Help, help with Computer Recording!!

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Tay35

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Hello everyone! Let me first tell you what I am trying to do then I will tell you what I have and then what my problem is.

I am trying to use my computer as a Hard disk recorder instead of buying one, such as the Roland 1680. I want to record my own music, with vocals, special efects, do mix downs and then burn to cd to distribute locally and then hopefully send nationally and get signed by a label as well as other artists who come my way. Basically I've been trying to build a home studio on a very lenient budget. Now, here's what I have...

I have a HP Pavilion 8750c computer w/ 190 Ram, 667 Mhz and plenty of hard drive. I t has a cd-burner on it.

The sound card is Aureal Vortex Audio, with an output rate of 48 kHz

Boss Dr. 550 MK II drum machine (with no manual so I'm not sure of how to operate it)

General MIDI keyboard from Radio Shack (I know it's Radio Shack, but it's actually pretty good; model # is MD-1700 76 key MIDI) it has 16 tracks but the problem is I can only use 6 internally, and all 16 externally. But getting it to work through my computer so I can use all 16 tracks is the problem.

I have a Superlux studio condenser microphone. (many things i have are not well known name brands, but i no of some people who are using things i believe no one has ever heard of and their music sounds fantastic)

I also have a MIXIM 10 Channel mixer, MIDIMAN w/ Phantom power.

A Teac double cassette player

A Phillips Audio cd recorder

Now as far as music software. I have several..i downloaded Pro Tools for free, I have Acid 2.0 thinking about upgrading to Acid 3.0 (is that a good idea or will that even help at all) I also have Data Becker Music Center Pro, that has 64 tracks and up to 256 virtual tracks, whatever that means, Jammer Professional. And several trial versions of other home studio software that offer hard disk recorders, midi recorders, wave editors, sequencers, controllers, looping, tuners and more.

My problem?? Hooking all this up to work right to make music. My keyboard is what I'll be using to do the majority of the music and 16 tracks of music is fine, I just can't seem to get the keyboard to play through my computer, although I have the connections that I need. the keyboard has a Midi in and out.

Can someone, anybody help me put all this together and get started? I would really appreciate it! Thanks!

Also, we were going to install a booth here, but someone said we didn't need it because we have Sound Forge 4.5 and they said we could edit out any sound the mic picks up through there? Any clue as to what they meant?
 
You seem to be missing the one piece of software you need to
record midi from your keyboard.....a sequencer(unless the free Pro Tools also does midi which I don't think it does). Mine is Cakewalk Pro Audio. I'm not saying its the best. I wouldn't know. Its about the only one I've ever used. It also costs about $300.

But there are cheaper sequencers. PG Music (pgmusic.com),
the people who make Band In A Box have a $30 sequencer
call Pro Tracks. I haven't used it but I know they give good
customer support and I think you can download a demo.
You can also download a demo of Cakewalk (cakewalk.com).
They come in several flavors. Cubase is another quality product
as is Logic Audio.

Anyway, it would work this way in Cakewalk and in other sequencers as well. You hook your keyboard up through the
midi port. In Cakewalk, you tell it that you are recording from
the midi driver (instead of the audio one) then call up a patch
for one instrument you are recording, such as electric piano,
hammond organ, ect. If, after recording that part, you decided
it would be better as another instrument, you select a different
patch.

One very important thing. Sometimes I'll clone a part and turn it into a different instrument while keeping the original. To do that,
you must give it a different channel number than something
already selected then call up the desired patch. And on most sound cards, drums get the number 10 channel.

That's just a start. It can be a stiff learning curve but that's because there are so many options involved. Good luck with this.

PaulB
 
Well, Pro Tools will do midi. I record all my midi and audio with Pro Tools on my HP Pavilion.

If you want to record a midi track into Pro Tools from your Radio Shack (ouch!) Keyboard, you'll first have to make sure it is connected to your sound card with a computer midi cable. The two midi ends of the cable should be labeled "IN" and "OUT." The "IN" cable should be plugged into the "OUT" on your keyboard and the "OUT" cable should be plugged into the "IN" on your keyboard.

Now, in Pro Tools, you have to add a midi track to the sequence. As soon as you do, go to the mixing board view (through the window menu I think). There will be a button that says what midi device is playing the track. It usually defaults to your built in sounds. Click on it to change it to your external midi device.

Now you will need to choose an instrument for the track. There should be a button that says "none." Clicking on this will let you choose an instrument from your keyboard.

Lastly, hide the mix view so you can see the tracks again. You will have to "record enable" the midi track by clicking the record button on the left end of the track. Now if you play your keyboard you should hear the instrument you chose.

If it still doesn't work, it'll be something in either Pro Tool's midi settings or your computer's sound card settings.
 
Computer Recording

Thanks PaulB and Senor Cactus...Ok, I will try pro tools out first and see what happens. Now, how about another question. Senor Cactus, you said you record all your midi and audio with Pro Tools. now what exactly do you mean by all your MIDI and all your audio? Is MIDI like from keyboards, etc., and is audio your vocals? OK, that's all I'll ask for now, so I can try out the Pro Tools and I'll let everyone know what happened! thanks again!
 
I just meant that the only program that I am using right now is Pro Tools. It suits my needs because it handles both audio and midi and offers a comfortable mixing environment. I mainly use midi to record keyboard tracks and drum tracks and use audio for my guitar and vocals.
 
Instead of the boss Dr drum machine, I recommend Fruityloops software, you can download the demo and check it out. It has midi sync options to sync to different programs like cakewalk and such.
 
Its cold at the South Pole!

The jammer pro is also a sequencer. I use my keyboard to record to it all the time.
(sorry!! Its not a radio shack) Make sure your midi connections are correct and the software is set correctly for both your soundcard and sequencer(jammerpro if you use that). Im quite sure your keboard is using the standard GM specs so theres no reason why you shouldnt be able to use it. Get rid of the demos if your not going to use them.
Your problem sounds like incorrect software setup. Read those manuals on both your software and keyboard (and soundcard) If everything is set up right you should be able to playback one of the demo songs on jammerpro. I have CW proaudio 9 and jammerpro is easier to setup. Try jammerpro first then graduate to something else if needed. I can help with jammerpro but your other software I dont have.
A soundbooth is the way to go in my opinion. Why take the time to use software to remove unwanted noise if you dont have to. It can be time consuming. Theres better things to do with your time like record..

Heres a link to visit If you havent done so already.
http://www.borg.com/~jglatt/tutr/miditutr.htm
http://www.borg.com/~jglatt/tutr/whatmidi.htm

Duck
 
PaulB was right about the PGmusic software, bit I think it's called Power Tracks Pro. Real easy to use. 16+ tracks I think. It was a great multi-track learning aid for me, and worked well with my Yamaha (barely a cut above Radio Shack) keyboards.

Good luck.
 
Powertracks Pro

I Also have powertracks pro but not the latest version. Version 7 does audio as well as midi. Up to 48 tracks. Yes it is $30 bucks and a good learning tool. As far as the ease of use its just about the same as Jammerpro, but Jammerpro is strictly midi. In other words you cant do vocals or any instrutment that isnt midi on JammerPro.
Read those manuals!

Duck
 
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