which really is best?

Newbie to recording...

I work in radio, I love sound - I've have produced for a radio station many times using Cool Edit Pro/Adobe Audition and Pro Tools and of course the highly annoying broadcast software editors.

I'm wanting to break into home recording for voice work/commercial production and eventualy play around with the odd muso to put together a demos etc.

I have invested in a 20" iMac Intel Core Duo. Digidesign has just announced compatibility for M-powered and LE Pro Tools for the Intel iMac.. what I'm wondering after scouring forums and reading reviews etc... what interface and perhaps even editing sofware should I be running for what I wanna do?

Pro Tools LE with and Mbox2 or Pro Tools Mpowered with an M-audio interface? I've read not such great things about the Mbox2 then on the other hand some great things...

Pro Tools is attractive cos a)I've used it beofre b)It'll be good using the processing power of the Intel iMac now that pro tools is compatible c)pro tools status in recording ..the phrase 'industry standard'

I figure at this stage (learning) I don't need more than two mic inputs... I have a 16 channel mixer if i need to do bigger projects (sub mix), rode NT1a and 2 x SM58's.

Any ideas on the best way to go?? Remy Rad seems to be a knowledgable person...

So I'm thinking...

Pro Tools w/Mbox2 vs M-AUDIO 410 AUDIO INTERFACE w/Pro Tools M-powered...

love your thoughts

hux

Well, if you consider yourself professional enough, go for Logic (Mac) or Cubase SX3.
But remember, it are all just tools. You cannot force creativity to come out if you don't have it, even if you have all the best equipment in the world these programs won't help you a thing. Again, if you are a real musician that can play go for the above.

Cheers.
Carillion

Hello,

if looking for the very best sound quality and rock-solid stability then Samplitude takes the crown.

http://

Regards,

Guy Cefalu

Sonica Audio Labs

What do you want to do with your music/recording?

Programs like ACID/Ableton Live etc are seen as primarily aiming for a loop based/dance/hip hop/techno etc. kind of audience.

Sonar 5PE/ Cubase SX3 - very similar kinds of program that are happy with MIDI/Audio and loopsl, much comes down to personal preference (if you have a 64 bit system, you might want to give sonar 5pe demo a try, it is optimized for 64 bit), Cubase has (IMHO) a nicer interface and a few extra MIDI/Scoring features, Sonar has better plug-ins and vstis. Unfortunately Cubase has no demo but I use SX3 and have used Nuendo (it's expensive big brother) and I really find it an excellent product. Some people put down Cubase's Audio engine (it was once solely a midi sequencer) but it has really come on strong in recent years and is no longer a weakness.

Samplitude has a reputation of being a great program for audio and stability and has nice plug-ins but is more expensive as it includes CD burn/master features that Sonar and Cubase lack. It also has a reputation of lacking in MIDI features, so if that is important to you (as it is for me) then you may have to look at an alternative. However, Magix have improved Samplitude's MIDI considerably in versions 7 and 8, and you can download a demo.

The Pro Tools 'lite' LE and MP versions etc are not rated as highly but as PT is an industry standard, you can take your stuff and import it right into PT pro. There are track limits and MIDI functionality is not as strong as Cubase/Sonar etc.

There is no ONE system which is better across the board. Research them, demo them, and then make an informed choice.

This link gives a comparison on Acid, PT LE, Cubase SL3, Cubase SX3, Sonar 5 studio and Sonar 5 PE.

http://www.digitalmusicdoctor.com/shootout/shootout_summary.htm

BTW I use Reason rewired into Cubase SX3, it is an awesome combination!

Thank you leedsquietman, Sonica-X and Carillion - your input is valued!

I' had a nosey round the net after your comments... I want to point out my comp is and Intel Mac - a lot of companies who do audio production software for macs may take months to get compatible software released for the Intel Mac - compatibility is the key for me! What programs are compatible that can give me the best for my dosh!

I'm certainly not looking to go to windows anytime soon let alone a PC so programs like Sonar, Cubase, Samplitude - they're all windows based?

I need the compatiblity and a program to make use of the prcoessing power of this Mac! There can't be to many options out there...

and then the interface what required for the programs that are compatible??

Huxy

Oops - yes, I was talking PC.

OK - Mac options. These work on G5 computers, intel mac is new so I'm not sure whether or not they are compliant yet, since Apple own Logic I'm sure that will be intel mac available or coming very soon.

1) Logic Pro - Is regarded a strong program on Mac, does pretty much what Sonar 5 pe and cubase sx3 do but has some advanced functions. Costs a bit more.

2) MOTU - Digital Performer - Another mac only program - I have no experience of it, but know someone who uses it and loves it.

3) Cubase SX3 - It's hybrid so runs on PC or Mac (not sure if it has been updated to run on Intel Mac), most observers note that it's performance is better on the PC platform - but on the cubase.net forum there are plenty of Mac users too, SX3 supposedly works better than older versions of SX on Macintosh. As it's cross platform, you could install it on a PC as well as Mac if you have a windows machine kicking around just by swtitching the dongle.

4) Ableton Live 5 - I know that they were working on Intel Mac compatibility, this program runs fine on G5 macs.

Sorry for being a dufus and talking about PC programs. :-?