What do you want to learn about recording?

[KitC]

I want to learn how to tweak MIDI drum plugins so they sound real.

I guess the first rule of midi drums is that a drummer only has 4 limbs. Loosely translated, this equates to approximately 4 note polyphony, unless you happen to be Akira Jimbo, who can probably do twice that number or more! If you want midi drums to sound real, the first thing is to imitate what a drummer really does in real life, rarely producing more than 4 notes at any given time (unless you are Akira like I mentioned  ).

Next thing, not all notes are hit at the same velocity every single time. And hits don't always fall on the beat unless that is what you are going for. It's true that the best drummers have impeccable timing, but most usually inject very small timing variances to add 'groove'.

[kaloyster]

Thanks sa tip Kit! Tanong ko na rin, nagamit mo na ba ang Ultrabeat plugin ng Logic Pro? Kasi meron sila dung "randomize velocity" so pa clinick yun, auto na nag iiba iba ang lakas ng palo ng hi-hat etc mimicking how a drummer play in real life.

[KitC]

Thanks sa tip Kit! Tanong ko na rin, nagamit mo na ba ang Ultrabeat plugin ng Logic Pro? Kasi meron sila dung "randomize velocity" so pa clinick yun, auto na nag iiba iba ang lakas ng palo ng hi-hat etc mimicking how a drummer play in real life.

Not being a mac guy (yet), I haven't used ultrabeat, but it's similar to most drum plugins that have a randomize function. Go easy on randomize, though. It's terribly easy to make it sound like the drummer had too many drinks during the session (think lurch). Here's a small tip... usually during choruses, the tempo sometimes gets a bit faster to add excitement during that section.

[xid02]

ask lang po sirs/ma'ams


nu po yung mga basic home recodring tools na pwede gamitin...

as in simple lang... yung tipong guitar ang rerecord mo...

and ask na rin po for a drum machine software...

gusto ko kasi record mga guitar stuffs ko ngayon ko lang nagisip isip bakit indi ko kaya irecord...


wala talga ako idea about sa recording eh...


thanks in advance sa mga makakatulong... tsalamat!

[KitC]

Sorry if I haven't replied, xid02... been terribly busy lately.

Try reading up on the earlier posts and you will have an idea. Also go thru the "Setting Up Your PC for Recording" thread or surf over to the guides at tweakheadz.com.

[progressive_pilipinas]

HELP!

My metronome wouldn't sound! what did i do?! I should sync when i begin to record, but there's no sound! NO SOUND! NO TICKKKK!! 

[KitC]

My metronome wouldn't sound! what did i do?! I should sync when i begin to record, but there's no sound! NO SOUND! NO TICKKKK!! 

What software? What soundcard?

[LouieAzcona]

HELP!

My metronome wouldn't sound! what did i do?! I should sync when i begin to record, but there's no sound! NO SOUND! NO TICKKKK!! 

heres what you should do... relax. haha 

[progressive_pilipinas]

What software? What soundcard?

Hi kit... software is sonar 7...soundcard? STOCK?! vinyl wave something?

huhu..

breaathhheeee...

[KitC]

Hi kit... software is sonar 7...soundcard? STOCK?! vinyl wave something?

Go to Options>Project...>Metronome and use the audio metronome. You can also use midi if you have the Microsoft GS synth active in midi options. If the playback box isn't checked, you will only hear the metronome when you have a record enabled track.

[progressive_pilipinas]

Go to Options>Project...>Metronome and use the audio metronome. You can also use midi if you have the Microsoft GS synth active in midi options. If the playback box isn't checked, you will only hear the metronome when you have a record enabled track.

alright! thank you so much!

[konfront]

a good place to start would be to actually go to a studio, record, edit, and mix.
aint' nuthing like gettin your hands dirty figuring out signal low, miking strategies, reverb options.  because we could talk about the finer points of tube vs solid state till our tongues grow hair but we won't get anywhere if we don't do the deed.  so lets do it!

another route would be to send mixes via the net for critique.  i wanna do it!

lets do this!

[TheMasterExploder]

may marerecommend ho ba kayong
software for recording (simple riffs, not too showy vocs, etc)
na idiot free??

talagang kamote ako sa pagrerecord,
di ko inakalang komplikado pala..
lista ko lang yung nasubukan na,
pero di kinaya ng pasensya..

audacity (idiot proof nga, pero ang kapalit naman crappy sound quality.)
acid 4
fruity loop
ableton live
prop. head reason

dito kasi sa nahuling apat,
sobrang daming buttons, yung manual lagpas 200 pages,
di ko malaman kung alin pipindutin para lang magrecord..

i can send a short file na ginawa ko sa
audacity..sa palagay ko nung una ko na sya,
pero nung narinig ko yung mga ibang galing sa mas
high tech na software nahiya ako, sobrang linis
nung resulta..

a very curious and enthusiastic noob here..
eager to lean from the masters!!
 

[LouieAzcona]

Gaano po ba katotoo na may effect ang software sa sound quality? Nakakapagtaka lang kasi puro DATA lang ang naman ng software diba.

