Advice for simple recording set up

[guitar_legend]

Hey guys, sorry if this is a tired question but im planning to get a recording set up over the holidays ive just bought a 57 & 58 for band requirements but now think its important that i get some home recording gear.
Im using windows XP and probably need to get new monitors but what other software & hardware would you recomend whilst keeping to a student budget.
Also what is the cheapest way i can get Pro Tools?

Thank you very much, Dave

[TheMusicBucket]

If you have a firewire input I highly recommend the Firestudio Mobile from Presonus. It has two mic inputs on the front, then it also has an additional 6 line inputs on the back. It also comes with the artist version of Presonus's new DAW called Studio One. It's an excellent DAW, and if you upgrade to the Pro version, it has a built in mastering-section. So basically, it pwns.

[racerevlon]

Is there a specific reason you want ProTools? There's a lot of other recording software out there that isn't as proprietary when it comes to the hardware/interfaces.

I bought a Digidesign MBox Mini for $199 US and it came with a full version of ProTools. It was pretty bad--the software was ok but the interface was fraught with latency. I upgraded my interface and went with Cakewalk Sonar. Now all of my devices are interoperable, except for the MBox.

You can get a Line6 GX interface for about $99 US, and Reaper is solid recording software you can download for free, and if you like it the Home User license is $60 US. So for $150 US you can be off to the races.

Cheers,

Race

[jay ratkowski]

racerevlon - I believe all Digidesign interfaces should work with Sonar via the AS10 drivers that come with Pro Tools.

You're asking kind of a loaded question... Something like Sonar with (insert any cheap interface here) is a great way to go. I've made some really nice sounding recordings with Sonar. For similar money ProTools LE can do a bit more, but the learning curve is way higher. I use both, my preference kind of varies depending on the project. For just a live band setting, I think Sonar is more straight-forward.

Yet, I get the most accomplished with GarageBand. It's just so stripped down and easy to use. It's the closest thing I've found to a modern 4 track. Sounds counter-intuitive, but when everything is made extremely simple, I find it easier to just let the creativity flow. Obviously that's a Mac only solution, but there are very stripped down solutions for Windows. I guess the question is, do you want super stripped down, or do you want more work but the ability to produce semi-professional results?

[rty13ibz98]

i love my presonus firestudio 2626 with 2 digimax d8's and they play well with sonar.
not a PT fan. i am just so used to the sonar workflow.

rich