My 2nd to last dumb and pointless thread on computer recording

Danhedonia

Danhedonia

Noted duckfat enthusiast
Cross posted to the lounge.

OK, I bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY6IMXL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't love it yet - but it's grown on me in the first couple of hours. Anyhow, it's a virgin Windows 10 laptop that is definitely technologically able to do what I wish.
I will be going Scarlett 6i6 >> Reaper >> Scarlett >> monitors. (at least that's the current plan)

What advice do you have in terms of setting things up? Particular questions I have:
* Would you install Reaper first, and then the Scarlett driver? Scarlett driver first?
* The speakers on the laptop are utterly horrible. However, the outbound sound (heard via a bluetooth speaker on first test drive) is excellent. Would you disable them? I get nervous mucking around too much with Windows as it seems to always be looking for an excuse to cause problems.
* Do you have a 'way' of setting up new laptops for recording? Any lessons I'd be smart to learn from you, rather than my own mistakes?

Thanks for any and all responses.

OK, I bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MY6IMXL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't love it yet - but it's grown on me in the first couple of hours. Anyhow, it's a virgin Windows 10 laptop that is definitely technologically able to do what I wish.
I will be going Scarlett 6i6 >> Reaper >> Scarlett >> monitors. (at least that's the current plan)

What advice do you have in terms of setting things up? Particular questions I have:
* Would you install Reaper first, and then the Scarlett driver? Scarlett driver first?
* The speakers on the laptop are utterly horrible. However, the outbound sound (heard via a bluetooth speaker on first test drive) is excellent. Would you disable them? I get nervous mucking around too much with Windows as it seems to always be looking for an excuse to cause problems.
* Do you have a 'way' of setting up new laptops for recording? Any lessons I'd be smart to learn from you, rather than my own mistakes?

Thanks for any and all responses.
 
I would install the main DAW first with all necessary drivers for that program. Then install each add on program in the order of most used down the line. I don't think the order of the add on programs matters all that much but I'd want to install my DAW first so the add ons connect up with that properly. You couldn't install a plugin without a DAW installed anyway( you can download it but there wouldn't be anything to install it to without the DAW.
I use a set of studio monitors for playback, M-Audio BX-5 (or something). When I connected them the laptop's speaker automatically disabled.
I'm not aware of any particular "must do" way of setup...if you make a mistake you can always uninstall and start over.
 
Can't comment on the Scarlett but I got Reaper working fine with an old Mbox Mini that is effectively unsupported so I doubt you'll have unsolvable problems. I do believe that I installed Reaper first though FWIW.

The internal speakers are likely to be garbage. If you don't plan on using headphones you should look into studio monitors as gtrjr mentions. I just use ordinary computer speakers on my desktop but I am not doing much recording these days and when I do I generally use headphones
 
Thanks to you both.

* I will install Reaper before the Focusrite. This will be a maiden voyage into Windows recording, so I don't have any favorite plug-ins; I'm building from the ground up (and will choose to treat that as a luxury).

* Use laptop speakers ... lollloloolololololol. I have a million options for monitoring; really. Few people can amplify sound in as many different ways as myself. Two immediate options include: some 5" JBL powered monitors in my current analog environment; and my stereo's tower speakers. They're large, they're custom, and if ZZTop had them they'd be nationwide. Anyhoo ....

* Big wish is that the Scarlett will handle two-way effortlessly, as I'd rather it feed the monitors than the audio-out on the laptop, though that doesn't scare me.

Keep them posts comin!
 
Focusrite Scarlett 6i6.

Already had my first 'issue,' which was Reaper firing up and demanding I choose a device before I even unboxed the Scarlett .... sigh. :facepalm: I wasn't made for these times.
 
IIRC, when I installed my interface (Steinberg) it shows up in the sound settings of the computer as an output option. So you should be able to choose the output of whatever speakers are available. Either external speakers or the laptop's built in speakers.
 
The Scarlett will handle ALL of the audio. Just get some monitors or good headphones.

Install the DAW and all plug ins on the HDD and set to record TO the SSD . This is HUGELY important.

Once the Scarlett drivers are loaded and the device plugged in, your onboard audio will automatically be disabled.
 
Huge thanks for the posts and patience. Some time today I should be up & functional (or swearing a blue streak).

As noted above, monitoring options abound from my analog home studio(s) past. One thing I'm looking forward to in moving to this set up is being able to plug / play into many environments, whether that be for tracking or mixing.

Will update before The Big Game.
 
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Belated update:

Well, hell. We all have to learn sometime. In summary, this entire process was vastly easier than I expected, but then early triumphs segued into ... technomurk.

The Scarlett and Reaper were, in fact, terribly easy to set up. The one hiccup was learning the software that controls the Scarlett, and IMO it's not a good piece of software in terms of being immediately intuitive. OTOH, it's also not hard once you read the manual, and within 10 minutes I was multitracking.

That worked for a month or so. I was still in 'analog brain' mode, which means that I was using digital to capture external sounds; the laptop was functioning as a tape machine and mixing desk, but not really much more.

Then I got an email from IK Multimedia. Which led to clicking over to their website, which led to my seeing that I had $200 in credit to use on their software. Which led to Amplitube. Which led to VSTs ... which led to ... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarghhhhh ............technomurk.

Most of the technomurk is good, and what I'd simply call the entry shock of realizing that outboard gear has been imitated to a mind-blowing degree, offering tons of choices. Frankly, the outboard gear is usually superior, but the price point makes that a false dichotomy: I'm not at risk to go buy a real 1176, but I'd like to hear your attempt at emulating it via VST! In fact, I was amazed at how many free plug ins there are - and many are musical in one way or another.

Initially I'd thought that I'd use digital as a sketch pad, and do "real" recordings via analog in my old fashioned way, using my old fashioned analog gear. Right around that time, I also wondered if I'd like a different laptop ... and had a realization: digital isn't the tape machine or mixing board. It's the tape itself. You capture performance (whether that be musical or post-production) and warehouse it.

I could swap laptops daily, and still be working the same files, etc. And God bless VSTs, they showed me (well, 'reminded' me from a loooooooooong time ago) why tracking dry and adding fx later is so wise.

Wow - digital recording is an amazing creative tool. I think about 20 years late on that, but better late than never.
 
I had to download Focusrite drivers first before other things would fall into place. I didn't use Reaper though I went Ableton and Protools.
 
Ah yes, plug-ins. Just when you thought you were done spending money... There are some great emulations out there. I really dig the UAD stuff, and basically centered my studio around it. Get on the mailing lists for the plug-in companies, and they'll let you know when they're running sales. Sometimes they'll even put out a free one. Soundtoys is one good company for that, and their plugins are really creative and fun. Usually the big sales are at the end of the year. Also, if you go to Reverb, they have a good list of free plugins here: https://reverb.com/handpicked/free-plugins
 
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