closet musician seeks help coming out

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fishtwisty

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Hi and thanks for reading my post.

Where to begin?!? Well basically, I'm a techno virgin looking to find beginners info of all sorts. I've only just stumbled onto this site and am already trying not to break into a sweat over the amount of ground I've yet to cover so, I'm just going to attempt to start with a few basic and pressing (sweating) questions for now...

okay, here's #1: Just over a year ago I bought a G3 Beige Series 266mhz Mac. I'm wondering if I should keep what I have and build on it or if I should sell (before it becomes completely worthless) and go for a high speed G4 or even switch platforms alltogether and buy a PC?

#2: Does anyone have any comments on whether Emagic Silver is a superior software to either Cubase VST or Cakewalk?

#3: Other than (frustrating & tooth clenching) DYI internet instruction, is anyone aware of affordable hands on computer music courses within NYC? with live human beings even?

Right, I'll leave it here for now tho' I've got a lot more to ask about ie: minidisc sampling, 'virtual' instruments, MIDI converters etc, etc...

Till next time, thanks for all future responses and hand holding...

fishtwisty
 
ok...well like u said we have got alot of ground to cover...1:your g3 is fine but if u want to get a g4 good deal...but what u have is perfectly useable.2:I dont have enough time to tell u how much better than cakewalk logic audio silve is but it is about tied with cubase it has advantages over it too but cubase has advantages of er logic...so it kinda evens out.and 3:there are 2 in the nyc area that u can try IAR(INSTITUE OF AUDIO REASEARCH)AND SAE(SCHOOL OF AUDIO ENGINEERING)I am from nyc also... so i know what u mean man. good luck
 
Thanks Treble-

I kind of thought my G3 would be okay for now tho i worry about speed - mine's pretty slow...
I was in Mannys not too long ago talking with a a techie & getting a bit intimidated by his 'pro' status. Evev tho i told him i was on a tight budget he still recomended that i sell my Mac every 6 months (to keep in the loop)! and when i told him i'd been 'given a copy of' cubase vst 4.0 he told me to chuck it in favor of Emagic.

Now, Sam Ash & Mannys are the only places i know of (so far) where i can try & pick up any info. but, being a chick, i get a little nervous trying to navigate my way around around all the gear without knowing just what i'm after and the advice i got at Manny's was, well, kind of de-railing for a 'newbie' like me.

i checked out IAR and SAE - they both look like good places to be for careers in the industry however, i'm just looking for basic guidance on how to get some decent sound out of my Mac for now like a music software 101 kind of thing - seems impossble to find...
I'd like to try my hand at some jungle/d&b stuff but don't even know where to begin with drum loops, plug-ins, sampling & the lot -
i keep telling myself that i'll wrap my head around all this eventually but this mantra does wear thin...
 
hey i understand what your talkin about....one of my best friends is a female engineer...and i hear her talk about the b.s she has to put up with.those are some of the best places to look for info. and dont be intimidated buy thier "pro" status....and as for the stuck up jerks that work at mannys...dont worry about them...if ur not buying something today they are gonna make u feel real small regardless of sex.anywho if ur producing d&b, u will need a good rhythm mahchie and a sampler and a smokin keyboard or two...then u get a midi interface and connect it all to logic and u will be doing ur thing....give me an email if u want to talk about the diferent kinds of options u have...
 
hmmm.....

Sell your computer and get a new one every six months? Maybe if you are making six figures and love the arse pain of setting things up over and over again.

Your computer sounds fine. Might be just a tad slow but...

And if you have Cubase now, you might as well stick with it. At the very least learn with it. I don't think that the differences are going to be huge enough to justify throwing hundreds at some guy angling for the commission.

I think at this point sound card might be more important than either consideration, but that's not a topic I know a whole lot about.

