is MIDI really necessary?

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drumboi

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if i'm recording all analog instruments i.e. acoustic drums, electric guitar, etc. and no digital instruments, do i need MIDI? i need some clarification on what exactly MIDI does. thanks.
 
Midi = Musical Instrument Digital Interface, an industry-standard interface used on electronic musical keyboards and PCs for computer control of musical instruments and devices.

I really don't think that you'll need it, but who knows what the future will bring...
 
yeah, i'll probably be using MIDI later on down the road, but i'm only 15 and on a tight budget and i just wanted to know if MIDI was necessary right in the beginning.
 
No, it's probably not necessary, but I think most recording interfaces come with Midi connections these days, so you will have room to expand.
 
drumboi said:
yeah, i'll probably be using MIDI later on down the road, but i'm only 15 and on a tight budget and i just wanted to know if MIDI was necessary right in the beginning.

I have been playing music/recording for 20 years and I still haven't felt empty inside because I don't use midi. I'm still not sure what I would gain by using it either.
 
I don't use midi either but recently I've had a strange urge to dabble in software synthesisers
 
Bulls Hit said:
I don't use midi either but recently I've had a strange urge to dabble in software synthesisers

I had that same urge about a year ago. It only took 3 hours of installing, configuring, restarting... reinstalling, reconfiguring, re-restarting.....re-reinstalling........ catch my drift? I worked that urge out real quick!
On the other hand, theres alot of people out there that swear by it?
 
MIDI works well for me. I can lay down a number of tracks, and then play with patches until I find the combination that works best for me. Can't do that with straight audio.

I find that all my initial tracks are midi. I only start to get audio happening when I want to free synths up.

I also use MIDI to control my outboard effects, mixer, and convertors from my sequencer.

I can also use midi to have my other computer system play soft synths.

If you don't use synths, then maybe midi will buy you very little. But there are other uses.
 
MIDI can be useful for syncing drum machines if you're into that sort of thing.
 
MIDI starts out as a choice. I use MIDI everytime. I have to with my keyboard rig. It's mostly controllers talking to modules.

However, even if you're all acoustic or just all audio or whatever, you'll find that using an outboard control surface is a huge improvement over just the PC keyboard and mouse.

How do these control surfaces talkk to your PC? Why through MIDI of course.

Carl
 
It's necessary to me absolutely, sometimes I need a orchestral part for my music, I haven't got a big recording studio, equal gears and enough money to pay a big orchestral band. So I do it myself by MIDI project. :D
 
I agree with Serovan. For true homerecording or, even better, bedroom recording, Midi/soundfontis are an inexpensive and very handy tool for a lone hobbiest musician.
 
I never thought I really needed midi, so I never really learned much about it, other than how to use the midi pedal with my guitar rig. That is until I started the "home studio" thing. Now I wish I had learned more about it years ago. I use midi to record my V-session drums, keyboards, change channels on effects processors, sync time, etc. It's not real complicated, but it is a little tricky at first and will take some time, and trial and error. I HIGHLY recommend you learn as much about it as you can. It will open up new avenues for you in your recording projects. If you are on a tight budget, pick up a cheap midi drum machine, or keyboard that is midi capable from e-bay, and play around with midi in your spare time. Although midi may not be necessary in the beginning stages of your "home recording", expanding your knowledge will expand your creativity. Since you are only 15, now is the time you should be learning as much as you can about this stuff, because life gets real busy when you get just a little older. ;)
 
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