Good software for live recording ?

[ebulb]

Anyone know of recording software that just focusses on recording mission critical applications ? I recall hearing someone mention a while back some software that doesnt mix or run synths or anything but just focusses on recording tracks from a soundcard with absolute 100% stability and not using much system resources.

I need something which i can totally rely on in a seperate mobile recording rig im trying to hook up.. Ideally im looking for something free or very cheap also if possible.. i thought about reaper but i had many problems with it when i demoed it a while back on a mix i was doing.. I wasnt sure if it might be better for recording though ? I need to do 24 trackas at 16/48 on an oldish laptop with a USB2 7200rpm drive and a focusrite saffire 56 interface..

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

Originally Posted by ebulb

Anyone know of recording software that just focusses on recording mission critical applications ? I recall hearing someone mention a while back some software that doesnt mix or run synths or anything but just focusses on recording tracks from a soundcard with absolute 100% stability and not using much system resources.

I need something which i can totally rely on in a seperate mobile recording rig im trying to hook up.. Ideally im looking for something free or very cheap also if possible.. i thought about reaper but i had many problems with it when i demoed it a while back on a mix i was doing.. I wasnt sure if it might be better for recording though ? I need to do 24 trackas at 16/48 on an oldish laptop with a USB2 7200rpm drive and a focusrite saffire 56 interface..

RME gives away a program called Digicheck with their HDSP interfaces. One feature of Digicheck is Digicheck Record, which works basically like a Studer... you get input levels, arm/disarm switches, and a transport control.

I used a 16 channel version to record a multimillion dollar major American opera on its premier run... no excuses acceptable. We got every rehearsal and every performance without a glitch.

Another safe choice is SAWStudio. it just doesn't crash.
For years now I've been using Sequoia, the big brother of Samplitude. Never had it crash either, but I've not stressed it at all. I've done just about everything to SAWStudio and it works like a charm. Used it for a long time to record the basic tracks which I then edited in Sequoia.

[Whitecat]

Boom Recorder is cool but only works on Macs...

[Ozpeter]

Reaper is the one that springs to my mind, I have to say. In previous such threads it seems to get as many mentions as anything else. When it comes to recording, for instance, you can disable all keyboard input to minimise the chance of accidentally hitting "stop" (but you can leave the key for dropping markers activated). You can also set it to record a stereo mix on the fly even when the transport isn't running. You can create new file sets between songs with a single keystroke. Etc etc. Maybe try it again.

[David Spearritt]

I second the recommendation for Reaper very strongly. I have recorded countless concerts and three day music festivals with Reaper now and never had a glitch.

The installer is under 5 MB in size, yes read that again, 5 MB, it is written in native C++ without the use of huge software frameworks. Justin Frankel the author is a true master programmer, there is no software team. The less people involved in writing a piece of software the better. Witness Wavelab, another extremely reliable program written also by another master programmer, Philipe Goutier.

These programs are small and extremely frugal with your computers resources, without sacrificing function. This is what brings reliability to live recording software more than any other factor.

[noamraz]

Reaper has been working here like a charm for the last 3 years

but -
lately i have been working with a new laptop that has great DPC latency which caused audio drop-outs while recording, without any notification within reaper.

There's a feature request at Coko's forums - FYI

[ebulb]

i have used reaper in the past and i actually found it really buggy with the mix i was trying to do at the time.. I will try it again to record.. I love the concept of reaper being so streamlined and with constant updates and very affordable pricing.. I think thats great so id like to use it but it needs to work 100%.

I heard there is a way to stop keyboard input once you are recording in reaper, anyone know the way to do this ? I will download it now and give it a shot..

[ysmgj]

+1 for reaper.

it uses so little resources that if the program material is boring you could load up your favourite film, check email and post on gearslutz while recording

[philper]

Boom Recorder costs $260 US. It too is the product of a single mind (Take Vos) who has been incredible about updates and fixes from the very beginning. It is completely about "capture"--recording only and thus has a very simple, non-laptop-taxing interface. It is aimed at the video/film market in that it includes the timecode and reporting features that sector of the market demands, as well as being very "lightweight": it works very well on old computers (I often do 22 chan to two drives at once, ie 44 files, maxing out a MOTU Traveler, on an old G4 laptop). It is true that it is Mac-only, and Take Vos has been pretty specific about not making a PC version. Many BR users are on the JWSound.net forum, if you have questions about it, although Take is very good about answering questions. VOSGAMES - Boom Recorder

phil p

[ebulb]

reaper fixed an issue i had with Vegas and the focusrite saffire interface so thats good... Ive done a few tests and it seems to be going ok so far.. It really does shock me how small the executable is, not even 5 meg.. Thats proof how bloated other companies make their software..

