Help with getting started RECORDING sounds from piano and using mic for vocals? -NOOB

J

JupiterStarr

New member
Hi- Noob here... :facepalm:


I REALLY want to start recording music, including potential vocals... but really am lost in a sea of confusion up in here as I have NEVER done this before... at least properly that is.


Here's what I am working with so far-


I have a Roland F-140R digital piano. I'd like to start recording music from that... and have gotten a "EMU XMIDI 1X1 USB MIDI Interface" cable to *ATTEMPT* to hook the piano up to my computer at least. I don't even know if this is the right cable but my attempted research pointed me in this direction...


I don't have any recording software or anything to really get started even once I do manage to hook it up.


I also just got this microphone: Audio-Technica 20 Series AT2050 Multi Pattern Condenser Microphone


Only problem is?


There's a cord at the end of the microphone... what the heck do I plug that into?


The roland keyboard that I have doesn't appear to have an input for it... so I am assuming I am going to need some sort of power source or other thing to plug this line into...


And then I want to send that to my laptop.....somehow?


But I also want to be able to record sounds from my piano potentially at the same time, while also recording from that mic??


Can someone please help me in figuring out what setup needs to be at the END of my mic now to start using it, and what has to happen to feed that sound into some kind of recording situation....


Ditto for recording sounds from my piano?


What sort of software should I be using? Recommendations and suggestions...


I am using a laptop, so any incoming sounds are going to have to come in through USB or some other method here....?


THank you in advance!
 
Hi, i will gladly help you with any information you may want :)

First, you need to identify the midi output port type from your piano. Is it an old midi connection? The one with 6 pins? Or can you connect the piano via usb?
I just googled your piano, it seems like it has a usb connection. What you need to buy, is a usb cable that you can connect to your pc, and on the other end, the port that you can connect to your piano. That's called a "USB A to USB B" cable. You can get those any music store, or tech store. Dirt cheap also. When you have connected your piano to your pc, you can record midi, or the actual piano sound, so it's up to you.

Getting the piano connection thing out of the way....

To record your piano, and everything else, you need a DAW(Digital Audio Workstation). That's software that allows you to record audio to multiple tracks, so you afterwards can adjust volume, and all that good stuff. Popular DAW's are = Ableton, FL Studio, Pro Tools, and many more. They cost a lot of money, but you can get limited versions for free. You shouldn't worry about the limitations just yet, because you only want to record your piano and vocals.

Now the mic part.

That's a pretty good mic you got there! The microphone cable is an XLR. It's a condenser microphone, so you will need a pre-amp. A perfect solution for you would be an audio interface, with an in-built pre-amp. Focusrite scarlett solo. There you can plug in your mic, and send the sound to your computer. The audio interface connects to your pc via usb also.

Conclusion

Piano -> PC (USB a to USB b cable)
Microphone -> Audio interface with built-in pre-amp (XLR cable) -> PC (USB)
On your pc, launch recording software, and record!
Have fun!

Hope i helped!
Jakub
 
The post above is mostly correct, except that in order to get the actual sound from the F140R, you'll need to record the audio output from it - the USB, afaik, will only transmit MIDI. This means that the audio output needs to be connected to the audio interface as well, and this leads to the fact that the suggested interface - the Scarlett Solo - only has a single instrument/line level input, and you'll probably want stereo (two inputs) for this (given that its output is stereo). So I'd suggest going at least for the Scarlett 2i2 (or similar units from Roland, Steinberg, Presonus, Behringer & others), so you can alternately connect either your mic or the piano in stereo (you can obviously get something that has even more inputs so everything can be connected at the same time).
 
krushing said:
The post above is mostly correct, except that in order to get the actual sound from the F140R, you'll need to record the audio output from it - the USB, afaik, will only transmit MIDI. This means that the audio output needs to be connected to the audio interface as well, and this leads to the fact that the suggested interface - the Scarlett Solo - only has a single instrument/line level input, and you'll probably want stereo (two inputs) for this (given that its output is stereo). So I'd suggest going at least for the Scarlett 2i2 (or similar units from Roland, Steinberg, Presonus, Behringer & others), so you can alternately connect either your mic or the piano in stereo (you can obviously get something that has even more inputs so everything can be connected at the same time).
Click to expand...

