BlueMountain

Don't have a clue what EZ Mix is....I'll need to check it out. By the way...Native Instruments 'Vintage Keys' and 'Vintage Organs' are cool. Damn that Rhodes and Clavinet sure kill.

They sure are. I have a couple of Arturia products like this. I think it's a great idea. The good thing about USB MIDI is that it enables multiple devices if need be (DAW dependent mind you). I just hope the manufacturers continue to include the traditional MIDI option too. If you own or come by an older model of keyboard/synth then you're beat if you don't have traditional MIDI on your interface. For me personally. Although I like the plug and play aspect, I prefer to have the option of using traditional MIDI connections as I have a shitload of USB dongles.

Nice going Hog. You should be very happy with EZDrummer. Just reading through the post. You mention the M-Audio Box and the Mbox. These are two 'different' interfaces which people tend to mix up with one another. I have an Mbox I use on my general purpose PC. Just plug it in and you're away. I use an RME for more serious stuff. I can say that the Mbox is a fab little interface. You could do some serious music and good demos on this. The pre amps won't handle the more gain hungry mics out there like the Shure SM7b. However, regular dynamic mics and condensers will be cool. By the way, I advise that you 'do' get an interface which has MIDI. If you don't, you may end up kicking yourself later down the line if you wish to use a soft synths or such like. A friend of mine got the Mbox Mini (lesser version of the Mbox) which doesn't have MIDI and regrets it. Now he's away to get an Mbox.

Feck the above. Audio Deluxe have EZDrummer on sale again for $49 (approx £30) if you create an account and add it to your cart (ignore the $79). This is a download, so no waiting for a box to be mailed. http://audiodeluxe.com/products/toontrack-ezdrummer You won't get it for less than this anywhere/anytime.

Actually, several others (Thomann, DV247 and Andertons etc) have them on sale too. Must be a Toontrack precipitated sale then. Take your pick.

@Hog Just letting you know that I received an email from - http://www.rubadub.co.uk/ They have Superior Drummer 2 and EZDrummer on Special right now. £109 and £54 respectively. Although their website has Superior 2 for £54, their eBay is £109. In my opinion, I'd say the website price is an error and meant to be £109 as per their eBay below. I doubt if they'd have SD2 the same price as EZDrummer. However, if you want to take a punt and get SD2 for £54 through the website and hope they'll be good for it, then it is up to you. I might cause some transactional issues. Might be best you check with them first. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toontrack-EZ-Drummer-Drum-Sample-Software-/261070382172?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item3cc901e45c http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toontrack-Superior-Drummer-2-0-Drum-Sample-Software-/260806413468?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Other&hash=item3cb9460c9c Incidentally, All SDX expansion packs appear to be reduced too. I should never have bought a new SG 61 Reissue last week - NOT.

Yeh...EZDrummer for demos for defo. I think you'd be happy with it. It's a good piece of software with lots of expansion packs available. You can drag and drop grooves into your midi track just like SD2. You can split the different kit parts in EZDrummer too - if you wanted to. I'm sure it can be done, albeit a bit fiddly. I'd still be happily using EZD it if SD2 hadn't come about.

BTW you just missed the EZ Drummer download at Audio Deluxe for £18 last weekend. Superior 2 is a great piece of software. Confuses the shit out me sometimes, so I only use it for what I need it to do for me. Mainly I piece grooves and fills together by dragging them into my DAW track. I use Superior Drummer 2 in Pro Tools 9. I create an 'Instrument Track' with SD2 on it (which eventually just gets used solely for the kick). I then create a number of aux tracks (depending on how many kit components I need - in addition to the kick). I then use Superior's internal routing and PT9's aux track inputs to send the snare, hi-hat etc to individual aux tracks. Once I have a whole song's arrangement which I'm happy with, I'll bounce each kit component to individual audio tracks. I can then put compressors and EQs on each track to suit and send the tracks to a reverb aux and then, last but not least, the drum buss. The same should be possible in other DAWs. Or at least a variation of it in some way. Which Daw do you use? Perhaps someone can I used EZ Drummer years ago. Nought wrong with it. Just less processing options than SD2. Bear in mind though, EZD already comes compressed and is 16 bit. This didn't stop me from doing stuff I enjoyed though. BM.

