New at home recording... seeking general help please!
Home > Home Recording Forum > Recording Techniques > New at home recording... seeking general help please!
Posted on May 06, 2007 11:27 pm
RockWood610
John
Member Since: May 06, 2007
Hey anyone who will read/reply, My name is John. I am currently working on putting a music project together and I need some help from someone who is more experienced. Sorry if this entry is a little long, but I need lots of help... I am pretty new to being the engineer of a project.
I've been in a band for over 10 years, and have seen a real studio in action. I know the basics of some things, but not much.
I am using a PC based setup. Nothing fancy at all. The guts in my pc are good to run things. I have 3 seperate hard drives, one for the operating system (windows xp), and the other 2 for the media I am recording/mixing. I have 1+ gig of ram, and a 2.9Ghtz athlon processor.
I am currently using Sony Acid Pro 6 for my interface, and am using toontrack's EZ Drummer for my drum tracks. So I am not in need of micing a drum set. For acoustic songs, I am using a Shure Sm 57 to mic the guitar, seems to work wonders. I have a pretty good studio vocal mic (can't remember the name of it; it was a present), but I have no issues with that really. I am waiting for a book called Home Recording For Musicians For Dummies to come in as well to help shine some light on things.
Basicaly, I know the best way to record an electric guitar is by micing the cab. But I am currently working with a guy who isn't using a real guitar head/cab and wants to go direct. That never sounds good, and I know that’s not the right way to do it. Does anyone know if using a line 6 pod will help the sound?
Also, I was using a Fostex Digital MR8 recording to record my tracks, but want to ditch that and record directly to the pc through Sony Acid Pro 6(easier for punch ins/outs and edits). The only issue there is, I only have the standard line-in input on my computer's sound card. I have a small Beringer mixer I am plugging my instruments into, and then using the main outputs of that to plug into my "line in" input of my pc. Can that work ok? I have the WAVES Diamond Bundle plug-ins for mastering and effects as well...
Any tips or ideas to change things? We are working on a tight budget and don't want a huge fancy set up... just enough to record a good quality cd for fun.
Please post some comments/suggestions. Thanks in advanced!
RockWood610
[ Back to Top ]
ciinxMember
Since: May 15, 2004
May 06, 2007 11:47 pm Hi there John & welcome to HRC!
First thing you got to do (A MUST) is change the standard sound card into a better one. Look for 24/48 or 24/96 cards for better quality & clarity. Google around for M-Audio's, ESI Julia, and my best recommendation is Audiophile 2496 for price and capabilities.
There are pros and cons of using an amp modeller like the Line 6 PODxt you mentioned compared to the real amps but that just a matter of preference and taste.
Hope that gonna kickstart your project!
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
May 07, 2007 12:17 am yeah, get a recording soundcard (also called Audio Interface), presonus, M-Audio, Edirol, and a couple others. Prefererably something with preamps and phantom power so as to avoid the use of the mixer.
I've had good results with PODs by dry (no reverb) double tracking... making very minor tone adjustments on the second track... the problem to avoid is getting a super clear signal on the guitar from the POD and cruddy tone from everything else... thats generally what makes people think the POD sounds fake. :)
May 07, 2007 12:30 am Deleted By RockWood610
May 07, 2007 02:03 am I have done some looking, and I THINK this looks like a decent card... can someone help me out? This is the M-Audio Delta 1010LT PCI Card
10 in/10 out 24bit 96khz audio card with mic preamps, digital i/o, midi i/o and more.
Would this be what I want?
www.gigasonic.com/m-audio...io-delta-1010lt
May 07, 2007 03:01 am Hey Rockwood, I am also a Acid Pro user and a Line6 user.
You might want to consider audio interfaces instead of a soundcard.
For example, the Line 6 Toneport combines the POD stuff with bass and vocal amps + A recording interface, no need for a new sound card with that one.
There's also the Presonus Inspire which is a great clean interface. These both go for around $200 and offer a huge amount of value.
