Recording

So I've got a decent soundcard and lots of RAM. I want to make a little demo. I did it before some 6 years ago using Cakewalk and the cheesyist drum program ever. I was wondering what the opinions are for recording something with just an amp (line-in, I have no decent mics) and a soundcard (audigy something exterior, what a gimmick). I can't say I appreciate MIDI only because I don't understand it and I think perhaps anybody can make it sound good with little effort. What I'm looking for is a decent recording program. .. The best recording program in your esteemed opinion.

Hard to say cause you usually end up sticking with the one you originally started with. I've got Cubase & spent the better part of 2 months learning how to use it properly & then probably another year to feel comfortable enough to make a recording that didn't sound 'homemade'.
Everybody else I know uses ProTools & it's a royal pain not being able to swap files and stuff, but there's no way I'm gonna re-learn it now. If I was starting out right now though, I would probably go with ProTools cause it's the standard in most studios.
I don't think I agree with ya about midi though. A well done midi file is hard work, especially if it's meant to be played back on different types of software. If you want to program drums using samples from your HD, it's pretty much essential too. I usually end up spending over a week on just the drum tracks, then have to go back after the song's finished to tweak em again. Just finding the right cymbals can take all day when there's a hundred .wav files to choose from.
There's other stuff to consider too like whether you're going to want to use VST instruments etc...
Some of the newest software isn't backwards compatible with earlier plug-ins...one of the major reasons why I haven't upgraded past Cubase 5.1 is it renders all my older VST instruments useless.
You also have to be careful about mistaking RAM for CPU power. I've got plenty of RAM which means that in theory, I can get about 5 plug-ins going at once...but the CPU on my G3 Mac is too slow to keep up, so the sound constantly cuts out unless you print the effects to tape. Anyways...blah blah... it's probably gonna take ya like a year for you to figure out what the heck I'm talking about :)

IMHO the most versatile proggy is Emagic´s Logic Audio Platinum. it takes a while to learn, but sound- and featurewise its high end. compared to pro-tools its much cheaper and AFAIK Protools uses (needs?) special hardware too to work propperly. logic does not need that. its much more versatile than any cubase or cakewalk version i have seen. its very widely used in studios though it is not as widely known as protools. for further info: http://www.emagic.de - alot of absolutely high end effects have been designed especially for logic. the only problem is, that the later versions (6.0 and upwards) are only available for MAC anymore since the majority of high-end HD-recording takes place there. the new space-designer plugin for examle : " The testers were especially impressed by the revolutionary reverb sound and its unique editing possibilities. Last but not least they pointed out that 'Space Designer isn't just a fantastic reverb unit; the creative possibilities are awesome'. The conclusion: 10 out of 10 points for Space Designer." it can simulate virtually EVERY reverb unit that has ever been built harware and software-wise. and thats only ONE of a tonn of plugins for Logic. so if you ask me, go for it!

Just to add yet another perspective ...

I'm using Sonar (3 producers pack) with Waves gold (plug-ins) and Wave lab. Not cheap but a very user friendly interface. This system is better than pro tools in several respects and one of my favorite selling points it the way it uses system resources i.e. it digs into to processing power. I'm running a (400 MB FSB) 2.4 GHz PC with 512 MB RAM..so far no problems. Incidental Sonar 3 is a lot more processor hungry than Sonar 2.2XL which is another brilliant program.

Pro tools is the industry standard however the setup I have easily keeps up and as we all know from VHS/beta max story it is not always the best one that becomes the industry standard !

All of these programs have a learning curve and the more you use them the better you'll get so don't be shy, get in there and start recording !

Thanks for the info. Odd that I've heard of all the programs fore-mentioned with the exception of ProTools. I'll have to look it up. I'm going to go with Emagic for no particular reason. With respect to MIDI, you're right. I have no clue except I need it for the drum track. Is there a program available that produces realistic drum patterns? I think it wise to lay down the drums first so I'll have to figure it out before I get to anything else. (No worries about CPU power here either).

if you go for emagic, then be sure to get a manual from somewhere - else you´ll be having a difficult start. but once u got used to it, it is absolutely brilliant. the latest versoin for PC is 5.5 which IMHO is absolutely sufficiant for 99.99% of all recording situations. there is a B3-Hammond simulation, several high-end synths and samplers and effects included. you goin to buy it or you goin to get it.. er... elsewhere?

I'm going to get it elsewhere. (What's IHMO?) 5.5, thanks. Should help with the search. The only drum program I know of is called fruityloops and it's worthless. You folks are probably set up with MIDI drum sequencers or how ever the terminology goes or a MIDI keyboard that does drum loops right?

IMHO means "in my humble opinnion"

however

i personally have alot of AKAI-sample CD´s from various companies like LILO and such, providing a vast amount of all kinds of samples which can be used with the built in EXS24 Sampler in logic. other than that i got a Roland XV2020 Soundmodule.

I'm going to do some research to translate that to english.

what exactly did you not understand?