Presonus interfaces come with Digital Audio Workstation software.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Knowing basically nothing about recording/producing i need an interface....
- Thread starter lidl e
- Start date
One great thing about Reaper is the tutorials. There is tons of info you can learn just from this page: REAPER | Videos
just wanted to add that pretty much all of the Focusrite interfaces come bundled with Ableton Lite (DAW), so while Reaper is a DAW that's more fully functional (I use it myself), you'll be able to record tracks at the same quality level with Ableton right out of the box. Not trying to move the OP away from Reaper, but if he buys the Focusrite interface he really won't need anything else.
good luck OP, there is a bit of a learning curve with any of these interfaces and DAWs, but as others have already said, once you get it basically functioning (not very hard), you'll be able to do as much, or as little, as you need.
If you wanna free and quite professional Windows DAW software (an alternative to Reaper). Mind you, I prefer Reaper or Studio One but used the ancestor software, Sonar, as my main DAW several years ago…
Cakewalk by bandlab: BandLab: Make Music Online
Cakewalk by bandlab: BandLab: Make Music Online
I was in the same no-knowledge situation. The recommendations so far are sound (pun intended), even though I did it differently. I bought a Audient evo-4 interface and for software I went with Cakewalk, which is free.
I also use the audio interface for online meetings; microphone input and headphone output. Audio is much better than using the computer alone.
As someone else said; I am 68, so if I can do it so can you.
I also use the audio interface for online meetings; microphone input and headphone output. Audio is much better than using the computer alone.
As someone else said; I am 68, so if I can do it so can you.
A Focusrite Scarlett Solo would do that, and actually sounds great for bass without any preamp. I mean, you probably want a preamp to get teh sound you want but the straight DI sound is quite good for my liking. You can use software amp simulations etc so if you record your bass directly you can later modify the sound by applying diffrent amp simulations etc... it's a wide big world out there.
I bought my Solo for around £70, if I recall correctly.
Another possibility is getting a multiFX unit that also doubles as a USB recording interface. There are many out there these days, many within your budget. That is probably the most versatile solution for a bass/guitar player.
Thats an interesting idea about the multi effects unit, but i think for 100 quid the focusrite is for me.
I do love effects, but i have too many already!
Check this guy out...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0HrD4cTsQpAZ8KK9jPzzGg
He does a deep dive on popular interfaces and provides detailed charts with information about how they compare/rank to each other.
Based on your criteria above, I would personally recommend an SSL interface (e.g. SSL2). They are consistently rated high in the "best bang for your buck" category.
I come from the school of "digital is digital"....You can split hairs all day long on which is a tad more noiseless or 'look at all these doo dads, bells, and whistles" but, at the end of the day, almost all of them do the primary job of being an A/D converter just fine. Get what you can afford - the PreSonus stuff is simple, affordable and works great.
Last edited:
FullumMusic
Commercial User
- Oct 13, 2022
- 2,008
- 5,683
- Disclosures
- Audio/Music software developer, contracted with a company you've heard of and deving my own stuff.
As someone who absolutely loves Reaper, i'd recommend AGAINST it for you. I use Reaper (it's my secondary DAW after Ableton). I do music production, sound design, electronic music, and program audio software/hardware. It sounds like Reaper might not be what you want. You've really emphasized simplicity and ease of use.
Without any jest, look into Garage Band for PC. It'll probably be the easiest and cheapest DAW to record into. I've used A LOT of DAWs in my time. Some people joke about Garage Band not being a "pro grade" DAW, but it'll do everything you need it to do to record you and your friends/bandmates. And it focuses on being easy to use.
All the things that make Reaper amazing are probably the same things that will make you hate it. It's almost infinitely customizable, which means you have to spend a lot of time setting things up to work. And the workflow isn't 100% intuitive. There are a million great tutorials, but you'll have to watch a ton of them just to get up and running. And you'll have to sort through as many that aren't relevant to what you're looking for until you find what you need.
If you got the inexpensive Focusrite + Garage Band, a lot of it will be plug & play without hassle. You can worry about upgrading to a better interface or more full-featured DAW after you feel like you know what you're doing, know more complicated features you might want, and start running into situations where the gear and software limit you.
Without any jest, look into Garage Band for PC. It'll probably be the easiest and cheapest DAW to record into. I've used A LOT of DAWs in my time. Some people joke about Garage Band not being a "pro grade" DAW, but it'll do everything you need it to do to record you and your friends/bandmates. And it focuses on being easy to use.
All the things that make Reaper amazing are probably the same things that will make you hate it. It's almost infinitely customizable, which means you have to spend a lot of time setting things up to work. And the workflow isn't 100% intuitive. There are a million great tutorials, but you'll have to watch a ton of them just to get up and running. And you'll have to sort through as many that aren't relevant to what you're looking for until you find what you need.
If you got the inexpensive Focusrite + Garage Band, a lot of it will be plug & play without hassle. You can worry about upgrading to a better interface or more full-featured DAW after you feel like you know what you're doing, know more complicated features you might want, and start running into situations where the gear and software limit you.
Last edited:
As a Reaper and Focusrite user, I say +1 to Reaper. Really, though, for what you want to do, any of the DAW programs will do. Reaper is a rabbit hole that can suck up your life in terms of the time you could spend learning all of its bells and whistles, but it is pretty easy to set up to do basic recording, easy to overdub and fix mistakes, and it's not hard to figure out how to export your files. I think the same could be said for Garage Band, Pro Tools, Cakewalk, and Ableton.
Good Luck and Happy Recording!
Good Luck and Happy Recording!
Jut chatted with the guy i will be collaborating with. he uses Ableton.
so as @pfschim mentioned above, i will be able to use it right out of the box and send files!
but i do understand i can use any DAW platform.
i got this! Cheers, all.
The only drawback that I found with Reaper is that it can't read an AMR file. The BL likes to use her phone to record rough tracks then send them to the rest of the band. Since Reaper can't read the file, I use Audacity to convert the file into MP3. Then, I load the file into Reaper to work on.
Yes you can export (Render) wave files from Reaper and they can be used in any other DAW.
Reaper is free and fully functional. There’s a “nag” pop up window on startup that goes away when you pay for it.
And $60 won't break the bank and all of the many updates are free.
For a USB Interface, Behringer makes a few that are a lot less expensive that the Focusrite:
I have one of these and it works great:
Behringer U-Phoria UM2 USB Audio Interface
here's one designed just for guitar- same price, but a bit simpler:
Behringer Guitar Link UCG102 USB Audio Interface
And it doesn't get any cheaper or simpler than this:
Behringer Line2USB Stereo 1/4 inch Line to USB Audio Interface
(I know there's a lot of anti-Behringer bias out there, and I understand that. I own a number of their products and they're all great, worth way more than they cost)
As for software, Reaper is indeed great (I use it myself - well worth $60), but may be overkill for what you're wanting to do. Audacity is simpler and free:
Download
I have one of these and it works great:
Behringer U-Phoria UM2 USB Audio Interface
here's one designed just for guitar- same price, but a bit simpler:
Behringer Guitar Link UCG102 USB Audio Interface
And it doesn't get any cheaper or simpler than this:
Behringer Line2USB Stereo 1/4 inch Line to USB Audio Interface
(I know there's a lot of anti-Behringer bias out there, and I understand that. I own a number of their products and they're all great, worth way more than they cost)
As for software, Reaper is indeed great (I use it myself - well worth $60), but may be overkill for what you're wanting to do. Audacity is simpler and free:
Download
