Question

[Rickylr]

I'm a neophyte at recording but have played around with it. I've got a
Tascam 564 and have used it to make a CD of several songs, not aimed at
pro; strictly home recording just for something to have. It had
vocals, acoustic guitar, piano (analog? - not a keyboard), along with
drums on a couple of songs (not loops or samples or whatever, but
acoustic drums). I recorded to the Tascam, using a fair amount of
bouncing because I used multiple mics on each of the guitar, the drums,
and the piano, and the 564 is a four track machine. The bouncing down,
of course, caused some tracks to be mixed and so I was unable to tweak
them individually later. I'd like to preserve each track so I could
tweak them individually in a final mix-down.

Is there a software package and methodology to take tracks off the
Tascam and feed them into a computer, then add more tracks from the
Tascam later that are in sync (the "in sync" is the part I'm not sure
of). In other words, record some tracks on the Tascam, feed them in
two at a time to the computer, but end up with synced tracks?

If so, what software would work? I'm not interested in "samples" (or
whatever they're called) as the recording will be of live
instruments/vocals. Also not interested in MIDI, except if it's part
of getting the synchronization. Just basic software to be able to do
some processing (correct term?) on individual tracks at mix-down.

Thanks very much for any replies/help.

Ricky

 

[Tifstorey]

Cubase? That can handle up to 48 audio tracks, so you could record 2, then feed it into Cubase and so on..

I found the demo version online for you if you want to give it a go before spending some cash on it!
If your using pc: http://www.steinberg.net/DocSupport...cations_pro_pc_en.html&Langue_ID=&Product_ID=

If your using mac: http://www.steinberg.net/DocSupport...ations_pro_mac_en.html&Langue_ID=&Product_ID=

Hope that helps!

Good luck

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Welcome to the BBS Rickylr.

There is plenty of software which should suit your needs.

Did you have a budget in mind?

Also how do you plan to get the tracks out of the Tascam and into the comp?(sorry, I'm not familiar with that model). Is there a way of transferring data digitally?

There is free multitracking software out there such as Kristal:

http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/#pagetop

This is fairly easy to use and so is well suited to a beginner. You could take a look and if you feel you need more in the way of tracks, plug-in effects/processing tools, track inserts etc. then you can think about how much money you'd want to spend on a more sophisticated package.

 

[Elmo89m]

cakewalk homestudio is good....and only 50 dollars right now at musicians friend (its usually 100)....cubase would work too as mentioned aboce..im just a cakewalk guy

 

[Rickylr]

Thanks for the replies. I was aware of the software choices you guys mentioned, but I wasn't sure how to keep them synchronized. The 564 can output via analog lines to the computer and that's what I've done in the past, mixing down to two channels and sending it to the computer's audio input to Quartz Studio's free download version and then making a CD. This worked okay, but what I'd like to be able to do is send a couple of tracks to the computer then send a couple more tracks to the computer and have the four tracks separately to use with the software. What I don't know (and it may be so obvious to you guys that this is doable that we're missing connection on the question) is how they are synced afterward. In other words, I record four tracks on the Tascam (let's say all drums). I send tracks one and two to the Tascam via the analog out to the computer and they are recorded by the software. Now I want to send tracks three and four. I expect I can choose to have these recorded as tracks three and four in the software, but how do I make sure these two tracks are in perfect sync with the first two? They were synced on the Tascam but do I lose that synchronization when I send them over to the computer? And I'll want to do this with eight or ten (or more) additional tracks, keeping them in sync.

I know I can get the multiple tracks on the computer, but if I'm not recording the music on the computer when I play the songs live but instead just transferring tracks from the Tascam to the computer, how do they stay synced?

Someone asked about the Tascam's output. The Tascam has an S/PDIF output but I've never used it; I've just used the analog out. That will probably change.

What I'm actually deciding here is whether to buy something along the lines of a Yamaha AW16G CD/HD Multitrack recorder or to buy a dedicated computer. If I go computer I intend it to be dedicated, non-internet connected, used for music only. I'd prefer the computer direction because I also am getting Finale and I'd like to keep it separate from my "every day" computer. But I wasn't planning to record directly into the computer because a lot of the recording will be through mics and it picks up the computer noise. At the moment I'm not interested in electronic music. If I can use the Tascam and get the recorded tracks into the computer, in sync, I should be able to do what I'm after

As to budget, I'm hoping to keep this under $1,000, so a mid-level computer with software will (I think) fit.

Long post, sorry, and thanks again for the replies. I just found this forum and will be hanging around -- it's great.

Ricky

 

[scrubs]

Here's a cheap solution to lining up tracks. Record a short noise of some sort (reference tone, etc.) onto all the tracks simultaneously. Then record your tracks. When you transfer them to the software, just line up the reference tone by dragging the tracks around. Then, and here's the key, when you record more tracks, leave the reference tone on your tape in the same spot and just record after the tone. That way, when you move the new tracks, they will still have the same reference tone in the same spot. Obviously, this will not allow you to keep your raw tape tracks.

 

[Rickylr]

Here's a cheap solution to lining up tracks. Record a short noise of some sort (reference tone, etc.) onto all the tracks simultaneously. Then record your tracks. When you transfer them to the software, just line up the reference tone by dragging the tracks around. Then, and here's the key, when you record more tracks, leave the reference tone on your tape in the same spot and just record after the tone. That way, when you move the new tracks, they will still have the same reference tone in the same spot. Obviously, this will not allow you to keep your raw tape tracks.

I can see that would work to record four tracks (including the burst) and then move two at a time to the computer, then sync these four up. But doing sixteen or so tracks, I'd have to save an original reference track and bring it over with each additional track to keep them lined up (assuming I can move two tracks together in the software). Doable, but it seems cumbersome.

Am I overestimating the noise that would be picked up by having a computer as the recorder?


Ricky

 

[AlexW]

It does seem cumbersome, but with your budget a computer with a multi-channel interface would likely be difficult to achieve.

As far as the noise issue goes, I think you are overestimating it. I record on a computer in one medium sized room and noise from the computer isn't an issue.