Discussion from RoLo - my Point of view

[Dennis Neumeier]

Hello list,

I just read some of the points from RoLos Mail "so frustrating" and I simply 
want to says some words about this.

First of all, I want you to know who am I. I am living in germany and I play 
bass guitar for nearly 10 years, but although music is a central point in my 
life, I never thought about going professional - so music is "just" a hobby 
for me. Musically, I am into Hard Rock, Metal and Prog Rock.

Now, what concerns the mail from RoLo, I think we should all relax a little 
bit and gain access to the issue from another point of view. I guess that 
everyone making music comes to the point, where he/she wants to record it in 
some way. Here arises the question: Where to go to record? Sure, in a pro 
studio would be the first idea about it, but as far as I know, millionaires 
among us are quite rare, so there are not many bands who can really afford a 
pro studio.

Next idea: Home recording. Okay, this is realisable. But how? I do not want to 
use commercial products such as Cubase and Pro Tools because of the amount of 
money I waste. So Linux and Ardour is quite the next step. But to tell you 
the truth: It's not easy for beginners to use this (and, btw, which soundcard 
one should buy is another central question...) because of all the things you 
have to know about jack...

So is there any alternative? Yes, I found myself one in the Boss BR-600 
digital recorder. It's a 8-Track-recorder, smaller than a notebook and as 
easy as a CD-Player. But is there any negative side of it (and that's what I 
what you to think about)? Yes. Making music is a creative process and at some 
point you're limited by the options the device you're using is giving you. 
Although the BR-600 has even a (very good) mastering tool in it, you may face 
the problem that at some point, you can't create the sound you want.

My own point of view can now be explained. If you don't want to learn all 
about jack etc, you may use such a device as the BR 600 (320 Euros in 
germany), so you spend a certain amount of money, but don't have spend time 
learning stuff. But if you want to make sounds in the direction Mike Oldfield 
or Jordan Rudess (on the keyboards of Dream Theater), such a device is not 
enough so you have to learn deeper about home-recording technology.

Whichever of these both ways you may go - it's up to you!

Regards,
Dennis