Starting from Scratch again...
Home > Home Recording Forum > Recording Techniques > Starting from Scratch again...
Posted on Jun 13, 2002 09:15 pm
CAndC
Member Since: Jun 13, 2002
Hello all,
I am returning to recording after an eight-year hiatus-I am an accomplished Analog recorder/mixer/producer...or was...
So-I have multi-track Analog capability,what is the EASIEST and LEAST EXPENSIVE way to introduce the computer for mixing and exposure?I'm not MIDI-knowledgible,rich,my OS is WIN98,P2 450Mz,I'm looking to recreate a lot of my older music-simple,guitars,bass,drums,vocals,it is Beatleish.
No CD Burner (will I want one?)
Any clear answers?Any good sites to hit?I'm not looking for a record contract,more as a hobby.I'm a songwriter first.
Thanks for any help,
Rockman
[ Back to Top ]
Jun 13, 2002 09:16 pm Well, welcome back to recording! You will find a brave new world with great possiblities has emerged :-)
Before diving in much, mind if I ask you a couple questions? Good...
Do you plan to take your analog recordings and move them to your soon to be digital environment? If so, are they still in multitrack format or mastered down to two tracks?
Are you planning to start recording more songs starting in your new digital studio as well? If so, how do you record? How many tracks do you record at one time (at the most)?
A PII 450 is cool, Windows 98 is cool, I got quite a bit of work off of a similar machine at one time, so no worries there, but in regards to the PC, what size/speed (RPM speed) of hard drive do you have and how much RAM? RAM is the PC studio's best friend, it's a pretty quick and dirty upgrade that really, really helps.
CAndCMember
Since: Jun 13, 2002
Jun 13, 2002 09:28 pm Hey,that was quick!The computer has 128RAM.I'd like to re-record some of the music.Usually it was 8-10 tracks mixed on a 4-track Cassette recorder (a Yamaha MT120),using ping-ponging,etc.I have all the master tapes,and all the mix-down tapes.It would be nice to have the music available on a website if I did one,and eventually on CD's for friends,enemies,etc.
As far as RPM's on the computer-????It's a 15gig.
Thanks,Rockman
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jun 13, 2002 11:09 pm Well for mixing down the 4 track tape's, a decent audio interface is a good start. M-Audio's Delta 44 would do the trick as you can record all 4 track's into a software DAW and then remix them to yor heart's content.
That is what I did with a huge batch of 16 track tape's. Synced the tape machine to the DAW and recorded 4 track's at a wack untill they were all in.
The Delta 44 will also give you a good in and out set up for future recording.
CD burner? Should you? YES! Without a doubt, the burner is a necesity.
LokiCone PokerMember
Since: Apr 07, 2002
Jun 13, 2002 11:41 pm Ah Noize you're making too big a deal outta it, the burner is <b><u>only</u></b> important if you want your music to leave your computer. :) (sarcasm, but in a freindly way)
But no, seriously, get yourself a good burner, and good burning software
Jun 14, 2002 05:33 am Actually, get a cheap burner, even the best ones have a shelf life of a couple years...
How many of those 8-10 tracks were recorded at any one time? Like drums needed 4 all at once or something like that? That is key in what kind of sound card I would recommend to you, I want to make sure it has enough in's and outs.
CAndCMember
Since: Jun 13, 2002
Jun 14, 2002 05:39 am Usually only 2-maybe 3 tracks at one time.The general schematic would be:
1(Alone))Rhythm Track-beat and bass
2)Rhythm Guitar
3)Accent Drums(toms,etc.)
4)2nd Guitar while re-mixing 1-3 into stereo
5)Lead guitar and/or extra instruments
6)Cymbals,remixing 5-6 into stereo
7)Vocals/Backing Vocals
That would be the generic layout.
Thanks for the great responses,I am completely impressed with this website!
Thanks,
Rockman
Jun 14, 2002 06:52 am Glad ya dig the website, this is somewhere in the neighborhood of version 4 or 5 and we just relaunched this newest one a couple months ago. The last one we had to loose some great forum content and stuff, but we are building it back up to where it was pretty quickly...
Anyway, the subject at hand...2 or 3 tracks at a time, that's cool, you could use the Delta 44 that Noize was talking about or, the Quattro from the same company:
service.bfast.com/bfast/c...mp;bfmtype=gear
This is the card I am seriously contemplating buying for my next upgrade. No internal installation, it runs from a USB port (Since you have a PII I am guessing you have USB) And seriously, some more RAM would be groovy too...
CAndCMember
Since: Jun 13, 2002
Jun 15, 2002 12:38 am Ok,so you are saying I need this card/interface and a burner.Is that it?Can I use all of my older analog equipment with this setup?And if I may be so bold,what about setting up a website where one can hear the music?Not the website itself,but the files?Am I insane?
-Rockman
Jun 15, 2002 06:32 am I didn't say anything about a burner...they come in handy but are not needed. Yes much of you analog gear will come in handy, I dunno about the tape deck itself, though some people even use old tape decks just to run sound through to warm it up then back into the PC.
As far as the website goes, well, I do it for a living myself, but it is beyond the scope of this website...currently. If you read some other threads you will know we are currently working on a way to give members a place to upload music to their personal profile...which is a start.
CAndCMember
Since: Jun 13, 2002
Jun 16, 2002 01:38 am Ok,in the interest of education-I bought my computer used-it has a Diamond Multi-Media Sound Card in it, the Sonic Impact A3D.Any comments?Is it any good? And for software,any opinions on n-Track?Any recomendations???
-Rockman
Jun 16, 2002 05:35 am n-track is kinda clunky and un-intuative. Most of us here use more high-end software, but in the interest of budget some folks dig the Cool Edit stuff. You can also look into Magix studio software.
Both of those soundcards will limit you in the terms of number of tracks before they choke, but they are 16-bit cards, so they should do the job to a certain extent, I doubt you will get over 8 tracks out of it. They really aren't made for doing what we do with them, they are made to play games, just having sound going one direction, either out or in, not out to monitor while recording stuff going in.
CAndCMember
Since: Jun 13, 2002
Jun 16, 2002 07:41 am Good deal.Thanks for everything,I think I have enough info to get started,and I will be back!
Thanks,
Rockman
Jun 16, 2002 08:55 am No problemo, we look forward to hearing your adventures and digging you out of all the pot holes in the road ;-)
As far as software goes, if you decide to upgrade sound cards to a more studio-capable one, some demo version of different software usually comes witht hem, so you can try different applications and see what you like.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Jun 16, 2002 10:37 pm CakeWalk and Logic Audio both ship lite version's of their software with some sound card'. And one additional comment to what dB said about the use of those mentioned card's in your PC. They may not support Full Duplex, which is what dB was talking about when he mentioned the audio going both way's. Which mean's being able to record audio, while multiple track's of audio play back.
Good Luck, and let us know how it turn's out.
CAndCMember
Since: Jun 13, 2002
Jun 17, 2002 10:02 pm Thanks again,
Definitions are a Good Thing!
I have a clear picture now,and I appreciate your expertise and this Website.If I only had this kind of support back when I was 14...Hmmmm!
-Rockman
