Working on my new setup

[Eric_G]

Went loose on Black Friday and decided to setup sort of a recording station. I ordered:

- Acer laptop (Awaiting delivery)
- Two LG 24” screens
- Computer table
- Docking station
- Focusrite 2i2
- KRK monitors (Awaiting delivery)
- Shure 58 mic
- Boom mic stand and all the required cables….



I got what was delivered setup, everything works… Now awaiting for the laptop and the KRK monitors. Did a quick test with my office laptop to make sure screens were working… all good. Got the focusrite 2i2 and the SM58 working through my headphones…

Looking forward to receive the new laptop and monitors… and install Ableton Live lite (comes with the focusrite, I think) and start trying to put a track together !

 

[simoncroft]

Thank God! I thought it was going to be yet another thread on suggested string heights for a Strat set-up.

Nice new gear you've ordered. If you don't especially gel with Ableton Live, there are plenty of alternatives that I feel are possibly better suited to the guitar-playing fraternity. Harrison MixBus regularly comes up at discounted prices, (like bundles with extra plug-ins for $80) if you sign up for their newsletter. There's also Ardour, the platform MixBus is based on, and Reaper. The last two are open source and will cost you so little, you might as well pick whichever suits you best.

 

[Eric_G]

Thank God! I thought it was going to be yet another thread on suggested string heights for a Strat set-up.

Nice new gear you've ordered. If you don't especially gel with Ableton Live, there are plenty of alternatives that I feel are possibly better suited to the guitar-playing fraternity. Harrison MixBus regularly comes up at discounted prices, (like bundles with extra plug-ins for $80) if you sign up for their newsletter. There's also Ardour, the platform MixBus is based on, and Reaper. The last two are open source and will cost you so little, you might as well pick whichever suits you best.

Thanks for the recommendation...

I think Ableton Lite comes with the focusrite, but there may also be other software/extension included. The only laptop I have is my corporate laptop and I don't want to install any recording stuff on it. So once the new laptop is delivered, I'll complete the Focusrite registration that I believe include a wizard for all recording software/extension download and licensing.

I'll see what I get from there... this is just for fun, so obviously I'm not contemplating upgrading Ableton, so your open source/cheaper suggestion may be of interest pretty soon.

 

[pazman6]

Nice. You are heading down a slippery slope - it can become addictive and you have never had GAS like recording GAS. For a DAW, I would recommend checking out Cakewalk by Bandlab.
https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk
I have been using it for over 15 years. 100% free - used to be $500 when Gibson owned it and it was called Sonar. Mixbus and Studio One look and perform very similar to Cakewalk (like a real mixer), but I have always gone back to Cakewalk - can't beat the price of $0 and it has no limitations and includes all the plugins you need to get started. You might also check out the free version of Presonus Studio One - I would use it if Cakewalk didn't exist - pretty cool DAW as well.

 

[Eric_G]

Nice. You are heading down a slippery slope - it can become addictive and you have never had GAS like recording GAS. For a DAW, I would recommend checking out Cakewalk by Bandlab.
https://www.bandlab.com/products/cakewalk
I have been using it for over 15 years. 100% free - used to be $500 when Gibson owned it and it was called Sonar. Mixbus and Studio One look and perform very similar to Cakewalk (like a real mixer), but I have always gone back to Cakewalk - can't beat the price of $0 and it has no limitations and includes all the plugins you need to get started. You might also check out the free version of Presonus Studio One - I would use it if Cakewalk didn't exist - pretty cool DAW as well.

Thanks for the info, a friend of mine recommended Studio One, he talked of joining Presonus Sphere to do collaboration... not sure if I would go that far.

Do all DAW allow to build midi track such as drums/piano/etc ? I saw how Ableton allow to do that, and it's one interesting feature if the recording isn't done over a back track...

 

[crankmeister]

Ableton came with my Keylab61 midi board, too. From what I've read, Ableton looks strange to people who have been using other DAWs for a while. I haven't tried it yet myself because I'm still getting the hang of DAWs period and have just been getting into Studio One.

I don't much see the point of any DAW if it can't create midi tracks of whatever instrument you want (whether the plugins are built into the DAW already or you had to purchase or import them from elsewhere). Plenty of people make music in DAWs without even knowing how to play an instrument much at all.

 

[Dick Blackmore]

Thank God! I thought it was going to be yet another thread on suggested string heights for a Strat set-up.

Nice new gear you've ordered. If you don't especially gel with Ableton Live, there are plenty of alternatives that I feel are possibly better suited to the guitar-playing fraternity. Harrison MixBus regularly comes up at discounted prices, (like bundles with extra plug-ins for $80) if you sign up for their newsletter. There's also Ardour, the platform MixBus is based on, and Reaper. The last two are open source and will cost you so little, you might as well pick whichever suits you best.

