I've been involved with recordings now for a while... Now I want to invest in my own home studio. I'm trying to make the decision between software or an siab.
If siab, then I'll get a Korg d1600mkII (or Tascam 2488) w/ Acid Pro 5 on the PC.
Otherwise, I'll go with Sonar 4 Producer Edition... There's no question that Sonar can do a lot more than Acid Pro (IMO). And I'm going to invest a lot of time in learning the software in either case...
My questions are, given my willingness to master either software...
1. does Sonar will offer a significantly better finished product (so far as sound quality is concerned)?
2. How are the mastering capabilities of Acid?
I've noticed many more plugins and support available for Sonar, but I'm wandering do I really need it.
Comments
That's good advice, thanks. I am pretty comfortable with compute
That's good advice, thanks. I am pretty comfortable with computers (I work for IBM) and the main thing that attracted me was the expandibility... I like recorders, but you really can't beat all of the plug-ins and extras available with software.
I've been reading up on cubase and I do like it... but I haven't been able to find much on it's mastering tools??? (not w/SL3 anyway). Is this software good for mastering & delivering clear, punchy tracks?
That was my only reason for considering Sonar above Cubase.
I don't know much about its built-in mastering tools, if these a
I don't know much about its built-in mastering tools, if these are new for 3, despite having read 10-page reviews on it, I've not heard much about them.
I can only presume it has the basics i.e. multiband compressor and maximising limiter - i.e. home or amateur mastering facilities - basically maximising levels to compete with pro recordings.
As regards plugins it'll take any VST mastering plugins and there are a lot of them about, lots good, again, mostly in the home/amateur arena.
I couldn't begin to comment on the professional "real" mastering capabilities of this program but would presume it is a non-starter.
And as regards 'clear, punchy tracks' - Cubase is more than capable of handling anything that can compete with the output of the best studios in the world - but its only one part of the chain and its your job to deliver the rest to the DAW.
Oh I get it... Sudio In A Box. :) I would place my vote on a c
Oh I get it... Sudio In A Box. :)
I would place my vote on a computer as they are more flexible, expandable, and powerful. You must be willing to put up with the occasional failure however. I fyou are comfortable at a computer and know your way around hardware and software, i'd say go for it. If not, you might be happier with something less fussy.
Sonar is a nice application at a good price and is very user friendly. Let's not get into a quality discussion because all software is capable of comperable results. You should look into Cubase as well. It seems that there's a lot more going on in the VST world.