Giving Your Recordings The Edge

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DIGITUS

New member
Currently I have several programs; Reason, Acid Pro 2.0, Fruityloops 3, Reaktor, Wavelab 3.0, and a host of others. However, I tend to get a little frustrated at the inability of computers to keep up with the programs when creations get complex. Therefore, I would like to pursue the following method for recording.

I thought it would be a good idea to invest in an external hardware sequencer as well as some " special effects " gear to add that extra spark of magic that computers just quite can't reach. This way I could use my computer to generate non-complex individual sound patterns and layer them via the external sequencer. I would need a sequencer that allows for simultaneous playback and record. This way I could simply overdub previous recordings until I completed the song.

Any suggestions on what " special effects / sequencer " hardware devices I should research?
I'm not looking to spend more than $ 4,000. total.

Thanks :)
 
first let's get things straight...

First and for all a sequencer is used for MIDI data, wich is NOT audio. Getting an external sequencer will NOT make your puters life easier, nor yours as hardware sequencing (especially arranging) is not an easy thing to do.

A multitracker could do this for you and this would put less stress on your system (although not very much), BUT, it's a waiste of money when you own a computer, because again, multitracking is easier and has better quallity and ease of editing on a puter.

So now what's your option?? well get a prog like cubase or Logic wich will enable you to do decent multitracking and sequencing on your puter. To relief stress from the computer, take the soundCreation out of the box and invest in a good synth. (for about $4000 you have a wide choice and can put togheter a small studio including a mixer, cabling, midi interface and maybe a nice soundcard and with a bit of carefull spending you might have some money left to get yourself a nice FX rack.)
 
I agree with inocybe that you should stick with the computer for recording and sequencing.

If you have $4000 slotted for equipment here are some suggestions on how to spend it.

[Plan 1 Expandability Option if you plan on investing more in more gear later on]

1) Motu midi express 8x8 [$300]
2) Motu 828 Firewire Recording System [$750]
3) Roland JV2080 [$900]
4) Waldorf XT with 30voice expansion [$1200]
5) Mackie 1642 VLZ Pro [$950]
6] Fatar 61 key midi controller [$200]

Total is about $4300 without cables (a bit over budget). If you were to do some shrewd talking at your local music store you could prolly get some cables thrown in for free. I insist on free cables when I spend large amounts of money like that. If they want to lose a $4000 sale over some cables they are dumb hehe.


[In Detail]
This setup would give you some real power and flexibility with room for expansion. All the units I picked are top notch quality so you will not find yourself wishing you had bought something else very quickly. When I first started out I made many foolish decisions on gear to save money and ended up selling things at a loss. I don't know what kind of music you plan on creating so I took the liberty of picking synths that work well in many situations. Let me know exactly what you want to create and I can better help you out.

The Midi express gives you 8in 8out midi connectivity and with the 2 synths and keyboard below connected you still would have room for 5 more units to be connected to it.

The Roland 2080 is a great bargain at that price. You get 64note polyphony and 16 parts. It has room for 8 expansion slots for future upgrades and it has 3 stereo outs which can be used as 6 mono.

The Waldorf XT is my fave synth. The one I picked for you has the 30 voice upgrade already installed. I originally bought a 10 voice and wanted to upgrade it about 30 seconds after using it cause it sounded so awesome. It has 2 stereo outs, 16 parts, and of course 30 voices.

Mackie 1642 vlz Pro

Awesome mixer for the money.
16 line inputs, 16 channel inserts
4 subgroups with left & right assigns and direct outs
4 stereo aux returns, 8 direct outs
etc etc

Motu 828 Firewire Recoding system

There are many options as far as soundcards and recording. This just happens to be my fave at the moment. It puts you at the cutting edge (first firewire system to market) and should suit all your needs and then some.

Fatar 61 key midi controller

Quality controller for sure.
Velocity Sensitive.
Pitch Bend Wheel and Modulation Wheel.
2 Zones for Splits and Programmable Layers.


[Plan 2]

Let me know more info on what you intend on doing as far as recording and what type(s) of music you do. I can be much more specific.

Good Luck,

fitz
 
cool, a firewire system is out, radical. now, ...let's get the firewire technolgy into the midi area aswelll...

Mackie mixers are great. i have a sort of 14 channel one. They really are good. And they have pictures of their staff with happy expressions which i always think is a good thing.

Digitus - think clean, think lean, think inspiration ... and i gotta ask - do you include yourself aswell in the "Young things fed on garbage and lies"? if so, maybe change your sig to say "We" not "You", - or maybe it is a "..." quote ... ? i just had to comment .. :D good luck with your system. fitz is on a good vibe there.

But you may want to get a computer on flexi rent. It means you may be on a 2 year contract, but it also means you can renegotiate every two years to have a complete upgrade of all the gear u are using. of course, i think this might just be for computers.

but it could be a good idea. it means u stay abreast of developments.:)
 
Hehehe... It's a quote from a Gary Numan song called " Tricks." It goes something like... " " I need it... the sex musicians... I'll show you something while the boys beat time... I need it... I'm under pressure... I don't remember if her stories true... (Chorus)... You are the young things fed on garbage and lies... "

Anyhoo, after doing some research, I'm coming to the conclusion that I simply need to upgrade my computers mother board and purchase a nice synth keyboard. Then I can use the computer to multitrack as suggested earlier in this thread. I'll keep it simple and work from there on up. I also just figured out how to install hubi's loopback device ( which is kind of odd ), but now my softsynth's record into my multitrack programs without hassle. However, I still get minor glitches from time to time and I hope a faster processor will alleviate that problem. Besides, I need a faster processor because I'm using Reason as well. I get the feeling there's alot I'm not grasping about this audio / midi thing, but I'll figure it all out in time.

thanks for all of the advice.
 
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To get that edge you might need to focus more on the digital audio side of your setup- I generally record tracks individually, dry, and mono, and go from there using plugins. Raw output from something like Reason sounds... well, raw. It doesn't sound produced- like output from a keyboard that is being sequenced.
 
just had a quick read over these posts. if you have the option to buy hardware, i would go for that. be wary of a solely computer system. i can spot a track made entirlely from software a mile off. it becomes more difficult if you use a sampler to sample sounds generated from real instruments however so that is worth baring in mind too.
the best way forward is to go with what you are comfortable with. there is no point in getting a load of equipment together that you cant use quickly.
i use entirely hardware, from instruments to sequencing. i find a computer too cumbersome to use and prefer the more hands on approach. for me it is all about getting my ideas down.
space is also a huge consideration too. with a computer you can have a studio in no space at all and that is priceless.
 
just thought i would add. sequencing with hardware and midi is far tighter than with computers also. one of the main reasons i make my techno on hardware and not with computers
 
just thought i would add. sequencing with hardware and midi is far tighter than with computers also. one of the main reasons i make my techno on hardware and not with computers
Click to expand...

That should be enclosed in {OPINION} brackets.....
 
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