Software

There are two types of digital audio programs. Multitrack wave editors and sequencers, Sequencers are capable or recording digital audio and MIDI. If you use MIDI instruments such as keyboards or drum machines, you may want to choose a sequencer.

Before multitrack audio recording became available on PCs, sequencers were limited to recording MIDI. In most of the well known sequencers, digital audio was added on as an after-thought. Multitrack wave editors were designed primarily for recording digital audio. As a result, you may find the multitrack wave editors a little more intuitive than sequencers. However, programs such as Sonar and Cubase SX have undergone significant design changes to make them easier to use for digital audio recording.

Some examples of multitrack wave editors are:

Pro Tools
Saw Pro
Cool Edit Pro

Some examples of sequencers are:

Cubase
Cakewalk
Sonar
Logic

These are all good programs capable of making high quality recordings.

One feature that is almost a necessity is effects plug-ins. Plug-ins can be inexpensive, and many good quality free-ware plug-ins can be found on the Internet. Plug-in effects include almost any effect imaginable, such as, reverb, delay, compression, equalization, and modulation.

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