quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
You're looking for "digital audio workstation" (DAW) software.

The best one that isn't super expensive is Reaper, which has a generous free trial period. The full version is $60. It's a very well-done piece of software.

ALL DAW software has a very steep learning curve, though.

quote:

Originally posted by two-two-niner-romeo:
Another big fan of Reaper here.

We use a Presonus StudioLive 32SX digital mixer which records our jam sessions onto an SD card. I take the card home and plug it into my computer and mix the songs down in Reaper.

The Reaper website features excellent instructional videos and a forum that's like SigForum for audio guys. The program does just about everything that ProTools can do, but for a fraction of ProTools price.

quote:

Originally posted by Chance:
I like and use Reaper but mostly I am an Ableton Live user now. It is both a DAW and a performance tool.

https://www.ableton.com/en/

For quick and dirty recording you can also use Audacity. It is a audio editor so not in the same league as a DAW but I have grabbed some pretty good recordings using it.

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
ALL DAW software has a very steep learning curve, though.

I already was very well acquainted with using analog multi-track recording equipment, and I found the three pieces pf software I've used for digital multi-track recording very intuitive.

Steinberg's Wavelab is extremely user friendly.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:

quote:

Originally posted by synthplayer:

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
ALL DAW software has a very steep learning curve, though.

I already was very well acquainted with using analog multi-track recording equipment, and I found the three pieces pf software I've used for digital multi-track recording very intuitive.

Steinberg's Wavelab is extremely user friendly.

Well, yes. If you already know how to do multitrack recording on old-school recording equipment, the digital multitrack recording part of DAW software that's modeled on the old equipment will be pretty familiar.

I really meant the learning curve is steep if you're starting from scratch.

Also, there's a lot more that you can do in a DAW than just recording... all kinds of processing and software instruments and stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig:
I've done a fair amount of recording on Apple computers using a USB interface. Some of it was live performance taken from the mixer, most of it was in the home studio track by track. I use Logic Pro, the Apple DAW. It costs $200. Apple's Garage Band is a free app that is essentially a dumbed down version of Logic Pro, meaning the look and feel is quite similar. Prior to that I had a Windows PC and ran a Cakewalk product.

While I am quite happy with the Apple DAWs, they do have their own terminology and layout. I found the Cakewalk DAW much more intuitive. If you have an Apple computer I would start with Garage Band since it is free, with the idea of upgrading to Logic Pro in the future.

Changing DAW requires learning new terminology and key commands.

I highly HIGHLY recommend doing the Music Production courses from Berklee College of Music on Coursera.org . https://www.coursera.org/speci...ons/music-production The approach is for you on your own equipment to learn how to set up the software (sampling rate, inputs, outputs, minimize latency, etc), how to flow the signal through the DAW, and how to get the best sounding results. I learned a ton from the course. And best of all it is FREE.