keep my VAIO motherboard - this DAW is the result. My next setup will be a dedicated DAW with a Dual Core/SCSI/SATA setup.

Some of these guys are a little crazy. Considering you are just getting started, you should conserve as much money as you can on hardware, that way you can save as much money as possible for your software.

I would recommend a barebones system with the following:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ or greater

1gb DDR RAM PC2700 or greater

Minimum 120 GB HD 7200 rpm (This is fine. I've taken songs up to 64 tracks without a hiccup on my 7200 rpm hd, I've never actually had to go higher than 64 so I have no clue how many it can handle beyind that)

Any remotely decent video card will do.

M-Audio Delta 1010LT (This is a great card, especially at it's price, plus it opens up Pro Tools as a software option; You can expand later if you need more inputs simply by purchasing another one).

Get some studio monitors..M-Audio's BX5's are decent.

Most soundcards require some kind of preamps, so you will need to pick up a mixer or some preamps as well (Unless you get a USB or Firewire Audio Interface; these usually come with a couple of pre's built in).

As for software, there are tons of options, at all sorts of price points. Most companies make simpler, less powerful versions for a smaller price so you can learn their software before dropping hundreds or thousands of dollars on it.

Reaper (FREE)
Kristal Audio Engine (FREE)
N-Track
Cakewalk SONAR
Cubase/Nuendo
Pro Tools (M-Audio or Digidesign Hardware only)
and many, many more.

Each one has it's pro's and con's; only you will be able to figure out if they fill your needs.

I started recording on my old AMD k6 233 mhz comp (in 1998-1999) with a 5gb hd and 256 mb of RAM and I still accomplished alot. I gradually increased my computer's power as I could afford it, and I went through different software as well. I started out on N-track and then moved to Cakewalk, then onto SONAR and now Pro Tools M-Powered.

What you need to know is that the quality of the recordings you make is going to depend mostly upon you. Get yourself a basic setup and concentrate on learning how to do everything, from mic placement to mixing. I was recently in a studio where they were recording on low-end 8 year old ADAT machines and yet the engineer was getting amazing sounds. If the equipment is half-way decent, and you know your stuff, you will do great things with it.

therecordingart wrote: [quote=Cresta]1 Gb RAM? nope nope, you will go nowhere witht that amount.
Start from 2Gb. If possible, choose an HDD at 10.000rpm.
And listen to Remy: you need a GOOD power supply (for example: Chieftec)
good luck :)

What are you talking about? I have an iMac G5 with 1gig of RAM and have zero problems running DP 4.6 with 32 tracks, tons of plugs, and BFD!

I agree, WTF? 1GB can get you a long ways if you are recording and mixing audio. If you get into VSTi's and stuff you will probably want more, but that probably doesn't apply here. In fact, depending on what you are doing, your old PII might have enough juice to do what you need for a while. heh heh
(edit: OK I see, with this kind of processor/mobo it looks like you might as well get two 1GB sticks of RAM)

Anyway, check out Newegg and try building your system there. It will probably come close to $1000 if you do it up right (without soundcard).
Also, forget about overclocking your recording computer. You want to avoid anything that can compromise stability.

Here are a few things you might look at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121288
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820146580 times 2
Video Card: whatever is cheap
Soundcard: M-Audio Delta 1010 LT $200
Also, THIS is the burner you need to get when you get the funds: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827249003

That might get you in budget, but do your own research on these things because I was just throwing stuff together.

therecordingart wrote: [quote=Cresta]1 Gb RAM? nope nope, you will go nowhere witht that amount.
Start from 2Gb. If possible, choose an HDD at 10.000rpm.
And listen to Remy: you need a GOOD power supply (for example: Chieftec)
good luck :)

What are you talking about? I have an iMac G5 with 1gig of RAM and have zero problems running DP 4.6 with 32 tracks, tons of plugs, and BFD!
you have no problems because you use applications that doesn't sucks lot of RAM, that's all. Try creating an orchestral MIDI track with Symphonic Orchestra and/or Symphonic Choirs and add some other VST, then come back here and tell me the same :P

Cresta wrote: [quote=therecordingart][quote=Cresta]1 Gb RAM? nope nope, you will go nowhere witht that amount.
Start from 2Gb. If possible, choose an HDD at 10.000rpm.
And listen to Remy: you need a GOOD power supply (for example: Chieftec)
good luck :)

What are you talking about? I have an iMac G5 with 1gig of RAM and have zero problems running DP 4.6 with 32 tracks, tons of plugs, and BFD!
you have no problems because you use applications that doesn't sucks lot of RAM, that's all. Try creating an orchestral MIDI track with Symphonic Orchestra and/or Symphonic Choirs and add some other VST, then come back here and tell me the same :Pwell, i won't be doing that.... so your suggestion is still not necessary...

