so im obviously new at this. i just bought magix music maker and i have made a few simple beats to start with. Before i was testing out the demo of fl studio but decided to go with magix instead. So the beats i made are pretty simple and i made them for my friend to rap and freestyle on. I borrowed a mic from a friend and i figured it would work out alright. The mic is cheap and so in result the recordings sounded pretty bad. Any suggestions to help me? Like any effects i should add to edit and make the vocals sound better? And any suggestions for a mic? Im learning fast and i appreciate the help!
Magix Music Maker 2013???
- Thread starter BigAve
- Start date
Hi BA and welcome.
Well, you have done everything wrong except one. Come here!
Heh! The very first thing you need is an Audio Interface. Work your way thru the Stickies but essentially an AI takes the signal from your microphone (and usually guitar as well) turns it into a digital signal and feeds it to your PC via a usb lead. These start at about $50(? but more on prices soon). This is the same process that your computer does when you plug a mic into its built in sound card but it does it very, very badly.
You have MAGIX Music Maker? Unfortunate, but at least I would guess you are now registered with MAGIX? That being so look for MAGIX Samplitude Silver. It is free and very much a "pro" recording piece of software. It is limited to 8 tracks but that should keep you busy for some time.
Prices and gear:
A very good mic is the Shure SM57 or SM58 but far more versatile IMHO is a small diaphragm condenser (aka capacitor) mic such as the AKG Perception 170. The P170 is also about $30 cheaper than the 57/58. Don't forget you will need an XLR-XLR mic cable (10ft min) and a stand. A boom stand of perfectly adequate quality can be had here for £15.
Audio Interfaces. Best buy for a basic today would seem to be the Steinberg UR22, about £100 here. How are you listening to your creations? The Sennheiser HD202 headphones are pretty decent at ~$20.
"We" need to know. Computer: Desk or laptop? Operating system? Your country of residence is also nice to know then at least I can get things like currency and mains supply right!
Dave.
well i live in the united states> i work on my laptop its a dell xps studio... Thanks for the help! umm i listen to what i make on the best Bose headphones i could afford. I know they are not studio headphones like i should be using but its the best i have for now. And yes i do have samplitude silver but i have not learned how to use it yet. So getting the AI and new headphones should be on my list of things to do for my music to sound better?? Other than more practice of course haha
I know nothing of the Bose headphones except that they seem rather expensive! I checked out the specification of two of them and it misses out some important matters, mainly impedance. But if they give a fairly natural sound I would think them ok.
I cannot pin down the exact model of Dell laptop but virtually anything is going to be able to run 8 tracks these days.
Dave.
I use Music Maker with a MOTU Ultralite interface. I have no problem getting "pro" results. Switching to Samplitude will make no difference. Music Maker is more than enough for your needs. Focus on creating and don't worry about gear lust 
I use Music Maker with a MOTU Ultralite interface. I have no problem getting "pro" results. Switching to Samplitude will make no difference. Music Maker is more than enough for your needs. Focus on creating and don't worry about gear lust
No knocking MM John, it is just that it does not look like a conventional DAW . Son and I "grew up" with MAGIX Studio Generation 6 (£9.99 W.H.Smiths!) and when Computer Music (may Future Publishing's corporate rear be infested with a 1000 fleas) gave away Samplitude SE8 we were hooked. Sam Silver is much the same but with MP3 encoding and cloud facilities.
If MAGIX would only bring out something like SE8 but runnable on W7/8 for a nifty I would buy two copies in a heartbeat!
Dave.
Hopefully you guys can help me with this question..... So I have just about every Magix music program (except any 2014 versions). Today I notice all the music I created when play them in windows media player in the protection category, it says no (not protected). Anyone know how to protect your music?