So I have run into some problems regarding my recording software/hardware situation. Pro Tools is owned by a company called Avid, which has very strict policies, etc. in terms of their products, and making sure that one "stays in the family" when using any given product. This means that Pro Tools only accepts interfaces that are made by Avid or Digidesign, a subset of Avid. There are versions of Pro Tools that come with interfaces, and starting at Pro Tools 9, many more types and brands of interfaces are accepted by the software. The two interfaces that I own are an M-Audio Fastrack, and a Tascam U-800. Unfortunately for me, PT LE 8 will not accept either of these. More unfortunate than that, PT LE 8 will not even run without having compatible hardware installed and hooked up. This means that I will not be able to use PT LE 8, because I really don't want to have to pay like $200 for a new interface. So this leaves me with a couple of other options:
1) Explore the possibility of getting PT 9 or higher, from another studio like On Point Productions. The only problem with that is that I don't really know their policies on it, and they may not go for it. I also don't really know how the licensing and stuff works, so it may not even be possible for me to install an already installed DVD of PT 9. I'm not sure how they did it at REP.
2) Use Cubase LE 5. When I purchased my Tascam interface, it came with the Cubase LE 5 software, and I have not really tried using that since I installed it and tried messing with it one day like a year ago. This is a viable and more easy solution, although I have heard rumors that Cubase is much better for MIDI rather than live tracking. I think it's still worth a shot though, especially since I'm sure everything will work with that one. If I choose this path, I'll just be learning the ropes of the software from YouTube most likely.
3) Continue using Reaper. The only problem with that, is that I would have had liked to, by the end of the project, not just be better and more knowledgable in terms of producing/engineering/recording as a whole, but I would also like to have something more tangible as evidence of work and effort over the next 3 months. This would best come in the way of the learning of a new recording software. Another problem is that with my new Reaper update, it's been acting kind of funky and didn't even run the other day (which scared me because ALL of my band's demos are on there). Luckily it started up yesterday after I joined the Cockos (the company that owns Reaper) forum to see what the problem was. I'm still being very cautious, and haven't even closed the program for a couple of days now.
Right now my thinking is that I will learn Cubase LE 5, because I already have the software and compatible hardware, and I would like to learn how to use a new software in general. If it's really not working out, I will probably have to resort to using Reaper, which wouldn't be the end of the world, but would be much more disappointing.
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