Reggie wrote: [quote=therecordingart][quote=Cresta]1 Gb RAM? nope nope, you will go nowhere witht that amount.
Start from 2Gb. If possible, choose an HDD at 10.000rpm.
And listen to Remy: you need a GOOD power supply (for example: Chieftec)
good luck :)

What are you talking about? I have an iMac G5 with 1gig of RAM and have zero problems running DP 4.6 with 32 tracks, tons of plugs, and BFD!

I agree, WTF? 1GB can get you a long ways if you are recording and mixing audio. If you get into VSTi's and stuff you will probably want more, but that probably doesn't apply here. In fact, depending on what you are doing, your old PII might have enough juice to do what you need for a while. heh heh
(edit: OK I see, with this kind of processor/mobo it looks like you might as well get two 1GB sticks of RAM)

Anyway, check out Newegg and try building your system there. It will probably come close to $1000 if you do it up right (without soundcard).
Also, forget about overclocking your recording computer. You want to avoid anything that can compromise stability.

Here are a few things you might look at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121288
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820146580 times 2
Video Card: whatever is cheap
Soundcard: M-Audio Delta 1010 LT $200
Also, THIS is the burner you need to get when you get the funds: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827249003

That might get you in budget, but do your own research on these things because I was just throwing stuff together.well, that happens to be the processor i decided on getting. im getting a different mobo because it comes as a $200 bundle, plus the one im getting has 4 DDR2 slots, which i think will come in handy for future upgrades. for ram, im getting two 512's for about the same price as the 1gb. aren't two 512's a little faster than one 1gb? im considering that case, but i might need to go a little cheaper.

Mjolniir-
Im bidding on a used M-audio DMP3 right now, so im gonna try to get that. i also already have copies of Sonar 5 Producer edit. and Cubase sx3. i haven't tried the cubase, but sonar is really complicated. i just use Audacity for stuff, because its so easy to use. are there any recording programs that are as easy as audacity to use, but is a little better (more effects and options...)

thanx everyone for the help.

About the MoBo, last I heard, SLI can hurt audio performance. I don't know for a fact but I seem to recall that being the case. Might wanna research that. The Mobo I list has quite a few PCI slots which are handy for UAD and Powercore cards among other things; so you might wanna check how many your mobo has.

For software, Krystal is a decent freebie that does a little more than audacity; N-track costs a little but it is another good easy one to try. Don't pirate software, it is bad mmkay?

Oh yeah, the cost on the memory does work out about even; don't know what I was thinking. But yes you wanna do dual sticks of whichever size you can afford.

Reggie wrote: About the MoBo, last I heard, SLI can hurt audio performance. I don't know for a fact but I seem to recall that being the case. Might wanna research that. The Mobo I list has quite a few PCI slots which are handy for UAD and Powercore cards among other things; so you might wanna check how many your mobo has.

For software, Krystal is a decent freebie that does a little more than audacity; N-track costs a little but it is another good easy one to try. Don't pirate software, it is bad mmkay?

Oh yeah, the cost on the memory does work out about even; don't know what I was thinking. But yes you wanna do dual sticks of whichever size you can afford.

can't the mobo's soundcard be disabled?

It isn't about the onboard audio, it is the graphics cards that can cause problems. Using up too much resources. But that may just happen if you have some crazy graphics cards installed. If you have something not too extreme installed, I imagine you would be OK. I am on the verge of talking out my a$$ right now, so I will stop and let someone else chime in.

Here are some words to read: Monteverdi - Ah dolente partita

i also already have copies of Sonar 5 Producer edit. and Cubase sx3. i haven't tried the cubase, but sonar is really complicated.