Anyway, good luck

-Jett Rocker
 
Take what you hear from salesmen in music stores with a grain of salt and remember they are only there to sell you something. You will glean more from this site than you could if you lived at sam ash or mannys. I would stick with
the g3 for now and learn on that. I dont see that much difference in software packages allthough there are differences. Its like cars used to be, they all had carbs,
distributors, etc, just in different places. They basically
all worked the same, just a matter of their idiosychrosies.
Once you learn anyone of them the learning curve for any other is much simpler. You only have to please yourself, dont let anyone tell you what you need without doing the research yourself and liking what you find. I have two old macs and I suggest, just suggest mind you, that if you do by
a new computer you buy a pc only for the fact that everthing
the world over is now geared towards them or gearing up for them. I hate to say it because I love my macs and Bill Gates
just stole all there ideas.
 
thanks all of you for your support! this is surely good medicine for my techno ills!!
i think as things stand, i will continue to plod along with my g3 for now. i know nothing about PC's and maybe trying to switch over just while i'm trying to get a grip on all else will be too much.
this is what i've gathered together so far for my makeshift studio: for software i've got a choice of cubase VST and a demo version of cakewalk metro 5 the latter of which looks simpler to figure out. ive got a macman interface, yamaha djx (yeah, i know, but the thing only cost me $125 on an open box special), an audio technica atr30 mic which i read somewhere was the next best thing to a sure sm57 (you're laughing aren't you) and a set of yamaha speakers.
i've spent endless nights trying to record simple audio tracks on both cubase & metro5 with limited results. i can't seem to figure out what's going wrong! have i got what i need (other than divine intervention)?
 
if those moitors of yours are ns10s that is about the only thing id keep, but u have enought to get along... as u learn u will realize that eqipment isnt good or bad it is just that the producer,engineer or muscian cant perfom the tasks that they want beacuse whatever the they want to do is too complex for the gear to do with good results... if it can do it at all.you outgrow the equipment. you got a synth, cool...if your budget is small try to get your hands on a boss sp-202 sampler...great little machine. id go with cubase on it ..cakewalk is more a pc program...on a mac id use cubase or logic.but that is just me.i also agree with jet roker,a sound card is important..u also need a midi interface if u want to work in midi.a good sound card to get is anything by echo,sound blaster makes good ones too but i dont use them.....lexicon also makes good sound cards.if you have not chosen your software yet...check out the software/soundcard bundles...cubase has a couple and i think emagic has one of its software bundled with its audiowerk card.i hope i goave some stuff to help you,dont worry u are on the right track.
 
oh as for your recording woes...what are you trying to record in? audio or midi?
 
Cubase has a users site with forums for questions I think. I
know they have a users site. Just keyword in cubase and you
should find it if you havent done so allready.
 
yes, thanks treble - it's all helpfull!
um, my speakers are MS-30's - about the best i could afford at the time (i'm studyinfg full time so cash flow is low!) my cubase is cracked so there's no manual and from what i can tell, no way in hell to find one. Metro 5 was designed for the Mac & was a sample given to me by a friend in the 'biz' tho he says i can't register it which means i can't get upgrades, tech help etc.
i'm going to look into the software bundles you mentioned - sounds a better road to travel down in a legit kind of way.
i have a macman digital interface which is temperamental - sometimes it works & sometimes it doesn't. but i really have'nt done much at all with midi to date. i'm just trying to record audio for starters. just to lay down some basic tracks - learn to play with levels & simple effects. right now it's just me (singing)& my guitar - i'm trying to keep it simple till i can grasp the basics and i'm still really struggling!
i feel better for being here tho - far less anxiety provoking than the folks down at mannys & ash! i only wish i'd gotten started with all this years ago :(
n'er mind - i'm sure it will come together eventually.
thanks again,
fish
 
it will !dont worry...im 20 ...i started this full time about 2 yrs ago and learned alot of what i know from trail and error....if you really want this, it will happen if u stay strong up top! now get a midi interface a small one(they are like 50 bucks...dont let those a-holes at sam ash try to con u into getting a 8 in 8out one for like $500)ask for a two in two out midi interface. but buy it when you are buying your software to make life easier.good luck and keep in touch
 
Fish, one other piece of small advice;

Some folks around these parts dont take to
kindly to software piracy, so if you have
a "cracked" program, you might wish to keep
that little secret to yourself. Cheers
 
point taken and agreed. i've never felt comfortable with the idea anyway so i'm planning to invest in a software package as i doubt i'll be able to grow much otherwise. i have my eye on emagic silver. i've heard/read wonderful things about it so i'm hoping this may help quell my anxieties about getting started to some degree.

this mustard seed has much to learn of which the protocal of these boards is one...
thanks for the tip and hope i didn't offend.
fish
 
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