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iamlark posted:Maybe it's me, but I've noticed that getting a good mix in Logic is harder than in Pro Tools, you have to much more conservative with your fader mix. Yea that's what it seems like. It's really annoying.
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Oct 8, 2008 09:07
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I know very little about Logic, but when I complained to someone about how the meters made no god drat sense he told me that the default meter settings make no sense, but there is a way to change them. Unfortunately I am not offering an actual solution, but I think there is a solution to make them actually read dBV, which they do not seem to be metering by default.
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Oct 8, 2008 13:39
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Floops meters make no god drat sense either and theres no way to change them. 
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Oct 8, 2008 13:41
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I remember the good old days when making music in fruity loops carried enough of a stigma that any self respecting electronic musician would never admit on an internet forum to having the program installed.
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Oct 8, 2008 16:48
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Fruity Loops is now the benchmark for competancy in music production. If you can't make something sound good in Fruity Loops, you should save the money you've been planning to drop on Logic Pro, buy a hand gun and shoot yourself instead.
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Oct 8, 2008 19:48
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Here's another stigma:
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Oct 8, 2008 23:08
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WanderingKid posted:Fruity Loops is now the benchmark for competancy in music production. If you can't make something sound good in Fruity Loops, you should save the money you've been planning to drop on Logic Pro, buy a hand gun and shoot yourself instead. Hey could you recommend me a good SM57 clone for under $30? (this should be the title of the next megathread btw)
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Oct 8, 2008 23:51
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RivensBitch posted:(this should be the title of the next megathread btw)
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Oct 9, 2008 03:43
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WanderingKid posted:Fruity Loops is now the benchmark for competancy in music production. If you can't make something sound good in Fruity Loops, you should save the money you've been planning to drop on Logic Pro, buy a hand gun and shoot yourself instead. I used Fruity Loops once a while back at a friends house because he had questions on how to do something. Being plenty proficient in Pro Tools I figured I could help him out. I had no idea what the gently caress was going on. After about 10 minutes I just said, "I don't know man this poo poo is weird. Get Pro Tools." And I know what everyone loves to say, "But Dr Dre made The Chronic on it!  " I don't care.Anyway. So Logic is in fact reading some weird levels? Any idea what the actual audible clip level is?
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Oct 9, 2008 09:08
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I've never had any problem with leveling or metering in Logic with the default settings. What exactly do they seem to be reading?
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Oct 9, 2008 17:41
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Ben and Stew posted:I've never had any problem with leveling or metering in Logic with the default settings. What exactly do they seem to be reading? Well my Output 1-2 just seems to be constantly peaking but I'm not necessarily hearing any clipping, as in audible pops. Like I said, I loaded up a NIN song downloaded off their website and it still seems to peak at +3db at some points. I figured these sessions were premixed so I feel like there is something weird going on with Logic since it never happens in Pro Tools. With my songs I have seen it go to +6db. That's the most extreme case and I obviously try and mix things down a bit to keep it under control.
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Oct 9, 2008 18:27
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Allright, I've been having this problem that's been driving me completely insane by how simple it's supposed to be yet it never works. To be specific, I currently own a Yamaha PSR-A1000 (the equivalent of a PSR-1000), I currently seem to be having the relatively simple problem of getting my iMAC (leopard OS) to recognize it or to record MIDI from it. I used a Yamaha UX16 USB Interface to connect to the mac, I have downloaded the latest drivers, I have followed the Audio MIDI Setup Steps, but the mac can only see the Midi Interface and not the Keyboard itself. What's Driving me insane is that I tried this both on Windows and Mac with the same result (only the interface being seen but complete ignorance of the keyboard itself) and when I tried this on the Mac of the Music instructor (running what I think was a OS 9) it was automatic plug'n play straight from the keyboard (then again it was a decked out studio complete with cakewalk hardware and software) but at least I know it's not the hardware. on my iMac both GarageBand AND logic cant see the keyboard, I am at a loss to find an explanation for this at all and any help would be appreciated.
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Oct 9, 2008 19:52
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MIDI does not tell you at all what kind of keyboard you have hooked up. USB controllers do, because the USB protocol says more about the device that's being hooked up, but MIDI doesn't. So, the only thing your computer knows is that you have an UX16. Have you connected the UX's MIDI out with the PSR's MIDI in and vice-versa? - mnemonic: MIDI information goes OUT of the computer IN to the keyboard.
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Oct 9, 2008 22:11
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xfrancox posted:Well my Output 1-2 just seems to be constantly peaking but I'm not necessarily hearing any clipping, as in audible pops. Like I said, I loaded up a NIN song downloaded off their website and it still seems to peak at +3db at some points. I figured these sessions were premixed so I feel like there is something weird going on with Logic since it never happens in Pro Tools. With my songs I have seen it go to +6db. That's the most extreme case and I obviously try and mix things down a bit to keep it under control. A peak is fine its if its riding in the red a lot. If it hits +3db a couple of times it doesnt really matter.
