mike for MIDI/transcription and recording

  • Thread starter Thread starter nevets
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nevets

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I am in the process of setting up a basic recording facility with my Pentium4 2.53G PC. I have the M-Audio 1010LT card. I am able to transcribe tunes via my keyboard into Finale. According to the Finale docum. it looks like I can transcribe via mike (the signal gets convered to MIDI). Right now I just have a little mike that came with my minidisk recorder. I believe this is a dynamic type mike. So ... I guess I should get a new "real" mike for the above purpose and also because I'd like to be able to record live audio down the road a bit: voice and acoustic guitar - probably percussion too. Demo quality is good enough.

My questions:
- Should I get a dynamic or condenser mike?
- Any specific recommendation for brand and model?
I guess I'd be willing to spend up to $100.

Thanks - quick response would be greatly appreciated since I have a project I'd like to complete this week.
Steve

Update: I just called a local store. The salesperson recommended the SM58 or a clone. They only carry the latter: SHS OM-500 for $85. Any familiararity with this? How about the price? (Didn't see much on this in the "Microphone" board.)
 
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I don't think you understand it well...
or I don't.

You can eventually want to use a mic in midi-purposes, but just for triggering stuff and all. You can't like record a vocal for example and save it as a midi-file.

In fact, what I'm trying to say (haven't got my coffee yet) is that you don't need to use a mic in Midi-applications.
it is possible, but very limited.

So please explain what you exactly are trying to do. Thnx/.
 
Thanks for getting back to me - esp given my lack of clarity ...

Finale has something called MicNotator. If it can tranlate vocal input into MIDI then it might be the most expedient method for me to document and save my musical ideas (and later evolve the better stuff). I might be disconnected from reality here but I'm curious as to what this feature is. So it is a catalyst for me to purchase a mike sooner. The Finale doc describes MicNotator as follows:

This dialog box allows you to set up options for the MicNotator feature. With MicNotator, Finale converts the pitch you play in a microphone into a MIDI note when you use Speedy Entry or HyperScribe. Check the Enable box to use the MicNotator feature in Speedy Entry and HyperScribe. You should use the levels meter to fine-tune your microphone input.
 
Well, it might be able to translate the pitch into midi if your tone was very clear and your attacks and cutoffs were very precise, but human singing is not like that. Moreover it would do nothing to translate the words and most likely any words would throw it off If you just want a vocal sketchpad then record to wav or mp3.
 
The mic to midi software will simply try to determine the pitch of your vocal and write it out as musical notation. It WILL NOT record your actual vocals.

Get a real SM58 and avoid any so called clones. You can get them new at www.musiciansfriend.com (and many others) or used on EBAY. They are a pretty a safe used buy because they are hard to break.

You will also need a mic preamp because you cannot plug a mic like that and most others straight into your soundcard. The Audio Buddy is a popular cheap preamp.

If you want to record your vocals and other music tracks you will need a multitrack audio program. Cool Edit Pro and Ntracks are decent cheap programs.
 
The musical notation is what I am looking for - a first pass at creating the tune on "paper" ... then creating an arrangement and demo recording.

I'll probably go for the SM58. I don't believe I need a pre-amp with the 1010LT card (unlike the 1010). There are 2 mike inputs with pre-amps. Not very good ones most likely but I'll see - and hear - how it goes.

Thanks for the (the good kind of) feedback!
Steve
 
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