I don't have any plans to try to do commercial recording this time, though. I'm doing some multi-tracking on my PC, using Cakewalk software. I used Cakewalk sequencing software before (when the company went by the name Twelve Tone), and liked it.

Yeah, those are my NFMs - the little Yamaha speakers by the monitor. They're used with a Radio Shack passive sub which the PC is sitting on top of. The powered JBL sub is in the corner, the post of the upper JBL is set in the sub.

HP e9120y Personal Computer

In September 2009 I upgraded my PC. I purchased the one I'd been using in January 2003. I had upgraded it some but it was basically maxed out due to motherboard limits. And, after getting Guitar Rig and trying to run it, the PC was just limited too much to put up with any more (it had 750M RAM, 1.67 GHz AMD CPU, IDE HD interface).

So...

I got a great deal on a refurbished (looks brand new to me and the warranty's the same) HP with a quad core AMD processor at 2.6 GHz, 8 G RAM, WIFI, FireWire, BluRay, SATA HD, etc. The only limitation was the 1 T hard drive only spins at 5400 RPM. So I added a 500 G 7200 RPM with 16M buffer hard drive for recording onto. I also picked up a LG 23" widescreen HD monitor which is great (I can have two text documents open side by side easily, and more importantly, I can have a lot of info showing in Sonar).

The new unit came with Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit OS and a free upgrade to Windows 7. I have to say, I didn't mind Vista even after the bad things I'd heard, but I assume it's due to the hardware it's running on. I wanted the 64 bit because Sonar works in 64 bit mode.

The PC worked fine - and is dedicated to my recording. The old PC is used for web surfing, etc. The only drawback was that the new PC only has PCI express card slots and the range of PCIe audio cards is or was limited. I tried a Creative Labs card (I used a SoundBlaster Audigy in the old PC and thought it was fine for what I do) but it wouldn't work (Creative even told me so) so I returned it.

PreSonus FireStudio Project

That started a quest for an external FireWire solution and PreSonus seemed to be the manufacturer with the most accolades and least gripes from the research I uncovered. So I tried a few of their units and finally settled on the PreSonus FireStudio Project (FSP).

I like this unit, but I haven't used any other manufacturer so can't really compare it. This has 10 channels of I/O (2 of which are S/PDIF). It came with a funky softwae mixer controller that I'm not enamored with but I can make it work.

The thing I have problems with is the recording latency. Even on my PC I have latency issues, especially if I'm tracking vocals or guitar that have to go through the FSP to the PC, get processed, then return to the FSP for monitoring. It ends up adding perhaps 20-30 milli-seconds which is enough to throw me off at times.

I do everything, well almost everything, using the PC. I do use an outboard mixer but only for tracking.

Here's the major software I use or have used:

• Cakewalk Sonar 8.5 Producer
• Cakewalk Sonar 8.3 Studio
• Native Instruments Guitar Rig 4
• Cakewalk Sonar LE
• Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro 3 (PC Based Multi-track recording software)
• Cakewalk Pyro Audio Creator
• Cakewalk Pyro 2003 MP3 Encoder
• Magix Music Studio Deluxe 10 (PC Based Multi-track recording software)

Cakewalk Sonar 8 Studio Edition

I picked this up (date unknown, early 2009) when Cakewalk offered a great price for upgrading (from either LE or Guitar Tracks). I couldn't pass it up, even though I wasn't doing much recording at the time.

This software is great, I have very few complaints. I still wish the toolbars were fully customizable (some menu items aren't available to be added to a toolbar). Creating and using default templates isn't as easy as I'd like (you can't set which template should be the default). But, I don't think I've had one instance where it's hung up (which happened often in the LE version, which was based on Sonar 6).

Native Instruments Guitar Rig 4 Pro

I added this to my setup in August, 2009. I am completely sold on this and can't say enough good things about it! I love it! Since getting it I rarely fire up the Marshall.

