# Using my PC as a recording studio - what do I need? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 5, 2000, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113 "2000-12-05T08:14:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![blastfurnace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@blastfurnace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blastfurnace)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/21 "2000-12-08T05:25:01Z")
Cakewalk is pretty good for audio editing on the PC side. It’s a little steep in the learning curve (but nothing compared to CuBase), though. > [@](#): > > _originally posted by Badtz Maru_ > **$900 for a USED iMac SE? Do you know what kind of PC you could build for that kind of money? (Hint, that’s not much less than what I payed for the system I described) 8^)** Um…I meant iMac DV SE, BTW. Um…that killer PC system for $900 included a monitor as well? And, yes I do know what kind of PC I can build for $900…like I said, I have 2 PC’s, both built from the ground-up, and they kick ass. Hell, I even run Windows on one of them (please forgive me for I have trespassed). Jeez…you PC lovers sure are touchy now-a-days. Look, feel free to confine yourself to whatever platform you choose. Get cakewalk. Have fun. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Why do professional musicians prefer using Macs? I seriously doubt many have TRIED using a PC, most simply take the advice of people like Uniball/smartt and trust that they are right. The preference for Macs among graphic artists and musicians is a self-perpetuating trend. At one time Macs WERE superior to PCs for music and graphics, back in the day of AdLib soundcards and VGA graphics. Everybody who did that stuff bought Macs. Since the professionals were already all using Macs when PCs started getting better for that kind of stuff, and changing OSs can be a pain, they told everyone that Macs are best.\*\* Yep, I’m sure these highly educated professionals only use Macs 'cuz someone told them to. Gosh, I bet they have to be told when to eat and pee, too. Look, these people do this FOR A LIVING. YOU DO NOT. They know which systems are best for their job. Do you know anyone with a G3/G4 Mac? If so, play around with Photoshop on each platform. Get a feel for each, and honestly determine which does a better job. Do the same with Cakewalk (if you happen to know someone with this app on a Mac). It’s totally your choice, and a PC will most likely do everything you _need_ it to. But I think it is always fun to play around with different options. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I have had to work with Macs, though not with Photoshop or any of those kinds of apps. When I was doing dialup support I had to learn how to fix them. It’s a real bitch, you have to fight the OS to get anything done because it doesn’t trust you not to screw things up - you delete a file and if you don’t empty your wastebasket or whatever it is called the computer will just put it right back, without even asking. It doesn’t help that most Mac users are difficult to work with because they don’t know how to do anything on their computer other than run a couple of programs and are afraid to mess with anything they don’t understand (not that PC users are THAT much better…but you occasionally do get people who know what they are doing, I never got a call from a Mac user who knew as much about their OS as I did even though I am not a Mac expert). \*\* Boy, this is a generalization, isn’t it? First, your working Tech Support…people who call in generally don’t know the ins and outs of the platform they use, which is why they require SUPPORT. Out of curiosity, what problems did you have to fix with the Mac OS that arose from dial-up access? I’ve found configuring a Mac for dial-up considerably easier than a PC. > [@](#): > > **So, what apps are we talking about using, that are guaranteed to crash in a PC version? What OS are you going to run it on with the PC (since you DO have a choice with one)?** I’m not sure what you mean here…do you mean to say that Mac users don’t have a choice in the OS they use? That’s plain wrong, obviously. When referring to OS, do you mean versions within Windows, or other OS’s like Linux? Obviously you are aware that Mac machines can run Linux, freeBSD, or even Windows. Anyway, whatever you do, have fun with the music. It is incredibly addictive. ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/22 "2000-12-08T08:23:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\*So, what apps are we talking about using, that are guaranteed to crash in a PC version? \*\* ANY heavy CGI program is guaranteed to crash in a PC. Unless you’re using Linux, not Windows, but I never tried it so I can’t tell for sure. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/23 "2000-12-08T08:25:58Z")
**Badtz** , ignore the heathens. Macs do suck, and despite what they say, there is literally no advantage of recording music on a mac. Zero. Nada. Zip. Years ago I used to say that the sole value of Apple was keeping Microsoft from getting into anti-trust problems. Well, now that value is gone and there’s nothing left. But I digress… Cakewalk will do everything you need and more. There’ll be a bit of learning, but there are plenty of sources of info, including people on this board. ---
**Author:** ![Meephead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b782af/32.png) [@Meephead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meephead)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/24 "2000-12-08T08:31:00Z")
I run Cakewalk Pro 8 on my PC, and have since right after 8.0 came out. My computer is a bit slower than yours (merely a AMD K6-2-550 w/ 256MB RAM), and I am running Windows 98. Like you, I do tech support for a living, and my machine is very stable. Since you have a much faster machine and will likely be doing a little less intensive projects on yours, I doubt that you will run into any problems at all. There is a pretty steep learing curve on Cakewalk, but once you get the hang of it, it is very flexible and capable. I have had no problems whatsoever with Cakewalk and it is flexible enough that I am turning out work that is very nice. My next major project is doing a full album for my roommate’s band. Even though I don’t have a Mac, my computer is perfectly capable of turning out top-notch work, and is very easy for me to use. As far as the MAC vs PC argument, I prefer the PC, myself, since I have more experience with the PC platform. I