There's a number of Toneport users here and for a budget home recorder it's an absolute dream.
From your brief story the Toneport offers you a good deal, a great soundcard, an interface supporting XLR, Phantom power, guitar and line in's + all the modeling you could want.
Just another and slightly different opinion.
May 07, 2007 06:59 am Yeah, I am another happy Line 6 user, though I have an ESI sound card as well. I wouldn't recommend the 1010LT...there lots of weird issues associated with that particular card. It looks attractive by spec/price, but it doesn't seem to be very solid.
the 1010 is another animal, very nice card it seems, but the LT is like a cheap version of the 1010.
May 07, 2007 08:40 am Wow thanks guys. Like I said, I am new to this... I know things like this existed, but had no clue what or how to look for any of it.
I brorrowed the Line 6 pod from an ex band mate of mine, but I think its broke. I plug the guitar into it, but nothing comes out of any of the out puts. Headphones, left/right out put... nothing... But the tuner on it seems to work... so there is a snag in that portion of my production at the moment.
I can't thank you all enough. I have looked, and I must admit that an interface seems to be the better way to go. I looked at both suggestions, and the PreSonus Inspire does look very appealing to me.
For the PreSonus Inspire, it looks as if it comes with its own software for the input/out put controlls. Is it a mixer, or just for setting the input volume levels for my main audio program (Acid Pro 6) and out put levels for monitors/head phones? And it looks as if you can buy more then one of these interfaces and link them together?? Is that correct?
I am also eye-balling some studio monitors so I get the best play back sounds. Musicians friend has a few good pair that range from $100.00 to $250.00. I know some have better quality then others, but how much of a difference is there in them?
To everyone how has replied to my questions; I would like for you to send me your names so I can be sure to thank you in my project credits/thanks if you would like to. I know it probably doesn't mean much, but some people prefer that to happen. And I always give credit to people who help!
May 07, 2007 08:54 am Musicians Friend sucks, try our zZounds catalog www.homerecordingconnecti...Studio+Monitors
Monitors can have big differences, but the best thing you can do is get to know the strengths and weaknesses of the ones you buy so you can compensate your mixes. No monitors are perfect.
I have just downsized my studio and after selling my JBL's I went with this series speaker www.homerecordingconnecti...ct=SAMRESOLV50A (only I have the 40's) and I am, thus far, very happy with them, at very low listening levels (like when the kids are in bed) they don't power equally but at normal levels and hi levels they sound awesome...and for a great price. Plus, if one chooses to ad a subwoofer that series has a matched sub available too. For budget conscience folks, they are great (or any budget powered monitor) because it's amp and speaker in one...
Still, the most important thing is getting to know the sound of your room and speakers and learn to work within their limitations.
May 07, 2007 06:53 pm Presonus is a somewhat different beast to the Toneport. I have owned both.
The InSpire is a very clean interface, nice and easy to use. The input software is a mixer that sits in front of your recording software. Presonus is no frills clean interface. I also think it's Firewire.
The Toneport gives you all the Line6 modeling capabilities but is a beefier device processor wise.
They are very similar to each other, the Toneport offers all the great modeling stuff, the InSpire is a small easy to use clean interface.
May 07, 2007 09:18 pm Ok, so basicaly, the toneport can work exactly the same as the InSpire, but comes with everything the Line 6 Pod has plus more, right? I am not worried about easy to use... I am pretty decent with audio/video software.
So lets say I go with the Toneport... I get everything that the InSpire has, plus the processing to make my clean guitar sound like it was miced from an amp, is that correct?
I am just real ify on the Toneport... I hear more negative things about it then positive. I'd rather get the InSpire (wicth yes does use Firewire -- Faster and more realiable then USB 2.0). I was looking at the WAVES Guitar Rack plugins... not sure if thats a bundle that would work for moduling guitar tracks, but I hear it is...?
May 08, 2007 02:32 am I don't know where you're reading bad reviews on the Toneport, not hear or any forum I frequent. There's an anti-modeling faction out there so be careful of that.