I originally got version 3 but Native Instruments sent me a coupon for a free upgrade to version 4. I liked version 3 well enough but version 4 is even better. I don't know how to explain it other than it just sounds better than 3. Smoother or something. All of the version 3 presets were imported to 4 so nothing was lost. I like this company and their products (I also use their free soft synth Kore which is amazing and free!).

I had used the Amplitube LE that came with Guitar Tracks and/or Sonar LE and didn't mind it but it was very limiting. So I had been using the DI out from the Marshall for recording most of my distorted guitar. Now I just use GR 4 and it's great - more amp sounds without worrying as much about levels. And, thanks to my MIDI controller (a Yamaha volume pedal hooked up to the MO6) I can even control the software Wah and Whammy or anything else - even AFTER the guitar is recorded. Too cool! You can record the guitar without wah or wammy and put it in later if you want it.

Cakewalk Sonar LE

I got this with my Allen & Heath Zed 14 (see below) on Christmas, 2007. The difference between this and Guitar Tracks is night and day as far as the sonic quality. I don't know why either - I'm guessing this is using a 64 bit enging and GT is 32, but it's only a guess.

I had never been interested in upgrading before but now I do plan to get the full blown version of Sonar Studio - mainly so that I can use more plugins. This version is limited to 24 plugins and it seems like I always want 25. Yeah, you can bounce a track and print the effects then remove the effect from the archived track, but then you loose any settings. I'd like to be able to do basically the same thing but leave the effect on the archived track, just turned off. I don't have a big PC to do a lot of processing anyway so the 24 or so limit will probably be a practical limit anyway.

The other thing this offered is the MIDI tracks and software synths. I have wanted to stay away from that too, but of course once I had it I had to play with it and now I'm adding keyboard tracks. And, it resulted in getting the E-Mu controller (see the Equipment > Other page).

This was a good thing and now it makes me wish I'd upgraded earlier.

Cakewalk GuitarTracks Pro 3 and MP3 Encoder

My impressions about GTPro: It's got some user interface quirks that I don't get (why can't I pick and choose which mixer channels are displayed rather than the preset configurations?). They make a big deal of the amp simulator, but provide very little documentation with it, and I don't use it anyway. I'd rather have had more drum loop samples.

The box and web boast about creating MP3 files, but the converter that comes with the package is only a 30 day demo, and then you have to spend another $30 or so to get a real license. Why not put that on the advertisement instead of misleading us? I use the Nero mp3 converter that came with my cd burner.

The software does not have any sequencing capability - any sequences must be done outside of GTPro and converted to wave files. There's a looping program, Frooty Loops, that's included, but again it's almost a demo version. You can't use multiple patterns at the same time, the UI is not the current version, etc. etc. Another cheap blow. There are other Cakewalk products that offer this, but why isn't in the guitar version?

The software effects work well, but when you attach one to a track, close it, then open it back up, the window does NOT open up with the settings that are applied to the track. What is that all about? If you've tweaked the settings but didn't save them, you won't know what they were. It seems kludgy to me that you have to switch between the mixer view and the edit view. Why not allow them both at the same time? There are a lot of times that I'd like to just change a track volume while in the edit view without switching between views and loosing track of what I'm doing in the edit view. Overall, it doesn't seem like this product is as good as I felt a Twelve Tone product would be.

Cakewalk Pyro 2003

I use this for encoding my mp3's and burning CD's (not exclusively for burning CD's, I do use other software for that as well). I like how you can batch convert file types based on a normal Windows folder and not some other limiting method imposed by Media Player. I don't like how I've paid for an mp3 converter from Cakewalk but it can't be accessed directly from Sonar. Seems like the developers of different products are just not talking to each other there; I've posted that suggestion years ago.