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Oct 10, 2008 00:29
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Yoozer posted:mnemonic: MIDI information goes OUT of the computer IN to the keyboard. I cant beleive I overlooked that, it worked like a charm! thanks man. Would I be correct if I assumed that if I wanted to record the actual instruments and sounds of the keyboard itself I would have to get a TO HOST cable?
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Oct 10, 2008 12:20
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A "To Host" cable is the predecessor of the USB MIDI cable, and it doesn't carry sound. If you want to record that, connect your keyboard's stereo outputs to your soundcard's inputs. If you have a regular on-board card, you could try this combination:  and two of these (RCA female to jack) 
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Oct 10, 2008 13:19
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Or just buy a cable with 1/4" connectors? http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CMP153/
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Oct 10, 2008 16:48
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RivensBitch posted:Or just buy a cable with 1/4" connectors? Oh so sneaky huh? Those things aren't real. Or least in my experience they're magical. They seem to disappear as soon as you need them.
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Oct 10, 2008 20:58
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Is there a program that you can create and save custom lighting designs with that sync up to music? Lots of major touring artists have custom lighting synced up to each song during their show. Obviously the lighting guy isn't creating that live each time they play. What program do lighting designers use? Is there a cheap/freeware version?
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Oct 11, 2008 04:51
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Motorized lighting that can be programmed is neither cheap nor free, so the software to control them is usually not cheap nor free either. OR, if it's free it's usually included with lighting interfaces or controllers.
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Oct 11, 2008 06:05
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John-311 posted:Obviously the lighting guy isn't creating that live each time they play. What program do lighting designers use? Is there a cheap/freeware version? In short, yes many lighting designers spend a lot of time before the show customizing programs and looks that will sync to the song. However, I've never seen a tour that just basically hits play and the lights chase it all. The LD is a pretty important part of every concert's crew. One Martin Mac 500, which is what you see doing a lot of the moving and color changing in most shows is about $6000. Just for reference.
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Oct 12, 2008 03:28
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wixard posted:One Martin Mac 500, which is what you see doing a lot of the moving and color changing in most shows is about $6000. Just for reference. This is why most touring bands, even the big names, rent all of their equipment or hire a sound/lighting company on contract to provide and run the equipment for the tour. Or they'll use the equipment already installed at a venue, for a fee of course.
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Oct 13, 2008 04:15
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I wasn't trying to be completely discouraging by throwing out huge numbers, just trying to point out that what you see at major shows is on a whole other level from what you can do on your own, in both price and in technically pulling it off. There are certainly more affordable (although still not cheap) DMX-capable moving lights and LED lights that can be programmed and used creatively with things like American DJ's MyDMX interface/software and controlled with a laptop, although I have no idea how comprehensive something like MyDMX is in its support for other company's lights. Just be aware it's a pretty involved process and their market isn't driven by home-users or amateurs at all. You're probably not going to find a product designed for people who might not want to be experts or power users but want to be able to do some cool custom stuff with lighting, whereas in the audio world there are lots of DAWs designed to make complex things easy to use.
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Oct 13, 2008 16:55
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For the record I'm still hoping to have a run of 50 colorsynths produced in the next 6 months. MIDI controllable, and hopefully priced around $150 each. http://www.colorsynth.com The current version resembles an 8" diameter snowglobe that can be mounted on a mic stand.
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Oct 13, 2008 18:25
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RivensBitch posted:For the record I'm still hoping to have a run of 50 colorsynths produced in the next 6 months. MIDI controllable, and hopefully priced around $150 each. You have some loving hairy arms.
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Oct 13, 2008 18:54
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the wizards beard posted:You have some loving hairy arms. Want to join my planet of the apes tribute band?
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Oct 13, 2008 19:50
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I call Heston then.
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Oct 13, 2008 20:03
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Hey guys, got a question about latency.. I've plugged my Roland TD12 into my Creative Audigy soundcard using a USB MIDI interface. I want to play the drumkit and get the sounds from EZdrummer/Cubase. Now, this is working, but I can't seem to get a low enough latency to make it usable. I've tried ASIO4ALL drivers, as well as the built-in Creative ASIO driver. I can tweak some settings, but when I set the latency too low I just get garbled noise. Anything higher (around 17) makes the drum seem unresponsive. Any ideas? Is my soundcard good enough for this?
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Oct 14, 2008 09:28
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Guys (and girls), when I record distorted guitars, they don't come through prominently in the mix. They record pretty clearly, it's just when I add bass and drums, they get kind of drowned out. I don't know much about EQing, but anyone got any tips for EQing the poo poo out of distorted guitars, or a link to a good tutorial?
