Multi Track Midi Recorder?, Midi, old system Options

[IRONSLAVE]

Ok. So I have a G4 laptop I got a hold of. I also have an M-Audio E-Keys 37 USB midi Controller. I am totally new to this. I am looking for a good setup i can use to record a multi track midi song. I tried using garage band but it's not working out for me. I am using ableton live 7 LE and I like it, but my computer overloads quickly and it is a little confusing

All i want to do is use this USB controller to make some midi songs.

software instruments would be great

Stylings for drum n bass, 80;s electronica, and techno would be my forte.

some small Fx like Echo, Delay, Chorus,and Distortion would be awesome...

I am a guitar player, so this is going to be an interesting experience.

Something I can get ahold of as far as being able to download would be great as well because I will be unable to accept delivered items for the next 4 months as i will be traveling.
If it would work on an intel CPU i would be grateful so I can use it at home when i return.

I was trying to find a copy of tracktion 1.5 but I am un sucessful

I was peeking at Cubase 4 and it has a 16 track Midi Recorder.... could i Use this with my USB piano? would i need a way to use Midi Inturements outside of the program?

Can anyone guide me in a general direction with the keyboard? I havent even recieved it yet and will get it on tuesday.

This post has been edited by IRONSLAVE: Sun 31 May 2009, 23:03

[IRONSLAVE]

Well, The reason I avoid garageband is because The interface sucks.... It's too simple for me. there are some things I would like to do that I cant get garage band to do as far as track editing with effects. It is a demanding program as well and I suffer from latency issues when I record with Guitar.

With Ableton it takes a bit of work to make the computer start to max out.

The confusing things about ableton Is simple stuff. the most difficult part is when somtimes I add a track with an insturement I get no audio. If i save and reopen it will work again ?

Is there a Landscape view where I can see seperate tracks? Like garage band.

[ckb]

Well, The reason I avoid garageband is because The interface sucks.... It's too simple for me. there are some things I would like to do that I cant get garage band to do as far as track editing with effects. It is a demanding program as well and I suffer from latency issues when I record with Guitar.

With Ableton it takes a bit of work to make the computer start to max out.

The confusing things about ableton Is simple stuff. the most difficult part is when somtimes I add a track with an insturement I get no audio. If i save and reopen it will work again ?

Is there a Landscape view where I can see seperate tracks? Like garage band.

I'd reiterate everything that mortalengine was just very kind to say. I've got to be honest with you; if mortalengine weren't so polite, he (or she, don't know) might have simply written, RTFM. That's short for "read the f... manual." I'm not saying that to be mean but to give you a heads-up. Some veteran forum users get cranky when a new user comes on and asks a question that's definitely addressed in the manual/help and/or has been answered on the forum a dozen times over the years. Most forums have an "etiquette" posting that advises users to first make sure their question hasn't already been addressed before starting a new thread.

I know that it's not very fun or sexy to sit on your duff and read, but speaking as someone who is very comfortable figuring out new software (I've written software documentation for a living for much of my adult life), I used to not bother reading the manual if I could figure it out myself. I treated the manual as an as-needed reference book.

But I ran across a David Pogue article in which he said (I paraphrase), "No matter what, always read the manual. I can guarantee you will learn something new, even if you're a veteran user." (If you don't know that name, Pogue is responsible for many of the outstanding "Missing Manual" books and lots of other excellent instructional writing.)

Since then I've always read the manuals, and it makes a huge difference. Huge.

Both of the programs you're looking at are very capable (assuming you have at least Live LE, and a recent enough Garage Band to allow some automation... don't know version details).

Invest the time! You'll be so glad you did.