Step by Step Recording Thread.

MonkeyZero said:
Rise from the dead! Can we get this updated? All the pics are gone.
I use (or want to use) Reaper but I'm open to anything cheap or free. Anyone want to do a screen share situation and help a newb get set up and walked through a simple recording process?
I think I have everything I need. Laptop, software, interface, amps and guitars. I wouldn't be able to mic anything but I don't really need to.
Click to expand...
Hop Pole Studios on YouTube has an excellent tutorial series on REAPER...he is actually doing an updated series now, but his old one was very helpful as well...

Also look a The REAPER blog and REAPERmania channels...

Also, @Dexter Inferno and myself both use it as well, so anything we can help you with, just ask...
 
Thanks Jello. The initial set up is what always seems so daunting. I don't know what half of that crap even means or what it does.
I just want to be able to hit record and export it to mp3 in the easiest way possible.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
MonkeyZero said:
Rise from the dead! Can we get this updated? All the pics are gone.
I use (or want to use) Reaper but I'm open to anything cheap or free. Anyone want to do a screen share situation and help a newb get set up and walked through a simple recording process?
I think I have everything I need. Laptop, software, interface, amps and guitars. I wouldn't be able to mic anything but I don't really need to.
Click to expand...
Reaper is great. I've been using it for years.
 
I wanted to jump in and comment but it seems there's a lot to review first.
I will ask a quick question though.
I'm in a living situation that requires me to be as quiet as may be. (Focus on quiet practice rather than recording).
I broke out my Focusrite interface and plugged into my Linux rig. As expected in Linux it's a technical journey to get set up. Really more effort than I had patience for at the time.
Moved over to PC (Lenovo Legion. AMD Ryzen 7, 16 Gigs)
It really intruded on my other apps.
Not a MAC guy but I do have an ipad. (probably no powerful enough)

Question: Do you guys use a dedicated workstation and if so what spec?
 
Oh Lord, specs.....

Nice to see you though. I haven't actually used my recording stuff in a while, but just about any modern PC or laptop should be good, considering what we USED to work with. Started on a 2Ghz machine that worked fine if I shut off all other programs.
 
BlackCat said:
I wanted to jump in and comment but it seems there's a lot to review first.
I will ask a quick question though.
I'm in a living situation that requires me to be as quiet as may be. (Focus on quiet practice rather than recording).
I broke out my Focusrite interface and plugged into my Linux rig. As expected in Linux it's a technical journey to get set up. Really more effort than I had patience for at the time.
Moved over to PC (Lenovo Legion. AMD Ryzen 7, 16 Gigs)
It really intruded on my other apps.
Not a MAC guy but I do have an ipad. (probably no powerful enough)

Question: Do you guys use a dedicated workstation and if so what spec?
Click to expand...
I do have a PC dedicated to my studio...I do recommend having a system specifically for music production unless it's just a very casual hobby...

Recording rig specs are a fluid thing and depend on use case...

In general, it's all about processor and memory...
Processors run the apps and plugins, and the more you have running the more processor cores you need...processors in general are fast enough these days to share a good number of tasks but eventually they do run out of bandwidth...
The number of tracks you have running dictate the amount of memory you need...
Audio processing does not need a lot of video throughput, so a high horsepower video card is not needed...although some plugin designers are starting to give users the option to use video card processing to run, so in the future this could change...
Of course having multiple SSDs is going to make it more efficient, having the DAW, plugins, and other apps installed on the system drive and sending the project and recorded audio files to a separate drive...also having another drive for samples and loop libraries is also a good idea...

It all depends on how you're going to use it...a basic 8 core processor and 16GB of memory is about the minimum these days...if you use a lot of virtual instruments and/or record a lot of tracks then more is better...

My rig is dedicated to mixing/mastering and was not designed to record, but spec-wise it would still be fine for most project sized studios...
I run an AMD Ryzen9-3900 12 core multithread processor and 32GB of memory...since I mix I tend to run a lot of plugins simultaneously, and with all the busses, sends, returns, and parallel tracks I usually end up with as many as 3 to 4 times the number of tracks running as I started with...I have 4 SSDs, one for system and apps, one for projects, one for samples and loops, and one for video projects...there is also a 4GB hard drive for backups and storage...
I'm intending to upgrade that system soon, moving to a 16 core processor and 64GB memory, which should keep me running for another 5 years...
 
jelloman said:
I do have a PC dedicated to my studio...I do recommend having a system specifically for music production unless it's just a very casual hobby...