I had a few hiccups with playback but i increased the buffer size and i dont think its happened since.. So its looking good for what i need...

My aim is to use this setup on a fairly old Laptop.. Its a 1.8 centrino with 1gig ram.. Its got nothing else at all except XP on it and a 7200RPM USB hard drive attached.. Ive managed to record 24tracks at 24/48... When i look at performance meter in reaper it says max 30-35% CPU.. But when i look at the windows task manager its saying more like 60-70% CPU and when i move other windows around or do anything else it jumps up further..

Which of the two would you say is more accurate ? Also i havent noticed any glitches recording yet but what would you say is the upper end of the CPU spectrum you would want to go ? When i saw 30% i was fairly comfortable but in task manager saying 70% it was a bit more of a concern.. Is 70% getting too high ?

[777Artin]

Pro solutions software for mobile recording i've used :

- ProTools HD
- Merging Pyramix
- Nuendo
- MOTU DP

All of them can easely sync to video / TC and are stable.

I personnally wouldn't trust any other software recorder.

777artin

[mixedupsteve]

Originally Posted by ebulb

reaper fixed an issue i had with Vegas and the focusrite saffire interface so thats good... Ive done a few tests and it seems to be going ok so far.. It really does shock me how small the executable is, not even 5 meg.. Thats proof how bloated other companies make their software..

I had a few hiccups with playback but i increased the buffer size and i dont think its happened since.. So its looking good for what i need...

My aim is to use this setup on a fairly old Laptop.. Its a 1.8 centrino with 1gig ram.. Its got nothing else at all except XP on it and a 7200RPM USB hard drive attached.. Ive managed to record 24tracks at 24/48... When i look at performance meter in reaper it says max 30-35% CPU.. But when i look at the windows task manager its saying more like 60-70% CPU and when i move other windows around or do anything else it jumps up further..

Which of the two would you say is more accurate ? Also i havent noticed any glitches recording yet but what would you say is the upper end of the CPU spectrum you would want to go ? When i saw 30% i was fairly comfortable but in task manager saying 70% it was a bit more of a concern.. Is 70% getting too high ?

Is that 60-70% the total CPU being used by everything running or just reaper"s usage?

[DannyL]

I would make several suggestions regardless of what program you use:

1) Use a 7500 rpm external drive.
2) Do not put your audio interface and hard drive on the same interface
bus:If you use FW to connect the audio interface, use USB to connect
the hard drive, or vice versa.
3) Bring some form of back-up recorder: DAT, CD-R, other computer, etc.
No matter how stable your system is, it is good sense to use a backup.
4) Use a UPS, even with a laptop. Be sure the output is sinusoidal.
5) If recording with video, be sure to resolve word clock and time code to
video. IMHO Rosendahl's Nanosyncs HD is the best external clock to
use for this purpose.

Regards;
Danny

[marty lester]

Originally Posted by ebulb

Anyone know of recording software that just focusses on recording mission critical applications ? I recall hearing someone mention a while back some software that doesnt mix or run synths or anything but just focusses on recording tracks from a soundcard with absolute 100% stability and not using much system resources.

I need something which i can totally rely on in a seperate mobile recording rig im trying to hook up.. Ideally im looking for something free or very cheap also if possible.. i thought about reaper but i had many problems with it when i demoed it a while back on a mix i was doing.. I wasnt sure if it might be better for recording though ? I need to do 24 trackas at 16/48 on an oldish laptop with a USB2 7200rpm drive and a focusrite saffire 56 interface..

i've used Boom Recorder on several mission critical occasions. it's flaweless...if you "just" need a recorder. it actually has input trims via
software that are very useful...even if you're recording via digital input.
i believe i've recorded up to 32 tracks at 48K, 24 bit for well over 2 hours non-stop with no issues.

marty.