Magix Music Studio Deluxe

I recently got back in touch with my buddy Jimmer from my high school days. We started working together on "Without You", and since he has used Magix Music Studio with great success, I thought I'd give it a try too. There are some things about the Cakewalk editing that I like better (and Cakewalk supports ACID format which Magix doesn't) but Magix runs without problems (Cakewalk seems to hang quite often), it's faster (must load a lot less crap than Cakewalk). For the time being, I'm going to see what program I tend to use the most.

Randy, 2/20/2006

Update, 7/27/2006 - after trying to use this software on a few songs over the last 5 months, I just don't find it works for me. It's biggest drawbacks are the lack of Acid loop support and it's inability to snap to measure or beat boundaries. Compared to Cakewalk this makes every little task very time consuming if not impossible. I don't like the way it combines every clip on the same track into a single wav file even though they appear to be separate clips on the display. I only use this product to import the files from Jim and then export them into Cakewalk. (And remember, I don't think GTP3 is perfect either, but it's easier for the way I work.)

Allen & Heath Zed 14 Mixer

Nancy got me this for Christmas, 2007. What a great deal! This is just amazing for my purposes.

This has 6 mono channels with amazingly quiet preamps (I didn't realize how noisy the Behringer was until I got this). It has 4 stereo channels. It's got 4 aux busses (2 pre fader, 2 post), 3 band eq with a sweepable mid.

The cool things are the 100mm faders (sweet!) and the USB functionality. It seems to have good A/D converters, and I now send my audio from the mixer to the PC over USB (and back to the mixer from the PC via USB). And, it came with Sonar LE which has been a big improvement over Guitar Tracks. I plan to upgrade to a non-LE version in the near future (I upgraded in early 2009 to Sonar 8).

Now I have the ability to just leave all of my input sources hooked up and switch them off/on as needed. It makes my recordings sound better and easier to create.

Update, 7/19/2009 - I've switched back to recording again, from trying a live band. This time I've got even more stuff hooked up to the mixer and am just about maxed out even in my one man band shop. Now I've run a SM-58 (yeah it's more for vocals than the 57, but I got it for vocals) to mic up my Fender amp so I can feed both the Fender and Marshall to the mixer and leave them pretty much permanently hooked up.

I also have the Vocalist Live 4, which I run into the board on in stereo on 2 of the mic channels. On July 17, 2009 I picked up a Radial ProD2 DI box, and am running one side of that into the board for recording the Bass. In addition I'm bringing in my Zoom HD2 in through a stereo input, the PC output (which actually goes to a separate little amp and then is fed to the ZED), the DAT out/in, the BBE on the mains insert, the Lexicon I/O, the PC USB (I only use this as an IN to the ZED - see the comments on the Vocalist Live description on the Effects page).

Yamaha MO6 Synthesizer

I picked this up from Guitar Center, Tempe, AZ, on June 25, 2009. I had just got fed up trying to use the soft synths in Sonar. Sure, they work, but they're a pain in the butt to set up, find a sound, record, etc. Even with the MIDI controller (see the EMU below) they just weren't fun to use. Not to mention the extra drain on my abused little PC (here it is 2009 and I'm using a PC that was probably built in 2002 since I got it in January 2003).

I had got a Yamaha MM6 and played around with it for a couple of days before I realized that I just wasn't likely going to be happy with it for very long. It had great sounds (the same as the MO I believe), but you can't edit them or program them much. Also, the MM6 only has 32 note polyphony so sequencing could be limited using it. I had got a good deal on the used MM6 from Guitar Center Avondale, and as it turned out Guitar Center Tempe had a used MO6 so I upgraded.

The MO6 was like a box of inspiration, especially for hip hop stuff. The onboard drum and synth patterns are great and you can find more online. I actually added the B's Knees Hammond B3 patch collection because I wasn't getting a good B3 sound (I actually liked the one programmed into the MM6 better). With this colleciton I've got an outstanding B3 sound, something I was really struggling to get using the soft synths and, IMO, never quite got there.

dbx 166XL Compressor

I found a great deal on a used compressor at Guitar Center, Scottsdale AZ in November 2009 and added it to my rig. I wanted a compressor after getting the PreSonus FireStudio Project because it just seemed more sensitive to levels than the SoundBlaster had in my earlier PC. I'm guessing that the SoundBlaster actually had a compressor or limiter built in because my guitar signal wasn't any stronger.

