What's a good, intuitive free recording software?

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Matt300ZXT

Matt300ZXT

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If there is such a thing, I'm willing to try recording some simple riffs again. Last time I was trying to use my Boss Katana and/or Scarlett 2i2 interface, I was using an older computer my dad had given me to use for just basically playing YouTube videos through my monitors to jam over, or practice with Guitar Pro midi tabs. No matter the settings, I always had noticeable latency when recording a rhythm track and trying to replay it while also recording a 2nd track for the solo. It was HORRIBLE and totally unusable. It probably had to do with the computer being Windows 8 and weak as fuck and old. This computer is much much more powerful than that, so I figure this one may give me better results.

It's a Windows 11 PC AMD Ryzen 5 running at 3.6ghz and 16gb of ram. I figure that's at least a wee bit stronger than the 10 year old computer I was fiddling with lol

A friend recommended Reaper, and that may have been what I was using in the past. Also, is there a program that has built in basic drum tracks so I have something to make it even remotely sound sort of like a song?
 
You have to adjust the buffer settings when recording or there might be latency
 
RaceU4her said:
You have to adjust the buffer settings when recording or there might be latency
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I did, I watched videos on it and everything, and it either had bad latency, or just didn't work at all. I am totally unfamiliar with recording and am too old fashioned I guess to have gotten into it like everyone else.
 
Matt300ZXT said:
I did, I watched videos on it and everything, and it either had bad latency, or just didn't work at all. I am totally unfamiliar with recording and am too old fashioned I guess to have gotten into it like everyone else.
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Weird, maybe it was something with the katana, I was recording full bands with 30something tracks total in reaper almost 10 years ago on my laptop that was already many years old at that point and never had latency issues as long as the buffer was down
 
So do I just plug a cable from the output of my Katana into the Scarlett's input or do I plug my guitar into the Scarlett and use some sort of onboard guitar tones? Or does Reaper only track whatever signal your amp creates?
 
I don't have all the answers as I'm new to this too, but my first clips ever were like 10 years ago, on a much slower laptop than I have now. That was with an SM57 into Audacity (free) and Line 6 UX1 + POD Farm plug in. Not saying you should buy that - just more of an example. I also recently took advantage of the ToneX $99 software download (don't know what it is now) and it included AmpliTude 5 and MODO Drum. Have not messed with this shit yet :lol:

You can do it :yes:
 
Devin said:
You sure you're running an ASIO driver?


I recommend Cakewalk; it's what I use and it's free
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I have no idea. All I know is it's a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 that I'm only using as my soundcard right now to power these studio monitors on my PC.
 
Shit, now Reaper is asking me what Audio system, input and output devices, how many bits, input/output channels, sample rate, etc. This is why I never fooled with this shit in the past. I don't know what any of this means.
 
Just a general PSA; it's worth to note on older entry level PCs that lowering video resolution as well as audio bitrate may make them manageable enough to record. Turning off background tasks and other programs can help as well. Check to see if you can increase dedicated threads to the whatever DAW allows for. Make sure your power settings are high/performance modes. RAM can def be an issue if you're running a lot of plugins or other programs at the same time. Shouldn't have issues with any modern PC built in the last ten years, although thread count on some select CPUs may still be an issue.
 
NowYou'rePlayingWithPower said:
Just a general PSA; it's worth to note on older entry level PCs that lowering video resolution as well as audio bitrate may make them manageable enough to record. Turning off background tasks and other programs can help as well. Check to see if you can increase dedicated threads to the whatever DAW allows for. Make sure your power settings are high/performance modes. RAM can def be an issue if you're running a lot of plugins or other programs at the same time. Shouldn't have issues with any modern PC built in the last ten years, although thread count on some select CPUs may still be an issue.
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To add to that, on my first old Windows laptop I used for recording, I'd have to disable the WIFI adapter or else i'd get periodic pops/clicks lol
 
Fuck this, I keep getting a light chorus effect when playing through Reaper (not even recording) so I know settings are off, and I can't remember how to play the first track while recording a second track to play over it. Bring on the AI overlords so I don't have to actually try lol
 
Matt300ZXT said:
Shit, now Reaper is asking me what Audio system, input and output devices, how many bits, input/output channels, sample rate, etc. This is why I never fooled with this shit in the past. I don't know what any of this means.
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Can back and forth on this in long winded posts, but honestly would check youtube video for setting up the specific version you have. Probably a five minute video, if I were to guess. Wouldn't stress too much about bitrate, etc... as your system is good enough for the highest, but it will take up more space on your hard drive the higher it's set. Find a happy medium that you're okay with. I will change it depending on the final destination of the track, but generally stick with 24bit 192kHz. 48 (not sure if your interface is capable) isn't going to make a huge difference to most humans in better quality, but 16 might make enough to sound poor, imo.

Devin said:
To add to that, on my first old Windows laptop I used for recording, I'd have to disable the WIFI adapter or else i'd get periodic pops/clicks lol
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Older wifi drivers are the bane of my existence. o_O
 
Subscribing.. Been thinking about getting a recording setup myself. Why, I don't really know. I ain't that good, but it sounds like it might be fun.
 
Reaper is great...but another very simple program that you can get it done easily with is Audacity.
 
Devin said:
If you run a WDM or Directsound driver instead of ASIO you're definitely gonna have a bad time; you can select the driver in your DAW settings
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Ok I downloaded the driver from Asio4all and still getting latency, because this stuff is all greek to me lol If I knew the name of the problem I'm having I may be able to watch a video on how to fix it.
 
Matt300ZXT said:
Ok I downloaded the driver from Asio4all and still getting latency, because this stuff is all greek to me lol If I knew the name of the problem I'm having I may be able to watch a video on how to fix it.
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Your Scarlett should have came with it's own ASIO driver - or at the very least it should be available to download from the Focusrite website.

I'd def recommend using that over Asio4All if possible
 
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