Newbie trying to sound professional

[rbok002]

hI...i am a newbie at recording and I dont have a clue how to make my recording sound like something you can find on CDs >.<

Firstly, when i want to record strings or piano , the MIDI i generate sounds very rigid when I play using my computer.. (It sounds alright if i play it from my keyboard) E.g. when i play strings on my pc, a note suddenly stops insteading of slowly fading away. And it sounds very mechanical >.< Anyway around that?

Secondly, what kind of effects should i be looking for to perform on my audio track to make it sound professional? I tried Chorus and Reverb and they're ok... but my song still sounds like MIDI. T___T

Can anybody help?
Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

[ron82]

Originally Posted by rbok002

the MIDI i generate sounds very rigid when I play using my computer..

i'm a newbie at midi myself, but i'm guessing that u use the soundcard which came with ur pc? well, that one is ok for playing back the annoying sounds of windows, but not for (semi-)professional music creation.

ESPECIALLY for midi u need a proper soundcard, midi is digitial information which the computer emulates music of, and while u supply this digital information from keyboard to ur soundcard, the low-cost soundcard will not b able to interpret lots of this information (like how long a key is pressed, how hard, etc - to put it simple) - it does the least it has to do to play back any midi; capture the note u want and the key its in. for more midi u need a better soundcard

[rbok002]

I do have a semi professional soundcard...
I have a EWX 24/96 soundcard but I chose the output MIDI as Microsoft GS Wavetable Syn....the others I can choose are
1. EWX MIDI (I think this is the one for the soundcard...but it plays via the Keyboard which is connected to the PC...How do i record my MIDI to a audio file? )
2. Micosoft MIDI Mapper (I dont know what this is . When i choose this HS2004 tells me i havent chosen any midi output)
3. NemeSys MidiOut: Port1 (It lets me select it, but no sound Comes out when i play MIDI >.<)
4. Microsoft GS Wavetable Syn(The one i use right now that sounds really bad.)

Thanks for any help you can give ^^

[AlChuck]

Cross-posting the same questions to several of these boards is a bad idea. Please just use the most appropriate one...

Are you perhaps recording with quantization enabled? This might square off the MIDI messages you record.

The decay of the notes depends on the sound you are using. Strings and pads and such usually do not cut off instantaneosly when released but have a more natural decay envelope. Why that's happening to you is unclear. Perhaps you just need a better sound source. The Microsoft Wavetable synth is awful. You should get yourself a decent softsynth.

[Stealthtech]

http://www.midi.com/

[SPINSTERWUN]

Here is a TON of info for you...
http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm