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My local store is starting to hold workshops on the 3rd Saturday of every month. Last one I went to was about recording acoustic guitar. We went over mic placement and types of microphones. We also discussed recording software and the interface which gets your music into the computer. This particular workshop was sponsored by Presonus, so their gear was in the forefront. Most specifically this:

Presonus: AudioBox Studio - http://www.presonus.com/products/Detail ... oductId=60
This little package retails locally for about $249.99 US. The interface itself, with the software retails for $149.99 US. So, for $100.00 you get a nice set of stereo headphones and a nice mid quality condenser mic. Not a bad deal overall.

Many of the people there were asking about Pro Tools and I have heard about it, although to be honest I don't know much. The above listed interface will work with Pro Tools though as I was told.

Here are a few interfaces that I peeked at on the Avid (Pro Tools) site:

Pro Tools: MobilePre - http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MobilePre.html

Pro Tools: Fast Track Pro 4x4 - http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackPro.html

Pro Tools: Fast Track - http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrack.html

What I would like to know is if any of you have had much experience with any of these and what your likes and dislikes are. The Pro Tools gear and software is a tad bit more and I am unsure if it would be money wasted or well spent to step up a bit. I don't see myself doing an extraordinary amount of recording and mixing, but I am getting to a point where I would like to dabble with it a bit. I really am leaning toward the Presonus package. The demonstration was quite nice and the software was fairly intuitive and I feel that I could find my way around it well enough. It has way more bells and whistles than I know how to use (as is the case with Pro Tools - even more so). One thing that is mentioned about Pro Tools though is the ease of sharing and that it is kind of a standard in the industry. However, if you can import and export in .wav, .mp3, and the other basic types of files, I don't see where that would be any hurdle.

Well, thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time and has any info to share.

Cheers.

MJ

Rick, I've used ProTools in the past. It's VERY powerful, but in my opinion VERY non-intuitive. There is a HUGE learning curve with the application. I am currently using Reaper as my DAW and have found it to be quite powerful and intuitive. Reaper has a GREAT full-blown 30-day evaluation and cost only $40 if you like what you see (way cheaper than ProTools).

Hello. I have used the M-Audio Fast Track Pro with mixed results. Ive only used it a few times and I think that's because it takes a few minutes to get it set up and I'm kind of lazy in that regard. Here is a fingerstyle version of Here Come The Sun that I used the USB Fast Track Pro to record with Mixcraft 5 software.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default ... ID=1016979

When it's worked, it worked great but I have had some minor problems. I went to use it yesterday and the recording was fine but there was a noticeable hum that I have never encountered before. Sometimes my laptop has crashed when trying to get it "hooked" up. So yesterday I finally decided to try something new and I just listed my unit on ebay. Here is the new product that I am going to buy from Tascan.



This is pretty much an entry level recorder but I think I am going to like the fact that I can record anytime, anywhere, without my laptop. You can do mixing on this unit but my intention is to transfer the files to my computer and then mix them in Mixcraft.

The Fast Track Pro is not a bad unit at all but I felt it was time to try something new. I was never able to get it to work properly on my XP based desktop but it has worked fine most of the time on my laptop which is now Windows 7. If you do decide to buy the Fast Track Pro do a lot of searches on EBay because when I bought mine I paid about $160 for it and not the full $199. Hope this helped, good luck to you!

I bought my son the Tascam DP008 for Christmas and it works great. Very easy to use and the results are quite good. Since my computer skills are pretty bad I will probably end up getting one for myself. I do like the fact that you can use it about anywhere.

Dave

@ Daryl: I have heard the same thing about Pro Tools. That is another reason I am leaning towards the Studio One software. Lots of Point and Click/Drag and Drop stuff. The demonstration was really straight forward. I actually won the software at the workshop. I have messed with it a bit and imported a few .wav files to explore the contouring and the EQ, as well as adding effects and other things that you can do. If you are somewhat computer savvy, I think it will be fairly easily conquered. I have heard of Reaper a little, but don't know too much about it. What type of interface are you using? How many inputs?

@Cobalt: That clip sounded very good IMO. I am fairly lazy as well, but I cam kind of leave my laptop set-up and the interface connected most of the time. Plus, I am thinking if I do that I will be more apt to use it on a regular basis. I had a Tascam CD Trainer for a while and was impressed with it. I kept it until I bought my MicroBR. The MicroBR is also capable of recording and mixing, but I really enjoy it as a trainer and want to get into something a bit different.

@Dave: The aspect of portability is nice, luckily if I need to, I can use the MicroBR.

Thanks for the input so far, it is always nice to get feedback from people that I "cyber-know"..... B)

MJ

I record and edit with Cubase 4le Guitar rig and a mic and shield were bundled together. I upgraded to Guitar Pro4. This produces great results, but there is a little bit of a learning curve. If you like tweaking then this is just the job. Guitar Pro4 opens up inside Cubase Le and has lots of pre-set guitar amps that you can fully customise. You can also put effects on vocals, tweak eq add VST effx etc. I am working on a cd of songs and guitar playing with my daughter. The results so far are pleasing, just need a drum machine now.

http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/ ... dle--78046

Tombo:

That is a nice little set there. I noticed that the webpage said it was no longer available though. I'll google it and look into it a bit more. A drum machine would be a great little toy to have around....

Thanks for the lead!

MJ

Music Junkie wrote:

Tombo:

That is a nice little set there. I noticed that the webpage said it was no longer available though. I'll google it and look into it a bit more. A drum machine would be a great little toy to have around....

Thanks for the lead!

MJ

Yeh, I am sure you can get Guitar rig and probably the Cubase Le DAW, but the bundle is no longer being offered on that site.
Guitar Rig is by 'Native'. Good luck in your search.

Tom N.