The Guitar Player's Resource
Hello readers and welcome back. This month I am going to tell you about something cool that is happening in the world of laptop recording with a control surface.
It used to be easy to punch in when recording, but what if you are the only person in the room and need your hands to play? That would suck.
Well enter the world of hands free laptop recording. What the hell am I talking about.
Well, to start, all you would need would be one of these, a GNX3000 guitar processor, (which is a drum machine, USB interface, control surface and more)...
...hooked into one of these (a laptop computer that has some half-decent memory and speed to it) via a USB cable.
That is it. This will make mobile recording quite simple and painless. The unit is the Digitech GNX 3000 that comes with ProTracks Plus running ASIO or WDM drivers. ASIO are better, in my opinion.
You also get the X Editor (for patch programming and USB control) to store all of your cool sounds that you make on the 3000. Plus you can control the USB settings in this page. Check it out.
The whole idea is to make it very easy to record while away from home, or even at home with a very mobile, great sounding system.
Next is the software called Pro Tracks Plus. This is basically Cakewalk so if you are familiar with any Sonar software it will be quite easy to understand.
Once you install the software there are only a few settings to tweak in order to get the 3000 usable as a control system (see below).
After this step, it is as easy as starting the built-in drum machine and setting Pro Tracks to record and you are off. All with just pushing the controls at your feet.
After that, continue to add whatever tracks you want with your hands free again.
This is great to instantly get high quality .wav files with the most minimalist effort.
After that mix and burn the project to a .mp3 or onto a CD to freak people out at your cool tones and cool tunes!!. I wish it was this easy back when I had the analog 4 track cassette tape machine.
This is just an introduction to the types of things that are out there to get you starting to record, and which allow you to tell the world about who you are and how great you are!
So get to it!
May the tone be with you.
David Martone is a guitarist from Vancouver, Canada who has released seven solo CDs which showcase his musical diversity and brilliant guitarmanship.
His 2007 CD is entitled "When The Aliens Come", which features a progressive sound incorporating jazz, rock, fusion and metal influences.
