Home Music Recording Programs

Being something of a multi-instrumentalist, (in descending order of skill: Guitar, ukulele, drums, bass, Alto sax, keyboards, harmonica, violin) I've always been interested in trying to record songs entirely by myself.

To that end, I seek a relatively user-friendly editing program. Previously, I've just been layering things onto a loop station, but as you can imagine, it's kind of hard to get the mix right. :P

I'm not sure how much system specs matter for these programs, but I've included them just in case.

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Windows XP
1.6 ghz processor
1 gig RAM
100 gig hard drive
Ironically enough, as to the only system I can see mattering (Sound card) I have no idea.

A gig of RAM, in this day and age, will not get you very far. That said, Reason 6 is one of the most stable, easy-to-use, and resource-light programs I've ever used, and I used an older version on a 512MB Mac. Multitrack recording might strain it, but if you're only doing track-by-track dubs, you should be fine.

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Originally Posted by Moff Chumley

A gig of RAM, in this day and age, will not get you very far. That said, Reason 6 is one of the most stable, easy-to-use, and resource-light programs I've ever used, and I used an older version on a 512MB Mac. Multitrack recording might strain it, but if you're only doing track-by-track dubs, you should be fine.

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Oh believe me, I know. I've been using the same tiny little netbook since 2008 for, well, everything. I have to go archive-diving at game stores to find anything I have a hope of running.

But anyway, thanks for the suggestion! I'll look into that program.

Try Audacity. It's great for starting off, and has a plethora of plugins.

Plus, it does not need that much raw power.

One caveat: If you're going to do serious sound editing, you're going to want to have at least two monitors, both with a pretty high resolution, or better yet, three. helps not having to scroll all the damn time.

I've done plenty of editing on a 17" laptop. It's hardly ideal, but it's functional and there are a HELL of a lot of things that'll improve your recording more for the price of an extra monitor...

I second Audacity. I use it a lot. It's free, very to use and I actually prefer it to some of the programs you have to buy.
The down side is, (and maybe it's just my computer), it has a tendancy to skip and freeze up on layers when you start having lots of layers of sounds.

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Originally Posted by Whoracle

One caveat: If you're going to do serious sound editing, you're going to want to have at least two monitors, both with a pretty high resolution, or better yet, three. helps not having to scroll all the damn time.

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This can be helpful, (Especially with Audacity) but not THAT neccesery. I'd put that on the bottom of my my "to buy" list. I do find this more useful for film editing though.

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Originally Posted by Nameless

I second Audacity. I use it a lot. It's free, very to use and I actually prefer it to some of the programs you have to buy.
The down side is, (and maybe it's just my computer), it has a tendancy to skip and freeze up on layers when you start having lots of layers of sounds.

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How many layers, exactly? My recordings probably won't have more than six or seven. (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, drums, lead vocals and background vocals)

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Originally Posted by Vorpalbob

How many layers, exactly? My recordings probably won't have more than six or seven. (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, drums, lead vocals and background vocals)

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Well, I don't really stick to one formula or style. So, for example, one of my songs has a stereo layer for scynth and one other layer for my penny wistle, and that's without the usual harpsichord that I have in pretty much everything else because harpsichords are awesome :smalltongue:. The one I'm working on at the moment currently has a stereo layer for scynth, three guitars and some vocal layers. That's when it starts to act up funny when I try and play it back or make another recording. Which is a pain, because I still have a lot of work to do on it. :smallannoyed:

just putting it out there
audacity is kind of an ugly program and it takes some now how to run

other programs cost money but are a tad easier to work

*suddenly connects the dots*

Dot 1: my dad uses this one program to rip vinyl to mp3

Dot 2: I have this strange "Audacity" thing sitting on my harddrive

Dot 3: it seems to have something to do with music recording or something

Dot 4: i needed a better recording program

Conclusion: my dad installed Audacity on my computer when i was complaining about not having a recordable program thing, and forgot to tell me?

Either way, I am happy with this turn of events.