I am singer/songwriter looking for a simple, good quality, inexpensive (in that order) home demo recording system.
 
I would like to use my one year old iMac 17 to record demos to:
 
1)  Put on my website.
 
2)  Send to booking agents.
 
3)  Eventually, use as guides for making commercial quality studio recordings.
 
Requirements:
 
1)  It must record guitar and vocals. 
 
2)  The system must have reasonable quality echo, delay, eq and other effects
 
3)  If possible, I would like to use drum samples from the recording/sequencing program, but if that turns into a problem, I can use my drum machine on two of the tracks. 
 
4)  If possible, I would like to use my guitar as a bass, in other words, record a single note guitar track then cut the frequency in half. 
 
5)  If the system comes with piano, synthesizer, horn or other samples, so much the better.
 
What do you recommend?
 
If I wanted to do commercial quality, what would the price/ease-of-use penalty be?
 
Steve

I would recommend looking into either Emagic's Logic Big Box, which is based around Logic Audio (the entry level of 3 platforms) or Steinberg's Studio Case, which is based around Cubase SE (also the first of 3 progressive levels). I don't know much at all about the latter, but I'm a Big Box owner and quite happy with it. Reasonable quality plugs is surely relative, but everything I've done absolutely blows away anything I'd ever done with a 4-track tape recorder. I suppose "commercial quality" is possible, but probably more dependent on your mixing/mastering skills. The Big Box also comes with the es1 synth (built-in), the evp73 Rhodes, the EXSP24 sample player, and the Xtreme Analog CD of samples. The Studio Case is bundled with some extra plugs as well - I know there's a version of The Grand piano but I don't remember what else. Both versions of the recording software are limited compared to the full versions, with not as many features/plug-ins. Emagic has a handy comparison chart of Logic Audio, Gold, and Platinum on its site which should help make your decision. For a bit more cash, emagic also has the Production Pack, which comes with the intermediate Logic Gold and some extras along with an audio interface, which you'll more than likely need, especially if you want to lay down more than one track at a time. What's your budget? The Big Box goes for about $240, and I think the Studio Case is priced similarly.

as far as hardware, you can start out with just geting a soundcard. these days, the name 'soundcard' can be misldeading as the hw you'll be looking for will not have a 'card' per se (since an iMac has no pci slots).

depending on what people think of the osx drivers you might be a really good candidate for the M-Audio Firewire410. I don't there are any other fw soundcards at the $400 and under pricepoint. you'll get two xlr connections with supposedly decent mic pre's and you can just go straight in from whatever mics you own.

for half that money you can get a usb soundcard, there a whole mess of them available but while i don't have any firsthand experience i've always thought usb1 was not the sort of bus to handle audio as opposed to mice or kbds or printers. again, i'd look for one with xlr inputs and ask around to see what the drivers for osx are like before you make your final decision.

you will be really pleased with the results of a soundcard/logic bigbox combination i think. nothing like 'commercial quality' really, because studios have tons of gear and years of experience and those two things can't be approximated for the kind of money i'm talking about. one thing to consider is rending a real quality pre or voice chain when you want to record vocals for your finished tracks. i haven't done this yet, but i think renting a >$2k piece of kit for a few bucks is a nice way to give yourself an advantage in terms of quality. don't know if you can rent fancy mics, but that would be another option.

lastly, i wouldn't recommend that guitar-as-bass idea unless you're going for an unusual effect. used guitar stores will have a playable bass you can own for <$200 and i think that's a worthwhile investment. the city paper where i live has them for less than that. i have an old ibanez i got for a hundred dollars.

good luck!

Check the MBox out before you decide on anything. It comes with ProTools LE, which has effects and Midi capabilities like you are looking for. It's USB so it should hook to your iMac (better make sure), and has two nice preamps built in, so you can record vocal and guitar. The price is right for the quality you will get also.

http://www.digidesign.com/

This post has been edited by scooter714: Fri 19 Sep 2003, 06:29

Check the MBox out before you decide on anything. It comes with ProTools LE, which has effects and Midi capabilities like you are looking for. It's USB so it should hook to your iMac (better make sure), and has two nice preamps built in, so you can record vocal and guitar. The price is right for the quality you will get also.

http://www.digidesign.com/

Thanks for the input.

Based on what I've seen and heard elsewhere, these are all valid suggestions. There seems to be a shift toward Logic 6, but I haven't found any low priced (under $500) packages with Logic 6 and a soundcard. I suspect most of the USB cards will work, but the more turnkey the system, the better.

I found a friend who has Digital Performer, so I can give that a test drive. I will keep looking for someone with Protools LE. If you're in the San Francisco Bay area and you want to show off you're system, let me know.

Also, if anyone knows of a low priced Logic 6/soundcard package that definitely works, please let me know.


Steve

I guess the Gold Productiion Pack (or whatever it's called) is a bit above your budget. "Logic 6" covers all three versions - did you check'em out to see if Audio is enough to suit your needs? Assuming this, you'll have to buy your audio interface (we don't call them soundcards in these parts - no offense to scooter there ) separately, but you should still be able to keep things under $500.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with USB audio interfaces - that is, if you're not planning on tracking more than say 4 instruments at a time. If you're only doing 1 or 2 simultaneously, the extra money for a firewire interface might not be worth it (although the 410 is the first affordable model and ooks pretty enticing if you have the cash). No matter what, you'll be reliant on good working drivers, so read up as much as you can.

If the Big Box (i.e. Logic Audio and NOT Logic Gold or Logic Platinum) covers your needs, you should be able to meet your budget with one of the USB interfaces. You mentioned wanting some virtual instrument capability, so I'd assume you'll want a MIDI interface as well. I'm not as familiar with the other companies, but the first thing that comes to mind is Tascam's US-122, which sells for a little under $200. I can't guarantee you'll have smooth sailing, as some users of Tascam's USB interfaces have experienced problems with the OSX drivers, but I have a US-428 and run Logic Audio 6.0.1. just fine. And I know that Frontier Design (which co-developed Tascam's interfaces) are working to solve any existing problems.

I don't think anybody will be able to offer up any advice on anything that 'definitely works' because everybody's system is set up differently and there are no guarantees, as you'll quickly find, in the world of computer audio. I'd suggest searching through the forums here and elsewhere to see what interfaces have decently working OSX drivers. Best of luck.