diapers??? I WANT OUT NOW!!

[RRSOUNDER]

I have a Kurzweil 2600x synth/workstation with a sequencer. I also have a Dell 333 pent 2 puter with a dated Turtle bay Montego bay non-duplex soundcard. I need the ability to combine midi from the keyboard and voice tracks via microphone and eventually burn CD demo's. I am looking for quality but nothing excessively priced either. Do I need a GINA?? A lola folana? A Behringer mixer? Cubase? A wing and a prayer? LOL!! Please give me a hand here...thanks

[ametth]

what kind of quality are you looking for?

[RRSOUNDER]

Originally posted by ametth
what kind of quality are you looking for?

I know "big boy" quality is out, but indistinguishable noise and nice effects is what I am looking for

[DavidK]

To make quality recordings you need a quality
soundcard, period. An Echo Mona,Gina-type or Delta are
very common around these parts.

You dont have to have a mixer, you can plug a mic (with
a pre-amp) directly into the card. Ditto the 2600x (
you lucky rat).

You will need software, of course. N-track is cheap and
lots of people like it, I havent used it. I use
Cakewalk, they all have some good features, a matter
of preference ( and bucks, N-tracks is about $50 I
think.

I am curious as to how many of the younger folks here
know what a Lola Falana is!! I am 36 so of course I
know, but.........

I have a Darla24 soundcard, works great, $ 270 I
think. It only has 2 inputs, which is all I need, but
you might want more, perhaps 4 or 8, and if you
record with the 2600x (you lucky rat< oops I said that
already, sorry) you might need 8 inputs if you want
to record each midi part to a seperate audio track,
taking advantage of the K2600's ( you lucky....)many
outputs.

You might not get "big boy" sound, but you will be
surprised; once you learn the ropes, which I am
in the process of doing, you might get "semi-big-boy"
sound.

What are the specs on your computer, by the way?
I am finding out the hard way that it is fairly crucial
to the recording process. Best of Luck DK

[RRSOUNDER]

Originally posted by DavidK
To make quality recordings you need a quality
soundcard, period. An Echo Mona,Gina-type or Delta are
very common around these parts.

You dont have to have a mixer, you can plug a mic (with
a pre-amp) directly into the card. Ditto the 2600x (
you lucky rat).

You will need software, of course. N-track is cheap and
lots of people like it, I havent used it. I use
Cakewalk, they all have some good features, a matter
of preference ( and bucks, N-tracks is about $50 I
think.

I am curious as to how many of the younger folks here
know what a Lola Falana is!! I am 36 so of course I
know, but.........

I have a Darla24 soundcard, works great, $ 270 I
think. It only has 2 inputs, which is all I need, but
you might want more, perhaps 4 or 8, and if you
record with the 2600x (you lucky rat< oops I said that
already, sorry) you might need 8 inputs if you want
to record each midi part to a seperate audio track,
taking advantage of the K2600's ( you lucky....)many
outputs.

You might not get "big boy" sound, but you will be
surprised; once you learn the ropes, which I am
in the process of doing, you might get "semi-big-boy"
sound.

What are the specs on your computer, by the way?
I am finding out the hard way that it is fairly crucial
to the recording process. Best of Luck DK

OY!! Such a nice boy to respond! ROFL Here is a look further into my situation if you don't mind. DELL 333MHZ PENT 2....64 MB RAM, EXISTING SOUND CARD )(TURTLE BEACH MONTEGO BAY) (WILL UPGRADE TO 128). 3 SHURE MICS, THE "DREADED" 2600X..LOL. By the way, what advantage does the 2600x give me in regards to pre-amps for the mic?? Dave, I know you are a smart guy.....Try to get me set up with gear here, will ya?? What would you do??? I WANNA WRITE...I WANNA PLAY....I WANNA to catch up with 25 years of ignoring my gift Simple and of excellent quality equipment is important.....and I want to engineer my own work....basically adding vocals and the straight or sequenced 2600x stuff into the hard drive then burning a CD. Actually, the battle of what I want to achieve is half over...i just need additional equipment....25 YEARS of pent up ideas is half the battle won Thanks again for your input..---ROB

[DavidK]

Rob, what would I do?

Well, the ram upgrade is pretty much a must, 128 will
do, 256 will do more.

I would download demos of the software programs,
like N-track, Cubase, Cakewalk, Vegas, etc, and see
if any appeal to you.

I then would check out soundcards, figure out how
many inputs you need, figure out if the soundcard has
a digital input ( I think your Kurzweil has a digital out
if I am not mistaken,) etc. Maybe the Delta 1010 might
be the ticket, I think it ships with Vegas, which is a
nice audio program, and the Kurzweill has a sequencer.

