need home recording info

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cloudyshores

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pre-thanks for any helpyou provide...

1.)i have purchased cakewalk music creator,i have a acoustic/electric dean guitar that i am plugging directly into the mic input of my computer.i started fooling around with the software but am having a hard time controloing the mic input levels, its either too low or too much (distorted)
is there a level input indicator that i can visually see in order to adjust this?can i play the guitar and see the levels working and hear the sound but not have to record?

2.)also i have a yamaha 6-channel pre-amp (road-sturdy) and 2 yamaha pa speakers that i use in the band.i would like to start a home studio and wonder what i need to purchase in order to continue in the right direction.can i mix digital and anolog eqp. together

3.) what does MIDI stand for and why what exactly is it and what does it do?i have been an anolog boy for a long time, the age of computers has got me thinking digital now.

4.) if i have all the software i need to record digitally do i need any external eqp.? our band plays live a lot and i would like to record it and then remix it on the computer using some sort of software, is this pratical or whatr do you suggest?

thanks a lot
 
ok, here goes...

1) Yes. Cakewalk has an input monitor you can use to see meters when you're recording. Also, Windows mixer (the little speaker icon in your tool tray) usually allows you to see this (plus adjust your input level - very important). I'd HIGHLY recommend plugging your guitar or mic into your 6 channel pre, and record the output of the preamp through your LINE IN jack of your soundcard (make sure it's selected in Windows mixer). You'll notice a huge, huge difference.

2) Yes, you can mix digital and analog equipment, but you'd need a better sound card with digital ins. You can always get more equipment (we always do) - I usually spend money on improving my weakest links in order (in your case, probably the sound card, unless you've already got a very good one).

3) MIDI = Musican Instrument Digital Interface. It's used for all sorts of things like recording performance data from a keyboard to controlling all kinds of digital gear. I wouldn't worry about it rite now. You can look into the MIDI forum of this site to get a better handle on it if you'd like. (I'm an analog boy too, and I avoid it as much as possible)

4) Recording live... many people do it, but it requires quite a bit of effort and equipment (read cash-ola). There are people here who do it. IMO, it's not very practical unless you're willing to put in all the cash and effort to set it up. One possible way would be to buy a standalone recorder (like a Roland VS-1680) to use on the road, then bring each track into the computer back home. It'd be a pain, and still very expensive.

...If you're looking to record everybody at once at home (or in your studio-to-be, look into getting a multi-input soundcard like a Delta 1010, a C-Port, or an Aardvark Q-10. Other than that, you'd record one person at a time (which many people do) layering tracks as you go.
 
ok, better but still more ?????s

thanks a lot that really cleared a few things up.
i went home for lunch and tried a fewe things out and its getting better with your advice, however........
this is my current setup....
i have a dell inspiron 8200 laptop, i am going through the inst in on my pa/preamp head with my dean acoustic/elect and then out of the main into the mic in on my computer, this sounds better but i still need to mess with eq.when i have the record input level display going i can see the direct result of my plucking however there is a 1-2-3 sec delay between what i play and what comes out my dells' internal speakers, why is this?

!!!!soundard!!!!????
is the soundcard located directly in the location of my computers' mic input line? or is this a seperate item that i need to install other than the defaults?

you have been a great deal of help and i hope you dont get bored with my questions because there may be many to come:-)

thanks again
 
latency

so how do i hear what i am playing the way it is recording in real time?
 
Cloudy, Use the LINE IN on your soundcard. Pretend the mic in is not there because for all practical purposes it is worthless.

You need to monitor from you mixer/preamp so you can hear the live sound. If the latency is that bad then it may be problem when you start recording. Check Cakewalk's options and see if there is a latency setting that you can turn down.

This is a problem with stock soundcards, 'home' recording software and laptops.

The solution?

A desktop computer with one of the pro oriented software programs and a prosumer sound card with 0 latency monitoring.
 
My guess is that you're using the on-board sound that came with your computer (most of them suck).

First, make sure you're recording into the LINE-IN jack - not the MIC-IN. ...makes a big, big difference.

Second, you're trying to monitor what you're recording and like c7 said, welcome to the world of latency.

The easiest way around this is to avoid monitoring what you're recording through the computer. There are a bunch of different ways you can setup monitoring externally (or by getting a zero-latency sound card). If I were you, I'd just turn off monitoring what you record in Cakewalk. It's the easiest way to go for now. You hear what's already been recorded, and you hear what you're playing with your ears. When you go to play it back, it should be perfectly lined up.
 
and another ?

thanks for the quick replys!!!
so i need to plug my 1/4" to 1/8" adapter plug into the line in on my computer?i just got this comp and im not real familiar with it, i just assumed that the 'mic' symbol above the port was the line in/mic but i guess there is also a line in right?

how about a what if????

what if say i was recording a live performance (me--lead guitar,backup vocals-----Verl,lead singer and guitar-----and another just like verl but just back up vocals)..... we only play acoustic inst and everyting is miced first through our amps and then to the yamaha pa and throught the speakers, its a clean,un-distorted sound and not real loud (50-100 people).what type of set up would you suggest so i can record it and then play around with the sound using software on my computer?i.e.....what recording device & type of mics and what type of software?

thnks again,rich
 
You have 2 options for that-

Record a stereo track of the entire performance. Fast and easy but no way to remix the relative volumes of the different tracks. You can do this with what you have.

Record everything on its own track. Requires additional hardware and software but will give you complete flexibility for mixing and replacing bad performances.

For the second option you need to figure out how many different tracks you would need to record at once. From your example you would need 6 tracks for 3 singer/guitarists. Most cards come in 2/4/8/16 track configurations.

If you want to stick with your laptop you would need a firewire interface/sound card because USB is limited to 4 simultaneous record tracks.

A 'portastudio' type recorder might work but you have to make sure it records enough tracks simultaneously and that it has enough onboard storage to record an entire live performance.

The bottom line. How much do you want to spend? A reliable and decent 8track mobile setup will realistically cost about $1500-$2000 or more once you include everything you will need to get the job done.
 
more troubles

hello again,
i am getting a major increasing feedback when i start recording my elect/acoust guitar, i can not figure out how to stop it.i found out that the default mic for my comp was the bilt in mic so i dissconnected it from the default so i can use only line in, this is when i discovered the feedback, if i depress the record icon on cakewalk usic creator and pluck a string i hear the string very faint and then louder and louder and louder ect with an echo.what gives?

i have a few products in mind for my little studio i would like to see if you think this is a good direction for me or not
1.fostex vf-160 16-track with internal cd recorder
2.good recording mics (any suggestions?)
3.i am going to use my yamaha pa speakers as monitors, is this ok?
 
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