Newbie, out of touch with current technology, and want to burn my music onto CD...

  • Thread starter Thread starter eric hagelin
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eric hagelin

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Hi, thanks in advance for any help!

I have an old (1989) Ensoniq VFX-SD workstation synthesizer which I have used throughout the years to write electronic music on.

I want to be able to put this music onto CD.

I am assuming there is some easy (and relatively inexpensive) way to do this with current computer technology, but I have no idea how to begin.

What kind of computer stuff (hardware and software) would I need to get to do this? All I currently have is my synth, which has the standard 1/4" jacks (L&R) for hooking it up to a stereo and/or mixer.

Thank you,

Eric
 
You don't need a lot of computer to record a couple of tracks at a time. Processing power is needed mostly when you're using high quality reverbs or amplifier simulations. If you have a project with tons of tracks it requires fast drives and drive buses, but most computers are fast enough.

You'll need an audio interface, which is like a sound card but with special features to accommodate music production. Most likely you'll end up with a USB type interface, but you might consider a PCIe. Recording with microphones requires headphones for monitoring, but if you only record your synth you can monitor on speakers. And you're going to need a decent pair of studio monitors. There are many active ones (with the amp built in) on the market.

Most audio interfaces come with DAW (digital audio workstation) software, and you can always try demo versions of other software to find a program that fits the way you do things.
 
Read the sticky at the top of this section of this forum on Computer recording.
Basics, an audio interface with 2 channel capability - Steinberg UR22, Scarlett 2i2, many other choices under $150.00 DAW (recording software) - as bsg mentioned, most AIs come with a limited edition DAW, Audacity is free (must not much for editing).
 
On the now rare occasion I need a CD I just export the track(s) as .wav in 16bit 44.1kHz from wherever, Samplitude or Adobe Audition and burn them with an old copy of Nero 6 I got with my first CD burner!

But I have just Google Reaper for CD and, as you would expect, it can do a proper job.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
On the now rare occasion I need a CD I just export the track(s) as .wav in 16bit 44.1kHz from wherever, Samplitude or Adobe Audition and burn them with an old copy of Nero 6 I got with my first CD burner!

But I have just Google Reaper for CD and, as you would expect, it can do a proper job.

Dave.
Click to expand...

You missed the part about the OP just having an old synth - no WAV export from a 1989 synth, I'm sure! ;)
 
Thank you for the replies.

I'm looking at the Cakewalk UA-1G thing. Am I correct in assuming I could plug my synth into this thing, and using the software provided with it, it will transfer my music from my synth into the computer (and consequently save them as wav files)?
 
I don't understand the question. Do you already have music recorded on the workstation and just want to export it to a CD, or do you want to make multi-track recordings using the workstation and then render them to a CD?
 
Eric,
You are thinking correctly....the UA-1G comes bundled with SONAR-LE which is a more basic version for editing your files........plug synth into UA-1G >plug UA-1G into computer away you go........please note you might want to read the notes that come with the software...sometimes you need to install the software 1st then introduce the UA-1G "thingy" :):) to the computer......once launched you can record and save and / or edit and so on.......then export to burn your CD........good luck with your project
 
XploZiveToyz said:
I don't understand the question. Do you already have music recorded on the workstation and just want to export it to a CD, or do you want to make multi-track recordings using the workstation and then render them to a CD?
Click to expand...

Yes, the workstation has a built-in multitrack sequencer and I have a bunch of compositions saved to floppys (the workstation has a 3.5 drive). I want to be able to load my music up, hit "play" and have it transferred to the computer so that I can then burn those files to CD.

Does that make more sense? (If the software allows me to play around with further mixing/arranging, that would be icing on the cake[walk].)

Edited to add: The files on the 3.5 discs cannot be exported to a CD straight from the machine... I think I have to have software on a computer that can take the live-playing data from the synth and "record" it... but then I need that middle piece (between the synth and the computer) which enables the data to "get there" - correct?

Sorry, I am fairly ignorant when it comes to modern-day computer technology speak. I'm an old guy who grew up composing music on analog synths. Venturing into digital synths, samplers, etc. was as far as I got, and that was all pre-PC. Once I get this old stuff recorded onto CD, I may jettison the '89 Ensoniq and get something current... (but now that I am older, I find my time to sit around tweaking knobs and altering sound waves is a bit limited).

I just want to get the stuff recorded onto CD before I (or my synth) die. :)
 
Ok. That's what I thought you were asking, but wasn't sure. I'm not a big keyboard guy(guitar), but let me do a little digging. It's New Year's Day tomorrow so I'll try to find something out and let you know something the day after. However I am pretty sure that the manual that came with the workstation would probably have that information. Can you push a button or something on the work station and hear the playback through a PA or monitor? Let me know so that I can assess what needs to be done. Ciao.
 
You could record the MIDI data to the computer along with the audio. It's a matter of having an interface with audio and MIDI inputs.

If you find similar sounds to what you used originally you could recreate the original performance but with the added ability to edit. There's a lot of stuff you could do with the MIDI data you can't do with just the audio.

You wouldn't really need the audio except as a reference or if you can't find the right sounds.
 
mjbphotos said:
You missed the part about the OP just having an old synth - no WAV export from a 1989 synth, I'm sure! ;)
Click to expand...
Quite right I did!

However, IF a sound can be heard, it can be recorded, as .wav.

Dave.
 
Of course, once you can get the stereo output into the computer, you need to be able to hear it properly - so I'm assuming you already have a decent quality loudspeaker system?

If, for example, the composition has multiple instruments - so perhaps synth, percussion, strings and maybe a melody, what you could do is mute off all bar one instrument, then record that into the computer as a stereo track, then do the same with the others. You could then slide them around on the screen to get them into sync with each other, and then you can polish them up. Computers have better eq and effects than many older keyboards so you could make the end product even better.
 
XploZiveToyz said:
Ok. That's what I thought you were asking, but wasn't sure. I'm not a big keyboard guy(guitar), but let me do a little digging. It's New Year's Day tomorrow so I'll try to find something out and let you know something the day after. However I am pretty sure that the manual that came with the workstation would probably have that information. Can you push a button or something on the work station and hear the playback through a PA or monitor? Let me know so that I can assess what needs to be done. Ciao.
Click to expand...

Yep, there is a "play" button.

Incidentally, the Cakewalk UA-1G looks like exactly what I need, but the darn thing appears to be unavailable.

Any [under $100] other options that you would recommend? I guess I could go up to $200, but I sure don't want to spend more than $100 if I can help it. I'm a bit bummed, that Cakewalk UA-1G looked super easy and cool, and perfect for what I need...
 
This Steinberg UR22 | Sweetwater.com

sits smack in the middle of your budget and has MIDI which the Roland unit does not (and no, I can't find one either!). The UR22 is also a much more modern AI and has gained a very good reputation. The Roland user manual does not mention Win 7 leave alone Win8 so driver support might soon run out (and 64 bit operation might be fraught?) tho' there is a W7 driver in the support section.

Dave.
 
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