I wouldn't say they are the same. Inspire is firewire, can be combined as you said, have low processing requirements on the PC. But has no modeling. Using a software modeler such as Waves Guitar Rack is a different proposition, requiring a powerful PC and is not really an interface discussion. I believe Inspire also does 96khz if you think you need it.
Toneport has all that Inspire does except it's USB and only goes to 48khz. It's heavier on the PC because it does all the modeling but you have more than enough PC to handle it. Toneport also has external gain controls for the mics I think Inspire is software only.
In the end I think it's a modeling v not modeling choice.
May 08, 2007 07:12 am I have a pretty decked out PC, so waves would be no issue to run. I have a gig of ram, and a 2.8 (or) GHz processor. Not to mention, I'll be upgrading it to Windows Vista later this year, and be getting even more specs put in.
I am reading the bad reviews on several websites, and have heard ups and downs about it at the 3 music stores within my area. The inspire is basically a simple in/out put witch is really all I need. I am a software junkie, so the external gain controls mean nothing to me really.
I can't say thanks enough for all the help though. I have been really researching everything, and picking out the best smaller budget related components to get off the ground with this. And all the help is really pushing me forward... so please don't think I am being negative here. The Inspire just seems to be what I want right.
I also do a lot of Video Editing with Sony Vegas 7. Voice overs and commentary tracks for DVDs is something else I'll be doing... simple plug & go with recording those with the Inspire...
Has anyone use the MXL V63M condenser mic? That's the one I am currently using...
May 08, 2007 08:15 am Quote:
I'll be upgrading it to Windows Vista later this year
If you do that before the first service pack is released you are making a HUGE mistake. The second is usual best to wait for.
May 08, 2007 08:21 am This is true... I didn't mean I would be upgrading to the actualy operating system... I'll be getting my pc ready for it, but I'll be running XP pro until I get a chance to test Vista out... more then likley after the service packs come out for it.
May 08, 2007 08:23 am Whew, good to read. The first service pack tends to introduce as many issues as it fixes...the second one seems to actually gain some ground...
Or that is Microsoft's usual pattern...I watch the user communities after the first one...and don't generally have confidence until the second.
May 08, 2007 11:41 am All sounds good, but don't get too confident with that gig of memory and 2.8 processor for a guitar plugin, they seem to suffer from playback latency on even the most powerful PC's. Try it out before you commit.
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
May 08, 2007 01:03 pm SP2 for the win!!!!
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 08, 2007 09:47 pm I'll second the Line 6 stuff. I use both a fully loaded POD xt and a UX-2 as well. The UX-2 is getting the most use these days though for the bass emulations as well as the killer mic pre amp emulations. That thing is dead on with those emulations, and the bass and guitar set ups can be tweaked with a little patience to be spot on as well. I know there are some out there that poo poo the idea, but I have been doing it since the very first POD. I can fool even the best of them.
I'll also second not jumping on the Vista bandwagon either. I wont be going that route here for a good long while.
May 10, 2007 09:15 am Ok, so I have recieved my Home recording for Dummies book by Jeff Strong. Now, mainly I will be recording accoutsic guitar tracks, vocals, and some elctric instruments (guitar bass -- Probably direct). Now how important is the room and its accoustics to recording these tracks?
Does it make a hudge difference? I know for vocals you need a closet or a seperte room with a dead sound in it, but what about tracking accoustic guitars? Any suggestions? I plan on using an Shure SM 57 mic for recording the accoustic guitar...
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 10, 2007 10:31 am I think drums will be more problematic than quieter stuff. I've just tracked 6 str and 12str acoustic, in a 11 x 16ft room, pointing towards the open part of the room from one corner. Didn't seem to be a problem,
I used 2 SDC, with not a ton of gain, to keep the room echos down. It worked OK. I wish I had more time to do it better, but I'm in a time pinch.
I do have shipping blankets I'm going to use for other stuff, like vocals.