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Oct 14, 2008 12:42
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The Dissonant posted:Guys (and girls), when I record distorted guitars, they don't come through prominently in the mix. They record pretty clearly, it's just when I add bass and drums, they get kind of drowned out. I don't know much about EQing, but anyone got any tips for EQing the poo poo out of distorted guitars, or a link to a good tutorial? You need to raise your mids and lower your highs and lows. I have the eq on my amp set something like B25, M78, H98, so I'm heard at rehearsals and whenever I record I don't have to do much to my EQ (just lower the highs in Logic a bit when mixing with vocals, since my frequencies don't mess much with the drums).
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Oct 14, 2008 14:04
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Don't mean to be an rear end in a top hat and interrupt your discussion, but I've got some questions about a beginner home setup I'm looking at getting. So the purpose is to record a cello, keyboard and vocals. This is all just a hobby so I'm going pretty cheap. I think I have a pretty good idea what to do for software and a mic, but the recording interface is kind of hard for me to nail down. So here's the list: Software: Fruity loops or sonar I just took the list of software from this thread and checked it against the list in the electronic music thread. I plan on getting the software before everything else so I can spread the expense out, so I want to be able to play around with electronic music before I start recording. Mic Shure SM57 Interface M-Audio Audiophile 2496 PCI Digital Audio Card http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Audiophile-2496-PCI-Digital-Audio-Card?sku=701341 M-Audio Fast Track USB Interface http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Fast-Track-USB-Computer-Recording-Interface?sku=703606 M-Audio Delta 1010 LT PCI Digital Audio Computer Interface http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Delta-1010-LT-PCI-Digital-Audio-System?sku=701376 This is where I need the most help. I'm setting a $200 limit on this part, is this unreasonable? I've found the ones above, and they seem serviceable. My main question is how I'd plug a mic into the PCI interfaces. I'm just having a hard time finding specs on these things that I can understand, so I don't really know what my options are in regards to what I can do with those PCI cards. edit: forgot to mention, everything I know about recording I got from the OP of this thread. I've been trying to do some research, and a part of that is making sure I'm choosing the right beginner items by asking you guys.
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Oct 15, 2008 07:40
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The PCI interfaces that don't look like they have mic connectors require external mic preamps to run into the cards inputs. There's a ton of preamps out there, ranging in price from $30 to thousands of dollars. I'm not sure how any given budget preamp compares to the built in preamps on other interfaces. It looks like the Delta 1010 LT has two built in mic preamps (the big gray 3-pin connectors) and the Audiophile doesn't have any. Out of those three interfaces, I like the Delta 1010 LT because it has a bunch of additional I/O in case you ever want to expand your setup. Its main disadvantage is it gives you a big jumble of cords coming out of the back of your computer rather than neatly arranged inputs in a breakout box. The lack of a breakout box also means you have no external volume or trim controls. $200 is enough for a basic entry level interface. There are a lot of options out there at level. Could you be more specific about what you want to do? Do you need 1 or 2 (or more) mic/instrument inputs? Do you eventually plan on recording multiple instruments/sources simultaneously? Are you okay with a PCI solution, or do you want the portability and cross platform compatibility of a USB/Firewire device? Do you care about the upgrade potential of your interface in case you decide to expand your setup in the future? If you want to go with USB 2.0 or Firewire, there are some more capable and respected interfaces available around the $300 price point. The SM57 is a good choice in your situation. It can get an adequate recording of pretty much anything, and no matter how deep you get into recording, you'll always have a use for it. There are better mics for specific situations, but if you can only get one mic on a budget, I'd go with the SM57. You may want to look into some sort of windscreen or pop filter for the 57 when recording vocals. The only thing I'd be worried about with the 57 is it produces a fairly weak signal. Combined with the preamps on cheap interfaces that often don't have much gain, you may have trouble getting decent levels when recording unamplified instruments. That's interface dependent though. I recommend taking a look at Ableton Live if you're interested in making electronic music. Some people say it has a steep learning curve, but I think it's intuitive and can get you from a concept to a rough draft of a song quickly. Now a question of my own... I just ordered a MOTU Ultralite mk3. Originally I was going to get a TI firewire chipset card to go along with it, but I just found out my Audigy 2 ZS has a TI firewire chipset. The model I have has most of its inputs (including firewire) on an external breakout box that connects to the PCI card via firewire and another data cable. Will daisy chaining the Ultralite into the breakout box's firewire port cause any conflicts or power issues? It seems like that would put the Ultralite and the Audigy on the same IRQ, and I wouldn't be able to disable the Audigy when using the Ultralite because it relies on the Audigy's firewire. Is that fine as long as I'm not using the Audigy for anything while I'm using the Ultraltie, or is this asking for trouble?
