NEWBIE needs some direction..... anyone use reaper to record?

[joerowan303]

Hello there.. I am very new to any computer recording whatsoever.I have a pc laptop. I am looking to start recording some basic guitar tracks, and then hopefully some vocals over that. I would like to do all of this from my laptop, on a fairly tight budget.  I am thinking of using reaper. Does anyone reccommend Reaper? Pros/Cons? 

What type of interface should I use? 

Can i use my mk2 express as an interface?

 

Thanks for any help....

[fflbrgst]

Yes, I use Reaper, great full-featured DAW at a very good price.   Check out the forums at homerecording.com for more information on 'doing it yourself' - lots of informative stuff.

 

No, you can't use your FBV Mk2 as an interface - it is a controller only and does not convert audio to digital.  You can use any of the Line 6 devices (like PODs) that have A-D converters, or any manufacturer's AI that has an instrument level input.

[Triryche]

I use Reaper also, good bang for your buck.

 

One of the pros, IMHO, it is very a powerful DAW for the money.

 

One possible con, it is a very powerful DAW for the money, so for some there may be a bit of a learning curve.

But the guys at Cockos have great documentation and there is a an active forum.

 

For Line6 devices, the POD Studio UX2 works great with Reaper.

For me a work flow is you can capture both wet and dry signals in Reaper, then add the POD Farm plug-in post recording to the dry tracks.

So you can dial in your tone and record without worry if all your tone setting are perfect, and then tweak to your hearts content after the fact.