Absolute Beginner, getting started Options

[justnicola]

hi, i'd really appreciate if you can spare a moment and give me your opinion on - what i should purchase to set up a home studio, that will provide me with hours of fun and not too much heart-ache.

aim - to produce cd demo quality
already purchased edirol keyboard pc-300
have electro-acoustic guitar, and microphone

what i need your opinion about : the 'get-up'
sequencer: what do you think is easier to use - cubase or logic
computer : will ibook do the job, or do i need to get powerbook ?

any advice wil be most appreciated
thanks - nicky

[rickenbacker]

Welcome to MacMusic, Nicky. Have no fear about being a newbie - we were all absolute beginners once.

As for your immediate questions, what OS will you be using? If it's a new Mac, you'll be pure OS X.

In which case, Cubase looks nicer, but Logic is better. If you can stretch to it, buy the new Logic Express version (announced recently, actual release date unknown to this boy, but he's guessing it's fairly soon). You'll get a powerful sequencer, plus some cool virtual synths to make immediate use of your Midi keyboard.

Yes, you'll have a barrowload of questions as you take your first recording steps, as the learning curve with Logic can be quite steep, but hey - that's what MacMusic is here for.

Other people will now leap in and start yelling about Pro Tools LE and the Mbox, Digital Performer 4, Metro 6, Live 3 or Reason 2.5 or plenty of other programs. Good for them. They're all cool programs, they all have their strengths and weaknesses, but personally I find Logic unbeatable. That's why so many people - penniless amateurs and millionaire pros - use it.

You'll also need some sort of audio interface, to get your mic and guitar into your Mac. USB is cheaper, but slower. FireWire is expensive, but faster (and recommended, really). Edirol announced a new FireWire interface recently (full of hot news, aren't I?) - the snappily titled FA-101. £400 or so. Otherwise, it's the MOTU 828 that everyone recommends. I've got one. It's great.

iBook or Powerbook? Now that the iBook is a G4, it's a close call. It would do the job you describe. There are other issues (Level 2 cache, maximum RAM potential) that mean pro users or seriously aspirational types will always choose a Powerbook, but I'll stick my neck right out there and say the iBook should suit your needs.

Hope that helps you a bit. Just ask again for clarification of any issues/new headaches.

[Sonne]

hi you should try ProTools Free
you can download it here
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/mac/
8 tracks of audio & about 45 midi tracks
have fun

[rickenbacker]

Just be aware that you'll need a computer that can boot into full-on OS 9 to run Pro Tools Free - it won't run in the Classic environment on a new Mac.