Please correct me if I’m wrong (I didn’t read all the posts) but I think OP doesn’t have any decent computer right now...?
Agreed on the other points. Good cheap laptop or even tower (PC), Focusrite AI and Bandlab Sonar...
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.
What Exactly Do You Need For Recording?
- Thread starter Mr Cheese
- Start date
Agreed on the other points. Good cheap laptop or even tower (PC), Focusrite AI and Bandlab Sonar...
I wondered about that, rescanned the earlier posts, and didn't see anything specific. But absolutely, you need to have something functional. And hey, if you need an excuse to buy a new XPS, it's good for a lot of other stuff too!
You can absolutely run recording and performance software on a generic home PC or laptop. But if you are at all serious, or even mildly obsessive, you're going to want to be able to count on it "just working", and not having gaps and pops in your recordings. And you will find that pretty much anybody's "normal" Mac or PC has enough tasks running around in the background, doing terribly useful things like checking your printer's ink level, keeping itself up-to-date, and calling home for instructions from time to time, that recording with usefully low latency isn't terribly reliable. It's maddening to be laying down a perfect take and ghhhkkkkhhh...p! something grabs the processor and goes off to a log file somewhere. Even with an extremely badass laptop, I have to go through the ritual checklist of shutting down non-vital services to make it rock solid. Doing and undoing that repeatedly is really tedious, so I long ago separated my personal computer from my DAW.
How have I managed to avoid this with Reaper on an eight-year-old PC on its last legs? Just luck? I’m not challenging you here; but through no diligence or vigilance of my own, I have never run into this. I would rather not count on luck continuing.
Here's how I do it.
Bass>Boss GT1B>computer. I'm using Audacity for the DAW. I run the output on the Boss to my amp as a monitor, and use the USB cord to feed the signal to the laptop. Sounds great, with passive basses, and I have all the effects I need right there.
Bass>Boss GT1B>computer. I'm using Audacity for the DAW. I run the output on the Boss to my amp as a monitor, and use the USB cord to feed the signal to the laptop. Sounds great, with passive basses, and I have all the effects I need right there.
Yeah, me neither. I find the audio interface takes the load off the PC. Im using a cheap hp desktop computer i bought at Walmart 6 years ago to record with just fine. zero upgrades, and its a cheap box. No pops, drops, or issues. I dont think you need these beefy boxes anymore like the old days. These audio interfaces these days are pretty stellar. I also use reaper. Maybe its because the recordings I do a super simple, usually just few tracks, and nothing too elaborate.
If you don’t use a computer like my son, ie downloading a bunch of crapware that makes the machine sluggish with hundred of processes in the background, you should be good with a run-of-the-mill PC decently recent. The audio interface quality is also really important. Hence the mentioned Focusrite interfaces. They aren’t RME but they are known to be working ok in a lot of different configurations.
Personally, audio interface wise, I would avoid everything under the Native Komplete Audio 6 in the chart at the end of my (sorry...) loooong post 
Keep in mind that not all those interfaces are still in production and some newer ones could’ve be or hadn’t be tested. The result is a mix with low Round Trip Latency and driver efficiency. As an example, you could have an interface going down to 32 samples buffer yielding 2ms RTL but you couldn’t play anything with two tracks without clicks and pops= worthless even if RTL is low.
On the other end, as an example again, an AI with 64 buffers and 4ms but able to play a zillion tracks=wonderful. A little bit of exaggeration but I guess you get the point.
You’ll rarely see someone mentioning performance problems with RME as they are cream of the crop. In house driver development but even an used Babyface could be pricey.
Focusrite and company: you’ll see a couple of bad reports but they are way cheaper and drivers are developed by one or two of the same external firms. To my knowledge (I could be wrong), only RME and Lynx have in-house driver developers.
For the record, I’ve used without problems in this list:
- Presonus Quantum 2626: you need a Thunderbolt 3 port and direct monitoring isn’t possible, you absolutely need a DAW to monitor. It doesn’t bother me as the RTL is so low and efficiency so great that it’s far the best cheap « sound card » (relatively speaking) at this time;
- Focusrite Scarlett range (2i2 and 18i20 second gen, avoid first generation);
- Roland Quad and Octa: I still use my OctaCapture to record kid’s choir or projects with my MacBook Pro and Reaper;
- Native Instruments KA6: the interface that my principal bought for me at school back in 2013;
- Not on this list, an Edirol FA-66 FireWire. Avoid FireWire as this protocol is kind of obsolete.
