Software for creating a band?

[loosecannon3]

I am looking for some computer software that will allow me to lay down backing guitar tracks and that will also have a backing drum beat that I can add as well.  I basically want to create and record a band sound on my own.  I also own a PC.

Thanks for any help.

Andrew

[IzzyDutch]

For drums I'd go with EZdrummer..

Here's a track I just did with EZdrummer:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=HRTBRE5D

I use it with Reaper, Reaper's a multitrack recorder (freely downloadable) where I open the plugin EZdrummer in and create the drums, you can make/edit the MIDI paterns or just use standard grooves and fills and pick from those. It's very realistic sounding.. different types of kits and also Expansion Packs that come with it. They just released a new one called Funkmasters.

[loosecannon3]

Cool thanks.  I listened to the track and it does sound realistic.  Don't you have to pay for Reaper though?  I don't mind paying for stuff, but you said it was free.  I'm assuming EZdrummer has a cost too?

Thanks man,

Andrew

[IzzyDutch]

Reaper is for free... EZdrummer not

Here's a nice Youtube vid of EZdrummer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmISXzooFzk

Don't know how much it costs though...  there is however another similar program called Independence Free which is free, but it's a bit more complicated and less realistic then EZdrummer. Plus that one doesn't have pre-set grooves and fills like EZ, with the exception of some dynamic percussion samples.

Here are two tracks I did with Independence Free (free download from their site) and the sequencer I used with it was EnergyXT 2.0

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OS7LZP76 (with drums)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PUWSEBZH (with it's dynamic percussion samples)

EZdrums is probably the best/most realistic drumsoftware out there, there are similar products like BFD 2.0 and Addictive Drums, but both are a lot bigger in size (they have a lot more kits to pick from, GW, Pearl, Yamaha it's all there) where you get a DVD with it with samples etc. and you have to have a very powerfull computer and soundcard. With EZdrummer you get the Pop/Rock kit which you can pick out several types of snares/kicks/cymbals etc. and a Cocktail kit for latin percussion stuff. Then there are Expansion Pack add-ons like Drums From Hell, Vintage Rock, Nashville and some others for industrial stuff etc. all kinds and each pack comes with a new set of grooves aswell. For example you can use the standard pop/rock kit and use really cool beats or tom grooves from the Vintage Rock pack.

Btw, the thing that makes EZdrummer and those other 2 programs so realistic is that it uses different types of hits. So when you have a rhythm it automatically makes sure that each snare hit sounds a bit different cause in real life a drummer never strikes the same place twice aswell. Also it's got a humanizer function which alters the timing a little bit. There's also a mixer in EZd where you can adjust each mic for the kick, snare, overhead, room etc. so you can determine bleed aswell. BFD2.0 for example has even got a function where you can set the mic type, it really goes far..

[loosecannon3]

Wow, thanks for the very detailed review.  I will probably (most definitely) get EZdrummer.   You said with the other programs you need a very powerful computer and soundcard.  I have a decent computer but not very powerful by any means.  I think you were alluding to the fact that with EZdrummer you do not need a powerful computer (I have a laptop with 2gig ram, 2.0GZ and lots of HD space).  Is this good?

sadly I am blocked at work from youtube at work, but I will take a look when I get home.  I'm looking to do something like where I lay down the rhythm to say a long like 'Better' and then add the drums and then I add the lead on top of it.  Reaper and EZdummer will be good for this?

Thanks so much for the feedback

Also, that's cool how they make each snare sound a little different

[loosecannon3]

sorry one last question - how do you suggest I record the guitar parts?  Is it ok to get a microphone, attach it to the computer and put it close to the amp or will this sound horrible?

[IzzyDutch]

EZdrummer is great for creating drum tracks.. for whatever song including Better. For the rest I record everything else real, bass guitar etc.

Your PC sounds fine, I have a crappy onboard Realtec soundcard but I'm using a (free) driver called ASIO4ALL which basically gets rid of the latency. The latency is time difference between playing it and it actually being recorded. With a crappy soundcard you'll be recording guitar and when playing it back it will run behind the drums, so you have to move the guitartrack a bit to make it in time again. With that ASIO4ALL driver I have installed besides my regular audio driver I get very small latency without using a expensive soundcard. With that I can also monitor through headphones in realtime, I'm hearing my guitar and drums through my headphones when recording guitar. I believe the driver can do this because it works by operating outside of the Windows control system unlike a regular driver.