Measured at the 17 fret it should be ... oh wait... \m/ \m/

 

[pazman6]

Thanks for the info, a friend of mine recommended Studio One, he talked of joining Presonus Sphere to do collaboration... not sure if I would go that far.

Do all DAW allow to build midi track such as drums/piano/etc ? I saw how Ableton allow to do that, and it's one interesting feature if the recording isn't done over a back track...

I am sure most DAWs do. Cakewalk comes with a Drum Program similar to EZ Drummer/Addictive Drums where you can create your own drum patterns using midi or their sequencer. Works great for making drum tracks to jam too plus you can drop in pre-made drum midi patterns. Lots of samples out there to substitute for the included ones if you want a different drum sound. Also lets you send each piece in the drum kit to a channel so you can individually process them - eq/compression/ etc if you are into that stuff. Plenty of free soft synth plugins out there to get you pianos, organs, synthesizers, orchestral instruments, etc - all you need is a midi surface/keyboard and you are ready to go.

 

[Stone]

- Acer laptop (Awaiting delivery)
- Two LG 24” screens
- Computer table
- Docking station
- Focusrite 2i2
- KRK monitors (Awaiting delivery)
- Shure 58 mic
- Boom mic stand and all the required cables….

Missing and a Cold Beer

 

[Eric_G]

Missing and a Cold Beer

That's always in stock, look at the right of the right screen... there's a little Molson Dry there that was consumed while building the desk and the setup...

 

[Stone]

That's always in stock, look at the right of the right screen... there's a little Molson Dry there that was consumed while building the desk and the setup...

haha yes why I mentioned in your list Beer was not listed lol

 

[Eric_G]

haha yes why I mentioned in your list Beer was not listed lol

That's because they don't deliver I would have a recuring order setup !

 

[Eric_G]

Ableton came with my Keylab61 midi board, too. From what I've read, Ableton looks strange to people who have been using other DAWs for a while. I haven't tried it yet myself because I'm still getting the hang of DAWs period and have just been getting into Studio One.

I don't much see the point of any DAW if it can't create midi tracks of whatever instrument you want (whether the plugins are built into the DAW already or you had to purchase or import them from elsewhere). Plenty of people make music in DAWs without even knowing how to play an instrument much at all.

I looked at Ableton tutorial videos, seems pretty straight forward to me... but I'm technology savvy and have absolutely zero reference when it comes to DAW. If Studio One and other are more intuitive, I guess it will be even easier. I'll look at many of them for sure, as long as I don't have to extend cash... until I make a decision.

 

[simoncroft]

Ableton came with my Keylab61 midi board, too. From what I've read, Ableton looks strange to people who have been using other DAWs for a while. I haven't tried it yet myself because I'm still getting the hang of DAWs period and have just been getting into Studio One.

I don't much see the point of any DAW if it can't create midi tracks of whatever instrument you want (whether the plugins are built into the DAW already or you had to purchase or import them from elsewhere). Plenty of people make music in DAWs without even knowing how to play an instrument much at all.

Yes, I'd say the Ableton is atypical, if composing and recording your own music is your goal.

At the risk of going off-topic, I can't begin to tell you how peed-off I get on YT and FB being confronted with promo videos for music composing products that emphasise how I can be totally inept/untutored/just generally totally lazy and still get great results by dragging-and-dropping MIDI chords. Sorry, but I haven't put in 55 years of ground work in order to produce the equivalent of Painting By Numbers.

Ableton is probably the market leader in the d-n-d loops approach to making music. But this approach has been creeping into DAWs that were originally aimed at musicians who could actually play their chosen instruments. Even Logic Pro X now has a Grid View, where you can assemble something that sounds like an original composition, just by pulling in short snippets of music played by real musicians.

 

[Eric_G]

Yes, I'd say the Ableton is atypical, if composing and recording your own music is your goal.

At the risk of going off-topic, I can't begin to tell you how peed-off I get on YT and FB being confronted with promo videos for music composing products that emphasise how I can be totally inept/untutored/just generally totally lazy and still get great results by dragging-and-dropping MIDI chords. Sorry, but I haven't put in 55 years of ground work in order to produce the equivalent of Painting By Numbers.

Ableton is probably the market leader in the d-n-d loops approach to making music. But this approach has been creeping into DAWs that were originally aimed at musicians who could actually play their chosen instruments. Even Logic Pro X now has a Grid View, where you can assemble something that sounds like an original composition, just by pulling in short snippets of music played by real musicians.

Wait are you insinuating that all the gear I bought won't let me match your 55 years of experience !??!?!?!?

That's it, I'm returning everything back !!!!

Joking aside, speakers came in today... I was afraid that they wouldn't fit on the desk with the two 24" screens... but no, it's a tight fit but it works...



Now all I need is the new laptop... and the DAW testing and installation journey will start...

Also discovered today that I can use my Roland FP-10 over Bluetooth as a midi input !!! That will be also fun !