Home recording and Comupters

tomcram

Hi Players,

I hope this is the right place to post this request?
What do I need in the way of equipment and software to upload sound files to this forum. My friend just loaned me his Tascam Portastudio four track tape machine.

What do I need to transfer the cassette sounds to my computer - also, what program should I use or acquire to convert the files to MP3?
Once they are in wav or mp3 - I know how to burn them to CD (using Nero).
But how do I convert them and what do I need to interface my guitar or amp or recorder with my computer?

I just ordered "Band in a Box" 2006 - will it work? Will it help or does it have any other software with it that will facilitate the transfer.

I also posted this question in Michael's Welcome message about attachments.

Thanks,
Tom - an old guy who is not up on the latest music software and equipment!
_________________

Kcox

For changing audio file types I use Creative audio convertor, but I'm not sure how I got my hands on it. I think it might have been bundled with my girlfriend's mp3 player or maybe it came with my old soundcard. I'm sure there are tons of other programs, but I find it very simple and straightforward.

Quadropenta

Search on Google for file conversion software
ie this search: mp3 conversion shareware

djangology

i use a Lexicon Omega recorder for my computer. it comes with the simple and easy to use ProTools. it has 2 20dB preamps and 4 line-in inputs for recording. it works great and is pretty cheap. I use $200 Rode NT-3 condenser mics.

i use a free program called CDex to convert WAV files to mp3s. i highly recommend it. i get all the free software i need from portablefreeware.com .

i use mp3Trim to cut mp3s or split them or normalize the volume.

i use Transcribe for playing back my Stephane Wrembel play-alongs

Bob Holo

Another good piece of freeware: Audacity

You can find a tutorial here: http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php? ... uter_or_CD

You can download the Audacity program here: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Other options include buying a dedicated mp3 recorder - like the Zoom H2 - and it would actually be easier and more reliable than PC given that most PCs sold in the last couple of years have so much nagware on them that they're virtually useless for real time applications like recording unless you're tech savvy enough to shut off all of the marketing crap. If you record to a little external box - then just pop the files into your PC and edit them using Audacity... that would be reliable and simple.

The Zoom:
http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/pub/a/o ... tml?page=1

tommaso

I use an Audio/Midi USB I/F connected to my notebook. After some adjustments in the configuration of the OS, the DAW is now working well without any dropout problem. Here are the details:
-DAW : Notebook Acer Core 2 Duo with 1GB Ram, 120 GB HD,Vista Home premium.
-Audio I/F: Yamaha UW500 (I bought it 4 years ago,so it's not the newest in the market, but is still good because its characteristics where advanced. Moreover it is a Japan product, not China). It can connect 2 lines (selectable from mic to jack) and also optical input.You can find details on the net.
-various mic types
-Recording S/W: Sonar 6 by Cakewalk(a complete HDR Studio), Reaper(free but good).
NOTE: I had problems with Vista : too high latency that caused dropouts on recording etc. I have solved these problems this way:I have disabled everything in Vista was not necessary to HR, leaving only the basic services to work, then I have configured the system to optimize the performances(HD access time, power mngmt disabled etc.) and I have reduced the latency to 10 ms (from 1000-2000 with all the Vista overhead!) and now the system is ok. But my suggestion is: DON'T USE VISTA FOR HOME RECORDING! USE XP.
Ciao,
Tommaso

djangology

I just tried Audacity and it is awesome. It works pretty good as a free alternative to Transcribe. It also looks like it will record multitracks... Pretty cool.

Salieri

Another good software is Cool Edit 2, just try it !

zippybackflash

I've been a CoolEdit user for years, and it's a great tool for recording and touching up audio files. When Adobe bought out Syntrillium years ago, it frankly concerned me as Adobe appears to have a bad "bloatware" problem.

I never upgraded, and honestly have not needed to. CoolEdit is lean, fast, effective, and will read and write any audio format I have.

Recording from the 4 track should be easy. Just run the unit's Line Out into the Line In on your computer's sound card. (You will probably need an adapter like this: 1/8" male stereo plug -> Left & Right RCA plugs)

Fire up your recorder (Cool Edit, Audicity, Sound Recorder, etc) and watch the levels. You will likely need to go into your Windows mixer and select the "Input" source as "Line Input" and adjust the volume levels.

NOTE FOR VISTA USERS:
Sadly, Vista has disabled the ability to record directly from the "Line Input"! Most users can still set Vista to record from the "Stereo Mix", however. Just make sure ALL outer sources expect the Line In is muted, otherwise you may pick up noise or other artifacts.

klaatu

Bob Holo wrote:

... most PCs sold in the last couple of years have so much nagware on them that they're virtually useless for real time applications like recording ...

One solution to this irritating problem is to set up a dual boot system on your PC. One is your regular system, the other is totally stripped down for recording. It's not all that difficult, and there are plenty of articles online that will walk you through this. This avoids all the annoying interruptions that can plague a recording session.

For instance, on my home PC, I have a regular Windows XP partition that contains MS Office, Internet browser, antivirus, and all my other crap, built up over three years. Almost totally useless for recording. The second XP partition is totally stripped down and has only my recording software (Cubase LE, which came for free with my Zoom H4), and the Internet cable gets disconnected.

You need a good partition manager to set up the multiple partitions. I use EASEUS Partition Master, a great and easy to use and FREE piece of software.

My setup consists of an AKG C1000 mike going into a Behringer mixer, with a Behringer audio-to-USB adapter and ASIO4ALL as the ASIO driver. Works pretty well most of the time. An even better setup would be a high quality sound card with proper audio interfaces.

It probably helps to to go into Windows Task Manager (CTRL-ALT-DEL) and set your recording software's priority to "realtime." In Cubase, I have to tweak the buffers.

Audacity is a pretty nice program with lots of features and quite easy to use.