Good 'inexpensive' home recording

I'd use both. Mixing on a Fostex isn't very visual. I find it easier to record, upload and mix on my pc.

Something like this for portable

http://www.music123.com/Sony-PCM-D50-Portable-Linear-PCM-Digital-Recorder-241731-i1371376.Music123

or this edirol

http://www.music123.com/Edirol-R-09-24-Bit-Wave-MP3-Recorder-241132-i1174901.Music123

I find I'm much more likely to record something if the recorder is small and very portable.

Mixing on your PC is pretty much free.

http://www.wavosaur.com/

http://www.dreamvortexstudio.co.uk/5627/

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

This one is about $50 US but it is an excellent tool:

http://www.download.com/ACID-Music-Studio/3000-2170_4-10498422.html

For work on the PC -- any choice but Reaper is pretty hard to justify unless you are trading tracks with a professional studio and need to use their file formats.

I've not used Reaper before, but it is the least CPU intensive, so that's a lways a boon.

Recording - Tascam 2488MKII - 24-track HD recorder with CD burner. Export to PC via USB, load into Audacity and amplify. I've also got a Tascam 414MKII, a 4-track cassettte recorder and got some good results from it but the sound comes out a bit hissy.

Good alternative - Boss Micro BR, 4-track costing about £150 - I've found out how to export as a WAV or MP3 file via USB.

A :-)

I've used 'em both, Reaper and Acid Music Studio and it's pretty much a toss up to me. They are very similar. Either one, you can't beat the price.

Do any of the packages mention offer pitch correction either as a included or a plugin, free or otherwise? I dont want to rely on it, but I have used it in the past for minor glitchs and it makes a world of difference.

Jim

You can get pitch correction as a vst. Melodyne makes one, but it's expensive, as is the Antares version. You can get Melodyne Uno for $199, works with a single track at a time. For the price of those I'd rather get the hardware version.

Here is a free one, I haven't tried it:

http://www.gvst.co.uk/gsnap.htm

There was another free one out there called Choralozoide, but I haven't been able to find it lately.

BTW, I forgot Kristal for mixing/editing

http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/

another excellent choice.

Make sure your sound card drivers are up to date, or get ASIO4ALL

http://www.asio4all.com/

You can get pitch correction as a vst. Melodyne makes one, but it's expensive. Here is a free one, I haven't tried it:

http://www.gvst.co.uk/gsnap.htm

Sweet, thanks Nick.. Not that I, um, need it.. Its for a friend. ;)

EDITED: I have been reading that Reaper has a plugin of some sort too.. After Robs post I began talking to the missus about creating a real studio in our home.. just a small room, and she's all for it. So I am appreciating this information

Jim

So the old Fostex or equivilent Tascam should be OK for our needs then? My computer is very basic (dial-up internet...I call it 'retro :lol: ) and it's already sluggish, so I'll try mixing on the unit & upgrade later if I need to, I guess (probably including a new computer... :oops: ). I have a room under the house that I'd like to set-up as a 'studio' but it has to double as 'The Pool Room' (for those of you that have seen 'the castle')...but that's gonna be too expensive.

If you want a great deal on an Fostex MR8 email me. I just don't use mine anymore.

Hey Nick - I'm a gumby when it comes to computers so I couldn't email you direct...
What kind of money were you thinking for your Fostex? Is it a CD or HD version? I'm in Australia so I don't know how easy it would be to organise. If you like you can email me at [email protected]
Cheers :D