Recording rig specs are a fluid thing and depend on use case...

In general, it's all about processor and memory...
Processors run the apps and plugins, and the more you have running the more processor cores you need...processors in general are fast enough these days to share a good number of tasks but eventually they do run out of bandwidth...
The number of tracks you have running dictate the amount of memory you need...
Audio processing does not need a lot of video throughput, so a high horsepower video card is not needed...although some plugin designers are starting to give users the option to use video card processing to run, so in the future this could change...
Of course having multiple SSDs is going to make it more efficient, having the DAW, plugins, and other apps installed on the system drive and sending the project and recorded audio files to a separate drive...also having another drive for samples and loop libraries is also a good idea...

It all depends on how you're going to use it...a basic 8 core processor and 16GB of memory is about the minimum these days...if you use a lot of virtual instruments and/or record a lot of tracks then more is better...

My rig is dedicated to mixing/mastering and was not designed to record, but spec-wise it would still be fine for most project sized studios...
I run an AMD Ryzen9-3900 12 core multithread processor and 32GB of memory...since I mix I tend to run a lot of plugins simultaneously, and with all the busses, sends, returns, and parallel tracks I usually end up with as many as 3 to 4 times the number of tracks running as I started with...I have 4 SSDs, one for system and apps, one for projects, one for samples and loops, and one for video projects...there is also a 4GB hard drive for backups and storage...
I'm intending to upgrade that system soon, moving to a 16 core processor and 64GB memory, which should keep me running for another 5 years...
Click to expand...

Hey Jello:
That's really helpful. Thanks for the summary. I'll probably start shopping for a recording rig.
Between work at home, personal PC, and Linux I've got quite the data center going on here.
I can make room for one more.


1731118934242.png
 
I do some very basic multitrack recording on an old gaming PC. I use Reaper. I’ve been using a L6 HX Stomp as my audio interface. Lol!

I own multiple computers running Windows and Linux, plus an old Mac Mini. I’m tempted to get a new base model Mac Mini. It would be more than enough for any of my simple video and audio projects. But, I don’t need it.

Mac Mini

Apple M4 Chip

10-Core CPU
10-Core GPU
16GB Unified Memory
256GB SSD Storage​

  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Front: Two USB‑C ports, headphone jack
  • Back: Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet port
$599.00
 
jrockbridge said:
I do some very basic multitrack recording on an old gaming PC. I use Reaper. I’ve been using a L6 HX Stomp as my audio interface. Lol!

I own multiple computers running Windows and Linux, plus an old Mac Mini. I’m tempted to get a new base model Mac Mini. It would be more than enough for any of my simple video and audio projects. But, I don’t need it.

Mac Mini

Apple M4 Chip

10-Core CPU​

10-Core GPU​

16GB Unified Memory​

256GB SSD Storage​

  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • Front: Two USB‑C ports, headphone jack
  • Back: Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, Gigabit Ethernet port
$599.00
Click to expand...

I've resisted adopting mac for decades now. It always seemed too expensive to justify it's usefulness. I know musicians have always embraced it. Maybe I should give it a try.
 
BlackCat said:
I've resisted adopting mac for decades now. It always seemed too expensive to justify it's usefulness. I know musicians have always embraced it. Maybe I should give it a try.
Click to expand...
I avoided Mac for a long time. Windows PC had always been a better bang for the buck for me. It changed for me years ago when Apple came out with the M1 Mac Mini. The size was perfect for my living room, home theater, entertainment center hooked to my 75” Sony 4K TV. It’s still going strong.

The base model Mac Mini’s are the only Apple computers that have looked good to me. As soon as you upgrade any aspect beyond the base model, it gets too expensive and I’m back to looking at PC.

My son is a gamer and he has absolutely no use for Apple at all. He just built his friend a gaming PC with parts from Micro Center.

