Recording Live Instruments Options

[dannyboy]

hi everybody! ive been makeing music of variouse types for years, staring on a playstation of all things. Athough simple music2000 had some clean sounds and a good sequencing setup, i learned loads in my spair time. Enevitably i became bored of the sounds and general bounderies posed by the program so started looking for something with a bit more power than a ps1 with a memory card! Being into graphics, Music etc i decided to save money and buy a mac. I wanted something quite powerfull and expandable so i chose th 1.2 gig duel g4 at the time. So, ive invested in reason 2.0 due to my electronic musical influences as it seemed at first to cater for everything i could need!

Now this leads me to my question that i hope somebody could shed some light on?

Due to my ignorance and neglect to the instrumental music industry for some time i have no idea how to connect and record live instruments to reason. Ive been playing guitars (bass, electric 6,Electric 12 etc) or trying for some time now and it has dawned on me that i should use instruments more in my music makeing! Now is there any way of recording, sampleing or any technique to reason, if so what do i do and what do i need to buy yo get started?
If not then what sort of equipment is sufficient to get started at a basic level of quality?


Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Dan.

[xingu]

Unfortunately, recording live audio is just about the only thing Reason won't do. You'll need to acquire some third party recording software and some kind of audio interface (to plug in your instruments and get the sound into your computer) in order to accomplish this. Scan through this forum for plenty of suggestions on interfaces and software.

One of your cheapest software options is Garageband (assuming you're running OSX), and your best bet on an interface (assuming you'll just need to track one instrument at a time) will probably be something USB - check out Edirol, M-Audio, and Tascam's sites for more info (there's even a list of compatible interfaces for Garageband on Apple's site).

[Barb]

For a combination audio interface and software program check out the MBox by digi design. I am only a fan of it because ProTools, the software program, is widely used in the professional world. For a step up from Garage Band, check out Logic Express or Logic Pro by Emagic, now an Apple subsidiary. http://www.emagic.de/home/news/index.php?lang=EN
Garage band is an Emagic product so you may find that an easy transition. If you get a Logic product, you will need an interface. EMagic makes some. I think you might be able to just plug an istrument into the audio in on the computer using a GOOD 1/4" -1/8" converter (Apple has the Monster cable for sale $20 on their website). Check it out first.

I don't know enough about Reason but I suspect you can save your creations as an audio file (aiff or whatever) and import into ProTools or Logic. If you can't, Shame on Reason!

Good luck.

[xingu]

Yes, you can export from Reason as audio, although a number of DAWs, including Logic, support ReWire, which lets you stream directly from Reason. Using the 1/8" jack is an option, but obviously not the best choice if quality is any concern. One of the first things you need to do is decide what your budget is, because you can wind up spending anywhere from next to nothing to a few thousand dollars depending on what route you choose.

[napsac]

here is another solution. M-Audio Ozone is a midi keyboard for USB with preamps for a mic and instrument cable. You can then get a freeware mac program like Audacity, record some guitar, edit it to in Audacity to make sample length aiff files, then import them to any of the Synths in reason.

The other version of that is to record synths, drums, etc in reason - export aiffs and import into Audacity and lay tracks to that.