Shroomin Capote said:

thanks guys.  one more question.  if I were to get that guitar and drum software you mentioned earlier, would I still need FL studios?  and how would I sync them onto the same track if im using different software?  Is that when a mixer would be necessary?

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You would need any DAW that has VST support, FL Studio being one of the more streamlined ones imo. The software I posted can run separately, however if you wanted to run it off your desktop individually it would be for live play mostly as you wouldn't be able to really record everything. A DAW like FL Studio just helps you keep it all organized, recorded, and allows you to interact one VST instrument/effect with another in the mixer.

A hardware mixer is not necessary with any DAW by any means, it just might make things easier for you if you want to mess with stuff without the use of a mouse. FL studio has one of the best software mixers that I've come across, and when they release version 12 it will be even better from the looks of it. Here is an pic I found of the mixer:



So you can use this the same way as a regular mixer - if you want to apply effects to any sound you're using, you assign that sound (whether it be a sample or a vst) to any track, and then when you are in that track on the mixer, you can add up to 10 software effects (vst again) for each track, on an virtually unlimited amount of tracks.

If in the future you get a hardware mixer, you can apply any slider on it to the virtual one, and that hardware slider for example will now directly effect the virtual one. You can do this for anything in both FL studio itself, or on any 3rd party VST that is added. But keep in mind that hardware isn't necessary, it'll just make things easier workflow wise. Everything would be run virtually with or without it, but you may be able to get more of a human touch when recording if you are using your fingers opposed to really defined automation input.

It's wise to have everything organized as you go, so you know just where everything is for easy reference. I made a template for FL Studio a while back if you are interested in using it. This is a link to the torrent for it, it's only a few kb big. Directions are on the torrent page.

http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/10061768/FL_Studio_Workflow_Template

Shroomin Capote said:

alright.  thanks. so does piratebay actually have the full version of FL studios because I think ive downloaded a few versions before and I couldn't save anything on there?

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Shroomin Capote said:

thanks again.  for plugging in your guitar to your computer do you just use some usb adapter for the input jack or something?  and sorry for all the questions, im a noob at recording

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