Is software only recording viable?

[BigBubbaBrown]

I've been reading about a bunch of setups in these forums and most of them include external hardware such as patch bays, EQ, compressors, reverb units, etc. in addition to studio monitors.

 

Now I've been thinking. Pretty much anyone who hears my music will be listening through PC speakers or on a mobile device. Currently all I have for my system is PC speakers. They were top of the line when they were new, but the fact that I got them because one of my brother's clients was getting rid of them should tell you something about how they've aged.

 

Since the setup I have is essentially the upper end of what my target audience will be listening on (barring high end headphones for mobiles or some audiophile with a home theater setup stumbling across my videos) would it be possible to achieve decent results with just Cakewalk Music Creator, VSTs, and a MIDI controller? Or should I start investing in some hardware? I don't do vocals and I don't have the space to set up my acoustic drums so I haven't even needed a mic by this point.

[john]

Hey

 

A decent mic will make a difference, and you may need to get real instruments in there, but abart from a decent interface to record guitars on the tracks that I used them on, I have made a lot of music with software only apart from the vocals. It is an artform making synths sound like real instruments... so there would be some learning ahead to make it good enough.

 

Here's a track that is essentially cakewalk Sonar v1 plus vst synths, vst sampler and vocals:

 

http://johnmoxey.com/musicandvideo/songs/bibi-m/miserable-girl/

 

Cheers

 

John

[Mahesh]

Having been in the same situation as yourself for years, I agree that a decent mic is paramount. How much it changed my home recording stint once I bought myself a condenser mic. As for the instruments, though I've not worked with a lot of virtual instruments since I've mostly done acoustic recordings, some can sound quite realistic. Especially those string instruments, love em. 

 

Anyways, good luck to ya!