Listen carefully. Winners don't use crack! There's plenty of software out there for free. Check out Kristal audio engine. It's free,16 audio tracks, midi, supports vst effects. That's a whole lotta bang for nuthin'. And, if you think that Sonar is complicated, Cubase will just throw you for another loop. Learn the basics on basic software first, then SAVE and INVEST in software that will be more familiar to you.

hueseph wrote:

i also already have copies of Sonar 5 Producer edit. and Cubase sx3. i haven't tried the cubase, but sonar is really complicated.

Listen carefully. Winners don't use crack! There's plenty of software out there for free. Check out Kristal audio engine. It's free,16 audio tracks, midi, supports vst effects. That's a whole lotta bang for nuthin'. And, if you think that Sonar is complicated, Cubase will just throw you for another loop. Learn the basics on basic software first, then SAVE and INVEST in software that will be more familiar to you.

i know the basics and everything. ive been recording my own stuff and mixing on audacity for a year and a half, so im pretty familiar with it. i think most of the problem is that i dunno where the different buttons are....

and reggie, im sorry, i dunno all this computer stuff. so that link didn't really make sense to me. can you just explain to me what it basically said?

"know the basics and everything. ive been recording my own stuff and mixing on audacity for a year and a half, so im pretty familiar with it. i think most of the problem is that i dunno where the different buttons are.... "

That doesn't justify you using cracked software.

hueseph wrote:

"know the basics and everything. ive been recording my own stuff and mixing on audacity for a year and a half, so im pretty familiar with it. i think most of the problem is that i dunno where the different buttons are.... "

That doesn't justify you using cracked software.

no, but you said learn the basics on basic software.....well i have...

as for the pirated software.... did it really hurt you that i downloaded it? they charge alot, and i don't have the money for it. and its not like im making money off of it...

Yes! Absolutely it hurts me because the companies have to spend more money on R & D for copy protection. Which means that they have to charge more.

I guarantee that at a home studio level from an amatuer perspective, you are NOT going to be able to put Cubase or Sonar to it's potential use. IT's overkill and of no benefit to you. It just forces you to deal with menus and options that can do more damage to your workflow than good.

Cakewalk Home Studio and Cubase SE are both very reasonably priced ($100.00 US) and well capable of anything you are going to throw at them. Don't think that these are any less effective than SX, SL or Sonar. You can put out an excellent quality cd with either program. For that matter you could probably put out a really nice demo with Kristal.

It's all about chops. If you think that having more and better gear/software, albeit stolen software, is going to make your demos any better or help you to hone your skills, you're wrong. It's way better to deal with limitations and to be able to learn how to take advantage of the tools you have. When you've mastered the tools you have it will be far easier to go ahead and upgrade to something that will give you more freedom to create. As well you will have a better idea of how you can expand by means of the things you learned from your limitations previously. And by that time you should have saved enough to purchase the software of your choice. A full version with tech support and a warranty, as well as a guarantee that the company wont take you to court if you start making money from your work.

Wouldn't that be a better way to go? I certainly think so.

Nirvalica wrote:
they charge alot, and i don't have the money for it. and its not like im making money off of it...

Oh, well why didn't you say so? Ahhhh hahahahaha!!!!
I'm sorry, but that is a retarded argument. It costs a lot because they are good programs that took a lot of coding and distributing and marketing and all that. If you think they make their doe off of the professional market, you are mistaken. They stay alive by all the home dudes and small-timers buying their product; whether the buyers are making a profit by using the software or not.
Your morals are corrupt and you have a black, pirate heart.

Reggie wrote: [quote=Nirvalica]
they charge alot, and i don't have the money for it. and its not like im making money off of it...

Oh, well why didn't you say so? Ahhhh hahahahaha!!!!
I'm sorry, but that is a retarded argument. It costs a lot because they are good programs that took a lot of coding and distributing and marketing and all that. If you think they make their doe off of the professional market, you are mistaken. They stay alive by all the home dudes and small-timers buying their product; whether the buyers are making a profit by using the software or not.
Your morals are corrupt and you have a black, pirate heart.yup, i have a black heart. and you would know, because you know me so well. even if i hadn't downloaded their software, i still wouldn't have bought it. my actions aren't loosing the companies money at all. if i couldn't download the software, i would stick with audacity or find another free program. if companies put out software, people will figure out a way to pirate it. the only way to be completely safe is to not sell it to anyone.

