DAWs GRRRRRRRRRR!

Oh yeah, well fuck you too!


Just kidding Boob, I love you man!

Time to watch some Saints whip up on those bitch ass falcons!
 
I love Bob because he reminds me of me. Wait, doesn't that mean I should hate him? Oh well, whatever. :D
 
Doctor Varney said:
Perhaps not... it's always possible. Computers make a lot of people feel angry and helpless. Some see red and say all sorts of shit when they get worked up. Just like some people change when they get behind the wheel of a car. You can't make fine judgements across the internet so easily. People are ruder on the internet because they have distance between them. The way it goes, sometimes.
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I gotta say that this is very well put.

If only I could remember it & stick to it - especially when I'm so angry that I'm actually fuming - like in traffic or sitting at my computer frustrated that I'm getting nowhere! :o
 
Really?

Dude, I've been playing on and off for 10 years with just about every DAW made and what I can say is none of them will do it for you. Seems that's your expectation so perhaps you might like to find another hobby? If you really want to record then.... Maybe start with DAW's for Idiots and work your way up to Groove3.

That said, why dont you try starting at some reviews? SOS does them about the best. This should help you narrow down your search as well as your expectation. Once you have done that perhaps you can narrow down your selections. Band in a Box might be a good starting place for you.

Then RTFM. Then RTFM. Then RTFM again. Ask yourself do I understand what it is saying. If not, Keep RTFM until you understand it.

Once you've done that come back and complain again. Im sure there are many that can answer your specific question but your initial message is no more than blabbering in the wind.
 
Greg_L said:
You gotta be a special kind of dummy to fail with every DAW.
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YUP, that would be me... Not thw DAW'S fault but mine.. I have heard so much about Reaper, I finally downloaded the trial version.. Haven't bought it yet, & not sure that I will unless I can get it figured out..
Firstly I'm pushing 80, but that shouldn't be a setback as I also have Mixcraft & kind of work with it.. Most of my problems is MIDI, because I don't understand it & the VSTs.. If I load a Midi into Mixcraft or Real Band (a Band in a Box sister DAW). then the Midi is separated into individual tracks e.g. guitar on Tr 5, piano on Tr 6, etc. etc, hit the play button, & I got sound. I load a Midi song into Reaper, & NADA, nothing, Their forum tells me I need a VST installed.. I tried installing several VST, but due to lack of understanding & knowledge, I gave up on Reaper.. Once I got it to play, but I tried so many things that I really don't know why or how I got it to work.. Latency & all the other stuff I need to sort out also has me buffaloed..
I have been doing most of my recording by building my backing tracks with Band In A Box, & rendering the tracks as individual wave files, then transferring them via a USB cable to my Korg D3200 recorder, then doing the recording & mastering on the Korg..
I hear & read that mastering is so much better & easier in Reaper, supposedly one of the better DAWS, . I hate to admit it but Reaper & VST, & VSTi has beat me.. I give up.. Just can't understand VST & VSTi..
 
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Hey Johnny,
Don't jack it in just yet.

Latency is very simple.
A computer computes. Computations take time. This makes audio playback 'late'.
If you're mixing, you don't care if the hear everything half a second late. Let's face it...you wouldn't realise.
If you're overdrubbing it's a problem. If you hear yourself half a second late you'll be put off.

Go into your reaper settings and find Audio/Device/Request block size.
This can be set to a range of binary numbers, usually between 32 and 1024.

This number is the size of the bucket in which audio is carried to you.
Big bucket = long wait - Computer isn't put under much strain.
Small bucket = short wait - Computer is put under strain.
Set it to 32 or 64 and latency will drop down to a barely noticeable size. Done.

The only caveat is that this makes the computer work harder.
Once you're finished all your recording, you might find the computer is running a bit slow or throwing up errors.
If so, just increase that block size to 512 or something, now that latency doesn't matter.

Regarding VSTS.
There are DAWS that hold your hand; The real ones expect you to know what you're doing.
Midi is just data. Basically digital sheet music.
The computer expects you to import/record midi data then select an appropriate virtual instrument to create audio from that data.
That instrument might be a piano softsynth, addictive drums, whatever...
You have to do that for every instrument you want to hear.

Importing MIDI.
It sounds like you have a midi file that contains data for several different tracks.
Some DAWS will just dump all that data on a single track, which is a nightmare.
I guess they have an option to keep the tracks separate. In truth, I'd have to look that up myself.
I don't know where you're getting these files, but if you're exporting them from elsewhere, look into exporting each track separately.

If you're really stuck, start a thread about it in the reaper section. ;)

On the other hand, if your current work flow works for you and you're not restricted...Stick with it.
You can always create your final WAV through your current methods, then dump it into REAPER for mastering, if that tickles you.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Hey Johnny,

Importing MIDI.
It sounds like you have a midi file that contains data for several different tracks.
Some DAWS will just dump all that data on a single track, which is a nightmare.
I guess they have an option to keep the tracks separate. In truth, I'd have to look that up myself.
I don't know where you're getting these files, but if you're exporting them from elsewhere, look into exporting each track separately.

If you're really stuck, start a thread about it in the reaper section. ;)

On the other hand, if your current work flow works for you and you're not restricted...Stick with it.
You can always create your final WAV through your current methods, then dump it into REAPER for mastering, if that tickles you.
Click to expand...