I don't think the piano has any balanced outputs. There's only a stereo mini-jack output, which would mean you need a convertor from stereo mini-jack to double unbalanced jack, with 2 DI's plugged into a 2-channel focusrite.
That's like 500 extra euro just for the DI's and cables. If he/she wanted to record the piano in stereo, plus vocals, there would be need for at least 3 inputs on the interface.
Given this person is new to the whole thing and probably has no idea what I'm talking about, I would really go with recording the midi data and finding an okay sounding piano sound library to fill it out, instead, playing with the headphones plugged into the piano and getting the least amount of leakage from the piano sound into the vocal mic.

So, OP, you do this: You get the focusrite. I would consider buying the 2i2 (150-200 euro), which has the capacity of recording 2 instruments in mono (or 1 in stereo). This is linked to your computer with a usb connector. This is compatible with any recording software. Just look up how it works in your specific software. Next step is, you record the midi data from your piano into your computer as you sing into the microphone. You can record the midi data in most DAW's as well. I'd recommend Ableton, or Protools if you are willing to pay for the software. Next up is getting a decent sounding piano sound. Ableton has a couple of sounds installed, that are easy to work with. They don't sound like a concert piano, but it'll be close enough for a demo. If you want a better sounding piano, consider buying Alecia's Keys or another reveled software such as Grand 2 to function as an add-on in your recording software. If that's not enough, go to a quality recording studio. For a professional sound, it'll be 400-500 euro for half a day, recording engineer included.

Sidenote: your AT microphone is actually a decent midrange budget microphone. It is a condenser microphone, which requires you to power it. Plug it into your focusrite interface and press the 48v.

Edit: you can also record the piano midi and the vocals seperately if that gives a better result.
 
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Davlo said:
I don't think the piano has any balanced outputs. There's only a stereo mini-jack output, which would mean you need a convertor from stereo mini-jack to double unbalanced jack, with 2 DI's plugged into a 2-channel focusrite.
That's like 500 extra euro just for the DI's and cables. If he/she wanted to record the piano in stereo, plus vocals, there would be need for at least 3 inputs on the interface.
Click to expand...

Why would you need DIs to record a line level instrument into line level inputs? You don't you only need a minijack to 2x mono TS cable, so it's more like 5 euros than 500 :) If there's a need to record both the mic & piano at the same time, you can always just record the piano in mono & make do with those two inputs.
 
krushing said:
Why would you need DIs to record a line level instrument into line level inputs? You don't you only need a minijack to 2x mono TS cable, so it's more like 5 euros than 500 :) If there's a need to record both the mic & piano at the same time, you can always just record the piano in mono & make do with those two inputs.
Click to expand...

Does the scarlet even take unbalanced jacks? But I guess it does. I don't know man. Unbalanced signal into the convertor directly gives risk of noise, hum, interference. Impedance wise it's probably not the best thing in the world either. At least you get a ground lift with a DI. It can be done, I guess, but I would rather hear a nicely recorded sampler piano using midi, than a mono, potentially buzzing or lossy roland piano sound.
 
Davlo said:
Does the scarlet even take unbalanced jacks? But I guess it does. I don't know man. Unbalanced signal into the convertor directly gives risk of noise, hum, interference. Impedance wise it's probably not the best thing in the world either. At least you get a ground lift with a DI. It can be done, I guess, but I would rather hear a nicely recorded sampler piano using midi, than a mono, potentially buzzing or lossy roland piano sound.
Click to expand...

Well, yes, technically unbalanced is more prone to interference than balanced, but it's used all the time without problems. And even if this did turn out horribly buzzy and noisy, it's still that $/€5 investment rather than an elaborate and expensive DI setup. And of course, using it just as a MIDI controller isn't ruled out by any of this - that small investment into that one cable just enables to use what he already has.
 
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