Questions about recording on my MacBook Pro.

[PhaserFuzz]

Okay, I recently ordered a refurbished 2.4GHz MBP with 4 Gigs of RAM, and I wanna get into recording. What is a good program to get? I'm highly considering Logic Express because I heard it's very user friendly and it integrates well with the Mac. I want good "beginner software". What would be the difference between that and Garageband that already comes pre-installed? I've also heard Pro Tools is another good one to get, but I don't know. What are some pro's and con's of each???

Also, I read that I should get an external HDD if I plan on recording. Is this true? Approx. how much space do the Logic files take up? Here's a list of what I'm wanting to purchase...

- LOGIC EXPRESS 8
- APOGEE DUET FIREWIRE INTERFACE

 

[redsteven]

What about free? Does free software work as a good starting point for you?

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

(haven't actually used it MYSELF, but I know people that have)

It's probably not as user-friendly as something like garage-band, but it probably has some capabilities that garage band doesn't.

The manual is here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/documentation if you want to get started with it.

First though, you should probably try garage band and see if it meets your needs.

 

[ethernet76]

You'll want to get something that offers a clear upgrade path should you chose to pursue this to a deeper and more technical level.

I think the two clear choices are Logic Express and Cuebase SE.

Both are good beginner programs that have full counterparts should you become more serious about recording. Logic is more user intuitive, but Cuebase seems to be more widely used.

Pro tools requires specific expensive hardware and by no means is for someone just starting out.

Audacity was mentioned above me, but it doesn't support MIDI. For me that's a deal breaker.

That firewire input box is quite expensive for what you get. For $549.00, you can get http://www.zzounds.com/item--MACONYX1220. It's not as portable, but it's a lot better for recording.

 

[vistajumper]

I've seen great reviews for Logic Express. If you're just starting out PT, Logic, Cubase/Nuendo will all have, relatively, the same learning curve. PT LE comes with a lot of interfaces these days and is, unfortunately, the de facto audio-based studio standard (not PT LE, but Pro Tools). A good way to get into Pro Tools is to get an M-Audio interface as most, if not all, will come with Pro Tools M-Powered - and M-Audio makes some good pro-sumer stuff. Actually, most audio interfaces will come with some sort of bundled software (lite versions anyway), just shop around to see what has the best combo of hardware that you need/want and a software package you'd like to try out. You can usually upgrade fairly cheaply from the lite versions. You might want to scope out some audio forums (prosoundweb.com comes to mind) and see what they think; believe me, there's no shortage of opinions in that group.

Good Luck!
Sean