To Add to the above:

If you are importing MIDI files from various sites, the files are pure MIDI and the most likely use a sequencer. They are a large majority in different tracks with track 10 (use to be the standard GS MIDI) for percussion. Each track is usually also a channel (1-16, 10 being reserved for percussion). So, when you import, just remember that each track is an instrument (needs a VSTi) and 10 should be for a drum pattern (Drum Kit). Sometimes the drum patterns don't always match a sample, so you might have to play around with it, but you should be able to see what drum head is set for each note.

MIDI is really a set unto its own that DAWs have incorporated, most follow the MIDI standard, but not all.
 
Thanks much for your reply.. I will go to the Reaper section & read there..
As far as Midi files, I just found a bunch on the Web, mostly country. Some come in on separate tracks, (not all), then I can delete the Melody & use the rest of the tracks as backing tracks for the song.. Where I get stuck is that if I import the Midi song into Mixcraft or Real Band it plays it immediately without me altering any VSTs or anything else. Yet I import the same Midi into Reaper I get no sound.. Not Reaper's fault of course, but my lack of understanding VSTs etc.. I'm assuming because Reaper being so far advanced, it's assuming I am more learned than I am.. I tried reading, watching You Tube etc. etc. just can't seem to grasp & install these VSTs. I've downloaded oodles of them. yet can't install them properly to get any sound ..
 
johnnyo34 said:
Thanks much for your reply.. I will go to the Reaper section & read there..
As far as Midi files, I just found a bunch on the Web, mostly country. Some come in on separate tracks, (not all), then I can delete the Melody & use the rest of the tracks as backing tracks for the song.. Where I get stuck is that if I import the Midi song into Mixcraft or Real Band it plays it immediately without me altering any VSTs or anything else. Yet I import the same Midi into Reaper I get no sound.. Not Reaper's fault of course, but my lack of understanding VSTs etc.. I'm assuming because Reaper being so far advanced, it's assuming I am more learned than I am.. I tried reading, watching You Tube etc. etc. just can't seem to grasp & install these VSTs. I've downloaded oodles of them. yet can't install them properly to get any sound ..
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I don't use DAWS but I do use MIDI and that sounds like your Mixvraft and Bandcamp automatically assign voices to the MIDI tracks. Perhaps something like a General Midi set .... but Reaper wants you to assign the voices.

The thing you want to remember about MIDI is that there is NO music information there at all.
A good way to look at it would be if you use MIDI with a keyboard what it's basically recording is keystrokes. It's telling the keyboard that a certain key was pressed and for how long it was pressed and how hard etc. But if you didn't have a voice selected on the keyboard you'd get no sound just the same as if you walked up and played the keyboard you'd get no sound.

All the MIDI I do is on keyboards so the MIDI tracks are essentially doing the exact same thing as a physical person would be doing if he actually pressed the keys ..... sorta an electronic player piano except the keys don't move.
Maybe this different way of visualizing what's going on will help.
So you can have all the MIDI in the world but it will never smake any sounds unless there are sounds chosen fir the MIDI to make when it presses the virtual keys. Obviously in Reaper you need to do that whereas your other programs are doing it for ya'
So don't give up .. someone here will show you how to do it.

BTW ..... I'm old too.

Oh, and for finding MIDIs go to VanBasco.com and use their MIDI Search Engine ...... type in a song or artist and you'll find it id it's out there.
Be ready to go days without sleep as you download a zillion MIDIs.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I don't use DAWS but I do use MIDI and that sounds like your Mixvraft and Bandcamp automatically assign voices to the MIDI tracks. Perhaps something like a General Midi set .... but Reaper wants you to assign the voices.

The thing you want to remember about MIDI is that there is NO music information there at all.
A good way to look at it would be if you use MIDI with a keyboard what it's basically recording is keystrokes. It's telling the keyboard that a certain key was pressed and for how long it was pressed and how hard etc. But if you didn't have a voice selected on the keyboard you'd get no sound just the same as if you walked up and played the keyboard you'd get no sound.

All the MIDI I do is on keyboards so the MIDI tracks are essentially doing the exact same thing as a physical person would be doing if he actually pressed the keys ..... sorta an electronic player piano except the keys don't move.
Maybe this different way of visualizing what's going on will help.
So you can have all the MIDI in the world but it will never smake any sounds unless there are sounds chosen fir the MIDI to make when it presses the virtual keys. Obviously in Reaper you need to do that whereas your other programs are doing it for ya'
So don't give up .. someone here will show you how to do it.

BTW ..... I'm old too.

Oh, and for finding MIDIs go to VanBasco.com and use their MIDI Search Engine ...... type in a song or artist and you'll find it id it's out there.
Be ready to go days without sleep as you download a zillion MIDIs.
Click to expand...

To add to this:

To add VST's in Reaper, read the section about plug-ins, VSTs. There should be folder that either you created (probably not) or Reaper did. That is where they go. Once they are in the correct folder, open Reaper and it will scan them in. When you add/import the track, select the FX button and select the VSTi, there your voices/sound will appear. Now you just have to wade through until one fits. This takes me more time than actually making the music.
 
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