You will probably need a pre-amp or phantom power
supply for your mics, or a small mixer with pre-amps
built in, like a little Mackie or Spirit.

If I did one thing first, I would get the software first
(unless you go for the 1010 Vegas combo.) This stuff
can have a pretty steep learning curve, and you
can save bucks for the other toys while you are
learning how to use the software. Your Montego
bay will work fine while you are learning the software
stuff, and plan on a few months if you are not up to
speed with computer sequencing and audio.

The K2600x doesnt need a preamp, it wont affect
anything.

This should keep you busy for a while, email if you
got some questions, I am still learning too, but
I play one mean-ass violin. Cheers Dave

[RRSOUNDER]

This should keep you busy for a while, email if you
got some questions, I am still learning too, but
I play one mean-ass violin. Cheers Dave [/B][/QUOTE]

You don't play the fiddle on the roof, do ya??? ô¿ô
Appreciate your time and thoughts a whole bunch....need to digest this stuff......by the way, I have cakewalk pro8 on the puter with the help of a "friend"...and cool edit too...is this a help?

[zip]

I have CW pro 8 and it will do nicely for multi-tracking. I've not used cool edit (I've got Soundforge as an editor) so not sure what it will do...

A nice stereo preamp is a presonus bluetube for about $150. Works for me.

Don't forget to budget for a good mic and soundcard. I have a AT4033 large diaphram condenser mic at @ $350 U.S. and I love it!! .....but my soundcard sucks....my next investment!!

Good luck!

zip >>

[RRSOUNDER]

Originally posted by zip
I have CW pro 8 and it will do nicely for multi-tracking. I've not used cool edit (I've got Soundforge as an editor) so not sure what it will do...

A nice stereo preamp is a presonus bluetube for about $150. Works for me.

Don't forget to budget for a good mic and soundcard. I have a AT4033 large diaphram condenser mic at @ $350 U.S. and I love it!! .....but my soundcard sucks....my next investment!!

Good luck!

zip >>

Well, speaking about budgets, I just found the literature to my existing turtle beach montego bay 16 bit/48 hz sound card and it says that it is full duplex in record and playback!. Is that a good thing? Can I just get a mic/ preamp/mixer what ever it is gizmo, use my SHURE mics and the montego bay, get midi cables (midi interface/ hmmm..confused here ) and at least get some SOUND down on my hard drive with my existing setup??? Whadya tink, eh?? Sorry, but I am still a bit green in this scene... THANKS GUYZ...U B DA' BESTESSES

[AlChuck]

You bet you can, and it's a great way to start... by the time you muscle through some of the learning curve and have a few recordings under your belt, you can better appreciate what you need to go the next step, and therefore be better positioned to select and buy the right hardware... and by then, there might likely be better and cheaper stuff available too!

[zip]

RR....

AlChuck is right on. The mic plugs into the mic preamp which boosts the signal enough to go into the line in on the soundboard. Generally, the preamps in a sound card are not very good and will produce poor audio if you plug the mic into the microphone input.

Full duplex is a MUST so it's good you have it. Basically what that means is you can LISTEN to previously recorded tracks while you record...eg listen to your guitar / keys / bass / drums or whatever while you sing....or in any order you wish.

If you are using Cakewalk I HIGHLY reco the book Cakewalk Power! It will explain all of this and much more. An excellent $30 investment!!

You can find it online at www.muskalipman.com

It will explain exactly how to set everything up / use CW and much more. Buy it and be happy !!

Peace d00d

zip >>

[RRSOUNDER]

Originally posted by zip
RR....

AlChuck is right on. The mic plugs into the mic preamp which boosts the signal enough to go into the line in on the soundboard. Generally, the preamps in a sound card are not very good and will produce poor audio if you plug the mic into the microphone input.

Full duplex is a MUST so it's good you have it. Basically what that means is you can LISTEN to previously recorded tracks while you record...eg listen to your guitar / keys / bass / drums or whatever while you sing....or in any order you wish.

If you are using Cakewalk I HIGHLY reco the book Cakewalk Power! It will explain all of this and much more. An excellent $30 investment!!

You can find it online at www.muskalipman.com

It will explain exactly how to set everything up / use CW and much more. Buy it and be happy !!

Peace d00d

zip >>

So all I have to purchase at least for now is a mixer with a mike pre-amp thing?? How would I know if I need a Midi interface? Any recommendations??

[DavidK]

Rob, you will need a Midi interface if you want to use a
software sequencer. If you only have the K2600,
you can get a joystick- to- Midi interface for 15 bucks,
and plug it in to the Turtle Beach soundcard, real simple
to do.


No, right now you probably dont need a mixer yet, you
might be able to plug the mic into the line-in input.

It might not sound great, but it is not going to sound
great until you learn the software.

