You guys all make it look so easy... and sound easy also. I wish I knew how to record into my PC but every time I try to learn it seems overly complicated.
I still consider myself a novice when it comes to recording. I connect my Fractal AX8 to a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 right into the computer. I use Audacity to record the audio, which is a free software. Like anything else, you need to just keep doing it to get better. Even if you just record yourself and never share it with anyone, it's a very humbling experience and will make the flaws in your playing readily apparent.
Regarding LTE tabs, I would do it in a heartbeat if I had access to the isolated tracks like the DT stuff. Having worked with Cynic and other bands who have provided me with the isolated tracks, I'm kinda spoiled now and don't want to go back to struggling just to hear things from an album mix.
By the way, the original I&W book included transcriptions by John Petrucci, and the Awake book states it was "Edited by John Petrucci" right smack dab on the cover. So maybe he's to blame for the inaccuracies, lol?
Some parts of those books are pretty darn close (Voices solo for example), others are baffling in how wrong they are (Caught in a Web chromatic part). A microcosm of this is Under a Glass Moon. The solo (surely one of the JP transcriptions mentioned on the cover) is very close, but pretty much every rhythm part in the original book is wrong to some degree. I'll be dissecting the chorus riff specifically in an upcoming video.
I already have specific parts picked out to demonstrate for each song from IAW, Awake, FII, and SFAM, but if you guys have any requests or questions, please let me know!