Audacity 1.3 Beta: Can I do better?

[JakeK]

Thanks for the suggestions, JB! (and everyone else who recommeded various tools and suggestions)

I noticed a recent YT record of you on your Fender Jag, and you were recorded direct into a POD, yes? Does it have effects? Could I go with my pedalboard into a POD?

[antipodean]

The Pod is an evolving beast - the current X3 allows you to use 4 effects (+reverb) simultaneously from a pretty large library, but it will knock you back $270-$300 for a good used one. The first generation Pod has limited on-board effects and allows you to use no more than two simultaneously. Of course, this is on top of overdriving the amp model you're using. I don't have any experience with the interim Pod 2.0 or Pod XT. My brother loves his X3..... he keeps telling me how much better it is than my old steam-powered gear.

I've never tried to run additional effects through my Flextone (basically a 1st-gen Pod plus transistor amp), but it has FX send and return. Maybe you run your FX board between your pod and PC interface? JB may have a better handle on this.....

[sloop_john_b]

I have never run my pedals into a POD before. In fact, I rarely use my pedals at all when I'm recording (only if I'm mic'ing up my amp). One of the beautiful things about having good software - I use Apple Logic - is that not only is the quality of the built-in effects excellent, but you can take them out and put them in at will.

For example: Say you record a guitar part through all your pedals and using amp tremolo. You've done a zillion takes and you finally got a good one. But the next day, when you listen back, you decide that the tremolo speed was just too far off of the tempo and it's creating an odd timing thing. You're SOL unless you want to go back and do it all again, which you probably don't. Instead of settling, if you just go with the software effects, you can take out the tremolo completely, or match it up with the actual tempo of the song with very minimal effort.

Logic even has a really good guitar and bass amp simulator. Sometimes I bypass the POD totally and just go with that. It'll mimic basically any kind of amp. I don't like it for high gain stuff but for Vox and Fender settings (plus the reverbs and tremolo) are excellent. Lots of software companies are making great amp simulators. I get the feeling that this is what you hear on most modern recordings.

I find doing things this way infinitely easier and the sound quality is great, but I still get a yen to do things the old fashioned way sometimes and stick a condenser in front of my amp.

[JakeK]

So Logic and a POD...I think I can do that!What I love is how I don't have to flump around with my board, either!

I also like this mic:

http://www.neumann.com/?lang=en&id=curr ... escription

[sloop_john_b]

Jake, if I were starting from scratch today, i would get some kind of bundle involving ProTools. The new version - 9 - was just released. Very similar user interface to Logic but a little more universal. The industry standard.

For amp plug-ins and all, I think there is one that has all Beatles amps and keyboards and drums in it. That'd be perfect for you.

[JakeK]

Jake, if I were starting from scratch today, i would get some kind of bundle involving ProTools. The new version - 9 - was just released. Very similar user interface to Logic but a little more universal. The industry standard.

For amp plug-ins and all, I think there is one that has all Beatles amps and keyboards and drums in it. That'd be perfect for you.

When my recently-crashed laptop gets back from being fitted with its new hard-drive, I shall take a look into it.

The problem I had with Audacity was stereo-mixing. Imagine it like a stereo Beatles record: One guitar on the right, one guitar on the left, while bass, vocal, and guitar solo are all centered. Jdog told me something about faders which was what early Beatles records lacked, but all music from 1971 onward had them, what do they do and does ProTools have them?

[tmossman]

ProTools on a Windows Vista laptop = trouble. For that matter recording on Vista period is trouble. Find a copy of XP or Windows 7.

If you are staying with a PC, Cakewalk (Sonar), Cubase, Studio One, and Reaper (a free trial download btw) are all capable DAW's. Your biggest concern is going to be finding an interface that interacts with your laptop well. Getting your latency down to the lowest possible value is your goal.

As far as your fader question. Any DAW can do more than the Beatles in their heyday could have ever dreamed of being possible.

JB referred to this East West Quantum Leap Fab Four vst.

[sloop_john_b]

The Mossman brings up a really great point - you should really be using a dedicated computer for this, and better yet, a Mac. IMO!

[jps]

The Mossman brings up a really great point - you should really be using a dedicated computer for this, and better yet, a Mac. IMO!

+1 on the Mac, besides, if you decide on Logic, it is Mac compatible only, AFAIK.

[charlyg]

Good stuff! I totally agree on recording clean, dry, straight, however you say it. You then add AND subtract effects as JB said.

[antipodean]

To add yet more grist to the mill - my brother highly recommends Record and Reason on a Windows platform - they apparently work brilliantly with his Pod X3 as an interface (as well as an emulator/effects station). He claims latency is virtually zero. Wish he'd told me before I forked out on updating Cubase....

[egosheep]

I forgot what it was called... but I remember reading about a box that would turn your recorded guitar track into the equivalent signal that it originally was... so you could record a clean track, then run it back into real amps and effects if you wanted the real deal. Like most people here, I am more than satisfied with the quality of computer effects and amp models. Just wanted to throw that out there.

[cjj]

OK, anybody know anything about Adobe Audition?

[bvstudios]

I'm using Reaper 3.6, and I quite like it. Inexpensive (free to try, and just a nag screen when the trial is over), so far very flexible and intuitive. Believe it or not, I use an old Fostex 4 track cassette recorder as my input mixer (mostly because it's quite small and VERY quiet) and an Edirol USB interface for external MIDI devices, etc.... all cobbled together from stuff I had around the house- and it works.