A little advice needed,,

[RolandD50]

Hello to all, for a start-okay on to some questions?

my equipment
Sony Viao RA810g desktop pc 1 gig memory 3.4 cpu -and i belive intel hda card with 5.1 support. gigaworks S700 series speakers

M-audio midisport 2x2 midi interface (usb connected)
Roland D-50 keyboard(old but still sexy) Alesis dr16 drum machine.

and last but not least a klh simple 100 watt hi-fi amp/reciever+ 2 okay speakers(which lets me play my D-50 in full stereo).

I have been reading and researching these forums all week-and as much knowledge from the net as I possibly can.
I am know in my early 40s--and I am so far out of the loop with todays technology-that is not funny-even though I grew up on amigas-and ataris-I can still write on soundtracker-pro-tracker,,,,,and the likes, and jsut got a hold of Renoise tracker-which supports Midi--ok sorry if you nodding off
couple of questions then

1. I know keyboard and drum machine will not go into amp(as is)
so a small mixer? but which one? limited space but a budget of 25-500 bucks.

2. Is there a good practical amp-that accepts more than 1 instrument-and-or can still play in stereo(same budget)(as in line in aspects)

3. I know its down to taste and-what you do creativly-however which is the most stable proggie out of Cakewalk, Cubase,or Logic ?

I dont need vst or soft synths--nor bells and whistles--just trying to ease my self back into composing.

yes I orded 2 midi books-suggested from here-and will research futher until I come to a conclusion.

please feel happy to reply-or flame or however you see fit,,,Pm's,, E-mails,Death theats etc would be welcomed.

Thanks for your time.

 

[phaqu]

If you just want to listen to your combined instruments,maybe a powered (built in amp)mixer would work for you. You can find older ones dirt cheap. If you want to go into the comp with multiple analog tracks at once, a small passive one would work (dont need mutiple power amp inputs with a mixer). A friend of mine bought a 6 channel for around $50. I have no idea who made it. Just plug the analog output of your comp soundcard into the amp.You might need some adapters.
As far as software.....I guess Sonor (Cakewalk) would work for you.It records/transcribes MIDI (Im pretty sure Cubase records MIDI to). That way you could record MIDI in first, like your drum machine and keys, then over dub any analog parts.
Im just taking a stab at what your tring to do. Someone else may have better advise. Good Luck.

 

[ssscientist]

so a small mixer? but which one? limited space but a budget of 25-500 bucks.

Small mixers are thick on the ground these days and most sound pretty doggone good for the money.

Start with this one, and if that's not big enough for you there's this one. Your price range would allow this Mackie board.

Is there a good practical amp-that accepts more than 1 instrument-and-or can still play in stereo(same budget)(as in line in aspects)

I'm not sure what you mean by this. You seem to be veering into live applications when I thought the topic was getting midi first into and second out of your computer - - maybe you could explain further.

You say now that you don't need VST or soft synths, but I suspect you may change your mind after you get a look at the vast pool of resources available for the price of a download --- meaning free --- here

You will need a host 'proggie' and Cakewalk and Sonar and Cubase and Logic are all VERY stable and work very well these days, but the one I recommend you start with is Tracktion. I think they still offer a fully functioning demo for a two week trial period.

 

[dgatwood]

I'm kind of partial to the $110 Peavey PV8 ($95 blemished) myself.

The Yamaha small mixers also get good reviews, but the Peavey slaughters it in specs, and they're about the same price. The Peavey definitely is the cleanest sound and flattest response of anything I've used thus far (including my Firepod, though only slightly cleaner). Definitely worth checking out if you're in the market for a small mixer.

Oh, yeah. There's also the PV10 (6 pres) and the PV18 (10 pres) if you're looking for something a bit bigger. Sadly, that's as big as they build, as far as I can tell, powered mixers notwithstanding.

 

[RolandD50]

ok thanks to all of you for a prompt reply

as you know i have come from a tracking background----yes i know -and I understand hexidecimal.

thank you for sending the links ----been very very helpful,,,
SSS in answer,to your question-I can play live-and even proggie my D50-without any computer support. However-it is early days--main question is best bang for buck mixer(which you answered wonderfully TY)


I just need to keep it simple for now. I have read up on VST and Softsythns--and at a later date they will come,,,, however Tracktion---(thanks to you) is pretty amazing and capable of what I need for now.

Would just like to thank all of you for replying and helping so promptly.

I will stay in touch--and let ya all know how I do(or not do)


Great Forum---thanks to all,,,,, Rolandd50

 

[RolandD50]

thanks

big respect to dgat--and sss-alot of wonderful advice,,,,

i went guitar strore and checked all of them out,,,and bang for buck--i went with the pv8,,, which is highly capable of my needs for now,,,

Big kudos to SSSscientiest tho----Tracktion----is working wondefully....(i cannot believe i never heard of it before,,,_

Again a huge thanks to you both and,, to all -I will be in touch.

Many thanks for your help RolandD50 (Tony)