So, I looked around and it seemed like a lot of people thought this was an okay unit for the money. You can sure spend a lot of money on this stuff if you want! I like this unit, it seems pretty straight forward. (As of 12/24/2009, I have it plugged into the inserts of the ZED mixer along with my BBE 362 Sonic Maximizer. The inserts go to the BBE 362 first, then to the dbx 166 for final compression control.)

Zoom H2 Recorder

I picked this up from Sam Ash, Phoenix, AZ, in August 2008 as a birthday present. I wanted something to record the live band with and this this works great! I had been trying to record the band with the DAT (see below) but it was really cumbersome and because of where I had to have it in the room, and didn't get a remote control with the DAT, it was REALLY a pain to operate. I don't really mess with it enough to get a good balance of the instruments or the room acoustics, but just quickly placing it in the room with the band and hitting record will get you a decent recording to capture ideas. I would record the band and then before they left I could bounce it to the PC and burn CD's for the guys. What a cool tool!

It records to the little San Disk memory cards and you can switch them out as needed. I added a 4 G card which gives about an hour of .wav at 44.1 kHz /16 bit format. How cool is that? And you can even convert onboard to MP3 (although it isn't real speedy). It's got great options for compression, surround sound (there are 4 mics in it!), etc. I mounted it on a camera tripod and had it where I could get to it easily.

I'm not using it for the band any longer (no band, eh), but I still use it to do quick recordings of ideas. It's so much more convenient to switch this little guy on with one button and record an idea with the acoustic guitar than it is to fire up the PC, open up Sonar, load a new Sonar project, figure out how to route a signal, turn on the Marshall if it's an electric guitar thing, etc. I can instead just fire up this little recorder on a moments notice and NOT loose the inspiration.

I will comment on the drawbacks or complaints I have with it, though. The UI is a very small screen and if you have problems seeing already it isn't the most convenient thing to operate. And I don't like the "membrane" controls. They may be water or moisture proof, but the mics aren't. I'd really like a UI and control set up like my little MP3 player - the cool little spinning wheel with buttons that Apple created.

Tascam DA20 MkII DAT Recorder

I got this on 6/26/2008 from Guitar Center / Avondale. It's a used unit but looks and works great. I know most people aren't into DAT recorders now, but it's really still a good, viable way to record if you don't want to take a laptop around with you (or, like me, if you don't own or really don't want a laptop).

This will work for live recording, and I can use it for playback when practicing instead of a CD (since I don't have a CD player that I can use for that any more after a drummer decided he'd throw it away).

And, I had another reason to get it. I have some of my old masters on DAT which I haven't been able to access since I sold my DA30 some years ago. Now I can go back and hear some of my old stuff!

MXL 990 Condenser Microphone

I got this 2/20/2006 along with the Behringer mixer (below). I like this mic, it's certainly better than the $1.36 PC mic I'd been using. My vocals are clearer and cut through the mix better. It may be an inexpensive mic, but as I said above, I started getting some of this recording gear as budget as possible, however hopefully being able to get good results from it.

This came in a kit with another MXL mic, but I never use it.

E-Mu Xboard 49

I got this to enter some keyboard parts when recording. I'm not much of a keyboard player so step recording or getting as close as possible with live recording and then editing the MIDI is fine. This sure beats entering notes manually on a piano roll!