Keep in mind that not all those interfaces are still in production and some newer ones could’ve be or hadn’t be tested. The result is a mix with low Round Trip Latency and driver efficiency. As an example, you could have an interface going down to 32 samples buffer yielding 2ms RTL but you couldn’t play anything with two tracks without clicks and pops= worthless even if RTL is low.
On the other end, as an example again, an AI with 64 buffers and 4ms but able to play a zillion tracks=wonderful. A little bit of exaggeration but I guess you get the point.
You’ll rarely see someone mentioning performance problems with RME as they are cream of the crop. In house driver development but even an used Babyface could be pricey.
Focusrite and company: you’ll see a couple of bad reports but they are way cheaper and drivers are developed by one or two of the same external firms. To my knowledge (I could be wrong), only RME and Lynx have in-house driver developers.
For the record, I’ve used without problems in this list:
- Presonus Quantum 2626: you need a Thunderbolt 3 port and direct monitoring isn’t possible, you absolutely need a DAW to monitor. It doesn’t bother me as the RTL is so low and efficiency so great that it’s far the best cheap « sound card » (relatively speaking) at this time;
- Focusrite Scarlett range (2i2 and 18i20 second gen, avoid first generation);
- Roland Quad and Octa: I still use my OctaCapture to record kid’s choir or projects with my MacBook Pro and Reaper;
- Native Instruments KA6: the interface that my principal bought for me at school back in 2013;
- Not on this list, an Edirol FA-66 FireWire. Avoid FireWire as this protocol is kind of obsolete.
Last edited:
If all you are doing is recording audio, I'm not too surprised. I am probably an outlier in my DAW usage - I do multi-track arrangements with lots of computationally expensive synths (physical modeling stuff) and effects, in real-time, with low latency ('cos I'm overdubbing and tracking). But it was pretty recently that I needed to replace my oldest laptop DAW, a Lenovo Windows 7 machine, and I found an amazingly powerful Dell/Alienware configuration - a gaming laptop where I chose the least expensive graphics option, 'cos I ain't playin' no games. It screams running complex audio processing, and I figured I could finally relax about keeping it a stripped-down installation, but empirically I could not. After running though this and a similar checklist:
Invalid Link Removed
It's been rock-solid. Not everyone needs to be as radical as I am, but it remains true that the usual Mac/PC setup, with lots of accessories and helpful background tasks, runs a lot of code that is not very friendly to real-time audio.
@Sid Fang : networking, antivirus and Wifi are often the most offenders. Great guide by Presonus BTW.
However, the old days of 100 tweaks for PC audio DAW are, in my point of view, now useless. Sure, with a Dell, HP or any branded PC, one must disable all the proprietary included software at least.
There are also reports of some GPU drivers causing mess in the audio real-time processing. I almost always rely on the Microsoft certified drivers that comes with Windows instead of downloading/installing big packages from AMD or Nvidia.
Sometimes, USB2 real ports (almost disappeared by this day) are the best ones for USB audio interfaces. Nowadays, almost all machines come with only USB3 ports. Better using the Intel ones (there are sometimes Renesas or others add on chips) in case you choose an Intel CPU obviously...
However, the old days of 100 tweaks for PC audio DAW are, in my point of view, now useless. Sure, with a Dell, HP or any branded PC, one must disable all the proprietary included software at least.
There are also reports of some GPU drivers causing mess in the audio real-time processing. I almost always rely on the Microsoft certified drivers that comes with Windows instead of downloading/installing big packages from AMD or Nvidia.
Sometimes, USB2 real ports (almost disappeared by this day) are the best ones for USB audio interfaces. Nowadays, almost all machines come with only USB3 ports. Better using the Intel ones (there are sometimes Renesas or others add on chips) in case you choose an Intel CPU obviously...
