So.... is this the deep end?

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jjsimonds

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Greetings all,

A newb here, but not so newbie in other places. I am a PC geek, having built and serviced PC's for way too long to want to think about it.

I ditched geekdom for Voice over work in 08, and am also working Real Estate to pay some bills... we'll see. I have a theater background and sing all the time... which gets to the point.. I sing well and I always have a tune in my head and I am constantly thinking of a song or phrase as a result of external stimuli... so I am hereby admitting I have the bug and am doing something about it.

I currently have a couple of PC's (a laptop and desktop), SoundForge 9, Alesis MultiMix8, Fostex MR-8 (on the way), Shure Sm-58 and ADK A-6 mics.

My goal is to play with recording my voice and vocal effects in a multi track environment and see what happens.

( note: it is a given that being able to carry a tune does not mean that listening to that voice is pleasurable )

Is SF9 really capable of editing multiple tracks or do I need a "true" multi-track editing software... I haven;t gotten very deep into SF yet, but did play with 8 "channels" in a surround sound mode with a Led Zepplin freebie track set... my goal is to use the Fostex to bounce tracks into final song versions, and to arrive there by using SF to edit down tracks/moving them between the PC and the Fostex.

I'll run the vocal mics through the Alesis first to access Phantom power and to use it's better EQ controls and some effects.


Should I get a Midi device/controller or just let the click track on the Fostex deal with timing? Initially, to get started, I am going to use a recorded piece of music to stay in tune, to lay down few cover tunes... IE pipe them into the phones with my voice, perhaps even transfer the target song into the Fostex on a monaural track as the baseline, record the bass/percussions on tracks 2,3,4, delete track 1 and rerecord with additional voice.. etc...

I perceive the need to be able to create basic guide tracks for myself when I start composing. My assumpton is the midi device I get can double as my composing keyboard?


I guess this is plenty to ask for now, and I am sure I will have tons more challenges as I progress... .

*all* thoughts comments are welcome!!
 
Welcome to the forum! :)

jjsimonds said:
Should I get a Midi device/controller or just let the click track on the Fostex deal with timing?
Click to expand...

That's a matter of preference. Whatever works best for you. The MR-8 has MIDI Clock or MTC built in.

jjsimonds said:
My assumpton is the midi device I get can double as my composing keyboard?
Click to expand...

Yes. If you get a controller, you will need either a software or hardware sound source. I prefer keyboards with built-in synthesis engines, but that's just me.
 
I believe what your going to need is an interface?
 
arrrg.. delving deeper into the subject, I find what I need is, not cheap... :(

I will need midi eventually, as I move towards composing. I want the backing from an electronic keyboard, I'll need a controller in the mix and having a synthesizer in the mix seems to be logical. If I am going Midi, I feel I should have In/Out/Thru ports on the device, ... (kinda defeats the whole purpose of midi to not have a thru connection, but many boxen leave off the 3rd midi port(like you can;t be serious about this if you aren;t spending$2k) )

In order to get what I think I want... microStation seems to be the only device that covers all the bases w/o breaking the bank. Is there another box that rounds up all the players that isn;t a bank breaker?

Thanks for the feedback.... now if I can just avoid that Greg dood and his nasty sharp barbs on my lilly white and tender skin... =8^o
 
Not only doth it have the USB, I can just use the CF memstick with a reader and suck the files into the computer that way.... and thanks for caring (sniff, you guys really touch me)
 
jjsimonds said:
If I am going Midi, I feel I should have In/Out/Thru ports on the device, ... (kinda defeats the whole purpose of midi to not have a thru connection, but many boxen leave off the 3rd midi port(like you can;t be serious about this if you aren;t spending$2k) )
Click to expand...

The THRU port isn't all that relevant these days. The modern way is to connect all your MIDI devices to the PC through a multiport USB MIDI interface and do the routing in software. The THRU port is an anachronism, as far as I'm concerned.
 
diggy_dude said:
The THRU port isn't all that relevant these days. The modern way is to connect all your MIDI devices to the PC through a multiport USB MIDI interface and do the routing in software. The THRU port is an anachronism, as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...


A little piece of info that just doesn't appear anywhere but this thread... lol... always amazes me the level of assumed information in many fields.. .like learning Linux.... so I will cease and desist on the puckering on the thru port... thanx.. one less thing... I just posted in the Keybd forum on why I should or should not go with a Korg microstation... join in and bash me a bout some if you have the time....
 
diggy_dude said:
The THRU port isn't all that relevant these days. The modern way is to connect all your MIDI devices to the PC through a multiport USB MIDI interface and do the routing in software. The THRU port is an anachronism, as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

Actually this was useful for me also. I'm in a similar boat to the OP - I know enough to jump in and do everything wrong. :)

Almost made a gear decision based on a midi THRU jack but it makes much more sense to route through USB as suggested. Duh.
 
RejectionNinja said:
Actually this was useful for me also. I'm in a similar boat to the OP - I know enough to jump in and do everything wrong. :)

Almost made a gear decision based on a midi THRU jack but it makes much more sense to route through USB as suggested. Duh.
Click to expand...

Ditto here - I just recently had a rather painful discussion (argument is too strong a word) about my lack of a THRU port. I was in the awkward position of knowing I was basically correct but not having the terminology to prove it. :) But I'm learning. The discussion ended when I said "if I could show you my computer screen this would make sense". It was weak, but it was all I had.

Now I'm going to stop lurking and post an introduction with a plea for guidance.
 
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