Resurrection of Blog

Sorry for the LOOONNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!! break in posts to the blog.  Life has a funny way of getting in the way of best made plans and intentions.  With this post I am announcing my intentions to commit myself to fully developing this blog and turning it into a place where I can document my forays into songwriting and home recording.

I plan on writing and posting the following items in the near future.

• DAW construction
• Affordable home recording software
• REAPER software
• Songwriting resources
• Home recording resources
• Music production
• Development of song from idea through final recording

DAW Construction - Part 1

Today I started assembling my digital audio workstation (DAW).  I have received all of the parts except for the CPU processor.  As I mentioned in my last post, I purchased a majority of the components new from Newegg.com and some used from Craigslist.  Newegg is a fabulous site both for deals and service.  If you take your time you will stumble across some great deals on the components you are searching for.  With Craigslist there is a leap of faith that a person is taking every time a purchase is made.  Especially if you are not buying locally, as I am doing in my case.  The person I am buying my processor form does not take PayPal and requested I send a check for payment.  He received it and is waiting for confirmation that the funds have cleared before he ships the processor.  That being said, I won't be receiving the processor until mid to late next week.  My plan will be to install the processor on the motherboard by next weekend and start the process of installing software, drivers, and adjusting system settings for optimum performance.

My next post will be a breakdown of the assembly sequence with photos.  I also will provide a summary of the components I am using for the DAW and reason behind the component selection.

Digita Audio Workstation (DAW) Construction

Well it is official...I am under way building my first computer, which happens to be a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).  I have been kicking around the idea for the last few months and finally decided over the weekend to commit to this journey I am on and build a stand alone DAW.  Until recently all of my recording (which isn't that many) were done on a Boss BR-532 digital 4-track recorder.  I have decided to move to the DAW realm in order to take advantage of computers practically unlimited tracking ability, not to mention VST programs, MIDI instrumentation, and editing / mixing abilities.  I am going the PC route with my DAW build, which does buck the typical convention that Macs are better suited for audio, video, and graphic applications.  I won't get into that argument, but my decision was made on the fact that I have only used PCs in the past and all my current software is based on the PC platform.  In addition, I wanted to take on the challenge of building my own system and new this was not possible with a Mac platform.

For the past several weeks I have been reviewing various websites in order to get a better understanding of what a typical DAW system should consist of.  Of course, the number one factor in a DAW build will be budget.  Careful consideration must be given to what the current and future needs will be of the end user in order to select the most cost effective components.  There are several forums that can be consulted in order to read and discuss opinions of what is required in a DAW.  Be forewarned that there is a lot of opinions that are floated around in these forum discussions.  A little time spent reading multiple discussion threads and websites will typically payoff in the ability to begin seeing common items that are agreed upon and the opinions that are propagated as fact.  Although what I am doing here may be misconstrued as such, but this is just my attempt at rationalizing my thought process for better or worse.

A typical DAW build will require at a minimum the following items:

1. Computer Case
2. Motherboard
3. CPU Processor
4. RAM
5. Harddrive(s)
6. Power Supply Unit
7. Video Card
8. Monitor(s)
9. Operating System
10. DVD Burner Drive(s)
11. External Audio Interface or Soundcard
12. Speakers or Reference Monitors
13. Keyboard and Mouse

I plan on covering each of these items in greater detail in future posts.

The Journey Begins

Hello to everyone out there that may stumble upon this blog. I felt it was time to throw myself out there to the internet community. I have been a life long lover of music. And by that I mean, I have always enjoyed listening, absorbing, interpreting and creating music. I have come to realize that my passion for music does not necessarily equate to my talent at creating music. Nonetheless, I hope to begin developing as a songwriter, musician and recording engineer and want to share it with other people who may share my same passion and goals.

My goals for this blog are:

1. Provide insight, tips, methods, suggestions, guides, links to useful websites, etc. that may aid in the development of skills associated with the songwriting craft and home recording process.
2. Document the methods used in the development of songs in order to show a complete history of the song development approach. This would include initial ideas and concepts, drafts of lyrics, development of music, song demos, recording of audio tracks, mixing of audio tracks, and release of final song.
3. Use this opportunity to increase my knowledge and craft of songwriting and the recording process.
4. Meet new people that share a similar interest as me and foster a site where people can meet to share ideas and suggestions on the songwriting and recording process.

I look forward to this journey before me and welcome all that wish to participate.