Basics of home recording part 2

The other purely hardware based system is basically a tone module on a PCI card, this area is dominated by the Yamaha SW1000XG. This soundcard not only has a full MU100 onboard and 12 hardware audio channels but also has the ability to be upgraded with plugin boards of classic Yamaha synths including the DX7, AN1x and VL70m. Second hand it is an absolute bargain. Software is usually eMagic Logic. or Stienberg Cubase. Cubase being the better option for beginners.

Purely software setups are becoming more and more popular and these days most people start with just software.

Phunkdust says: If you're just starting out and just want to "try-out" making music, start with some software. You can pick up something like Reason or Fruityloops which will cost you next to nothing and will provide many hours of enjoyment, as long as you have the CPU to support them.

For this sort of setup the processor should be as powerful as you can afford. Currently I’d recommend a Pentium 4 3GHz or more with the new hyper threading technology, but the 2.4GHz is great value if you’re on a tight budget. Also of importance is the RAM bandwidth this can be extended by going for one of the new Intel motherboards with dual channel DDR ram. Second hand, a good computer would be a Pentium 4 on a motherboard with RAMBUS RAM. Operating system here is dependant on the software but most of it works under Windows XP and use it if you can.

The software is a personal choice but Reason is very popular, its like a virtual studio and even looks like hardware. Cubase is a possibility by using VSTis. Reaktor is probably the most powerful in terms of sonic capabilities but has limited sequencing functions. Fruityloops is also popular because it is a full-featured VST-capable studio with a bunch of included instruments, samples, and FX. It is unfortunately let down by being unstable with some VST instruments, and a poor arrangement system.

A high quality audio interface here is preferable, for the lowest latency PCI cards are the best but USB interfaces are not useless. A great card is the M-Audio Delta 410. Having 10 outputs it is a really excellent value item leaving plenty of space to expand later. Although it doesn’t have a breakout box like the Delta 44 it’s cheaper and the breakout cable can cheaply replaced.

Of course setups may fall into more than one of these categories in which case it starts becoming a trade off in where the money goes in the computer. A common mix is to do a traditional DTMP with audio multi track capability, this can also be combined with the software style setup for the best of all the different options. This is where the SW1000XG shines, it is upgradeable with the plugstation from Kenton that allows for four expansion boards to be installed and for additional outputs to be added. Or with the DS2416 audio card adding a full digital mixer and enormous amounts of hardware dynamics and effects processors.

In most setups you will want a hardware controller. This can be a dedicated keyboard like a Roland PC70 or for the cheaper option an old synth with MIDI. Old synths can be found for under $100, the only feature you need to look for is that it that the keyboard has velocity.

Phunkdust says: I can not stress enough the importance of going to every garage sale, school fete, car-boot-sale and police auction you come across. As long as you have a bit of cash in your hand you can grab some amazing bargains. Juno 106 for $20 anybody? My most memorable find was a Yamaha DX7ii-D that I picked up at a garage sale for $50.

But the controller I’d recommend is the Ozone - it’s an Oxygen8 with a built in audio interface. So you get a 2 octave keyboard and 8 knobs plus a stereo in/out audio interface with a mic preamp. You could get away without a sound card for a long time with one of these.