Recording software recommendations

[Andrew Milner]

Hello one and all!
I’ve been using Audacity to record my songs for as long as I can remember, but I had a friend who is in a band tell me that this program tends to not produce very good sound quality when exporting the final product as a playable file.
Now I’ve been very pleased with Audacity, with it being free and all. I was wondering if anyone knew if the concern my friend raised is true and if so, what other program would you recommend me? Preferably also free, but I also welcome premium program suggestions as well.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Ed Seith]

Reaper. It’s a genuinely professional DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). You can use a full-featured version free for 3 months, and it’s then $60 US for the full version, which comes with two full-version upgrades, as well. So, with them on Reaper 5.7 (I think), you would not have to purchase again until Reaper 7 came out. I bought V4.2, I think, in 2012? Still haven’t had to pay for a new version. Well worth it.
http://reaper.fm

 

[Ryan Athey]

+1 on reaper
Look into getting quality midi drums like EZDrummer 2.
And as with everything else, practice

 

[Andrew Milner]

Thank you for the answers!
I’ll be sure to give Reaper a try.

 

[Ed Seith]

EZDrummer is incredible if you write and record your own stuff. Indispensable, and light years ahead of the awful crap drum machines we used to have to use.

 

[Steven Huth]

Thank you Ed! I’ve been looking for some kind of drumming software for quite some time. I’ll definitely check it out.

 

[Steven Huth]

Any reccomendations on recording video as well? How do you guys mix the video and audio?

 

[Ed Seith]

Sorry, I’m pre-YouTube old-school. I think Reaper works for video editing, as well, though.

 

[Andrew Milner]

EZDrummer seems like a nifty tool. I think I’m gonna stick with Guitar Pro 6 for the moment, as it allows me to write both the bass and drums and it was a nice X-Mas gift I received last year.

 

[Ed Seith]

I actually often use GP6 for writing out drum parts if I want to do something specific and/or weird, but I then use the EZDrummer plug in on a track in Reaper to import that drum part and make it sound real.

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

The gold standard for professionals is still ProTools, but it is pricey, (with a good interface). I’m starting to see Logic Pro used in studios. Since Yamaha bought Cubase, it’s actually making a nice comeback – after 20 years of being kind of a joke. I know a few die-hard Ableton Live users as well.
I agree with Ed Seith – dollar for dollar – it’s hard to beat Reaper. Just bear in mind – the most important piece of recording gear you will own will be your interface.
And there is no cheap way around that. You will never get a pro-level recording with a $100 interface.

 

[Steven Huth]

Any good recommendations on an interface? I honestly don’t need too many inputs at the moment. I just want something that can make the videos I post on here sound better than just using a phone microphone lol. I’ve got experience with ProTools, but will definitely check out what everyone mentioned so far.
Thanks for the replies as well!

 

[Ed Seith]

FocusRite Scarlett series is a solid home interface with decent DACs and a nice preamp.

 

[Ekrem Taha Ünlü]

I’m using Reaper and Cubase. Reaper is just awesome.

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

Ed nailed it again. Hard to beat Focusrite for the price.

 

[Brandon Ortiz]

Reaper. It sounds cool to say.

 

[Art Kalenda]

There is also Presonus Audio iOne you can check out as an interface.Ed mentioned Ezdrummer from Toontrack and i agree,it is definitely a great investment for recording.

 

[Andrew Milner]

Thanks again for the answers guys. It’s something to look forward to once I have enough stuff I want to record.