Even dumber questions

[Spliff]

I think I have Bluesyone topped on how amateur these questions are. I need to produce a full-length album on as low a budget as possible. I have already a top-line PC, a DirectX soundcard and as far as i can tell, only a standard low-quality mic input port. I have tried recording in with a preamped guitar into Cakewalk Guitar studio and the speakers play back, but only static. Do I need a new Sound card? also, what makes MIDI different from audio recording? furthermore, am i just stupid or are there programs out there easier than Cakewalk?


ps. Are there step by step instructions out there for building a digital studio from scratch?

[This message has been edited by Spliff (edited 07-29-1999).]

 

[Dragon]

Let me do this one point by point...

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I think I have Bluestone topped on how amateur these questions are.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You guys are really underestimating yourselves! We once had someone here who asked what a sound card was

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I need to produce a full-length album on as low a budget as possible.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You looking for a world's record here, or is this based on a bar bet? Seriously, I suspect you do indeed have a low budget, but I also suspect you don't actually "need" to produce a full-length album. Are you looking to do a demo that will impress A&R dudes at record companies, or a CD to impress your friends, or what? False economy -- saving money in the wrong places -- can stop you from having great sound.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I have already a top-line PC, a DirectX soundcard and as far as i can tell, only a standard low-quality mic input port.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Join the club. Mic inputs on sound cards aren't meant for recording with "real mics"! They're meant for attaching cheap mics so that people can have phone sex over the Internet (or something quite similar).

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I have tried recording in with a preamped guitar into Cakewalk Guitar studio and the speakers play back, but only static. Do I need a new Sound card?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Unless your sound card doesn't work at all, I doubt it. You're doing something wrong in the hookup or playback. Why don't you tell us what kind of preamp you're using and where you're plugging it into on the sound card? When you record, you should see a recording level somewhere. I suspect you haven't read https://homerecording.com/one_minute_digital.html

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Also, what makes MIDI different from audio recording?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Try https://homerecording.com/midi.html

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>furthermore, am i just stupid or are there programs out there easier than Cakewalk?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

There are many programs different from Cakewalk. I suggest you try demos of all the popular ones and see which user interface you like best. See https://homerecording.com/digital.html for a list

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>ps. Are there step by step instructions out there for building a digital studio from scratch?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, but that's not a bad idea...

One last suggestion that you'll probably hear a few times...learn to use the search!!!

 

[Spliff]

Thanks for the input. You answered almost all of my questions. however, my biggest question is- are the newest standard issue soundcards that come on new PCs good enough for digital recording? I have a brand new Gateway with pentium III 450, and all the goodies,a single line input and *no* money left. The echo system says i can record 2 tracks while playing back 31, but does that test your RAM or your Soundcard? I don't want to spend a lot of money and I know that's not always possible, but i have expenses adding up already in renting instruments, mics and gathering musicians (I can't play everything!) so the cost of the actual recording soft & hardware needs to be at a minimum. I have deciding on using the less cryptic Cakewalk Guitar Studio, but I need a good drum & bass system. Are there any non-MIDI drum & bass software systems that are compatible with CGS?
thanks!

 

[drstawl]

The echo system says i can record 2 tracks
while playing back 31, but does that test your RAM or your Soundcard?

That will be a test mostly of the speed of your hard drive, considering the CPU you mentioned.

 

[Dragon]

"Good enough" is in the ear of the beholder. Check out the page https://homerecording.com/digital_results.html and listen for yourself. The cheapie sound card (at least, that particular one) sounds good, but there's plenty of noise there that might well crop up in editing and mixing later.

With a single stereo pair out, you do all your mixes inside the computer, listening to as many tracks as your computer can handle, and final result is a stereo WAV file that you burn to CD-R. But you'll need some kind of mixer to get mic inputs into that soundcard...use the search for that one! They're usually rentable and easy to find used.