That's idiot talk. Why even bother paying for your computer then? I'm sure you could find a way to steal it. If you can afford $600.00 for parts, you can afford to save $100.00 for legitimate software.

With all this idiocy aside regarding pirated software that some of the hackers indicate themselves as " try before you buy and if you like it, go buy it", is not a completely ridiculous thing. Much of the demonstration trial software is handicapped enough that you cannot necessarily get a good feel or grasp of the functionality of the software until you become intimately familiar with, which generally requires a fully functioning version of the software. Even some manufacturers offer Full Functionality but with Only a 30-day Window of Use. Still not necessarily enough to become proficient.

Because all audio software are like boys and girls, as in the same but different, some will be more intuitive for you some will make you feel like you have been hit by a truck. If you're having trouble comprehending the piece of software you are trying out, then it's probably not the software for you? If you try other software's and find that one is more intuitive for you, that's the one you want to purchase.

I personally like Samplitude and Nuendo but for some reasons they just don't click in my brain?? So I don't own or use those software's. My professional friends do however and I am always amazed when I watched them utilize those programs. Sometimes it makes me feel like a dummy? I'm a dummy? No, that software just doesn't " speak" to me. Adobe Audition and Sony Vegas does however and those are the programs that I purchased and have upgraded over the past few years. At least in that respect I started when Cool Edit was a piece of shareware and after utilizing its handicapped version, I invested the $100 to purchase the full-blown functional version. Later I spent an additional $200 to step up to Cool Edit Pro 1. After that was 2.0 and 2.1 and then again for Adobe's Audition. All in all I have been a considerable sum of money for software that I utilized professionally almost every day. It has been a worthwhile investment and the upgrades I find definitely worth the cost.

Now if you just want free software, Google search for Audacity. You might also want to consider the Mackie software, " Traction". It's getting very good reviews although I have not yet taken a look at its capabilities.

Your fly is open
Ms. Remy Ann David

hueseph wrote: That's idiot talk. Why even bother paying for your computer then? I'm sure you could find a way to steal it. If you can afford $600.00 for parts, you can afford to save $100.00 for legitimate software.

do you honestly care how i get my software? and don't give me the "well they will pass their losses onto me" shit. they are rolling in money. its not like i went out and stole the software from a store. its a copy. they still have all the software they've produced, i didn't take it...

With all this idiocy aside regarding pirated software that some of the hackers indicate themselves as " try before you buy and if you like it, go buy it", is not a completely ridiculous thing. Much of the demonstration trial software is handicapped enough that you cannot necessarily get a good feel or grasp of the functionality of the software until you become intimately familiar with, which generally requires a fully functioning version of the software. Even some manufacturers offer Full Functionality but with Only a 30-day Window of Use. Still not necessarily enough to become proficient.

Because all audio software are like boys and girls, as in the same but different, some will be more intuitive for you some will make you feel like you have been hit by a truck. If you're having trouble comprehending the piece of software you are trying out, then it's probably not the software for you? If you try other software's and find that one is more intuitive for you, that's the one you want to purchase.

I personally like Samplitude and Nuendo but for some reasons they just don't click in my brain?? So I don't own or use those software's. My professional friends do however and I am always amazed when I watched them utilize those programs. Sometimes it makes me feel like a dummy? I'm a dummy? No, that software just doesn't " speak" to me. Adobe Audition and Sony Vegas does however and those are the programs that I purchased and have upgraded over the past few years. At least in that respect I started when Cool Edit was a piece of shareware and after utilizing its handicapped version, I invested the $100 to purchase the full-blown functional version. Later I spent an additional $200 to step up to Cool Edit Pro 1. After that was 2.0 and 2.1 and then again for Adobe's Audition. All in all I have been a considerable sum of money for software that I utilized professionally almost every day. It has been a worthwhile investment and the upgrades I find definitely worth the cost.

Now if you just want free software, Google search for Audacity. You might also want to consider the Mackie software, " Traction". It's getting very good reviews although I have not yet taken a look at its capabilities.

Your fly is open
Ms. Remy Ann David