getting started.

[kam]

hello, first of all i'm really glad to find this site. these forums are really great and i'm sure that i'm going to learn alot in here.

i've been saving money for quite long time and i'm ready now to buy new stuff and upgrade my old stuff. I really need your advice in here guys.

i read alot about the pro-tools m-powered 7 and its' new featerus and all plug-ins and these and i'm not really familiar with these terms however i know that pro-tools is like one of the best softwares out there and it is used in so pro studios. plus i compared the pro-tools price with the cubase's and i found pro tools is cheaper and this is one of the things that makes me really intrested in this software. In addtion, i read about the fast track pro. from m-audio which is an audio interface with preamp and i think it is really great. In the other hand there is that studio pro 3 monitors also from m-audio.

now i know that fast track pro. works with pro-tools m-powered 7. but i need to know if the studio pro 3 monitors work with that interface or not. that is number 1.

2. i'm also getting EZdrummer i really dunno how it works but maybe i understood that i compose the midi drums and then i export'em to EZD and it turns them to real drums i'm not sure but if this is true then does pro-tools have a midi sequencer or should i use another program for that?

i also have PODxt for guitar and bass recording.

that's all what i can think about for now. thank you guys and hope to hear from you soon.

[kyleevans]

i have a buddy that has been using a 4 track cassette deck for years to record ideas, but is finally getting sick of the hiss. i did some shopping and found the Firebox by Presonus which is a 2-in and 2-out interface, and it includes Cubase LE (the slightly stripped down version of Cubase). I thought that was a good deal.

I don't use ProTools just because it is so expensive. If you know how to get an inexpensive copy, then share with us please. I'm also Apple Mac ignorant, and don't trust the Microsoft version of ProTools. maybe i'm just being superstitious. i went through several copies of Cubase before getting SX3, and it is completely stable.

[richiebee]

Originally Posted by kam

i read alot about the pro-tools m-powered 7 and its' new featerus and all plug-ins and these and i'm not really familiar with these terms however i know that pro-tools is like one of the best softwares out there and it is used in so pro studios. plus i compared the pro-tools price with the cubase's and i found pro tools is cheaper and this is one of the things that makes me really intrested in this software.

If you are planning on using VI's (Virtual Instruments) of any kind, and doing extensive MIDI editing, there are much better alternatives to ProTools. Although Digidesign has beefed up ProTools MIDI implementation in the latest release, it is still a long way behind ALL of the competition in this area. If you are planning on working with input audio only (ie, external instruments, miked sources etc), then ProTools is good. As a user of both ProTools (at work) and Cubase (at home), I have to say that if I had to choose one, it would be Cubase. And don't be fooled by ProTools cheaper price. It's not the initial price that kills, it's the ongoing expense.

You can probably pick up Cubase (3) SL for a song now that Cubase 4 is out. SL will be just fine for you.

In addtion, i read about the fast track pro. from m-audio which is an audio interface with preamp and i think it is really great. In the other hand there is that studio pro 3 monitors also from m-audio.
now i know that fast track pro. works with pro-tools m-powered 7. but i need to know if the studio pro 3 monitors work with that interface or not. that is number 1.

Yes, the Studio Pro 3 monitors will work with the Fast Track Pro.

2. i'm also getting EZdrummer i really dunno how it works but maybe i understood that i compose the midi drums and then i export'em to EZD and it turns them to real drums i'm not sure but if this is true then does pro-tools have a midi sequencer or should i use another program for that?

ProTools has a MIDI sequencer but it sucks.

[kam]

i'm really thankfull for this guys, mainly i would be recording rock/metal music ummm i'm really confused now about one thing.. i read more about the fast track pro and i found that the sample rate is not really ok i read in some other site that it's much better to get an interface of audiophile usb and audio buddy or DMP3 for preamp. so what u think of this? and would that work with cubase?

thank you.

[richiebee]

Makes no sense to me. The Fast Track Pro can handle the same sample rates (44.1/48/88/96) as the audiophile. The pre-amps built in are undoudtedly as good as as those in the audio buddy, and possibly as good as those in the DMP3. Why would you use two boxes when you can use one?

If you want to go a step up from the Fast Track Pro, go with a firewire unit like the Firewire 410 or 1814.

R.

[brandondrury]

I know it's confusing choosing a recording soundcard. Let me tell you that you won't hear a difference between soundcards at your budget. They are all the same. I seriously doubt that the preamps are any better on one $200 soundcard vs another $200 soundcard.

It seams to be the consensus that Pro Tools is not ideal for midi (like your programmed drums) and, as mentioned in other threads, Pro Tools gets extremely expensive over time.

If I just needed two channels of inputs, I'd seriously like into the Presonus Firebox mentioed above. You can't go wrong with Cubase. Pretty much everyone on this forum is a Steinberg user.

now i know that fast track pro. works with pro-tools m-powered 7. but i need to know if the studio pro 3 monitors work with that interface or not. that is number 1.

Studio monitors are an analog device. This means that accept inputs like RCA (the back of your DVD player, VCR, and TV), 1/4", or XLR (but maybe not all of them...you'll need to check your studio monitor's specs for this).

Every soundcard that I can think of has analog outputs which you will then plug into your studio monitors. Essentially, I'd be highly shocked if the M-Audio Studio Pro 3 monitors didn't work with just about any soundcard.

Let me know if I didn't explain this well enough.

Brandon

[kam]

guys i'm really thankfull for your help. i know that i asked alot and i'm boring you with these questions but this is the only source i can get my info. from.

anyway, do you have an advice for what to get?

like what audio interface i should get with preamp? can you mention me some names? that is compatable with cubase and also got finest sample rate? something you think that is better than m-audio products?

and what do you think of the cubase SX3? would that meet my needs?

thank you again and forgive my ignorance.

[brandondrury]

Hey dude,

If i was bored with home recording questions, it would be pretty stupid to run a home recording forum.

I'm sending you an PM about your soundcard issue. I have a tool that is not ready for public release, but could probably help you.

As for the software, I couldn't recommend Cubase SX3 higher. I've done a lot of recording in the past 5 years and after switching to it this past summer, I must say that I've had a lot of trouble finding anything it can't do.

Brandon

[aleksxiii]

hi im planning to buy the firepod studio package and i was wondering if its worth my buck, im starting my home studio now to start producing and i was wondering if its a great buy, im want on recording drums so i thought it be great to get a 8 simultaneous track recorder, anyone know of another package with the same things the firepod has?

[brandondrury]

The Firepod rig a great audio interface. I went with the Firestudio myself simply because I needed more inputs and wanted the routing matrix.

Brandon