Newbie Questions

Allow me to apologize for my ignorance on these subjects. I have searched both this forum and many others, but I'm still left with some basic questions. Thank you in advance for your patience.
 
I think I need to give a little background before I get to the questions. I've played one instrument or another all my life. A few years ago, I broke some bones in my hand which made playing stringed instruments so difficult that I simply gave up. I need to start making music again or I think I'm going to lose my mind. I'm interested in creating electronic music.
 
Basically, what I want to do is control virtual instruments via MIDI keyboard and record it. I have no interest in doing anything live.
 
What do I need? Am I good with just a MIDI Keyboard such as Novation Launchkey or Impulse and a copy of Sonar X2?
 
Which version of Sonar X2 would be right for me? I've read some of the differences, but what does it mean in the real world for MY situation?
 

You will also probably need an audio interface as well, and some monitors.

0FSTOP0
Allow me to apologize for my ignorance on these subjects. I have searched both this forum and many others, but I'm still left with some basic questions. Thank you in advance for your patience.
 
I think I need to give a little background before I get to the questions. I've played one instrument or another all my life. A few years ago, I broke some bones in my hand which made playing stringed instruments so difficult that I simply gave up. I need to start making music again or I think I'm going to lose my mind. I'm interested in creating electronic music.
 
Basically, what I want to do is control virtual instruments via MIDI keyboard and record it. I have no interest in doing anything live.
 
What do I need? Am I good with just a MIDI Keyboard such as Novation Launchkey or Impulse and a copy of Sonar X2?
 
Which version of Sonar X2 would be right for me? I've read some of the differences, but what does it mean in the real world for MY situation?
 

I don't have X2, but as a long time Sonar user I would always recommend the producer version as the extras more than justify the extra cost in my opinion. X2 is only supported for win 7 and 8 so bear this in mind if you are using an older pc. You will also need a "proper" audio interface, using the onboard pc soundcard will most likely give you problems. It needn't be that expensive. Some decent monitors are kind of essential too as pc speakers won't really cut it.

I just looked at a bunch of audio interfaces on the Guitar Center web site, just so I could get a ballpark estimate on cost for you, for something that has a couple of mic pre-amps with phantom power, and support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 (both 32-bit and 64-bit).
 
Ones that begin to be basic but with decent enough features and such begin at around $150.
 
Here is one from Presonus.  Please note that it only supports 44.1 and 48k sample rates, although I myself generally am quite happy recording with 441: http://www.guitarcenter.com/PreSonus-AudioBox-USB-2x2-Audio-Recording-Interface-Limited-Edition-108091133-i2571810.gc
 
Also, the above interface from Presonus has a BETA driver that has Windows 8 support, but the production release drivers support Windows 7.  I own a bigger brother to this device (mine is the Presonus AudioBox 1818 VSL), and I use the beta drivers for that for Windows 8 with no issues, so I think you are OK there.  (go to the Presonus site to view the release notes for the beta drivers for this interface.  Guitar Center's web site is out of date on its list of drivers supported).
 
You DO have to be careful when looking at interfaces, so that drivers ARE available for Windows 8.  For example, there is a Tascam 800 USB interface that if you go look on their site deep enough, you will find that of their list of interfaces, this one in particular does NOT work currently on Windows 8.
 
If you can afford it, I would recommend you look at interfaces starting in the $199 range.
 
Here is one from Focusrite: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Focusrite-Scarlett-2i4-USB-Audio-Interface-108264573-i2658350.gc
 
And another from Roland: http://www.guitarcenter.com/Roland-UA-22-DUO-CAPTURE--EX-USB-Audio-MIDI-Interface-108590605-i2831500.gc
 
Anyways, check them out - there are some more in that range, and of course more in higher pricing brackets, as well.
 
 
Bob Bone
 

Typically the internal sound chip cannot achieve a low enough latency to allow decent monitoring while recording. You certainly can try with the internal chip and might find it usable with a third party driver like ASIO4ALL. Just be prepared should it prove unusable.

So,
 
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080722210710AA4SKqq
 
Audio interface gives you drivers (often Asio)... etc.
 
Honestly, if you aren't recording anything, you can do without one. I did for a long time.
 
I recorded on a Tascam 2488 and then moved the wavs to my computer. I used asio for all and some times mme for mixing and it worked ok. Well enough. I will say, some of the plugins that sound great with a good interface sounded terrible using mme. I couldn't understand it. I thought people were crazy for liking some of the Pro Channel plugs until I realized this.
 
I got a $100 Line6 device to start since I'm a guitarist. This comes with guitar fx and stuff. Now, I kept recording on the Tascam long after I could have transitioned to entirely in the box recording because I was comfortable with it.
 
One of the things this did for me is get me way down the learning road for mixing before I started the learning road for recording in the box. Personally, this was a good way to go. I didn't have to learn everything at once. And since I'm kinda a slow learner it kept the whole process fun.

How about trying the 30-day free demo first before considering which audio interface and MIDI keyboard to buy? There's a possibility you may not like the program.
 
Edit: things like color, size, etc.