I believe Logic license gets you thru 3 main (not point) upgrades, then you have to pony up again after that.
And, FWIW, I think Reaper gives you 5 main releases and then requires you to renew your license.
Last edited:
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.
Thinking about getting a DAW. Recommendations for a beginner?
- Thread starter mjcarp79
- Start date
And, FWIW, I think Reaper gives you 5 main releases and then requires you to renew your license.
just take a breath, it's not impossible or none of us would have been able to figure it out. If you have reasonable computer skills, you should be able to figure out the basics with assistance from Google searches or whatever online community Cakewalk has these days.
I'm not a Cakewalk user, so I can't help you off hand. but here are some links I found in about 3 seconds of searching:
Usually, once you open the DAW (Cakewalk) you need to create a new session or project (or whatever Cakewalk calls it).
Here is some guidance on doing this:
Cakewalk - SONAR Documentation - Creating a new project
Then you create a track (Ctrl T does this in Reaper) .... if you do that correctly, you should see an open working track where you can load a WAV or MP3 file
Here is some guidance for that process:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
You can usually drag and drop files into this working track.
here is guidance on how to load a WAV or MP3 file into your new project track
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Once you have the first track, then create another track to put your bass part on.
Once your ready with all of that, hit the record button and away you go .... again, Cakewalk documentation is readily available online.
Don't sweat it, you'll get it after doing the process for a while. We did warn you that there is a learning curve, but its not that crazy ... really
good luck and just keep asking questions
Reaper: two releases. I’ve renewed my license when 5 appeared and it’s fine until they publish 7. Mind you, it’s one of the most generous offer in the DAW world and they update regularly. Cheap too and the help forum is their support line. The devs often answer to the users directly.
It’s also low-resource and light. The same big Kontakt patch (Embertone Walker D, beautiful piano but put my DAW computer on its knees!) plays without crackles in Reaper but clicks’n’pops in Studio One with the same buffer size and audio interface.
BTW, their two releases are 5-6 years apart… A lot of mileage for 60 bucks.
Reaper v7 Arrival Date - Cockos Incorporated Forums
Last edited:
This is exactly why I have decided to wave the white flag on getting an audio interface and working with a DAW. Ridiculous amounts of information (that I don’t understand) and I refuse to get tangled in the frustration, let alone spending cash on something I will probably either end up giving away or throwing across the room (most likely the latter).
I did lots of research on this and decided that considering this (for me at least) would be a huge mistake and reward me with nothing more than expanding my expletive vocabulary, giving my current HBP meds a true test, and putting me in a rotten, pissed off mood.
At least I’m wise enough to have some foresight on my shortcomings of comprehending technical jargon and my lack of patience.
One way to do things and get your foot in the door would be to start very simple. You can get a small digital recorder, I use a Tascam DR05 to record band practices (I've had it for years). The latest version is the DR05x, they are under $100. You can record yourself and save the files to your computer, they will be in .wav format. You can use a free audio editor like Audacity to work with the tracks you create. Audacity will work with a USB interface as well it's bare bones simple and it will give you the basics for working with audio tracks.
Audacity is totally stripped down, no plugins, basic audio effects are built in and easy to use. I would compare it to Lego's before moving on to an Erector set (DAW). DAW's are overwhelming and they all have a learning curve. I can't remember if you were looking for a "quiet" solution or just to get into recording. The plus of the Digital recorder is you don't have to buy microphones or cables, some of the higher models do have line and instrument jacks (both Tascam and Zoom). Learning to work with audio tracks is going to be basic to any DAW. The good news is that once you start to get the concepts the learning curve levels out a bit...
Good luck, I think we all feel your pain here...
Audacity is totally stripped down, no plugins, basic audio effects are built in and easy to use. I would compare it to Lego's before moving on to an Erector set (DAW). DAW's are overwhelming and they all have a learning curve. I can't remember if you were looking for a "quiet" solution or just to get into recording. The plus of the Digital recorder is you don't have to buy microphones or cables, some of the higher models do have line and instrument jacks (both Tascam and Zoom). Learning to work with audio tracks is going to be basic to any DAW. The good news is that once you start to get the concepts the learning curve levels out a bit...
Good luck, I think we all feel your pain here...
So I guess your post from Friday asking for interface recommendations is no longer relevant
It’s ok, you don’t necessarily need a DAW to make music knowing that it’ll be a chore to wrap your head around!
Thank you so much for your insight and suggestions. I’m in a dark place now with playing and music. Fresh out of a band and thought I would try recording my own work. The last 2 bands I was in over the last 5 years had some idiots. Shocker! Sick of dealing with immaturity and musicians who aren’t very good. Sorry to sound haughty, but it’s the truth.
So… I thought I would start writing my own songs. After delving into what I was considering, and researching what’s involved, I decided to say poo-poo on the whole idea. Not worth the frustration… for me, anyhow.
I’m even starting to consider selling all my gear and picking up some other hobby. Just depressed and feel defeated. I NEVER thought I would ever be writing something like this. Music is my greatest passion. I guess not as great as I thought.
You don't have to jump in on the DAW deep end... start with something simple , like an old-school 4-channel multitrack recorder.
Zoom R12 MultiTrak Recorder with Touchscreen
Zoom R8 8-track SD Recorder / Interface /Sampler
TASCAM DP-006 6-Track Digital Pocketstudio
OK, those are more than 4 tracks.. but still very simple to work with!
Arm a track, hit record, play.
