Could any one help me with this equipment idea

[billygoatmersh]

I would record 6 tracks one at a time on a Fostex MR8 8-Track Digital Recorder. Then I would send each seperate track onto a computer, 512 Ram 80 gig, pentium4. I would use editing software on the computer and mix it down onto left and right. I would send this back to the recorder as track 5 and 6 (for monitoring purposes) I would then record more tracks on the recorder. Send them mix down, add them to the left and right pan agian. I would continue doing this until I was satisfied. Would this work? What software should I use? (preferably software that would allow me to add drums from the software, I have no drums)

 

[manning1]

billy. why do you want to do it like that ?
millions of us do it all on the computer.
it makes no sense to me. if you have a good p4 with a nice fast hard drive for audio you can do 40 tracks easy. then if it starts puffing out. mix down the 40 tracks to stereo on the pc, and import the mixdown into a new session and add 39 more tracks.
quite literally you can have unlimited tracks using this method.
ive been doing it this way for years. my mic pre's feed the sound card and away i go. if you got q's - ask. peace.

 

[billygoatmersh]

Do you suggest that i forget about the 8 track altogther? The computers in a room where the accoustics are really not that great. Would I just take a mic, hook it up to the sound card and go? Any explanations would be great. Thanks

 

[manning1]

yes billy thats exactly what i'm suggesting.
youve got a NICE computer. USE IT !!!!!
just connect the mic to the mr8 as usual just using the mr8 mic pre's,
then take a line out from the mr8 to sound card line input.
so - essentially all your doing is using the mr8 mic preamps. nothing else. tell me what your soundcard is in your pc please. thanks.
also heres the beauty of the pc. if you do it all on the pc using the software i use , youll be able to do your drum tracks ( a drum pattern maker is built in), and add loads of midi tracks, and do things like correcting a bad vocal pitch . and heres another neat feature, you sing a part, and the software will create vocal harmonies for you !! way more flexible.

 

[crankz1]

Yeah .... you can do it all on the PC, but it would require a multi I/O soundcard.
Here are a few to look at.
n-Track makes for a fine multitracking software.

 

[billygoatmersh]

I'm calling someone to help me figure out what kind of soundcard I have later today, but a quick question for you. Do i really need a device like the MR8, if I'm only using preamps? The cost is starting to add up a little bit and I was wondering if I could just use a mixer that had preamps or something of that nature?, since i'm recording to the computer. Workin on the soundcard information. peace

 

[billygoatmersh]

I'm not sure which of these is the sound card, but this may help you.
SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio
Unimodem Half-Duplex Audio Device
Also, could i just run the mic up to the mic input into the soundcard on my computer, and maybe the software would have preamps or something?

 

[manning1]

no. you need a mixer.
heres a decent chain..
mic(3 pin xlr)>>>yamaha mg mixer>>>audiophile or delta 1010 sound card in a pci slot in your pc. i use powertracks for multitrack software.

 

[billygoatmersh]

Will this mixer work http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--YAMMG102 ? What cabels will be needed to hook up to each thing? Also, a minor delima for me, i have a piano, but it is 30-40 feet away from the computer, what should i do to get the mic to it? I'm not sure if you are familiar with band in a box or not, but can i do something in band in a box and then send that midi to prower tracks? Is this how I would get drums? Is the midi convicing, i've used some keyboards and they just sound cheesey

 

[manning1]

billy there are many users doing what you want to do on the pg forums.
ie..develope a song idea in band in a box then import the midi into powertracks(including drums). and overdub the rest of their live instruments
and vocals. also its less taxing on the computer this way. as using midi tracks is less taxing. but for exact details of what gear people are using i would ask the pro's on the pg forums as they know way more than i on the
many tricks in band in a box. ideally you would need a PROPER sound card with midi in and out as well as live audio inputs and outputs.
heres some tutorials as well.... from a biab user
http://www.garys.web.st/midibasics.htm
http://www.garys.web.st/basicintro.htm
and there are more tutorials in the pg site, and forums.
NOTE...the quality of midi drums only depends on whether you choose to use a cheesy midi sopund module or a very good one.
to get the mic to the piano you need a LONG mic cable.
the yamaha mixer would be used to preamp your mic signals going into the sound card. frankly your current sound cards are not goodfor this type
of work.

