Basic Recording

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SilverCarvin

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I'm completely new at this and I guess this is the place to be. I'd like to record to my pc through Cool Edit Pro. I'm going to get a USB interface and use that to record stuff one at a time. I play guitar and sing. I'd like to have bass, piano and drum on my songs as well, but I don't know how to do it. A friend has a keyboard with drum sounds on it and the like, but how do I program this onto CEP and playback to record my guitar and such.

Is there a good step-by step basic reference to go to, since you guys probably get this stuff all the time :rolleyes:

thanks,
Matt
 
cool is a good program but doesnt provide detailed midi functionality.
eg...recording a midi piano track.
a good set of free tutorials on digital recording is in the support section at pgmusic.com and will get you thinking and clarify a lot of things.
also take a look at the videos on powertracks and also band in a box.
both are very usefull songwriters tools. then if you have Q's just ask.
the tutorials and videos will answer a lot for you.peace.
 
ya how were you planning on adding the piano, bass and drums? were you thinking of recording them or did you want to add them in via midi? if you wanted to record them, the drums will take 5 mics at least so a USB sound card would not be a good idea unless you mixed the drums through a mixer first and had them go into the computer as one stereo track. If you wanted to add these instruments via midi, another a different piece of software would need to be used as manning suggested. My 0.02 would be cakewalk homestudio 2004. It is also quite cheap and is superior in midi and audio recording, a great all around program www.cakealk.com if you want even more features you can upgrade from homestudio to sonar.

Ao for the soundcard (USB) i would suggest the tascam us-122, it is a great little unit that has a lot of features.
 
Yeah thats what the problem is. I'm not really sure how this stuff works! haha. I know that you need an interface toboost the signal of mikes, especially condensors, in order to get them onto the pc. But in terms of multi tracking, using midis, programming and everything, I really don't have a clue what to do. I was looking at the PGmusic site and it seemed to be pretty cool, MIDI is clearer now.

Tell me if I'm understanding this much:

Let's say I wanted to lay down a drum beat. I could either get the midi file from an outside source, such as the net, and download it into my PC. I then load it onto my computer and into the sound program, assuming it supports midi. I then place it into track #1 and thats it.

Assuming this is right:
1.) Can I add an extra snare hit, for instance, or is the midi file set in stone?
2.) Does the actual sound card matter? This is probably a stupid ?, but it seemed to me that if I have an interaface and midi friendly program, the soundcard won't keep it from working. It will however affect the quality so...
3.) In terms of drum tracks, what is the difference between an electronic drum unit and midi. Will the drum unit sound better, or is it all hinging on the quality of the soundcard?

Thanks :)
 
the midi track is just data. nothing else. think of it like a file.
read this, and youll understand how midi works in detail....
http://www.pgmusic.com/daily/midi2.htm

the sound quality will depend on the quality of the midi sound module.
the advantage of recording midi tracks like drums. synth,bass etc is they are less taxing on your computer than regular live audio track digital recording.
so - for example if you became really good at midi like some people are
you would have a very full production after say 8 tracks. and just need a few audio tracks to add live vocals and say electric guitar leads etc.
the midi files are not set in stone. you can edit the heck out of them any which way to sunday. if an electronic drum brain has a midi out you can record midi drum tracks from the midi out of the drum brain.
if you got any more Q's - ask.peace.
 
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I saw that pgmusic seems to be oriented toward this program called powertracks. Is this a good program to use, versus cakewalk or cool edit?

Thanks
Matt
 
carvin. for me and lots of others for the low price it takes me right through from track recording, through mixing, and mastering.
there is nothing i cant do with it. as others have posted back to me here
on this forum words like amazing and unbelievable for the price.
for example - look in the midi section of this bbs in the thread best sequencer, and read the post at the end by steve 350.
and talk to other users like me on the pg user forums.
cool is a good program , but does not do midi functionality in detail and music notation. i would just try the demo of each and see which makes you happier. my wife originally bought it as a stocking stuffer. and i was sceptical
at first as i had recorded in big studios quite a bit. but i'm avid about it as are many other users. no other program out there has its features for the price.
 
Cool, I'll look into it. The first thing I thought was "well, $49, you get what you pay for." I was going to spring for the new abdobe audition but found out that it doesn't do midi. Seems like this might be the way to go.

thanks for the help everyone, I'm sure I'll be back. ;)

Matt
 
actually - in this case as youll see if you try powertracks you get way way more value for money. as someone told me this week a simple plug in costs
the price, with this i have midi and audio recording, mixing, all sorts of effects built in plus a slew of other features i dont have space to type about.
two tips...when you fire it up read help carefully, and like any software in preferences you must identify the sound card drivers for it in preferences.
also youll see a "ty" column. this is track type. (looks like a midi plug).
for midi recording leave it as is. hilte the track. for mono audio recording click the "ty" and youll see a mono waveform come up. for stereo recording "ty" shows a stereo waveform icon. peace.
 
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