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

Originally Posted by David Spearritt

...it is written in native C++ without the use of huge software frameworks. Justin Frankel the author is a true master programmer, there is no software team. The less people involved in writing a piece of software the better... .

If this is your criteria, you might check out SAWStudio. Written entirely in machine language, very small and tight. Written by one guy. And much more mature than Reaper, having been a viable product since the old 486 computers. It is the most stable app I've used, just doesn't crash.

[ebulb]

Originally Posted by mixedupsteve

Is that 60-70% the total CPU being used by everything running or just reaper"s usage?

Reapers performance meters says around 30% taken of my CPU.. Task manager says around 60-70% of everything running on the machine, but when i minimised the reaper and mixer windows (so you cannot see the levels of each track and its just a blank desktop) it drops to around 50-60%..

So yeah, it says 60-70% CPU usage for everything running on the machine.. But im only really running reaper and the focusrite mixer software and the few minimal background apps that windows runs..

[David Spearritt]

Originally Posted by Bill@WelcomeHome

If this is your criteria, you might check out SAWStudio. Written entirely in machine language, very small and tight. Written by one guy. And much more mature than Reaper, having been a viable product since the old 486 computers. It is the most stable app I've used, just doesn't crash.

Perhaps, but SAW Studio is probably the ugliest software on the planet, every time I see it I need a bucket. I am almost certain I could not use it for a single concert.

[ebulb]

Originally Posted by Bill@WelcomeHome

If this is your criteria, you might check out SAWStudio. Written entirely in machine language, very small and tight. Written by one guy. And much more mature than Reaper, having been a viable product since the old 486 computers. It is the most stable app I've used, just doesn't crash.

I recall SAW studio from around 1995.. That was the first program i saw that claimed to be able to record more than one wave file in sync like a multitrack.. It could do 4 tracks but this was back when most audio hardware wasnt even "full duplex", so if you recorded one track, you couldnt hear back what you had recorded to play along with, you could only record 4 tracks at once off an old 4 track or something... But it was an eye opener.. I cant believe the guy is still updating it

[mixedupsteve]

Originally Posted by ebulb

Reapers performance meters says around 30% taken of my CPU.. Task manager says around 60-70% of everything running on the machine, but when i minimised the reaper and mixer windows (so you cannot see the levels of each track and its just a blank desktop) it drops to around 50-60%..

So yeah, it says 60-70% CPU usage for everything running on the machine.. But im only really running reaper and the focusrite mixer software and the few minimal background apps that windows runs..

There must be other stuff running. Click on applications in task manager and see what else is using CPU. Check Processes too.

[PDC]

Originally Posted by ebulb

I recall SAW studio from around 1995.. That was the first program i saw that claimed to be able to record more than one wave file in sync like a multitrack.. It could do 4 tracks but this was back when most audio hardware wasnt even "full duplex", so if you recorded one track, you couldnt hear back what you had recorded to play along with, you could only record 4 tracks at once off an old 4 track or something... But it was an eye opener.. I cant believe the guy is still updating it

It's not even the same thing. PLUS he has developed SAC, the Software Audio Console for live mixing. It is cool. You can have 25 72x72 consoles (one for FOH and the rest for monitors) running on one PC, with each of the monitor consoles controlled remotely or not.

The problem with SAW is that it is ugly, it is expensive and it does not even come close to the form and function of other DAWs like PT. BUT, it does emulate an analog MTR and console. Last time I checked, we were not editing and composing MIDI on analog tape and consoles, so...it makes sense.

It is written in assembly code, basically bypassing Windows for the most part. So, it is rock solid stable as it can be.

[ebulb]

Originally Posted by mixedupsteve

There must be other stuff running. Click on applications in task manager and see what else is using CPU. Check Processes too.

Its an old machine.. So it doesnt surprise me its up around that point.. I did have zone alarm running though which i killed and it gained around 5-10% extra on average.. Nothing else looks like its taking much CPU..

I havent noticed any glitches yet from the recordings i have tried.. But it would be nicer if the CPU said 20-25% max, would make me feel a bit more confident.. I have another newer laptop i can use also which would handle the CPU load much better but i want to use the old machine if i can cause its not doing anything else at the moment..

