Ultralite setup with TASCAM US-122

[yankeeshogun]

Hi I just bought a TASCAM US-122 and am looking to record piano and violin recitals, duets, and possibly street bands playing outside in Tokyo.I might also record in clubs that allow recording (hope Steve Kimock comes back to town!). I have an iMac 600 mhz running OS 10.2.8 with several gigs of open space on my hard drive. I can buy a new mac if necessary.

I have several questions regarding mics, equipment, and other embarrassing newbie questions.

Mics: Would a pair of Joe Meek JM-27s be a good choice for the above applications? I looked at a one-point Sony ECM-999 but that runs close to $400, while the JM-27s are only $250 including a stereo arm, shock mounts (the bungie-cord type), windscreens and a simple case. I am thinking they will give me greater flexibility to either set them up in XY stereo configuration (or parallel stereo), or to isolate individual instruments if I ever get past recording in two tracks. Or is it better to get omnidirectional mics instead of the cartoid (spelling?) JM-27s? The JM-27s seem to be marketed as a do-anything mic for anything from drum overheads to strings. Is that possible? I am in the string category.

Hard drive: Any thoughts on the necessity of an external hard drive? The TASCAM documentation strongly suggests that, as well as avoiding use of other USB devices while recording. So does that mean I can't use a USB external hard drive?

Recording sampling rate and bit rate: The TASCAM US-122 supports sampling at 48 mhz and 24 bit, but when I burn a CD I will need to downgrade to 44.1/16 bit. So does it make sense to record at higher quality in the first place?

Last, any good suggestions for software on Mac OSX? Or is it better to run on system 9? The Cubasis that came with the TASCAM only runs on 9 I believe. I am not looking at doing anything fancy but might like to record piano via MIDI first and then add in violin track later. Sound studio is very easy to use but only 2 tracks.

Audacity does not allow recording MIDI files. Does that mean I can't even record audio through the MIDI cables?

Last do I need two MIDI cables, one from the piano to the US-122 and one back? Or is one enough?

So many questions... Thank you in advance for your help.

[DonF]

I think I can answer a couple of your questions:

Originally Posted by yankeeshogun

Recording sampling rate and bit rate: The TASCAM US-122 supports sampling at 48 mhz and 24 bit, but when I burn a CD I will need to downgrade to 44.1/16 bit. So does it make sense to record at higher quality in the first place?

If you have a choice (I'm not familiar with the US-122), do 44.1/24 bit. You gain lots of headroom with the extra 8 bits, which can save your bacon in a live recording situation.

Originally Posted by yankeeshogun

Audacity does not allow recording MIDI files. Does that mean I can't even record audio through the MIDI cables?

No, but the MIDI specification does! MIDI is not audio. MIDI is performance data that can be used to create audio.

Originally Posted by yankeeshogun

Last do I need two MIDI cables, one from the piano to the US-122 and one back? Or is one enough?

You'll need two MIDI cables if you're planning to use the piano as a MIDI playback device as well as a controller.

Don

[yankeeshogun]

DonF-

Thank you for the information. That cleared up some other questions I did not mention yesterday.

Right now I am experimenting with recording software aps and having trouble with all of them. I should have bought the TASCAM new as it would only have been $100 more, and would have come with Cubase LX as well as a friendly salesperson to answer all my questions. Why didn't I think of that before... Live and learn!