the start of something wonderfull

[beleg]

I should preface this with the fact that I do not know what I am talking about.

I play piano. I like industrial/electronic music. It seams to me that I now that I have a job that pays ok (not well, but ok) that I should get into some home recording midi stuff. But I have no clue where to begin, or for that mater where to look to begin. This is what I would like: I would like to be able to site down and play some sounds, then sit back down and layer some more sounds on top of the first sounds. (sounds simple enough) I also play guitar, so if I could then plug up my AX and lay down a riff or too that would be cool. I am not very good at drums, so If I can I would like to have a system that I could download/install drum loops to.
I am a big fan of the works of NIN/Charlie Clouser/depche mode and would like to buy equipment that has sounds featured in their songs. (I know buying equipment will not make me sound like them, that's where talent comes in)
What I have: A Old Yamaha keyboard with horrid sounds, a sx7 I think (NOT a dx7) and a pocket full of cash. I was planning on buying a new computer (windows) with in the next few days, so any advice on what stats it should have to be compatible with any equipment I might buy would be helpful.
I am not trying to put together the ultimate studio, or looking to become the next underground sound, just something I can play with in my spare time (I also do not want to spend a zillion dollars) Thanks in advance.


Beleg

[regebro]

You need some kind of multi-track recorder (which maybe be a computer with software) and you need sound generation device, i.e. synths or samplers (which may be software too). What you get depends on what you like and what your budget is. When it comes to synths, go to a music store and play around with the synths until you find something in your budget you like.

[beleg]

So a synth and a sampler can be software? does this mean I can constently upgrade my sounds? that sounds like a cool option, what are the limmitations of such a set up?


beleg

[AlChuck]

So a synth and a sampler can be software?

Yes!

does this mean I can constently upgrade my sounds?

Well, you could do that with good hardware ones as well, usually.

that sounds like a cool option, what are the limmitations of such a set up?

The main limitations are that, currently, good software synths and samplers take a lot of your CPU's resources to run. When you add audio recording on top of that you more quickly hit the limits of the computer than if you were just sending MIDI messages out to a hardware device. However, you can always build up the MIDI tracks first and record them as audio and then record "real" audio on top of that. In a year or so, with the new WDM driver model and enhanced DirectX, and more powerful CPUs and faster memory busses and hard drives, these limitations will lessen.

[beleg]

Very cool. It sounds like I laying the midi down first and bouncing it to audio before recording "real audio" is the way to go for me. Since I am not planning on playing with any other musicians very often I am going to need to lay one track down at a time anyway. My next question then is what do I need to buy and what do I need to look out for in a computer/sound card? I am planning on buying a computer (windows) within the next few days and I will begin hunting on ebay for some sound cards/equipment. What hardware (like cards and hard drives and cpu speeds) and software (to mix, lay down tracks and play sounds) do you recommend?

Thanks allot for all your help by the way, this is one of the friendliest message boards I have ever been on.

Beleg

p.s Is there anything I am forgetting to ask?

p.p.s Do you know of any good drum loop packages to buy? I don't think that rhythm is my thing.

[regebro]

Originally posted by beleg
"So a synth and a sampler can be software?"
Yes.

"does this mean I can constently upgrade my sounds?"
No. Upgrades may be availiable, it depends on yor software, but with significant sound improvements upgrades will probably come at a cost.

"that sounds like a cool option, what are the limmitations of such a set up?"
Less knobs, less voices, other problems (usually more bugs), less reliability and worse timing, in short.
It IS a cool option. Personally I don't like it, and much prefer hardware, but thats a matter of taste. I wouldn't like to make a tour with a PC as a sound generator...
I definitly believe HD recording is the future (although pro systems are still hugesly expensive) but I'm not at all convinced that is is the case for synths and samplers.