already had a PC and didn’t see the purpose in buying a complete new machine so I could record. That would be ludicrous. As far as performance, there is less performance difference between the two in graphics and music as time goes on. Personally, I feel that anything that I could do on a Mac, I could do on my PC just as well for my purposes (with a VERY few possible exceptions). Which is more efficient? For me, the PC is better because I know the platform. My brother, the Graphic Artist, prefers a Mac because that is what he learned on. Would he tell you they are more stable? No. He bitched and moaned all the time about the computers he was using at school crashing while using Photoshop. When he uses my computer, which is quite often, it has been more stable for him. Go figure. If you are looking for a simpler program, [Voyetra](http://www.voyetra.com)’s Digital Orchestrator Plus and Digital Orchestrator Pro are simpler to use and more than flexible enough to do all that you mentioned. I have DO Plus, but prefer Cakewalk, personally. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/25 "2000-12-08T09:12:12Z")
> [@](#): > > Macs do suck, and despite what they say, there is literally no advantage of recording music on a mac. Zero. Nada. Zip. Are you a working, professional musician? Why do you think professional musicians like Herbie Hancock, IceT, Peter Gabriel, and many other musicians use Macs? Is it only because they are too lazy to learn Windows? Or perhaps it is because they actually **know** their business? ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/26 "2000-12-08T09:25:27Z")
> [@](#): > > ANY heavy CGI program is guaranteed to crash in a PC. Unless you’re using Linux, not Windows, but I never tried it so I can’t tell for sure. LOL, this is ridiculous. Tell me, how much does a CGI program have to weigh before it is guaranteed to crash? 8^) One wonders why CGI programs continue to be made for PC when they are ‘guaranteed’ to crash. If I hadn’t stopped taking you seriously when you said McDonalds used worm meat in their hamburgers, this would do it. You simply can’t give me a real example, can you? > [@](#): > > Why do you think professional musicians like Herbie Hancock, IceT, Peter Gabriel, and many other musicians use Macs? Is it only because they are too lazy to learn Windows? Or perhaps it is because they actually know their business? It’s an industry standard, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s best, it’s just what people are most used to. As I said, at one time Macs were about the only choice for serious recording. At that time, everyone HAD to use a Mac. Since learning a new operating system can be difficult even if you do understand how they work, it makes sense that people whose job is not working with computers but making music will prefer to stick with what they know, even though other choices may be just as good or even better. Throw on top of that extremely ignorant people like smartt/Uniball constantly making vague, baseless ‘you can’t do that on a PC’ statements, and it makes perfect sense to me. Look at Meephead, he uses a PC and one of the most (if not THE most) popular programs for creating music, he has no problems with it. ---
**Author:** ![blastfurnace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@blastfurnace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blastfurnace)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/27 "2000-12-08T12:58:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bill H. \* > **Badtz, ignore the heathens. Macs do suck, and despite what they say, there is literally no advantage of recording music on a mac. Zero. Nada. Zip.** Could you please explain _why_ you **think** Macs suck? All you “computer gurus” who make these generalizations show exactly how little you actually know about computers. Computers don’t “suck”. They all have strengths and weaknesses. For example, I’ll take the word of Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Peter Gabriel, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, Air, Abbey Road, Tortoise and Frank Zappa over Meephead concerning which platform is more versitile in the recording industry. PC’s are nice, too. ---
**Author:** ![pezpunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@pezpunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezpunk)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/28 "2000-12-08T13:04:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Why do you think professional musicians like Herbie Hancock, IceT, Peter Gabriel, and many other musicians use Macs? \*\* Slight Hijack; You just put Ice T in the same group of musicians as Peter Grabriel and Herbie Hancock? I don’t know if we can trust your opinions on this issue anymore! ---
**Author:** ![JimmyNipples](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@JimmyNipples](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyNipples)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/29 "2000-12-08T14:57:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uniball \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > > \*\*I am fervently anti-Mac, and I can see no reason why I would need one for this. \*\* > > Cause Mac is FAR, FAR, FAR BETTER than a PC for professional use in anything that involves image and sound manipulation. PC may be good for domestic use, but you won’t find any professional using Windows for any serious work. \*\* Ahem…I use S.A.W. 32 **professional** sound manipulation program. Granted, Mac is more of a seamless platform, however, this windows based program works just fine. Most everybody in the chain of 81 radio stations, which I am a part of, use the same program. ---
**Author:** ![Meephead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b782af/32.png) [@Meephead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meephead)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2000, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/30 "2000-12-08T15:43:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blastfurnace \* > For example, I’ll take the word of Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Peter Gabriel, DJ Shadow, DJ Krush, Air, Abbey Road, Tortoise and Frank Zappa over Meephead concerning which platform is more versitile in the recording industry. I never stated that one was more versatile than the other. I merely stated my experiences and that for my purposes my PC does everything I need of it as well as a Mac would do it for me. Since my experience is with a PC and Badtz has no intention on switching formats, I felt what I had to say was relevant to the conversation. Arguing which is better for the job is simply not relevant to this thread, IMHO. There will likely be no winner in this argument, so why carry on with it? Perhaps a thread should be opened in Great Debates? ---
**Author:** ![blastfurnace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@blastfurnace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blastfurnace)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/31 "2000-12-09T02:59:00Z")
Meephead, I’m sorry…I wasn’t trying to dis you or anything. I misread what was happening and thought Meephead was an artist outside this forum. As I told Badtz, whatever platform works for him…go for it. ---
