ShortScale.org

as some sort of therapy, i've been thinking it's time to get a recording setup again and start writing my own songs. maybe even contribute to a ss comp.

been out the loop for a while, so not sure whats good to go for. yesterday i treated myself to a new macbook pro. Was thinking of getting it a while ago, but was waiting for my old faithful macbook to conk out.

spec-wise it's got 8gb ram, 256gb SSD (though have NAS drive for network storage) and 2.4ghz i5.

so think the computer side is fine for handling recording.

it's the hardware/software side i'm not sure of. garageband is ok for now, though tempted to get back in with logic or pro tools.

something that would handle a guitar input and a mic if need be. did think of one of the focus rite packs where you get the mic, headphones and interface with some light version of DAW.

Worth giving Reaper a look. You can use the full version for free on an unlimited trial basis and if you do want to purchase it is much, much cheaper than any similar DAW.

I've got a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 (probably more inputs than it sounds you are after) which I am happy with. The version of Ableton it came with was pretty crippled for my uses (yours might obviously be different) and I didn't really like it enough to want to purchase a full version.

What's your budget for interface / mic etc?

not sure on budget yet, but probably no more that £150-£200 max.

thinking of one of the two focusrite bundles where you get a mic, headphones and interface. think there's a bundle with the scarlett 2i2 thats around £179-£199.

i've always like the mbox, but they're well pricey. been playing around with garageband, the newer version seems a lot more like logic, so might stick with that as a DAW for now.

I'm using an mbox mini which I like- recommend you save up for an Apogee Duet. That's my next step.

jculpjr wrote:I'm using an mbox mini which I like- recommend you save up for an Apogee Duet. That's my next step.

The duet is killer. I went from an mbox to a duet and the difference is night and day. Find a used duet 1, they go for like $250 here which is like £140... Worth it. You'd have better results with a really good interface and just using GarageBand than splitting the difference between a lesser interface and a better DAW.

christ that duet it quite pricey. might try and score an older m-box. though i'll have to get a thunderbolt to firewire adapter.

I used an original M-Box for years with great results via Pro Tools LE. Loved the plug-ins available and the classic Pro Tools workflow. Just a solid set up overall.

Much like you, I have upgraded... Now I have a 1 year old Macbook Pro running 10.9. There are ways to get the old M-Box to work with the current OS (using soundflower), but it's a total pain and somewhat "buggy."

I have started messing with a more stripped down set up: an Apogee Jam into Garageband. The results are surprisingly good, and the same set up can be used with an iPhone or iPad for quick takes anywhere.

I will probably get another interface at some point, but for now I'm satisfied.

Have also heard good things about Reaper and will definitely give it a try at some point. For some reason I could never get excited about Logic, despite liking Garageband.