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Old 01-30-2013, 06:14 AM   #1
G-Tracker
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Hi All

New to recording and Reaper. Little background - I'm 50 and after a 20 year hiatus not playing music, I have picked up my guitar again within the last year or so. All my old original songs have come flooding back plus a few new ones. So my goal is to get them recorded so I don't die with the music in me. Just like the Blues Brothers, I'm on a mission from God....lol

Not wanting to spend too much money, I've been researching software and equipment and I think I am making some good choices. The functionality of Reaper plus the help and knowledge around here is why I chose Reaper - plus the price that I will gladly pay after my evaluation period.

I bought a Gateway i5 computer with 1 TB hard drive and 8 gig of ram. I spent about $700 on the computer and monitor and I am hoping I didn't overspend. Will an i3 handle all of this OK? I haven't opened the box yet. If I could save a few hundred I could put that into a mic or headphones. Wife will string me up if I start blowing gobs of money on a new "hobby". I have a few expensive other hobbies too.

I'm not trying to get by on the cheap but my goal is to get my music down but I still want it to sound good and I want to do it effectively. I won't ever be a studio master because I just don't have that kind of time plus I have permanent ringing in the ears from my younger years playing in bars with the volume on 11. Let that be a lesson to the young guys around here who value their hearing and will need it later on in life.

I know when I'm finally up recording, I won't use more than 10%-15% of the power of Reaper but I'm OK with that. I've been getting by like that working on AutoCAD for a bunch of years now : )

I am researching plug-ins and I do need a violin (s) feature and horns as background music in a few of my songs.

Thanks for reading and any pointers you guys can give me will be appreciated. I don't read music and all of these songs swirling around in my head with no outlet is driving me crazy.....lol

Can't wait to get going on this....
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Old 01-30-2013, 08:15 AM   #2
msore
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Welcome. Push ahead. Ask questions.

As I keep telling young people, it is not that hard to learn the basics of reading music, and it is quicker than learning Reaper. For songwriters, and people like you trying to arrange their songs in Reaper, reading and writing stuff down on paper is a good complement to recording.

Look up Matnitron (syntEdit) and Stringz by Ian Webster
for violins.
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Old 01-30-2013, 03:15 PM   #3
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Welcome! I'm new here as well. Definitely wise words about tinnitus; I also suffer with it at the age of 28. Mine is the result of 4 years of high school concert band/jazz ensemble sitting in the back of the room playing bass, right next to (how can I put it delicately) an "enthusiastic" drummer. I never have jam sessions or attend shows without earplugs now.

I wish I could give you some advice, but I'm learning too. This forum is great, though. Best of luck to you!
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Old 01-30-2013, 05:43 PM   #4
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Thanks for the words and links....I'm really refraining myself from diving in head first. I have to remember it's the music first and the rest of this stuff is just a tool to get the music down.

I have been researching for over 2 weeks on which programs, plug ins, equipment etc and my head was spinning. I am very good at figuring out software but all of this was so foreign. Then I read in a forum somewhere where a guy posted that it's not about the software - it's about knowing how to record and process the music; whether analog or digital, the methods and concepts are basically the same. And I realized then I know nothing about all of this; like the difference between a compressor and an Equalizer.

So that's when I got back on top to make sure the music was first and then the rest will fall into place. I ordered a few books to help me. And when it's done, I'll have a mix that will sound OK but at least it will be viable.
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Old 01-31-2013, 11:20 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msore View Post
Welcome. Push ahead. Ask questions.

As I keep telling young people, it is not that hard to learn the basics of reading music, and it is quicker than learning Reaper. For songwriters, and people like you trying to arrange their songs in Reaper, reading and writing stuff down on paper is a good complement to recording.

Look up Matnitron (syntEdit) and Stringz by Ian Webster
for violins.

I am curious - is there a DAW or plugin that will translate guitar music into sheet music? I thought this was fairly common.
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Old 01-31-2013, 12:34 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by G-Tracker View Post
I am curious - is there a DAW or plugin that will translate guitar music into sheet music? I thought this was fairly common.
That could mean a lot of things. But the general, initial answer is 'no'.
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