May 10, 2007 10:59 am Thanks. Drums are no issue with me because I am using Toontracks EZ drummer for all my songs that may need drums. Right now I am just doing lite recording tasks...
Would a DI box make a huge difference when recording bass/guitars direct? I hear they can be a huge help...
May 10, 2007 11:15 am With a Toneport or InSpire you don't need a DI Box. They are doing the same job (amplifying the incoming signal)
May 10, 2007 11:23 am Ok cool. I planned on going with the Inspire.
My first project I am taking on doesn't require much guiatr processing. The direct eletric guitar for the most of it is going to be clean, with maybe a simple chorus effect or something added to it. The distortion on the guitar is where I may run into issues.
Would the Inspire capture good sound if we went from the guitar to a stomp box type ditsortion pedal to the Inspire? We also have a cheap/some what decent Digitech effect pedal... would that work well with a decent amount of tweeking?
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 10, 2007 11:36 am that falls into the category of "try it and see".
before you actually plan to record, plan a few hours of trial and error. Play with things, trying different things, to get a good sound before you actually start tracking. If you try setting up sounds while someone's waiting to track, it can (will) drop their creativity immensely.
Anyhow, you may not like the stomp box direct in to the PC. It will work, but it's not great (ymmv). Same with the digi pedal: prob not great sound. They're made to plug into an amp, which has it's own speakers.
A cabinet modeller of some sort will help. There may be some speaker modellers out there in inet land, I can't think of any at the moment.
There's also the fretted synth freeamp2. Pretty nice stuff, but you have to watch the tails, they fizzle out here and there. But with creative volume automation, and cuts, you can hide/remove them.
www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/FreeAmp2/
May 10, 2007 01:34 pm It will capture the same sound you would here via headphones would be the best way of putting it, so pjk is right you won't get the speaker emulation. The pedal may have that though. The Inspire's strength is that it capture pretty much what you would hear if you were listening clean without room ambience etc (unless using a mic of course)
May 10, 2007 07:48 pm PJK,
Thanks for the link. I downloaded it, but in the install inof, it says to put into the VST folder of your host. I am assuming this means Sony Acid's VST folder since thats my software, but Sony Acid doesn't have a VST folder in it. I also have Sony Vegas, it has a VST folder, but Acid does not.
Any ideas or suggestions?
May 12, 2007 12:13 pm Does anyone here know anything about internal computer hardware hookups? I bought a Samsung multi-format DVD burner to replace my regular cd burner, and I am not paying the local computer places $45.00 to install it. It has the lightscribe feature to give my recording projects a little more of a decent "pro" look.
I am just not sure about hooking it up, because I don't do to much internal work on my pc. Maybe a pci card instal here and there. I know there is slave and master settings and what not, and not sure what to set things at, or if I need to do BIOS settings. I currently have 2 CD-Rom drives; one is just a CD burner/reader, the other is a cd bruner/dvd singal layer burner. Replacing just the one that burns just cds...
May 12, 2007 12:54 pm should be a single plug for power, one for the IDE cable and a jumper setting, just move from one to the other.
May 13, 2007 07:41 pm I have a PCI EMU 0404 soundcard that cost me under 100 bucks. I basically go straight into a 1/4 inch plug and into the computer dry (or use a pod or pre-amp to boost db). Then I use Guitar Rig for distortion tones or Amplitube for cleaner tones. Waves is great when I am using Cubase. However my personal best results I have had come from getting the exact tone coming out of a flat studio monitor and then record that tone WET. I can dial in great tone in minutes without having to mess around with mic placement, room dynamics, and amp buzz (for all you old fender guys like me). Unless you are a pro, trained, or have tons of money, I would personally suggest that all beginners start with the very forgiving and easy to use ACID software then upgrade as they learn about the ins and outs... Also I would highly recommend Guitar Rig or Amplitube for great sounding bass or guitar tracks.
May 15, 2007 10:45 am Thanks dB for the rom drive reply. I got everything installed ok, seems to be working fine.
