Hardware Recommendations, USB or Firewire Audio Devices Options

[charlieb]

Ryosode and Rickenbacker.
Thanks so much for the input.

So just to check:
Planning on trying to create some simple tracks that could be a background for meditation, or free form movement exercises. What I would call "Heartbeat Music" meaning that in a way it would duplicate and support one's heartbeat. Not planning on importing any live music at all at this point.

With this, Cubase and Reason would be the way to go?

charlie
http://www.seishindo.org
inspiring and supporting human potential and well-being

[rickenbacker]

If you're not planning on importing any live music at all at this point, perhaps don't bother with Cubase (or anything else) for now - Reason alone would do fine for background/meditation tracks, with all its synths etc. You could then add a sequencer at a later date when you want to expand your recording set-up.

As long as you have a decent Midi keyboard or Midi interface, you can get a lot out of Reason. You can also incorporate audio samples using the NNXT/NN19 samplers.

Slightly off the subject, but there's also a new ReFill (basically lots of extra sounds) for Reason just released by www.lapjockey.com/flatpack - a whole lot of extra vintage synths and drum machines to expand Reason's range. They sound nice.

Ryosode: you must have seen M-Audio's latest brochure! People recording in subway stations and bars with an Ozone and a PowerBook - it does look tempting...

[charlieb]

If you're not planning on importing any live music at all at this point, perhaps don't bother with Cubase (or anything else) for now - Reason alone would do fine for background/meditation tracks, with all its synths etc. You could then add a sequencer at a later date when you want to expand your recording set-up.

As long as you have a decent Midi keyboard or Midi interface, you can get a lot out of Reason. You can also incorporate audio samples using the NNXT/NN19 samplers.

Rickenbacker,
OK, great in regard to perhaps just starting out only with Reason.
And being that I am not into importing live music, would I be back at looking at Live for a sequencer, orrrr.....?

And what, an Ozone, an Oxygen, or an Edirol PC-50?

Thanks for the lapjockey info as well. I will check it out.

Regards,
charlie

http://www.seishindo.org
Seishindo
Inspiring and supporting human potential and well being

[rickenbacker]

Hey, charlieb.

Maybe you don't understand what Live does, but from the sound of it you don't need it at all. Live ONLY works with audio clips - no Midi whatsoever. That's why people put Live and Reason together, as they complement each other (but then so do Reason and Cubase). One handles the Midi; one handles the audio.

Anyway, Reason includes a 14-track sequencer. You can also have 2 sequencers running in Reason for even more tracks. So forget Live or anything else - everything you want to do can be accomplished within Reason. You don't have to link to any other programs, you don't have to leave the Reason environment - it's one of the main reasons (ahem) it's so popular. You can get practically a whole track completed in Reason and then - if you need to - export the Midi file as audio to SX or similar to add on vocals or guitars etc.

But from what you say, if you don't plan to add any audio and are happy with a Midi set-up for now, Reason is all the money you need to spend to make excellent-sounding music.

If you had Live, the only way you'd be able to use it is either to export your Reason tracks as audio files and then import them to Live. But what's the point? You can mix it all in Reason.

Or you could ReWire Reason to Live, have your Reason rhythms appearing in Live's mixer and then record audio directly alongside in Live. But you say you're not planning on doing this. And if you were, I'd still recommend Cubase SX (or SL). Live takes a lot more system resources than SX, is a little flakier and is not designed to multitrack, in my experience. It's more for remixers/live performers looking to throw ideas together and see what happens. Which is a lot of fun, but not what you seem to want to do.

As for keyboards, I like Edirol gear. I've not tried an Ozone, but I have an Oxygen 8 and it has a nice action. However, the PCR-50's keyboard has a much bigger range than either Ozone or Oxygen, and that's something which is always handy. M-Audio make the Radium to compete with the PCR-50. Really, I'd look at the Radium or the PCR-50. Yes, the Ozone has an audio interface built in so you can record your guitar solo on the train, but are you really going to do that? And is the quality really going to be better than a dedicated interface?

Right, that's enough info to take in for one morning. I'm off.

[charlieb]

Rickenbacker,
WOW, what an education!
I guess that in the past I have asked my questions in such a flakey manner that I got back answers that didn't really suit me. This last post in particular has really been a help.

Arigato!
charlie

[rickenbacker]

De nada.