In their basic operations, DAWs operate as easily as that old Tascam 6 track. These days they come loaded with plugins for amp models, synth models, drum models, and a cornucopia of effects. Add a microphone or two, and suddenly you have a very capable portable recording rig.
To give you an idea of how powerful today’s simple setups can be, my son produced two of the songs for the latest 30 Seconds to Mars record, featuring Halsey, with a 2015 MacBook Pro laptop, the least expensive Universal Audio interface, and a pair of headphones. The latest-greatest gear is not required in order to do this work. The album was released on Interscope, and did very well, going to #1 in both Billboard’s Alternative and Rock charts.
So yeah, if a major label production can happen on a laptop, and gear you can fit into a backpack or briefcase, there’s no reason you can’t do your own productions on one!
You’ll need an interface to record microphones, guitar, etc, and to get sound out to your speakers or headphones. Some folks still call this a “sound card,” although most people use external boxes that get plugged into the computer instead and still call it a sound card. Others will refer to it as A/D and D/A converters. Simple, right?
If you’re just starting out, be patient with yourself; it takes a little bit of time to become familiar with a DAW. While they all do certain things, each one has kind of a ‘personality’ and a workflow that appeals to different people. For example, I use both Logic Pro and Digital Performer in my work, and the odd thing is that they each operate a bit differently, but do pretty much the same thing!
What you might want to do is go online and check out the trial versions of these DAWs, and see what appeals to you. Many can be downloaded as demo versions. When you find one you like, buy that one regardless of anyone else’s “expert” opinion, and then consider getting a “how to” book dedicated to that particular DAW. There are any number of them geared to first-time users.
You’d be surprised at how they differ in appearance and how they organize tracks, and the number of GUIs that are out there to pretty much do the same thing. However, they’ll all get you there; the look, workflow, and feel you like is what you’re after. They all sound just fine, are fully pro, and all of them can bounce mixes to the computer, or an external recorder, etc.
Have fun with it! It’s not supposed to be daunting, it’s actually a lot of fun to learn this stuff.