 

[manning1]

also billy - i forgot. biab has what are called megapacks of styles in every genre of music. lots of people use them for generating song ideas.
also there are many third party vendors of add ons for band in a box(use google search and enter band in a box drum styles). which should tell you how popular it is with educators in music schools and musicians. but its best to talk to biab experts. as i'm more a multitrack recording guy than a biab expert.
hope all this helps.

 

[billygoatmersh]

sorry if this seems stupid, but PCI slot? I would be replaing the sound card inside the computer right? And plug the mixer then into the mic place on the back of the computer and monitor everything through speakers connnected to the computer right? Also, does that delta sound card have everything that you suggested? ps those tutorials were great

 

[manning1]

billy heres the chain
MIC1>>>mg mixer mic in 1>>>insert on mg>>>pci soundcard line in>>>record an audio track on pc.
and so on for different mic channels.
for midi...
midi master keyboard>>>soundcard midi in>>>record a midi track on pc
midi out of pc sound card >>>>>one or more midi modules with great sounds in them.
a KEY THING YOU HAVE TO DECIDE is how many inputs on the sound card
you need for live microphones.
SO - if your recording a band with 6 mics - you need a sound card
with 6 inputs as well as the midi in and out.
if its just yourself recording one live mic track at a time you just need a stereo sound card with midi in and out.

 

[billygoatmersh]

I'm sorry to have to ask this agian i just dont understand.
From the mixer, do i plug it into the computer cause the sound card would have to be there right?

 

[manning1]

the sound card sitting in the computer has input jacks. you connect the mg mixer insert to sound card input jack.
heres some more biasb links. there is a web ring as well.
lots of reading...
third party products....other biab links/webring
http://www.nortonmusic.com/
http://biab.8m.com/
http://www.kuzmich.com/band-in-a-box3.html
http://www.meister.u-net.com/dixie/band_in_a_box_songs.htm
http://a.webring.com/hub?ring=bandinaboxusers
http://www.jazzguitarfaq.com/FAQ00018.htm
http://www.genlink.org/bb/
http://www.menc.org/publication/articles/academic/genmusarticle/howoneclass.html
http://www.aei.ca/~denisl/link_ang.htm


peace.

 

[Rokket]

I have the MR-8. You can only record to 2 tracks at once. If you already have it, you can still do the recording on it, and send the tracks to your pc using a usb cable. Then look into the software these guys suggested to mix it down. If you don't own it already, then look into what Manning was suggesting with a good sound card and a mixer. You can record up to 8 tracks on the MR-8 and then take them to pc, leave basic tracks on the MR-8 bounced to track 7/8 and record more tracks. Send these tracks to the pc, delete them and then record more tracks as needed. You shouldn't put them back in the MR-8 because it doesn't have very good onboard effects, nor does it have eq or compression. And the mastering mode sucks. It's your call, but if you already have the MR-8, my suggestion would work best for you, IMHO, since I do that, and I get pretty decent results (of course I use $600.00 software to mix, but there are lots more out there for MUCH less money). Getting a decent sound card and a yamaha mg mixer would cost about as much as the MR-8, too.....

 

[Rokket]

One more thing I forgot to mention: don't send your tracks to the pc already bounced down. You can't edit them if they are already bounced. If you didn't get the mix right in the bounce, you're stuck with it. You'll either have to live with it, or delete it and start over.

 

[billygoatmersh]

If i'm recording one mic at a time, would this soundcard work http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDOAP2496
thanks this has been extremely helpful and saved me a lot of money so far