Hambonehamula, thanks for your input. I am still looking for guitar mods. I currently took the ree amp download that was posted earlier, but have not been able to properly tests it out. My Inspire won't be here until Thursday at the earliest.
But thanks for all the input... keep 'em commin' if you have any suggestions. I am taking everything into consideration right now.
May 17, 2007 12:46 pm Ok dudes, I am almost set to start recording. I just got my Inspire 1394 package today.
Here is my next question... I am currently using Sony Acdi Pro 6 for recording/mixing ect. But the Inspire 1394 came with Cubase LE. Looking at a couple videos and screen shots, I am highly considering going to Cubase. Any pro/cons to this, and anything I should consider before doing it?
I am also using EZ drummer witch is a VST midi setup. Does cubase support this? Thanks in advanced...
RockWood
May 17, 2007 01:05 pm I am not really too sure what the feature set of Acid is anymore. Back when I gave it any mind it was mostly a loops sequencer, not much of a tracker. With that said, I would lean toward Cubase, however, I suspect Acid has progressed a lot since I last looked.
::after reviewing Sony's web page about Acid::
Ummmmm, I'd stick with Acid, hands down. tracking, MIDI, mixing, effects and softsynth support...I'd stick with it over a dumbed down version of Cubase.
May 17, 2007 03:08 pm Ok, I have ran into a problem. I set up my Sony Acid Pro 6 and Sony Vegas 7 to use the Inspire 1394 as the main aduio in and out put device. For some reason, when I open the Inspire mixer and set the levels, and then record arm a track in either Vegas or Acid, it shows me no sound level on the track I am trying to record.
When I actualy try to record, everything in Acid/Vegas stops workin. I get no recorded visaul waves, nothing. I have to press "stop" before I can access anything. I got a level at one point in acid and got it to finaly record for a short clip, but then when I stopped and went to play it back, everything froze up again until I hit the stop button. Then it quit showing a signal from the inspire... any ideas to the cause of this?
May 17, 2007 03:25 pm Regarding Acid/Cubase. I'm a big proponent of sticking with what you know. I think Acid is a superior product but if it were equal or lesser you still might be better to stick with it since you are comfortable with it.
It's difficult to really understand your problem, but I can tell you that I recorded and setup no problem with the InSpire.
You set the audio devices, set a track to record, select an InSpire output to use to record on that track and go.
Make sure the inspire software output levels are set and not muted. Other than that maybe you just need to try a reinstall or updated Inspire drivers.
May 17, 2007 04:07 pm I just got off the phone with Presonus tech support. They walked me through a few things and nothing was working out. I then asked if it may be my firewire port. That appears to be the problem.
When I first got into audio/video production, I started out video wise with Pinnacle Studio. With it came a breakout box for AV ins and outs, and the PCI card with it has 2 firewire inputs on it. But they are on the same card as Pinnacles capture device, not to mention its a generic chipset... So I need to start looking for a good Firewire card (400, not 800) and I am to stear clear of NEC, generic shipsets, and the newer RRHOIC (Ithink its called) that have been found latley in newer vista PCs...
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 17, 2007 08:42 pm Yep, the Intel chipsets and Texas Instruments chipsets seem to be the most stable at the moment for using firewire interfaces.
May 18, 2007 11:01 am I maybe purchasing a new card soon, but I may not have to. My brother's PC has a PCI firewire card and it happens to be from Texas Instruments. This PC is a few years old (Classic Compaq Presario... eeehhh!). But they really have no use for the firewire card. I may be able to get it from him.
With PCI cards, Can I just take it out and put it in my pc? And how do I tell if this card is a 400 or an 800? I looked in the device manager and I am not sure if it tells me there or not...
May 18, 2007 11:49 am If it's a few years old it's definitely 400.
Firewire cards are ridiculously cheap so consider a new one if this one doesn't work.
May 18, 2007 12:10 pm Yeah, I called Staples Office Supply near town and they have them for $48.00. So I am not to worried about it either way.
