Hello Andrea

I used to make very simple
Record direct to the Tyros hard disk in .wav and convert it to mp3.
If I want to record a simple electric guitar performance I use Line 6 UX1 unit
I prefer Audacity + a good desktop PC.
I never use external recorder. Pc are powerful enough nowaday.

I use Mixcraft-6 (Standard Edition). I've gone through so many of the included loops in MC6. Holy cow! there are some really good loops in there. You could make countless (nearly complete) songs from just using the loops alone. There are tons of different styles of music to choose from with a very good selection of loops for each genre.

MC also comes with a very nice set of VST's out of the box. Their Acoustica Instruments are pretty good (not the best but certainly well above a typical GM sound set). There are some Virtual Analogue VST's in there too (plus a nice organ drawbar VST).

MC is basically the Windows version of GarageBand, but with WAY more content, better UI, and has a more polished look as well. Even the basic Mixcraft Home Studio Edition that sells for a mere $50 is a great bargain. I started with the Home Studio Edition and eventually just upgraded to the Standard Edition. Thinking of upgrading to the Pro Edition here real soon.

They have a free demo! Download it and give it a whirl. The program is also CPU friendly (which is a very welcomed feature to any DAW application).

Squeak,

many thanks for your input; I have actually already downloaded the demo version of Mixcraft 6 and am almost sold: even without the loops it would still make for a great bargain as a DAW, given the features and the price. The loops and the VSTs are really the icing on the cake.
Thanks again and Merry Christmas.

I love mixcraft 6.......so efficient, so easy nuff said.

http://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/

Hi Dreamer:

You are very perceptive in noticing the similarities of my vocal as compared to Don Mason. He has been a significant influence in my attempts at storming the gates of today's very competitive music world. Our vocal similarities are probably because we are both Southerners and he has been on my "Idols" list for quite some time. If only I had his fantastic vocal skills! Please remember, I'm only a songwriter and I never perform.

Thanks for taking time to listen to a few of my original songs.

Best regards to you,

Dave

Andrea,
I record music with the Steinberg UR824 (extrnal) soundcard into Cubase7 that has great plugins included.
The UR824 can record up to 8 channels simultaniously and C7 tracks are 'unlimited'.

Recording vocals and accoustic instruments works great because of zero-latency and channel presets/DSP.
The UR824 is fully intergrated in Cubase what makes it even more simple.)

Andrea ... I use the ZOOM h4n digital recorder ... I can record 4 tracks individually ... I will usually record through the 'tape out' or 'control room' outs of a mixer, but lately I have just been putting the recorder near one of the Podium 10 speakers - this does NOT give the best results ...

BTW ... I look forward to hearing some of your recorded music in the future ...

Roel,

thank you for your suggestion; I will check the UR824 too (good thing that today is a holiday here in Italy, so I have plenty of time).

Ciao

Tony,

thank you for your input and...careful whath you wish for...

Joe,

what Tascam do you own?