Developing step-by-step approach to recording music using computers

[igbalm]

Could someone help me on the following basis which I am sure would useful for may others

I have installed windows 95
I have installed my particular sequencing program
Without judging the merits of my soundcard what specs does the card need
What is ASIO
What is Full duplex
Does the particular sound card need to be compatible with the program or vice versa
AND/OR
Is anyone willing to contribute to this with a view in developing it into a decent general answer that would be helpful to others. ( especially for complete beginners)
Secondly I feel like dumping the internet and going out to buy a book.
I have accessed dozens of sites with small successes that end up in more confusion .
My objective is give the internet one last chance as a vehicle for the dissemination of information that is provided in an intelligent way, as opposed to a vehicle that disseminates shit.
Finally, I am not averse to learning an operating system, but neither do I want to get bogged down in an operating system when my final objective is to produce a piece of music.

What does the operating system ( windows 95,98 or NT) need so that I can stick a piece of analogue tape into my tape recorder and listen to music produced by myself.
OR
should I rather get an old 8 track multitrack analogue recorder and press track no, record and play.

Finally, a word of praise to the people who developed this site:
This has been the most intelligent and informative site that I have come across.

Thank You
Iqbal

 

[Absolutely]

Hi Iqbal,

Well, I'm happy to give you a hand:

Soundcard Spec:
Depends very much on what you are intending to do. Some cards are just for recording / playing audio, some have synths onboard and some have both. Some of the first type feature multiple inputs (so you could record a whole band on separate channels in one take) and multiple outs (so you can chuck them through separate channels of a mixer). There are many variations, if you say what you want to do then you'll get a more specific response.

ASIO:
Steinberg's audio interface format, used by Cubase to throw wave data out to the soundcard. It has a low latency, ie: you change a parameter and you hear the result quickly. The driver for the soundcard must support ASIO, but I think most do (how well they do, I know not).

Full Duplex:
A device is considered Full Duplex if it can send and receive at the same time. In the case of a soundcard, it would be able to play whilst recording.

Recording to tape:
Pretty easy really, in the simplest case just plug your tape deck line-in into your soundcard output. It's not got much to do with the operating system.

Listening from tape:
Plug tape deck line-outs into soundcard inputs. Set the mixer software (comes with soundcard, generally) to monitor the inputs. Press play on tape!

O/S Trials and Tribulations:
Win95/98 is reasonably easy to use (not master!) so if you already have a PC that can handle those eight tracks, and some software to record with, it's well worth persevering with the PC. The sound quality can be better and the editing easier.

The 'Net is Poo:
Sorry to hear about your internet problems, if you stick with it then you'll gradually build a list of sites that can give you the info you need, like this one!

Cheers,
Daver

 

[dobro]

Phew! Sounds like you've had enough before you get started! Coupla things. First, this bulletin board is an excellent vehicle for the dissemination of information. I mean, I can live with the name 'homerecording.com', but if I had *my* way, it would be re-named 'the excellent vehicle for dissemination of information'. Got a question, though, I'm kind of confused too - if what you want to do is stick a piece of analog tape into your tape recorder, where does the computer come into the picture? Computers do digital, not analog. Do you want to record analog and store it on the computer? Or do you want to record directly to your computer?