Going from the 4tracks to computer based, need help!!

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Dizzy991

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Hello,

Well, the title of my message explains it all. I'm used to the trusty TASCAM 424MKII and I ended up selling it a year ago. I was planning to upgrade to an ADAT machine and actually bought a Behringer mixer, I forgot which model but it sells for about $300, it's a 12 channel mixer and I'm sure it's sufficient for me. I just want to throw a demo together that sounds good.

Ok, so here's my hardware, a Compaq Presario laptop model 1800. It has about 20 gigs, Pentium III, and 256 MB of RAM. I am running Windows ME 2000 on it. I have the basic stock soundcard included. So now what kind of software do I need and what cables will I need to run my mixer into my comp?

Thanks for any advice.
 
Well if your going to use the stock sound card you might as well put everything through one output and into the computer. I have recorded decent sounding stuff with my presario. As for software you would't need a multitrack, just domthing to record decently, try www.cnet.com download section you should be able to get some free ware or share ware that will serve your needs. This soulution should get you reasonable quality (for a demo) at zero cost.

On those laptops, don't run ANYTHING while recording as they glich real easy, you might even need to turn off graphics acceleration. And use a mouse the touch pad will drive you nuts.

-Angermeyer
 
a lot of this depends on what you are recording: the frogs in your yard, a barbershop quartet, porn music, an orchestra, a toilet being flushed.....i'm guessing you aren't running a studio out of a laptop...but it would be cool if you were.
 
Thanks for the help guys, just keep in mind I am open to upgrades, I have read the digital stuff on this site and it's great. Now to follow up, I just want to have some stuff to run a few guitar tracks (Hamer USA Studio Archtop - my baby!! into a Marshall JCM 800 50 wt 2x12 Celestion Speakers) for some songs I've got. I also plan to purchase some drum machine software so any recommendations would be great, I read about Jammer Pro and would like some feedback on it and other possible alternatives.

So let me ask another totally ignorant question, how does this multitrack software work? Is it smart as in I just install it and it recognizes the soundcard and configures it? And I just run my mixer into the one jack in my soundcard or do I buy that MIDI adapter Dragon mentions in his digital articles? And I'm guessing since I only run one line into my laptop that I have to do this track by track (fine with me since I'm doing this all on my own)?

Thanks again for the advice.
 
The most important question to answer is "how many tracks do I need to be able to record at one time?". If the answer is only one, then you may indeed be able to get by on the built-in hardware you have, or something like a SoundBlaster, until you want to move up to something better. If you want to be able to record two or more tracks at once, and listen to playback at the same time, then you need to go card shopping. Note that "tracks" in this case can be different from mixer channels - your can record a band live by using your mixer to mix everything down to two channels.

Most multi-track recording software programs are based arround the model of the multi-track tape deck. If you have used a porta studio the learning curve for basic functions should be modest. in a windows enviornment you typically need to set up the hardware in Windows, not in the application itself.

You might want to experiment with the "search" function on this BBS, there is a lot of info that you will find useful that has beeen discussed in earlier postings.
 
if you want to record that amp , you are gonna need a mic , and you are going to have to be able to get loud. ....you might want to check out the line6 guitarport...it will record guitar tracks and will totally bypass your soundcard...it can record 24 bit files, i believe....it's usb....and you can hook it up directly to your active monitors (if you have any). however, if you're all set to record with the behringer into the sound card, then all you will need is a cable that will go from the record/monitor out to 1/8 inch mini jack......there are also usb devices that will likely provide better a/d conversion than your onboard sound, and a digital input.

there's a plethora of drum sequencing/sampling software out there...i think it's best to start with Hammerhead, cause it's free.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'll have no problem cranking the amp, I do have mics as well. Problem with my card is that it only seems to have a mic input and not a 1/8" line in. Based on Dragon's article the quality will suck going into the mic input cause it's designed for just computer mics right? So what should I do? Suck it up and go with that anyways?

Here's my plan, mic my metronome so I got my click, do my guitar tracks, lay down some drums using Hammerhead or other drum software (since I dont have the songs completely fleshed out and I'm no drummer). Run a bass guitar down, and then do some vocals. After that I'll run some effects with my outboard stuff and burn a CD for my bandmates to listen to it.
 
I think someone had this problem with the line input a while back...You might want to try to track down that thread. I just tried a couple of searches but I didn't come across it. I am kind of suprised that someone would sell a notebook without a line input. But if this is indeed the case , you might be able to find something like the Egosys UA2 (USB) pretty cheap somewhere.
 
A USB or Firewire sound card will give you a lot better sound quality. The laptop input will be pretty noisy. It may not seem that bad at first but if you hear something recorded on a better card the difference is huge.

ME is not very well supported so make sure any software you get is compatable.

A simple setup would be CoolEditPro or Ntracks for multitracking and FruityLoops for drums.

If you want more sophisticated software with MIDI funtionality you should check out Sonar or Cubase.
 
ME isn't that bad...However, it isn't the best choice for Sonar...

As far as drum software, I don't think F-loops is the dream machine for instant drum beats...two years ago it was, maybe...but now there are better ways to do sequenced drums. Hammerhead is just as good for drums, and it doesn't come with cheezy synths. On the other side, there is Battery and Sonar 2.0.
 
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