For recording I use a copy of a Shure DM57 dynamic microphone, I plug that into a small Behringer UB802 mixer which has got a pre-amp build in, you'll need those with some decent recording. Then the mixer goes into the line-in input at the back of the PC and that's it. On the mixer you can use EQ and stuff but I just use the gain setting knob of the pre-amp. I record guitar, bass, vocals and whatever else through that way. For software I record and mix in Adobe Audition 3.0 and master with Izotope Ozone. You can also record guitar/bass digital and get some good sounds but I don't like that, I prefer it the natural way.. there are different ways to mic an amp, that's very important to get a good sound. Like just putting a mic straight at the center of your amp doesn't give you the best sound, you can place it off-centre and stuff and under an angle of 30 degrees to the cone and then there's also how close to the amp. The key is to find the amp's sweetspot and then capturing it.

For demos though I just use a simple Creative MSN type of mic in the mic entrance of the back of the PC, check my sig's MySpace link, those demos I did with just a simple mic like that. It's lo-fi but for simple demos it's alright.

Check www.homerecordingconnection.com for some great articles/trips and tricks and the hellpfull forum

[loosecannon3]

Thanks a lot for the feedback.  I don't need something to sound too professional sounding, but I just want decent quality.

So, basically what you're saying is that I get a microphone and a mixer.  Then, I put the microphone in front of the amp, plug the microphone into the mixer and the mixer into the back of the PC?  Then I turn on my amp and play?

If you record and mix in Adobe Audition 3.0, what do you use Reaper for?

Thanks so much.

[loretian]

Thanks a lot for the feedback.  I don't need something to sound too professional sounding, but I just want decent quality.

So, basically what you're saying is that I get a microphone and a mixer.  Then, I put the microphone in front of the amp, plug the microphone into the mixer and the mixer into the back of the PC?  Then I turn on my amp and play?

If you record and mix in Adobe Audition 3.0, what do you use Reaper for?

Thanks so much.

You don't need a mixer, the mixing is done on the computer.  What you need is a pre-amp.  This will convert your analog sound into digital bits that can be processed properly by your computer.  You could skip the pre-amp, but if you want decent quality audio, you really should pick one up.  Decent ones aren't that expensive either.

[IzzyDutch]

Thanks a lot for the feedback.  I don't need something to sound too professional sounding, but I just want decent quality.

So, basically what you're saying is that I get a microphone and a mixer.  Then, I put the microphone in front of the amp, plug the microphone into the mixer and the mixer into the back of the PC?  Then I turn on my amp and play?

That's how I do it, but if you just want some decent quality you might just wanna spend your money on a good 'regular' mic like for MSN or something and use that.

If you record and mix in Adobe Audition 3.0, what do you use Reaper for?

Thanks so much.

I just use Reaper as the program to use EZdrummer in, cause Adobe Audition doesn't support EZdrummer. I open Reaper, then as an effect I put EZdrummer on an audio track there, EZdrummer opens within Reaper and in there I can create the drums. Then when the drums are done I export the drums as seperate. wav files (kick/snare/toms/overhead) or the whole drumtrack as one.

Then I go to Adobe Audition, open the drum .wav files in there and record the remaining guitar/vocal tracks and that's it. I purely use Reaper as a way to create the drums in EZdrummer, but you can use Reaper aswell for recording guitars/vocals or whatever, it's just a choice. I just prefer the more options/buttons in Audition.

You don't need a mixer, the mixing is done on the computer.  What you need is a pre-amp.  This will convert your analog sound into digital bits that can be processed properly by your computer.  You could skip the pre-amp, but if you want decent quality audio, you really should pick one up.  Decent ones aren't that expensive either.

The mixer I use has got a good pre-amp build in, that's what I use it for, the mixing I do on the computer yeah. But also you can plug in more mics there and use some other FX or Headphone options so it's worth getting a mixer with a pre-amp build in. The one I have costed me like 80 Euros (40 USD).