@Sid Fang ... again:
My actual Hackintosh (Mojave) Gigabyte Designare Z390 - i7 9700k - 32gb RAM - Radeon RX560 - two SATA SSD’s, one for Win10 and the other for Mojave - is the most powerful, stable and silent machine I ever had. As I don’t do big projects with a lot of hungry CPU sofsynths or orchestral tracking, but only acoustic multi tracking, I’ll be fine for the next 10 years. Overkill but what a machine!
Samples (Kontakt) are streamed from an external Samsung USB-C (SATA speed in reality) and the machine doesn’t even break a sweat by me banging all keys on my MIDI controller with 32 samples buffer (1.9 ms RTL). If it crackles a bit because I add fx’s or more tracks, Reaper is quite flexible as I can put any buffer value to stay in a good RTL range (48, 96,...).
My actual Hackintosh (Mojave) Gigabyte Designare Z390 - i7 9700k - 32gb RAM - Radeon RX560 - two SATA SSD’s, one for Win10 and the other for Mojave - is the most powerful, stable and silent machine I ever had. As I don’t do big projects with a lot of hungry CPU sofsynths or orchestral tracking, but only acoustic multi tracking, I’ll be fine for the next 10 years. Overkill but what a machine!
Samples (Kontakt) are streamed from an external Samsung USB-C (SATA speed in reality) and the machine doesn’t even break a sweat by me banging all keys on my MIDI controller with 32 samples buffer (1.9 ms RTL). If it crackles a bit because I add fx’s or more tracks, Reaper is quite flexible as I can put any buffer value to stay in a good RTL range (48, 96,...).
Bass >>>instrument cable>>>interface>>>>usb cable(supplied with interface)>>>Computer>>>Audio program of your choice.
An important question is what are you going to record or what type of genre? If you want to record vocals and/or acoustic guitar a decent condenser mic is required. If you are planning to write EDM and rap then you might want to look at purchasing virtual instruments that are suited for those genres.
There are many interfaces from 1 input to numerous inputs. If you are planning on recording drums many more inputs are required.
Just a heads up the learning curve is really steep at the beginning. Youtube wasn't around when I started. Audio software is huge and can be overwhelming. As soon as you are able to load a track and press record do it. Don't worry about effects, EQ , gain reduction, editing, bussing, compression, panning, mixing etc. All this stuff just bogs down new users. You will learn something new every time you complete a project.
An important question is what are you going to record or what type of genre? If you want to record vocals and/or acoustic guitar a decent condenser mic is required. If you are planning to write EDM and rap then you might want to look at purchasing virtual instruments that are suited for those genres.
There are many interfaces from 1 input to numerous inputs. If you are planning on recording drums many more inputs are required.
Just a heads up the learning curve is really steep at the beginning. Youtube wasn't around when I started. Audio software is huge and can be overwhelming. As soon as you are able to load a track and press record do it. Don't worry about effects, EQ , gain reduction, editing, bussing, compression, panning, mixing etc. All this stuff just bogs down new users. You will learn something new every time you complete a project.
One thing to consider here is fan noise. I have a tower I built for video editing. It is a processing monster, but like any monster it has a lot of cooling and fans. For Premier work, who cares? But I am glad it is not in my recording studio which serves as a computer work space as well as my recording space.
The good thing about laptops is that they are for the most part silent.
Yesterday, my new Lenovo Legion 5 arrived. I will start a new thread on building my new workstation.
My tower is dead quiet even when the CPU is working hard. Thanks to the good CPU cooler, the quiet fans inside my Fractal Design case and Q-Fan Gigabyte technology. My video card fan doesn’t spin unless it goes over 55 Celsius degrees.
The PSU, the same: fan doesn’t spin unless computer is working really hard and even then, it’s really quiet. It’s the quietest PC I ever had.
Not all towers are equal in the noise department.
Some devices some folks already have can be used as a recording interface. The NuX NBP-5 and HX Stomp, for example. I'm currently using my HX Stomp as both my bass in and audio out. Works great.
AMD is NOT recommended or supported by Pro Tools.For gaming...?
AMD came back strong in the last years!
Oh, sorry, I was talking about your laptop. I believed it was an AMD but it appears that the Legion come with Intel or AMD. Yours will be Intel?