In Jeff' Strong's Home recording for dummies book, he says when your setting levels to record, you should record between -16dB and -12dB for the hottest signal without peaking. Now for people here who use the Inspire, The main Inspire mixing board has a limiter. When is the best time (if at all) to use it, and is it the Sony Acid Audio track I am recording to that I should watch for the overall dB/peak volume? I was a little confused on what exactly to do there. Also, should I just go with the Inspires pre amps or is there an advantage to using an exterbnal mixer into the inspire?
Basicaly I am recording accoustic guitars and vocals for right now to run some tests for a future project. The accoustic guitars (doing a couple tracks each) have pickups for direct plugin and I was going to also mic them on other tracks to get a better blend of sound. I want to make sure I am getting the hottest signal without peaking.
I have a Shure sm 57 instrument mic and a decent large condesor mic. Should I use just the condensor, or is the sm 57 good for recording accoustic guitars?
May 18, 2007 12:36 pm use em both...
May 18, 2007 12:40 pm What about the direct signal for the guitars? They are electric accoustics... Should I just do like 3 tracks. 1 condeser mic, one sm 57, and one direct?
BeerHunterwww.TheLondonProject.caMember
Since: Feb 07, 2005
May 18, 2007 12:53 pm I always record several tracks on each intrument like you mention. Blend whatever sounds good and delete whatever you don't want. Pan them each individually for a full sound.
May 18, 2007 01:00 pm Put the 57 on the hole, the condensor back a couple feet and the direct sound ... ummmmm, direct!
I don't like direct acoustic personally, but it's another source to mix and match...if you have an acoustic guitar amp, maybe put the 57 on the speaker.
May 18, 2007 01:11 pm What about the setting of the levels I mentioned in the eralier post?
May 18, 2007 01:23 pm Set at the highest you can without clipping while recording, then adjust the levels while mixing. I don't really pay attention to the db rate, I just get them as hot as I can without a clip.
May 18, 2007 01:33 pm Should the Inspire pre amps be good enough? Or should I run an external mixer into the Inspire?
May 18, 2007 01:48 pm I have never used the Inspire, I would suggest trying it...always try...
May 18, 2007 04:10 pm Definitely try it but they should be good enough.
this is a guy I know who records with an InSpire, no preamps etc. He's a top notch player and recorder.
www.soundclick.com/bands/...m?bandID=434497
May 18, 2007 08:37 pm Ok, so I installed the Texas Instruments firewar PCI card today that I got from my brother's PC. I had to call Presonus again because I had the same issues as yesterday. I got it to work when I first connect the Inspire, and then it stops working. I tried Sony acid, Sony vegas, and the Cubase software that came with the unit.
It started to work every time I would disconnect the Inspire, but would shortly after freeze up and stop working. Same when I changed the amount of Latency on the Inspire mixer software. It would start to work, and then stop. I tried it with and without the inspire power adaptor to see if that was the issue... same results. I have gotten a successful use out of the Inspire on a different PC, so I don't think it is the Inspire box itself...
I even took out my PCI video capture card for my Pinnacle program to make sure there were no conflicts between the two cards. Same results... works for a few seconds, then stops.
It is possible that the card from my brother's PC was a 800 instead of a 400, but is there any way to found that out? I looked on the actualy card itself and everything... can not find the awnser.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 18, 2007 10:06 pm If you know the exact model number of the card you might be able to look it up at the TI site. One other thing to consider is the firewire cable itself. There are instances were the 4 pin will not work and you must use a 6 pin cable. Not sure but its worth a look.
May 19, 2007 03:39 pm Deleted By RockWood610
May 27, 2007 08:41 pm I took dB Masters advice, and I bought the Samson 40 monitors. I love 'em... for home audio and video editing, you can't beat it!
I need a little help now... My step dad and Iare doing some recording for a CD project we want to do for fun. We packed all 4 Ram slots with sticks and have over 1.40 gigs of ram. We now need to buy an internal hard drive to record and store our audio data on, because my external drive doesn't have the speed we need to capture and play back audio at the same time.