When done, arm the next track, hit record, play along.
Rinse and repeat, bounce tracks if necessary!
When you have a few elements done, do a mixdown. Voila! Creation
Zoom R12 MultiTrak Recorder with Touchscreen
Zoom R8 8-track SD Recorder / Interface /Sampler
TASCAM DP-006 6-Track Digital Pocketstudio
OK, those are more than 4 tracks.. but still very simple to work with!
Arm a track, hit record, play.
When done, arm the next track, hit record, play along.
Rinse and repeat, bounce tracks if necessary!
When you have a few elements done, do a mixdown. Voila! Creation
Last edited:
Any of those units would do the trick. I just looked up the Tascam DP-006 it has built in mic's, a inst. / line in jack, and a USB port to export your tracks to your computer. It gives you the option to multi-track yourself standalone (no computer). Or you can export the tracks to your computer and work with them with an easy tool like Audacity (add reverb, EG, etc...). It's very similar to the cassette versions that many of us cave dwellers learned on 
. The big plus with multi-track is you don't have to sync the tracks, you play along. Again you get the basics down and down the road you may want to add a small mixer where you can "send" your mixed 4-tracks to a track and keep adding parts (Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded on a 24 track system and they did about a 100 tracks on those vocals). It's always easier to learn DAW concepts once you understand the physical operations. And face it any band that does any recording will be using a DAW, it never hurts to have basic studio skills.
As for the band thing, bands are like relationships... just read a bit in the "Band Management" forum, you are definitely not alone. I quit playing for about 10 years in my 30's, now at 66 I play almost as much as did in my 20's and being able to put together a home studio has been a blessing. In the 70's and 80's it would have been completely out of reach to do what modern DAW and plugin software can do for a few hundred bucks and a PC (and the cost of hardware has really come down as well).
Not playing the "old Boomer" here, but I do smile whenever I find an old band practice cassette from back in the day, and our Digital recorder was basically a cassette boom box set on record in the back of the room.
It's all good, cheers
. The big plus with multi-track is you don't have to sync the tracks, you play along. Again you get the basics down and down the road you may want to add a small mixer where you can "send" your mixed 4-tracks to a track and keep adding parts (Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded on a 24 track system and they did about a 100 tracks on those vocals). It's always easier to learn DAW concepts once you understand the physical operations. And face it any band that does any recording will be using a DAW, it never hurts to have basic studio skills. As for the band thing, bands are like relationships... just read a bit in the "Band Management" forum, you are definitely not alone. I quit playing for about 10 years in my 30's, now at 66 I play almost as much as did in my 20's and being able to put together a home studio has been a blessing. In the 70's and 80's it would have been completely out of reach to do what modern DAW and plugin software can do for a few hundred bucks and a PC (and the cost of hardware has really come down as well).
Not playing the "old Boomer" here, but I do smile whenever I find an old band practice cassette from back in the day, and our Digital recorder was basically a cassette boom box set on record in the back of the room.
It's all good, cheers
I own a DP-008 Porta Studio. It’s at the guitar player’s house from the last band I was in. It didn’t end so pretty, so I have been putting off getting it back. That jerk will probably say something like, “I can’t seem to find it”.Any of those units would do the trick. I just looked up the Tascam DP-006 it has built in mic's, a inst. / line in jack, and a USB port to export your tracks to your computer. It gives you the option to multi-track yourself standalone (no computer). Or you can export the tracks to your computer and work with them with an easy tool like Audacity (add reverb, EG, etc...). It's very similar to the cassette versions that many of us cave dwellers learned on
As for the band thing, bands are like relationships... just read a bit in the "Band Management" forum, you are definitely not alone. I quit playing for about 10 years in my 30's, now at 66 I play almost as much as did in my 20's and being able to put together a home studio has been a blessing. In the 70's and 80's it would have been completely out of reach to do what modern DAW and plugin software can do for a few hundred bucks and a PC (and the cost of hardware has really come down as well).
Not playing the "old Boomer" here, but I do smile whenever I find an old band practice cassette from back in the day, and our Digital recorder was basically a cassette boom box set on record in the back of the room.
It's all good, cheers
I remember struggling a bit with that device when trying to record songs I wrote. I’m pretty damn stupid, I guess!
You are not stupid. It’s just that for some, technology is easier and come naturally and for others, it’s like a foreign language…
You also have to be interested in something to learn. I like computer and software and it’s always a fun challenge for me to try to find a solution when I have a bug or don’t understand something.
When I first got back into recording I picked up a Tascam 8 channel Porta Studio, a DP-01 (it was few years before they were discontinued). Thinking it was going to the earlier Tascam cassette versions. It wasn't, the LED screen was small and everything was multi-function. I hated it and never really did much with it. I've worked as professional roadie and currently work as a computer systems engineer. Some gear is not intuitive for some people. In that same thought, just like guitar it takes work and doing it.
One of my favorite lines was when someone would ask me how I'd learned to play guitar, I'd say "one nice day I was laying in a field and a Leprechaun hit me on the head with a wand, and dang I could play..."
You might want to look for a nice field... cheers
Invalid Link Removed
One of my favorite lines was when someone would ask me how I'd learned to play guitar, I'd say "one nice day I was laying in a field and a Leprechaun hit me on the head with a wand, and dang I could play..."
You might want to look for a nice field...
cheers
You are right! I was just in a real negative-type of mood. I am going to retrieve my DP-008 and start recording. Thanks again!