Good point Bigsby. Yeh there have been some criticisms over the finishing work on several cheaper models. I have a good LP Studio (Faded Cherry) 50s neck which has a dodgy knot on the wood where the neck binding would be on the 5th fret. Although I like it a lot, I could have kicked myself for not spotting this as I was buying it (in a shop). It's only visible to me though - and I need specs to really see it. A minor purchase spoiler at best. As ever, buying online is a gamble between price and 'play before you buy' I guess. I've never been dissatisfied with any SG I've tried so I'm hopeful of being happy. The upper fret access and tapered neck of the 61 Reissue was a huge selling point for me, not to mention the protruding neck joint part being located two frets lower than the 2012 Standards (two more frets worth of non-obstructed neck). I'll let you all know how I get on when my 61 Reissue arrives. Should be here next week.

As the title says. Just a wee heads up Now is a good time to score one of the 2012 Gibson SG Standards. Thomann in Germany are knocking them out for around £716, in contrast to the £799 most UK retailers have them at. The reason they're so cheap at present is due to retailers hoping to clear the decks for the 2013 SG Standards. Why?...Well... Gibson are replacing the current Standard SG (bat wing pick guard, 490R + 498P pickups, rounded neck. with What has been known up to this point as the SG 61 Reissue (smaller pick guard, 57 Classic pickups, slim tapered neck). This will be the 2o13 Standard SG so I guess they'll be retiring the 61 Reissue. I just pulled the trigger on one of their left over (full finish) SG 61 Reissues for £890. Some places are still trying to shift these for £1200-£1350.

Recently bought the Arturia V Collection (classic analog soft synths) and have been trying to create something retro with a late '70s early '80s vibe. It's a hoot but I keep scrapping things and starting over. Also been pissing around with Native Instruments' FM8 (Dx-7 type synth). Some nice cheesy '80s sounds in this which give plenty of inspiration.

I totally agree with Mr. Byre regarding Reaper. However, the hybrid hardware-software package route may have gotten the OP freebie DAW software which is what they said they would like "ideally". Mind you, a freebie isn't a freebie if you have to by hardware. My rationale was also guided by my notion that SonarX1LE came with V-Vocal which is Cakewalk's (albeit limited) autotune style plugin. However, I just checked an it doesn't.

What everyone else said. Unless you come by a free copy of Sonar or such like which has come with a hardware product, then Reaper is your man.

Has it always been quiet or has it just started misbehaving? Are you using its built in mic or the stereo mic line in? The former is potentially going to be iffy from the get go and latter will depend on the quality of the mic used. Or, the sensitivity setting on the Micro BR? Check p39 of the manual here for details of this setting. Perhaps the 'Input Level' needs cranked? Or the play back device is faulty. It'd dead easy to overlook something silly like this. I do it all the time. Failing any of the above and if using a mic, try the mic with a different cable. If it's still quiet, try a different mic using both cables you've used. If your mic has a mouled on cable which cannot be disconnected, then try the mic into an amp or something to check it's okay. Hope some of this helps.

Nah...I was in the process of building one but I don't have the time just now to commit to what may result from anyone wanting to work with me. I was working with a solo artist from Dundee for the last 3 months of 2011 and I found it hard to fit him in at various points as I have a fairly full on full time job and other stuff to contend with. I'd love to open a place up some day but this may be 5-10 years down the line due to me still requiring lots of gear to do this. I don't know if I ever will though. It may not be economically viable in the current and envisaged future economic climate. As the future unfolds, I reckon we're gonna see lots of professional and semi-professionals working from well equipped home based studios (with adequate space). The market is about to bugger us all up like it did in the 1980s and I think bands may struggle to afford recording costs with studio owners struggling to make ends meet - unless they're really at the top of their game. I was in a band in the late 1980s and we were all either unemployed or in crap jobs and I think young folks in general are headed this way again nowadays. Recording in a studio was a distant dream for us. Mind you, we drank a lot and recorded to 4 track tape at home. Mind you, we eventually did record something at the Seagate Studio in 1989 when they ran a modestly priced recording course in conjunction with Dundee City Council. That was a good experience and we learned heaps about engineering.