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Old guy needing new tricks

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Topic Old guy needing new tricks
Hello, I guess I would still be considered a musician though my knowledge of current technology would certainly put me in the "dinosaur" category. I've done a lot of home recording on a Roland 1680. I have a friend who has asked me to help build his catalog of TV bumpers but I need to make the transition to Cakewalk.

If (hypothetically) you had about 5k to spend on a new setup, what would you get ? In a perfect world, i'd like to get a controller/board where I barely have to touch my mouse and keyboard.

P.S. i already own monitors and enough cabling to choke Lou Albano. Just looking for ideas relating to software / controllers.

Any input would be most appreciated.
2
Hello pjellyd!

I see that you've recorded to a roland so I guess you shouldn't consider yourself a dinosaur because I've some friends who still prefer to record to multitrack cassette!

As to your 5k (hypothetical) question, you have 2 possible routes to take.

Route A: Get a really good computer dedicated to music and nothing else. Check out www.adkproaudio.com - start with a single processor base unit ($1498), add a pro soundcard ($599), and cakewalk studio ($399); total ($2496). For a controller keyboard, check out www.cme-pro.com; their 88-key controller is priced at $599. That leaves you with enough change to buy a desk to put the computer and controller in plus some software synths if you need to add to your sonic palette. You can also check out Carillon's line of pro-audio computers (www.carillonusa.com).

Route B: Another computer but a different one. Go to www.openlabs.com and check out their OpenSynth Neko LET. You'd want the LET version as it comes with the touchscreen. Price? $2995; add $399 for Cakewalk studio from guitar center or musicians friend. And finally a little extra for the keyboard stand and chair you'll need for this all-in-one-solution.

Hope this doesn't scare you back to the 1680. :)

Regards!
3
I'm assuming you're talking about a mixing controller and not a midi controller.....

I would definately suggest getting a computer based system. Cubase, Pro-tools LE, and Cakewalk all have their pluses and minuses. I always like to point out that with Pro-tools you can only use their hardware. Cubase is a pain to learn, but rather versitile, and I really don't have much experience with Cakewalk.

I good idea would be to google search their userforms...Ie Cubase User Forums. They usually have a sticky topic on the best computer setup to use for that particular software. I'd honestly say, get ready to dump about $1000 for a good recording computer (P4 or AMD 64bit, 1 + gig ram, 2 hard drives, ect)

As far as A/D converters, it really depends on how many simultaneous inputs you want. M-Audio makes some good ones...I think Axeman uses a 1010??? I've used a Digidesign M-Box and also a Mackie Onyx 1620 and loved them both. If you decide to go with a Pro-tools setup, you can choose the M-box, Digi 02 (I'll get to in a minute), or the Digi 02 rack.

Then there's control surfaces......If you're using Pro-tools, the Digi 02 is a control surface and A/d converter in one. Tascam also makes a few of these the FW-1884 and something else. Mackie makes a control surface, but the best bang for the buck is the Behringer BCF...it's USB and only around $200. It depends on your issues with using Behringer products, but the thing is also fully expandable.

Hope this helps.

Justin
4
Thanks guys. i really appreciate the input. I was looking seriously into a computer used specifically for recording. It seems to be the best way to keep my wife from crawling up my a%$ because I'm hogging the home computer. I may just jump in with both feet and buy a laptop and impress the heck out of all of my 21st century pals. I think I'm going to go with cakewalk. Strangely enough, I was reading in my trusty VS-1680 hand book that I can use that as a controller with cakewalk. I like the idea though of using that 88 key controller keyboard to off set the fact that i will eventually need to buy a keyboard anyway. There's only so many songs I can get away with just guitar and bass and keep folks interested. Thanks again for sharing all of your knowledge and experience. I get a warm fuzzy thinking of all the good will exists across the recording community.

:lol:

(not sure what this emotion is all about, but I'm new here so I thought I'd throw it in for good measure ... I used to have a twitch in my upper lip just like this guy)