I have this, but what do I need????

[bindle stiff ji]

Where I am with all of this. I play 5 string banjo. I want to record it with midi backing tracks (acoustic steel string guitar, upright bass, fiddle, mandolin).

I'm looking for a minimal setup, but I want gear I won't out grow too quickly.

what i currently have:

PC

HP
pentium 4, 3.00 gHz
1 Mb L2 cache
200 gb hard drive
1.0 gb 3200 ddr sram
multiple usb 2.0 ports
(2) firewire ports
realtek HD sound card
windows XP home edition

microphone

blue snowball cardoid/omni condenser mic
USB powered

software
Cakewalk Music Creator 3

i had the computer. bought the mic to record with last month. sound recorder on windows wasn't cutting it so i bought music creator 3 from office depot.

what i need guidence on

i need a midi controler keyboard that gives me a piano feel (i know my way around a piano, though i wouldn't be called a pianist). doesn't have to be fully weighted keys, but i want something that doesn't feel cheap and sloppy (i'll be using it to brush up on my piano chops also). i also want something that will give a good piano sound. do i need a sample playback synth? do i have a strong enough computer to run soft-synths for a few tracks while i put the banjo in? are there any keyboards with acceptable accoustic guitar as well as good piano sounds out there? what are they?
suggestions please

sound card. if i got a stand alone audio/midi interface would this relieve me of my realtek HD sound card limitations? i hope so. why? i will need some type of midi interface. i want phantom powered mic inputs as well as somewhere to plug an electric banjo into.
i'm really interested in the e-mu0404 USB 2.0 interface.
suggestions please

i don't know much about music creator yet. is music creator acceptable or should i upgrade to one of the SONAR DAWs and learn it now instead of learning music creator then having to change due to it's limitations.
suggestions please


any help will be greatly appreciated.

much thanks!!

 

[bindle stiff ji]

the e-mu 0404 2.0 usb comes bundled with SONAR LE and CUBASE LE so that would answer that question.

 

[Morocco]

You can find a midi keyboard controller for dirt cheap these days, go to your local music store and play around with them to see wich one is for you.

Yes, I am very coinfident that your pc should run the synths while recording an instrument (you have a pretty powerful pc)

THe rest I'll leave to someone else

 

[Tifstorey]

sound card. if i got a stand alone audio/midi interface would this relieve me of my realtek HD sound card limitations? i hope so. why? i will need some type of midi interface. i want phantom powered mic inputs as well as somewhere to plug an electric banjo into.
i'm really interested in the e-mu0404 USB 2.0 interface.
suggestions please

It's all down to how many instruments you'll be recording at the same time.. by the sounds of things, you'll only be doing 1, but i certainly wouldn't narrow yourself down to just 1 incase you ever have the chance to record a few. So i'd suggest getting a soundcard with a few in/outs.
The 404 you say your interested in looks like a great little box for you, although i cant personally say i know anyone who owns one so i cant offer any advice on that side of things..
I use the Presonus Firebox which is a brilliant piece of kit in my eyes. Excellent pres, phantom power for your condensers, and direct ins for your banjo. (Also has MIDI for you). You might consider having a look at that. Like the previous member said though, it's really down to you at the end of the day. There's so much kit out there you'll never feel really 100% about picking one.

i don't know much about music creator yet. is music creator acceptable or should i upgrade to one of the SONAR DAWs and learn it now instead of learning music creator then having to change due to it's limitations.
suggestions please

Most of the cards you would buy nowadays come with free software such as Cubase LE. I used Cubase for a long time (Switched due to me heading in a different direction of audio) and i can, again, recommend that to use. Not only because it's a nice piece of software to record with, but you can upgrade if you ever feel the need to, and there's alot of users on here that use it so can help you out if you ever have any problems with it.

Hope i've helped a little for you there mate, like i say - it's a tough call when it comes down to getting your kit together. Main thing is, dont rush about it. It's expensive stuff and you certainly want to make sure it can do everything you want it to before you get your credit card out.

Good luck,

 

[Nick98338]

1. You've got plenty of computer power. Don't sweat that.

2. Get a "real" audio interface. I don't know the e-mu0404, so I can't comment. But, there are dozens of decent USB and Firewire interfaces around.

3. Like you, I was looking to add other "virtual" instruments to my guitar tracks. I have found a cheap and decent sounding upright bass sound. It's a "sampler" type synth called Sample Tank 2 LE. It has several "expansion packs" that have many different instruments available. I got the bass pack and it has a very "acoustic" sounding upright bass included. And, it works as a VST or DXI input, so it will work with your Music Creator. It can work with an external midi keyboard, but doesn't need one. It has it's own "software" keyboard built in.
http://www.esoundz.com

I haven't yet found any other decent sounding instruments, cheap.

4. If you want some "real" guitar tracks, let me know. My Martin sounds pretty good, if I say so myself. We could just talk over what it is you want, I record it, then send you the .wav file. Whamo! you've got real guitar, not the synth stuff.

 

[bindle stiff ji]

thanks for the input folks. i'll go check out some boards at the music store tomorrow. i look into the rest of that stuff too.


nick98338, i may take you up on the guitar tracks as i get going. thanks for the offer.