[ebulb]

Originally Posted by PDC

The problem with SAW is that it is ugly, it is expensive and it does not even come close to the form and function of other DAWs like PT. BUT, it does emulate an analog MTR and console. Last time I checked, we were not editing and composing MIDI on analog tape and consoles, so...it makes sense.

It is written in assembly code, basically bypassing Windows for the most part. So, it is rock solid stable as it can be.

Even that early version of SAW was ugly for the time.. Given that its 16 years later and he is sticking with the ugliness, it makes me think he is out to prove a point.. I appreciate where he is coming from though and i would take ugly and stable over the alternative any day.

[BFSound]

Man watching the videos on his site about SAC and using it live and the abilitys that his system has and the small footprint, the ability to link to SAW and record with no further routing and messing around. The whole idea behind SAW/ SAC seems very cool. Although i will not lie id still prefer a real console for my mixing. Even through the uglyness SAC is amazing.

[Bill@WelcomeHome]

there are times when the ugly that works beats the pretty that doesn't or might, or could..... I really don't think that SAWStudio is ugly, but I've never been that big a fan of the look. At the same time, there are skins available. One, if I recall correctly, even looks like PT.

But if the goal is rock solid, never crashes and does everything that it says that it does (which so few DAW softwares manage to pull off...) SAWStudio gets my vote. I'm not a user simply because my business model required solutions that SAW could not provide. After being with them from the beginning, I sold my licence last month.

I've never used SAC. But it looks pretty cool and some of the guys who do use it are friends that I trust and believe. Pretty much it gets raves.

[rumleymusic]

I have been wishing presonus would come out with an ASIO configurable version of Capture. Seems perfect for live recording.

It would be nice to know how to code and create programs like this. I wish someone would just design a simple recorder with features for location users like.

Simple multri track interface
Pre record buffer
Automatic save and backup during recording
No waveform redraws
Simultanious stereo mix recording
Good input monitoring

Hence I want The Sadie mutritrack recorder without the LRX2

[ebulb]

everything about SAW and the website is like a timewarp.. his tutorial videos are embedded real media files.. id like to watch them but i dont even bother with real nowdays.. The SAC stuff is on youtube at least and looks impressive..

The one SAW video he has on youtube is insightful but reminds me of a danoz direct infomercial.. he's talking about 72 tracks of non destructive, NLE but the voice and the background audio makes me think im being sold the latest juicer for the kitchen.

Aside from my cynical interpretations, SAW does look like a very intersting bit of software. I would really like to see it first hand with someone who's a pro on it to get a closer impression.. I like where he is coming from in its design, much the same as Reaper, but i dont have $2500 to blow out of curiosity..

[ebulb]

Originally Posted by rumleymusic

It would be nice to know how to code and create programs like this. I wish someone would just design a simple recorder with features for location users like.

yes something like that would be great.. Im pretty sure i heard of something in the past that was like this but i might have been day dreaming..

Id also go one step further and say the person who writes that software would also do well to code in a language that can be flashed onto a small microprocessor and sold to companies building pre amps.. That way next generation pre amps and audio interfaces could use USB storage and a record button to quickly tracks the inputs to WAV files.

Or use the same principle to make a small external recording box with 3 ADAT optical inputs and USB to record quick and easy from existing pre amps with optical out straight to generic WAV files etc.. I would think something like that could be built for bugger all once the software was written.

[mixedupsteve]

Tracktion is a great simple DAW. I've used it a bunch of times. I use T2. I upgraded to T3 but it was problematic (crashing) so I just wen't back and stayed with T2 after that.
You have to buy it used since it's not available anymore from Mackie

[Matti]

Reaper is so light that you can have it on an usb stick and record multitrack
with an old laptop, not even yours - just loan somebody's

Matti

[Ozpeter]

Id also go one step further and say the person who writes that software would also do well to code in a language that can be flashed onto a small microprocessor and sold to companies building pre amps.. That way next generation pre amps and audio interfaces could use USB storage and a record button to quickly tracks the inputs to WAV files.

There are any number of recording devices that can take an SPDIF output from a suitable preamp and record it. And as those devices usually appear to a PC as a normal drive, you can install Reaper onto them and thus after recording on location connect the device to any PC that happens to be handy and edit away.