Cheers, David

[RRSOUNDER]

Originally posted by DavidK
Rob, you will need a Midi interface if you want to use a
software sequencer. If you only have the K2600,
you can get a joystick- to- Midi interface for 15 bucks,
and plug it in to the Turtle Beach soundcard, real simple
to do.


No, right now you probably dont need a mixer yet, you
might be able to plug the mic into the line-in input.

It might not sound great, but it is not going to sound
great until you learn the software.

Cheers, David

Dave, I promise you, I "loins" quite fast....I dont even want to hear "poor audio" from the soundcard's mic input...What mixer do you think would "do the job" and "then some" if you will????? THANKS---ROB

[zip]

Why worry about a mixer if you have Cakewalk?? Just curious. A mic into a mic preamp (you can even get them for as low as $99) into the soundcard will work just fine.

Sounds like you have all but the mic preamp....I don't think you will find a mixer fo $99 unless you find one used that someone will basically give away.

As far as MIDI...do you have MIDI instruments or a drum machine or a sequencer (DKs' point)?? If not and you just want to do some basic recording I wouldn't worry about it yet. For $30 I bought a MIDI cable for my soundcard from the manufacturer but that was because my buddy has a drum machine to use.

But then again - I'm really not sure exactly what you want to record.

zip >>

[RRSOUNDER]

Originally posted by zip
Why worry about a mixer if you have Cakewalk?? Just curious. A mic into a mic preamp (you can even get them for as low as $99) into the soundcard will work just fine.

Sounds like you have all but the mic preamp....I don't think you will find a mixer fo $99 unless you find one used that someone will basically give away.

As far as MIDI...do you have MIDI instruments or a drum machine or a sequencer (DKs' point)?? If not and you just want to do some basic recording I wouldn't worry about it yet. For $30 I bought a MIDI cable for my soundcard from the manufacturer but that was because my buddy has a drum machine to use.

But then again - I'm really not sure exactly what you want to record.

zip >>

ZIPS!...I have a Kurzweil k2600x syth/sequencer/workstation deal and an existing soundcard that is full duplex and will be replaced within 6 months for a REAL soundcard...LOL. Are you saying that all I really need is a simple mic preamp thing? ...or should I really get something with more features. I am always the one to buy mid-upper feature range stuff and usually end up being happy I bought the right item with the right features.! Is the cakewalk mixer any good?? Would I like an outboard deal instead?? I am sho' nuff' getting a great education from all your responses here. There IS hope in this seemingly increasing self centered and selfish world YOUSE GUYZ R KEWL! P.S cant wait for you guys to hear how this KURZ translates my imagery and color........ too cool!!....yeooooooweeey! Gonna get sumpthin' together especially for you guyz to hear....when I can, that is :O\ THANKS AGAIN----ROB

[zip]

first one...

- missed the sequencer bit. DOH!!

second...

- I just saw a low end mixer in the Mars flyer for $99...DOH DOH!!

As far as Cakewalk vs outboard that is a personal preference. I like the fact I don't have a mixer in my bedroom... Some folks will not live without one. There was a post on the MP3 Clinic done entirely on Cakewalk in this guys bedroom which sounded like it came from a "bigboy" studio...so you can get to the same place either way. I tried to find it but it was an older post. Keep in mind I am talking about a home studio not a REAL studio.

I mistakenly thought you wanted to start as cheaply / quickly as you could so that's why I made the reco.

Bottom line Rob...you can get there either way. The choice is yours....

Good luck man.

zip >>

[SPINSTERWUN]

Hello, RRSOUNDER.

I have one question for you.

What kind of reference monitors are you using?

peace...

spin

[Bedubs]

Hey Zip,

I bought that Phonic Mixer from Mars and promptly returned it as the pre amps weren't powerful enough to get hardly any sound onto tape. I now have a Mackie VLZ Pro 1202 and get lots of sounds on tape....some of which I actually intended

[Tapehead]

Lola Falana--is that some variation of a Shirley Temple?

[RRSOUNDER]

Originally posted by SPINSTERWUN
Hello, RRSOUNDER.

I have one question for you.

What kind of reference monitors are you using?

peace...

spin

I am using 2 JBL tower speakers that I have had for about ten years...powered by a 2 year old Mitsubishi receiver. Thats all I have....sounds exquisitely clear, crisp ,and clean.. I'll tell you that!. But the PEAVEY guitar amp just aint making it as P.A. system ....LOL. And what is meant by the word "reference"?? . Do you mean for recording purposes? You see, I am definitely a newbie EDUCATE ME, BAYBUH!

[zip]

That's what I thought may be the case....another reason why I opted for a good mic pre.

You get what you pay for - so if it seems too good to be true...it probably is.

peace. zip >>