Advice Needed: New Soundcard +DAW

TelePaul

Hey guys,

Getting back to computer-based recording after a pretty long hiatus! Downsized quite a bit but would like to pick up a few basic bits and pieces for a home setup/project studio/whatever. Was hoping for recommendations/thoughts in the are of both a Soundcard and a DAW:

Soundcard

I was using an old Alesis io 26 - I bought it because it had 8 pres and I was recording drums at the time, but it has crapped out a couple of times. My needs now are an interface with min. 2 analogue ins, but ideally 4 (want the option of X/Y micing a source and recording a couple of guitars 'live' together. To be honest, I'm not sure what the major differentiators are in this space right now; it seems like everyone is offering comparable quality ADA converters and that USB is holding its own vs. firewire as far as recording multiple channels goes. Any standout brands making better Pres, or any additional features I should think about here besides the obvious stuff? Is the Apogee justa fancy paperweight or are their pre-amps really that much better? Budget here is about $400 - $500.

DAW

Okay, this is where things get really confusing - it seems that everyone is offering incredibly well-specc'd software for significantly less money. I cut my teeth on Cubase SE and am nearly inclined to stay with that suite for the sake of convenience. However, what Logic X delivers for $200 seems incredibly cool, and while I'm mostly going to be recording folk and blues on Audio tracks, the VST and plug-ins that come standard with Cubase Artist seem a bit 'meh' when compared with some of the other more Digital Music oriented offerings. Pretty confused here and wondering if I should just bite the bullet and look at a Pro Tools rig with an MBox. Budget here is, again, $300 - $400 bucks.

Just curious to gather people's thoughts - its been ages since I looked at anything remotely related to music production. Once I can make a call on this stuff, I'll see if I need to shore up my collection of mics and other hardware. Would massively appreciate any help here!

TroutMask

Given your budget–i'd go for Reaper as a DAW as this will expand the budget for the audio interface: you mentioned that good pres are important to you, so you'll have to buy carefully. Good pres do not come at a low price. I've not used Apogee stuff for a while, can't comment on the pres–their conversion is very good though. Prism Sound make interfaces that have it all (great pres and rock solid conversion–they're expensive though). RME are good–solid and trouble-free. MOTU used to be good, now they're unreliable–their pres were never that great anyway. You could get a basic RME or similar with a view towards buying a couple of outboard pres down the line: this approach can work quite well and allows you to customise your rig and create a sonic flavour for your recordings.

Back to DAWs–Logic is a possibility as well, I've used it for years–though I've stopped using Logic's EQs, compressors and reverbs. Basically I keep using it because it speaks Eucon and I have a Euphonix. I like Logic the way I run it with 3rd party plug-ins. Nuendo is nice as well. All of these solutions are expensive, so I'd go with Reaper TBH, or perhaps Harrison MixBus if you don't need MIDI.

GTE

I would go for Reaper too.

Cubase 8 is the first version which is pushing me from Steinberg, I am really unhappy with unfinished nature of some of it. I am playing around with Reaper a lot and I think it would work well for you.