This has a nice keyboard and I like the 16 knobs which allow you to tweak patches in real time. But I got this from Guitar Center, Avondale as a closeout and they've yet to get me the full software for it. I don't know if that's the problem or if I'm just stoopid, but I can't control the patch selection from the keyboard. And, since I don't want to become a synth dude, I tend to give up on it before I learn much. It seems way more powerful than I'll ever use, but it was under $100! For what I intend to do with it, it's perfect.

It came with Proteus X (actually, I downloaded it from their web) which has a lot of patches I really like. I just don't know if I'll use many of them.

Behringer Eurorack UB802 Mixer

I picked this little mixer up on 2/20/2006 and am very pleased with it so far. I mainly use it as a switching device and to provide phantom power to the MXL mic.

It's a little 4 channel mixer with 2 channels offering balanced (XLR) inputs and phantom power. I needed a better mic, wanted a condenser, and therefore needed the phantom power. This provides that and more for very little $$$. I don't use much of the eq but it has a 3 band eq, aux send, and pan on each channel.

The only thing I wish it had was a mute switch on each channel. I hook up my mic, balanced acoustic input, and high impedance electric guitar to three of the channels. But to switch between them I have to turn the channel volume off for the unselected instrument and turn the selected channel up. It's not difficult to do that, but it is difficult to match signal levels to any previous settings. Thank goodness for compressors, eh?

I use drum loops for all of my drum tracks. I use ACID formatted wav files for 99.9% of everything. I have a few from Magix that aren't ACID which I bring into Cakewalk, figure out the tempo, and then save as ACID - but only on the VERY RARE occasion that they have something I like.

The loops are amazing quality and I didn't have to record or program them. I think the biggest key is just having enough loops that go together well, which is why I prefer the Smart Loops selections.

Smart Loops

I have got the Dry Studio Kit and the Thunder Kit (the straight ACID portion). These are both good, but the Thunder Kit is the best for the type of songs I'm recording. The mix is the best - the kick is just how I like it. The Dry Studio Kit is good, but since everything is pre mixed with the kick too low, and I don't have a good way to get the kick to come through on the mix like the Thunder Kit, I really just go to the Thunder Kit as my first choice.

The package comes with many, many, loops and they're well organized to boot. The other big selling point is that you can take a loop from any of the folders and mix it with any other loop. That is what you'd expect, but it's not the way the Beta Monkey loops are.

I can't recommend these enough if you're doing straight ahead rock and roll. They do have some double kick loops if you're into more metal sounding loops.

ProSamples Volume 5

I like these loops - they sound good and I don't have to create or mix them to get drum tracks. The only problem with them that I have is that there aren't enough fill loops. I do add some eq to them at times, but that's all I do with them.

These loops were recorded by Steve Smith, who in case you don't know or remember, was (or is???) the drummer for Journey. The loops are even named after some Journey songs and you'll recognize them if you're a Journey fan at all.

Just wish there were more fills!

ToonTracks EZ Drummer

I picked this up on 12/18/2009 from Guitar Center, Avondale AZ. I was really hoping for a new method of creating drum tracks. I tried the demo and I swear I was able to trigger my Smart Loops Thunder Kit samples but the version I bought doesn't support that - you have to use their samples. They're okay, and you can export the different drums to individual tracks in Sonar which allows you to EQ them as desired.

Unfortunately, the 64 bit version of Sonar isn't fully supported. In my case I can't use the "drum machine" plugin sync'd to MIDI. The plugin plays at it's own tempo and not the tempo of the song. There is another piece of software you can get "jBridge" but I am holding out for the 64 bit upgrade from the manufacturer (since I can still use the Smart Loops).

Beta Monkey Volumes 4 & 5

I've used these on a few things and they're okay. They just don't have a consistent sound from loop to loop so I gave up on them. It's a shame, too. I like the variety of beats but if you can't easily mix and match loops they're just not something I'm going to wade through to find matching loops.

By not sounding the same I mean they were apparently at least EQ'd differently if not recorded at different locations with different gear. On one loop you might get a nice deep kick, the next loop has a kick without any low end to it.