[life_247]

Thanks a lot for the feedback.  I don't need something to sound too professional sounding, but I just want decent quality.

So, basically what you're saying is that I get a microphone and a mixer.  Then, I put the microphone in front of the amp, plug the microphone into the mixer and the mixer into the back of the PC?  Then I turn on my amp and play?

If you record and mix in Adobe Audition 3.0, what do you use Reaper for?

Thanks so much.

You don't need a mixer, the mixing is done on the computer.  What you need is a pre-amp.  This will convert your analog sound into digital bits that can be processed properly by your computer.  You could skip the pre-amp, but if you want decent quality audio, you really should pick one up.  Decent ones aren't that expensive either.

You appear to be confused somewhat as to what a pre-amplifier is. It essentially is something that will amplifiy a small signal with very low noise, so its at the same level as other things for mixing or playing. (IE If microphone has a very low voltage and needs to be amplified up to match everything else).
A pre-amp has nothing to do with conversion from analogue to digital, that is handled by the sound-card in the computer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preamplifier

What is recommended is a DI box in addition to a pre-amp, which will balence the impedance of the signal to go into a mixing desk or computer sound card. This will give you a clearer signal (Without knowing a bit of electronic theroy this can be hard to explain why). Many DI boxes are combined with a pre-amplifier, and cost from about ?30 up (probably ~ $50)

Or if you want something quick and easy may i reccomend a USB mic (possibly one with the option of connecting a XLR cable and turning it into a regular microphone).

Hope this clears up some of the issues people are having. (Yeah i do Audio Engineering and design this stuff at uni - GEEK! lol)

[loretian]

Thanks a lot for the feedback.  I don't need something to sound too professional sounding, but I just want decent quality.

So, basically what you're saying is that I get a microphone and a mixer.  Then, I put the microphone in front of the amp, plug the microphone into the mixer and the mixer into the back of the PC?  Then I turn on my amp and play?

If you record and mix in Adobe Audition 3.0, what do you use Reaper for?

Thanks so much.

You don't need a mixer, the mixing is done on the computer.  What you need is a pre-amp.  This will convert your analog sound into digital bits that can be processed properly by your computer.  You could skip the pre-amp, but if you want decent quality audio, you really should pick one up.  Decent ones aren't that expensive either.

You appear to be confused somewhat as to what a pre-amplifier is. It essentially is something that will amplifiy a small signal with very low noise, so its at the same level as other things for mixing or playing. (IE If microphone has a very low voltage and needs to be amplified up to match everything else).
A pre-amp has nothing to do with conversion from analogue to digital, that is handled by the sound-card in the computer

That may be accurate, but generally speaking, in my experience, people refer to the analogue to digital converter as a pre-map.  I took some nice courses at IPR and that's what they referred to it as, and whenever I go to guitar center, that's what the tech guys there refer to them as.

The word "pre-amp" implies exactly what you said, but I'm just saying, in general, that's not what people mean when they say pre-amp in my experience.  It doesn't make sense to me either.

edit: after doing some reading around, I think a traditional pre-amp (what you consider to be a pre-amp) is often combined the with analogue to digital conversion, and the combined unit is just often referred to as a pre-amp, despite it doing more than what the name suggests.

[life_247]

Hmm odd. Might be an americian thing, here in the UK the "interface" is normally what does the A to D. But yeah a lot of home studio interfaces have pre-amps in them, so fair dos.

[loretian]

Hmm odd. Might be an americian thing, here in the UK the "interface" is normally what does the A to D. But yeah a lot of home studio interfaces have pre-amps in them, so fair dos.

Yeah, that's possible.  I could also be misinterpreting things too.     Ah well, I agree, in general separating the two makes more sense and I think I'll follow your non-American/more logical standard from now on.

[life_247]

Yeah i think for home/lower-end stuff there one and the same now-adays so you wont get into too much trouble. Although my M-Audio Delta 44 card has no pre-amps or anything on it, just 4 pure ins and outs.

Anyways, i recently started using EZDrummer and got really great results using it, still getting used to working with midi but im getting there. Highly recommended. But the grooves thing i think is the big seller, but i dont really use it so a cheaper software implimentation could be used.

Depends if your happy to use the drum editor and just work off pinching drum tabs / writing your own drums.