**Author:** ![blastfurnace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@blastfurnace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blastfurnace)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/32 "2000-12-09T03:20:35Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=50098](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=50098) for a great debates topic concerning this. ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/33 "2000-12-09T04:42:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pezpunk \* > > Slight Hijack; > > You just put Ice T in the same group of musicians as Peter Grabriel and Herbie Hancock? I don’t know if we can trust your opinions on this issue anymore! \*\* Well, I don’t listen to Ice T, but he is obviously successful at his business. I mentioned him because he was recently featured in **MacAddict** magazine. Another celebrity that uses Macs: Oscar-winning film composer Jerry Goldsmith (he wrote “Alien”, several “Star Trek” scores, “L.A. Confidential”, and oodles of other scores.) I believe these people know their business. I also believe that whatever works for you, go for it. I certainly can understand why Badtz wouldn’t want to invest in an entire new computer system. Therefore, I understand why he’d want to use his current PC for his musical needs. However, I don’t think it’s terribly enlightened of him to bash Mac users, especially many accomplished _professional_ musicians. It is quite possible, just _a little_ conceivable, that they know a little more about being a professional musician than he does. Or, at the very least, they shouldn’t be dismissed as choosing Macs merely because they don’t want to be bothered to learn Windows. What poppycock! ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2000, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/34 "2000-12-09T08:51:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\* > If I hadn’t stopped taking you seriously when you said McDonalds used worm meat in their hamburgers, this would do it. You simply can’t give me a real example, can you? > \*\* ??? What the fuck are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2000, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/35 "2000-12-10T05:10:47Z")
I want the whole lot of you to keep a civil tongue and try to keep to the subject while in this forum, or I’ll either move this thread to the Pit, or lock it off entirely. Nothing in the OP calls for some of what I’ve seen so far, and I hope to never see it again. Damn, I haven’t got to really bitch people out in a _looooong_ time. Felt good to get it out of my system. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2000, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/36 "2000-12-10T05:55:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by slythe \* > **Nothing in the OP calls for some of what I’ve seen so far, and I hope to never see it again.** Hopes are like baby pidgeons. They do exist - but only in theory. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/37 "2000-12-11T01:18:42Z")
jeez Badtz, as a budding digital recording engineer you don’t have much respect for your superiors in the field. That being said, for what you want to do, your PC plus cakewalk should be fine. My big reason for getting my 60mhz PPC 6100 in 1994 which I’m STILL using? - software and plug 'n play. Back then PC had very few titles. Mac had all the good titles. On the plug 'n play side, HDs were much smaller and you had to have several drives on a SCSI chain to handle the huge digital audio files - this was a breeze on the mac in that even the lowliest mac had a SCSI port. Not so with PCs. MIDI gear simply went into the modem port. Not so with PCs. Yeah it’s ancient history. These days both platforms are roughly equally competent at least with digital audio (can’t speak for the graphics folks). With both systems you’ll want to pick up your computer and throw it out the window. To rag on the all the GREAT artists and digital audio pioneers for using macs when windows wasn’t even on the radar is downright disrespectful, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/38 "2000-12-11T04:41:20Z")
What got me started with my attacks on Mac users was Mac users who obviously didn’t know what they were talking about saying PCs were inferior to Macs. They are two different kinds of tools, both of which do some of the same jobs but do them differently in many cases. I personally prefer PCs and feel they are better than Macs for what I need. I use my computer for a number of things, and I know from my experience that a lot of the things I do are harder or impossible on a Mac. When someone claims to prefer a product that you feel inferior, who doesn’t feel that the other person is misinformed? I asked for examples, and nobody stepped up - and I know better than to believe ‘if these people prefer it, it must be better’ arguments. Apple has made it a business practice to try and get people used to their products before they are knowledgeable about the choices, how do you explain how they used to give Macs to schools free? ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/39 "2000-12-11T04:44:54Z")
[http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=48690&pagenumber=2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=48690&pagenumber=2) ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2000, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113/40 "2000-12-11T04:46:56Z")
BTW, just because the search feature can’t find the thread where you implied that your Brazillian worm farmer uncle may sell earthworm meat to McDonalds doesn’t mean it isn’t archived somewhere… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-my-pc-as-a-recording-studio-what-do-i-need/44113.md?page=3)