Howdy all. My boss is looking to add a PC to his at home studio, as he's tired of just fiddling with an analog four-track. He figures "Del knows something about computers", so he asks me.

Long story short, has anyone here messed with ~16 track (plus virtual tracks) software/hardware in their Windows-based PC? What did you do, how much did you spend, etc... Budget is around $1000 he tells me.

Thanks in advance

PS, we're currently looking at the stuff in Musician's Friend.

well software, Steinberg Cubase SX, best software out there. As for hardware... I cant help you much, maybe try http://www.musiciansfriend.com and look at sound cards.


I only record drums so my Audigy 2 is enough for that, dont need mulitple tracks. For what ur boss is doing probably requires a lot more...

well,im no musician.
about the only software i know of is pro tools.

HERE is the free trial version.
after some looking around on the digidesign site i came across
MBOX
under $500 usd

Thanks swanny for the input, and so fast!

Is SX really worth $300 more than SL? Given that he's gonna need hardware as well, $600 seems a bit steep for just the software. Also, I'd like any opinions on Cakewalk, as it's less than 1/3rd the price of Cubase SL. Obviously it won't be as neat as Cubase, but is it decently usable?


I'm currently thinking of steering him toward this for the hardware. It says "Simultaneous recording and playback of 16 channels", plus 20 channel mixer, 2 digital and 8 analog inputs. PCI card and a 5 1/4" patch bay box. He'll also want a cd burner, but they're cheap and easy nowadays.

Just for the info, he's a jazz/blues musician. He also thinks it's downright hilarious that I mod my PC.

Thanks Rafiki, I'll point that out to him.

I figure to try and get him to test as many "free demo" types of software as possible. Since I'm not a musician either, it'll be totally up to him to decide which program to buy.

Cakewalk rocks, also, try Quartz AudioMaster. It's freeware, but you can register it for awesome features...

I will have to admit that Cakewalk is easy to use but it's capabilities (when compared to Cubase or Pro Tools products) are quite limited. For affordable software I would definately go with one of the Cubase products. Which one your boss should get depends on what his specific needs are. I would point him to www.steinbergusa.net and let him see what features the different versions offer and decide from there.
For hardware I would HIGHLY recommend the following two products over the one you were going to suggest as I have had personal experiences with them and all I can say is....OMFG!!!

Aardvark Direct Pro Q10
Aardvark Direct Pro 24/96

Obviously the Q10 is more expensive but WELL worth the price difference.

Edit: If at a later time he can afford it though, I would definately recommend a ProTools setup for him or perhaps the following:

Creamware Scope/SP 24 ADAT 15-Chip DSP Card


There are several other worthy products out there as well but depend on his hardware configuration (firewire, USB) and a few other factors. I would maybe point him toward the above links and if he wants even more info just let me know.