[marvinq]

there isn't much difference with regards to the way different makers of music software record, because a lot of it is hardware-dependent. what makes them sound different from each other (although very subtly) is their mix engine. of course their resampling routine is like a 'secret recipe' also.

[jamming_papu]

hello MTPA people. 

i've got a question, i just bought a pre-amp and plan to use its digital SPDIF out to my m-audio souncard. hence, i'll be needing a digital coaxial cable, i'd tried looking in the net but i only found something in foreign webpages.

is there anyone here who knows where to buy/get good and working digital coaxial cables locally?  are the expensive one's worth buying? how much does a good 2-3 meter RCA-RCA cable cost?

by the way, anyone here uses SPDIF signals in recording? share naman kayo ng experiences nyo. 

[alien_inside]

he he... ako gamit ko Belden RG-59. as long as coax, and it is 72 Ohms.. tsaka AUDIO OUT ko lang naman ginagamit for monitoring... inputs? i'm not sure.

[jamming_papu]

ey bro. allen, belden cables... Avesco ang distributor ng Belden cables sa 'pinas. tanong ako sa kanila kung may available sila na nito. mga 1.5 m lang naman kailangan ko eh. pagawa na lang ako. thanks for the info.   

actually, napapagana ko naman yung pre-amp ko sa balanced 1/4" analogue out nya. malinaw naman sya but i observe some unclear parts sa stereo imaging. saka, sabi kasi mas malinaw daw yung signal pag yung SPDIF out yung ginamit.

btw, my pre-amp is Samson C-Valve. http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1651

very good preamp. malinis saka kayang 'patabain' o gawing warmer yung signal. it doesn't have that pure tube sound though. 

[KitC]

by the way, anyone here uses SPDIF signals in recording? share naman kayo ng experiences nyo. 

We used to feed the spdif input of the 1010LT with spdif from an Alesis mixer... turned out pretty good. Limitations? up to 48 khz max sample rate. Some interfaces will allow up to 96 khz but those are rare.

72 ohms? AFAIK, the standard is 75 ohms, but if it works... The secret to spdif is keeping cables short - around 2-3 meters. Any longer and you run the risk of internal reflections thereby causing jitter (yes, even electrical cables can have 'reflections'), aside from EMI/RFI, even with good shielding. Spdif is less tolerant of interference. I use both optical and coax and I sometimes find optical to be a tad more difficult, especially if you use cheap optical cables, but optical is better if you have an electrically 'noisy' environment or cable routing.

[jamming_papu]

thanks sir kit. 

i'll keep those things in mind. 1m could even be enough in my case. both of my preamp and soundcard, according to their features are capabale of 96 khz sampling rate. i'll try it but i think my pc hardware couldn't keep up with those kind of settings. i'll just get my coaxial cable first and see how things would come up. hopefully, better input sound signals than using analog ins. 

[KitC]

i'll just get my coaxial cable first and see how things would come up. hopefully, better input sound signals than using analog ins. 

Not always the case.

Remember that having digital inputs do not guarantee a better signal path especially if the device outputting the spdif signal is noisy to begin with, has noisy preamps, or even a jittery A/D converter. One benefit you will get from using spdif is that electrical interference such as hum becomes a non-issue between the device outputting the spdif signal and the device receiving the spdif, as long as the A/D is free from noise or has a very low noise floor.

[junya]

i give you a 2 thumbs up for this . Although I have a hands-on myself of some recording hardware I am still in the process of mastering it. eg. Samplitude 7.
and things are in my head like a crumpled wires. I just laugh about it.hahahahahah when there is trouble..... share it to others and you'll get the answer.

junya

[jamming_papu]

Sir Kit, tanong lang po.
makaka-experience po ba ako ng signal lost if a balanced out of a preamp was splitted to 2 separate signals that has been plugged to an input which is L and R/stereo? 

[KitC]

Sir Kit, tanong lang po.
makaka-experience po ba ako ng signal lost if a balanced out of a preamp was splitted to 2 separate signals that has been plugged to an input which is L and R/stereo? 

A single balanced out is actually a MONO signal. The signals on pins 2 and 3 are actually PHASE REVERSED. If you were to 'split' the two signals and combine them into a stereo track, you would get complete phase cancellation of the signal. This is the reason why I emphatically tell others that just because a balanced cable from a balanced output may remind you of a headphone cable, it is not, I repeat, IS NOT, stereo.

You CAN use a balanced TRS cable as an extender for headphone outputs or some other use involving stereo outputs to stereo inputs... a cable is a cable. Outputs, OTOH, are either mono or stereo (or even multichannel in the case of ADAT optical) and no amount of fudging with a balanced mono output will ever turn it into a stereo signal, unless phase cancellation is what you're after.

[jamming_papu]

i get it. clearly and systematically. it's quite a not-good practice since the resulting phase cancellation would create reduction in the overall signal / altered frequencies which eventually make an unpleasant result in the track.

lotsa thanks po uli.