Backing Tracks...

[mari]

Hi, I know this probably sounds like a stupid question to all you MIDI heads in here but here goes anyway...

I'm used to working with audio. My studios been up and running for a few months and a band have asked me to do their album for them. They use backing tracks whilst gigging and want me to use them in the album. Problem is, i've never worked with MIDI before. Sounds unbelieveable but there it is! I'm only in the recording business for about two years and I've avoided it up to now. The time has come to face up to it.

I'm using Digital Performer. Interface is a MOTU 2408. I need a MIDI Interface, right? I've got a Mac so something like a MidiSport 2 X 2?

Can anyone recommend some good reading on learning MIDI really quick?!

The band want to manipulate some of the MIDI tracks that they have. Like, they dont want the banjo on certain tracks! Or, they want more reverb on whatever...

Should I change everything into audio? Major confusion here!

Would appreciate any replies. Cheers!

Mari

[jake-owa]

Well your first and most important issue here is getting to know the gear that your customer is using. That will tell you how to do things. I would try to deal in audio anyway just for simplicity's sake. DP is a great MIDI program but there is no reason to learn all the MIDI functions if you can just record the tracks in audo. That's not to say there aren't advantages to using MIDI until the mix.

A few questions:
1. What hardware or software are they bringing backing tracks to you on...is is raw MIDI files? Do they use an MPX?
2. What are you mixing to? Tape, DAT or internally to drive?
3. How many tracks of MIDI are we talking about here for backing?
4. Do you use many hardware processors in mixes or are you mixing with plugins? Are you going into an analog mixer to mix or are you doing your mixes in DP?

Here are a few beginner links to get you started:

http://mp3.about.com/library/weekly/aa073001.htm

http://www.midiworld.com/basics.htm

http://www.harmony-central.com/MIDI/Doc/

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip...di-basics.html

[mari]

Firstly, thanks for replying Jake-owa.

They're bringing the MIDI files on Hardware. They were talking about putting them on a floppy disk. My computer hasnt got one. I'll have to find out what hardware exactly it is. Er, whats MPX?!

I'm mixing internally to the computers hard drive.

We're talking about 8 tracks of MIDI for each song.

Processing is done using plug-ins and athough I have a pretty nice mixer I'm more confortable mixing within DP.

Thanks for those links, I'm gonna check them out now.

I'm going to Dublin tomorrow to get a MIDI interface. I have access to backing tracks hardware so I was hoping to set things up with that just to get used to it. I dont want to be fooling around with stuff when I have the band in the studio. Wouldn't really look good.

Working in audio is probably the best option for me. My computer is well capable of coping with a lot of audio tracks.

Thanks again for the help, talk to you soon...

Mari

[TexRoadkill]

If they don't need to edit any of the midi info I would just record the parts as audio tracks and be done with it. Eventually everything becomes audio so it's just a matter of when in the process you want to record the midi tracks. The only reason you would need a midi setup is if they wanted to use other sound modules or do some complex editing. In either case they could always do the editing on their own or just use their own sequencer and modules.

[jake-owa]

Sorry I typed MPX but I meant MPC. It's the Akai MPC series sampler/sequencers.

Which hardware unit do they have?

[mari]

I'm getting the hang of it at last! Its not that difficult really, just takes a bit of getting used to. I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how flexible MIDI is.

Jake-owa, sorry for not getting back sooner, i've been working like a lunatic! Their backing tracks are loaded onto a Korg i5M module via floppy disk.

The way i've been working things is to copy their midi files onto a CD on my PC then load them oto my mac (no floppy drive on mac) and drag them into the "chunks" window in DP. Seems to work fine. There's no doubt an easier way of doing this but I dont know how yet. Any ideas? Midi should go in directly from the Korg, right? But how?

Next thing I have to do is figure out how to change tempos in the middle of the song. I think it has to be donr in the "Conductor Track". Not really sure yet.

I'm gonna put everything into audio after that though.

[jake-owa]

Originally posted by mari
Midi should go in directly from the Korg, right? But how?

MIDI out on the Korg via MIDI cable to the computer's MIDI input and record the data one channel at a time into DP. Or look up bulk dump in the Korg's manual.

[mari]

Yep, that works. Dont know why I didnt think of it before. I just automatically thought floppy disk = computer not Korg. Just not used to Midi...

Thanks by the way...