I think Apple does a great job integrating their hardware designs with their OS. Also, they cram a lot of production type power into small sizes. But, PC’s can be built to run circles around Mac for a fraction of the cost. And, PC is modular and more easy to upgrade.

In my experience, PC can be a bit more work to get everything to play nice and work best. Linux is even more work. Mac has been much more hassle free. But, they all have their place for me.
 
Mac Mini sounds like a viable option cost wise. I don't expect to be using too many tracks and plugins. I'll consider giving it a try. Anyway as a tech worker I really should round out my experience with that platform. (Even though I work for a big old stodgy company that uses Linux and PC Exclusively).
 
BlackCat said:
Mac Mini sounds like a viable option cost wise. I don't expect to be using too many tracks and plugins. I'll consider giving it a try. Anyway as a tech worker I really should round out my experience with that platform. (Even though I work for a big old stodgy company that uses Linux and PC Exclusively).
Click to expand...
The price of the Mac Mini does not include a screen, keyboard, mouse, speakers. But, it looks like you already have that covered.
 
BlackCat said:
I wanted to jump in and comment but it seems there's a lot to review first.
I will ask a quick question though.
I'm in a living situation that requires me to be as quiet as may be. (Focus on quiet practice rather than recording).
I broke out my Focusrite interface and plugged into my Linux rig. As expected in Linux it's a technical journey to get set up. Really more effort than I had patience for at the time.
Moved over to PC (Lenovo Legion. AMD Ryzen 7, 16 Gigs)
It really intruded on my other apps.
Not a MAC guy but I do have an ipad. (probably no powerful enough)

Question: Do you guys use a dedicated workstation and if so what spec?
Click to expand...

As long as you're using any sort of solid body electric, recording through an interface with amp models is very quiet.
 
Monson said:
As long as you're using any sort of solid body electric, recording through an interface with amp models is very quiet.
Click to expand...
I did some reevaluation since writing this.
Since installing S-Gear I'm happy with the audio interface on PC.
I've been using it for practice every day.
Now I'm trying to decide on a DAW. I've installed a couple and am evaluating which one I like best.
It's a steep learning curve and like the helpdesk people say you need to RTFM.
 
BlackCat said:
I did some reevaluation since writing this.
Since installing S-Gear I'm happy with the audio interface on PC.
I've been using it for practice every day.
Now I'm trying to decide on a DAW. I've installed a couple and am evaluating which one I like best.
It's a steep learning curve and like the helpdesk people say you need to RTFM.
Click to expand...

Yes, there's a learning curve but don't let that discourage you. There are many tutorials on YT, and once you 'get' the basics, like arming a track, levels and panning, you'll actually be able to record a piece. I've enjoyed using Reaper for, I dunno, many, many years, and I know maybe 7% of what it can do. When I'm in trouble (happens often) I just google whatever I'm trying to achieve.
 
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Monson said:
Yes, there's a learning curve but don't let that discourage you. There are many tutorials on YT, and once you 'get' the basics, like arming a track, levels and panning, you'll actually be able to record a piece. I've enjoyed using Reaper for, I dunno, many, many years, and I know maybe 7% of what it can do. When I'm in trouble (happens often) I just google whatever I'm trying to achieve.
Click to expand...
I like Reaper. The documentation and youtube tutorials are good. I just have one gripe about it and that's not really about it's recording functionality.
My eyes have gotten significantly worse with age. The grey on black theme is like trying to work in a dark cave. I've been trying to customize but I still haven't identified a way to increase font size.
 
BlackCat said:
I like Reaper. The documentation and youtube tutorials are good. I just have one gripe about it and that's not really about it's recording functionality.
My eyes have gotten significantly worse with age. The grey on black theme is like trying to work in a dark cave. I've been trying to customize but I still haven't identified a way to increase font size.
Click to expand...
 
micwalt said:
Click to expand...

I didn't know that! I tend to use maybe 24-26 tracks for a project, and I hate scrolling :embarrassed: I did experiment with using fewr tracks and a lot of automation for panning and levels and stuff, but it's easy to lose track (so to speak) of what's going on.
 
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