I installed the ram without any trouble, but hard drives I am a little un-familure with. The hard drive in this machine now is a Serial ATA drive. And from the looks of the mother board, there is 3 other serial ports to use. Here is my questions...
Is there a difference between Serial ATA and Serial ATA 150?
When installing the second hard drive, is there anything in the bios I need to mess with, or is it basicaly plug and play?
Please let me know asap! We wanna get back to recording!!!
May 27, 2007 08:56 pm From Wikipedia:
SATA is designed to be backwards and forwards compatible with future revisions of the SATA standard. Unfortunately, there are already documented incompatibilities between particular first-generation SATA/150 controllers and later-generation drives.
To address interoperability problems, some drive manufacturers have added a user-accessible jumper-switch, to select between SATA-150 and SATA/300 operation. Users with a SATA-150 motherboard should either buy an ordinary SATA-150 hard disk, or buy a SATA-300 hard disk with the user-accessible jumper.
May 27, 2007 09:33 pm Thanks. I just happened to read that myself...
Here is the issue we are having when recording. It doens't effect the music much, but its annoying to me because I like things to run 100% smoothly.
We have EZ drummer (midi files) doing our drum tracks.
We recorded 2 rythm tracks to go with those drum tracks. Then we recorded the bass track, wich was going well, until we played it back. The sounds of all the tracks where dead on and playing great, but the visuals on the bass track were off.
Basicaly, when Sony Acid's curser would move along with the song, the bass notes that were actauly playing where not linning up with where the curser was on the visaual wave of the bass track.
Example; if we played a note patter of Em, G, and then A, the curser would be half way through the Em note visualy, but the bass sounds itself would be on the G.
Is this because we are using only one hard drive? We just bufffed this machine up with 1.49 gigs of ram.... so ram is not the issue.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 28, 2007 09:42 am Probably that the PC is reading ahead of what you're hearing.
It'll read forward, and it takes some time to process it, convert it to analog, and send it out the outputs.
You may check the buffers, and crank them down, but it the system is working, then remember where they are, so you can put them back if you start getting snap crackles and pops.
Mine displays the cursor line a little before, I don't worry about it. when you're editing the wave files, the alignment is correct: working on a peak, is actually working on a peak.
No worrys.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
May 28, 2007 09:46 am I little mention about memory.
If you have two sets of memory, and one is faster that the other, then both sets will run at the slower of the two sets.
Meaning, the faster set will down-speed to the slower set.
So if you're adding 512m of memory, that's at a slower rate, you may hurt your performance, instead of helping it.
Leaving the 2 sticks (at 1 g) may perform better, if they can run at a faster rate.
If they're all the same speed, then my point is moot, and please disregard =).
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
May 28, 2007 08:15 pm What you are experiencing can be a common problem with only minor side effects such as the visual side effect you are experiencing. What is happening is the operating system and the recording software are both working at the same time the recording app is searching that same hard drive for audio data and then also processing it for playback. This indeed can make things jitter as you are experiencing with the visual part of the application.
Adding another drive dedicated to the audio/video only will help this a great deal. But one thing that may be happening as well is if you are using onboard video and onboard audio cards. This can tend to have that same effect.
Some internal video supplied with some motherboards cannot deal well with the redraw rates of todays applications. They may play a video game fairly well or even playback video pretty decent, but whtn it comes to working with the OS and running several things at once that onboard video is the last thing to get any shared system resources for its own use.
May 29, 2007 03:19 am Thanks guys.... we went back to recording today, and had no real issues at all. So, again... thanks a million for all the replies and input.
I still can not get my presonus inspire to work with MY computer. I plan on getting a new complete decked out computer for all my studio work. Athlon dual core processor, 4 or more internal high speed/capacity hard drives, 4 gigs of ram... the works. So if any of you guys have any suggestions on a decent setup, or things I should avoid (besides Windows Bista right now), please send me your feedback. Especialy with audio or video cards and what not. And what type of ram is best (ddr or ddr2, ect.)
Thanks again!
