The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Hey guys,

A friend of mine from work has expressed an interest in recording music on his computer. He used to use an old 4-track, but hasn't done any sort of recording in a while.

Does anyone know of a good beginner-level tutorial he can turn to?

I've given him a list of software DAWs he can turn to, and specifically I recommended REAPER because of its tryware pay system. I gave him the rundown on USB audio interfaces, but I didn't really know what kind to recommend him (I've been happy with the Lexicon Lambda, but I hesitate to recommend it, since Lexicon doesn't offer 64-bit drivers, and probably never will). I spoke a little about microphone types and placement options that have worked for me, but I'm the sort of guy who becomes hesitant to experiment after finding a configuration that works. I even gave him the link to here, in the hopes that he might engage with this community and learn something the way I have over all these years.

At the end of the day, though, I realized that I don't know of a good beginner-level tutorial on how to put together a song on your computer. Someone out there must have written a decent "Getting started" style guide; does anyone here know of one?

Reaper is a good suggestion.

Here's a beginner's guide to Reaper: http://www.reaper.fm/userguide.php

I would suggest the M-Audio Fastrack. It is cheap, easy to use, and sounds good. Does he have any mics and stuff left over from his 4 track days?

Ken

I tell my friends to buy an interface that comes with Cubase. The first thing they need is an interface, so might as get one with a software bundle that's compatible and a DAW that has become standard for an easy learning curve. Then give him our free plug-ins Ken started or nyjm's site with all the free plug-ins he's been compiling. BLAMO! Let the music unfold.

Ken just posted one at MF for $100 with Cubase 5.