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Oct 15, 2008 10:37
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I don't have the same model Audigy, but on my original model the Firewire interface was listed as a seperate device in the Device Manager, so I think the soundcard and interface could be used individually even if one was disabled.
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Oct 15, 2008 13:16
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The Dissonant posted:Guys (and girls), when I record distorted guitars, they don't come through prominently in the mix. They record pretty clearly, it's just when I add bass and drums, they get kind of drowned out. I don't know much about EQing, but anyone got any tips for EQing the poo poo out of distorted guitars, or a link to a good tutorial? As far as EQ after recording goes, you shouldn't need much. You'll probably want to do a high pass at around 80 hz to get rid of any mud in the low end and a low pass at around 12k to get rid of the fizz that builds up when you start multi-tracking distorted guitars. I usually bus the rhythm guitars through an EQ to do this kind of tweaking; here's what my basic settings look like (the gate and compressor are turned off, and the high pass isn't shown here). I just mess with the gain on each band until it sounds right. gingivitis the wart fucked around with this message at 17:33 on Oct 15, 2008 |
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Oct 15, 2008 17:30
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Splinter posted:$200 is enough for a basic entry level interface. There are a lot of options out there at level. Could you be more specific about what you want to do? Do you need 1 or 2 (or more) mic/instrument inputs? Do you eventually plan on recording multiple instruments/sources simultaneously? Are you okay with a PCI solution, or do you want the portability and cross platform compatibility of a USB/Firewire device? Do you care about the upgrade potential of your interface in case you decide to expand your setup in the future? I would definitely like the option of being able to record at least vocals + instrument at the same time, but at first I only really need one. I don't play with any people at the moment so the most I could ever do on my own is two. I'm definitely OK with the PCI solution. I have no reason (that I know of) to need the advantages of a cross-platform portable device. However, I also just assumed that PCI were better all around. I definitely want to be able to expand the setup, whether or not I actually do. My whole plan was to drop something like 500-600 bucks to get me started, then as I hit walls buy more specific gear. Splinter posted:If you want to go with USB 2.0 or Firewire, there are some more capable and respected interfaces available around the $300 price point. Splinter posted:I recommend taking a look at Ableton Live if you're interested in making electronic music. Some people say it has a steep learning curve, but I think it's intuitive and can get you from a concept to a rough draft of a song quickly. Thanks a ton for the response and the answers. It's been really helpful. It's weird, as a technical person who is also musical I figured there'd be really no issue with figuring out what is best for my situation, but there's just so much poo poo to consider. It's really overwhelming coming into this stuff for the first time.
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Oct 15, 2008 17:31
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I just purchased a M-Audio Fasttrack Pro and a Shure Beta 57A for some voiceover work and I'm running into the weak gain problem. If I turn the gain all the way up I get up to -18dB, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to get a pre-amp. We had a copy of soundbooth CS3 laying around so that's what I'm using to record/mix. Should I be aiming to record to 0dB with the pre-amp or can I push it up in soundbooth? I didn't notice much noise my first time through, but it really showed the crappy sound environment in my office. This is for work, so I basically had no idea what to do for the first week. Duh mics are mono, gain is to make the signal larger (watch out for noise!) It's been an interesting week, but it really is like jumping into a whole new job for me. I'm still reading through the thread, it's very informative. Vaporware fucked around with this message at 20:32 on Oct 15, 2008 |
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Oct 15, 2008 18:13
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The Fasttrack Pro has built in pre-amps. Are you plugged into a mic input? Is the pre-amp turned on?
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Oct 15, 2008 18:23
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Yes it does, but there is not enough gain for my mic. There's a specific thread about it on the M-Audio forums. According to the tech guys it's the Gain Potentiometer, not the Pre-Amp.RayT from M-Audio posted:After doing some additional research and testing I've found that while the preamp itself is providing more than enough gain the taper of the pot is making it difficult to dial it in accurately. Here's the math... So really the only solution is a more expensive interface or a pre-preamp. I think the fasttrack pro is good enough, and a nice preamp never hurt anyone's gear locker. I picked up a TubePre today. Vaporware fucked around with this message at 19:24 on Oct 15, 2008 |
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Oct 15, 2008 19:22
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Vaporware posted:According to the tech guys it's the Gain Potentiometer, not the Pre-Amp.  Either A) they need a beefier preamp to get through that potentiometer, or B) they need to stop claiming their preamp has 55dB of gain when the potentiometer will only let you turn it up to 45dB or whatever. Either way, I tend to consider the potentiometer part of the preamp for all intents and purposes. I have recently lost a shitload of respect for M-Audio. Their driver development has been laughable recently with changing over to Leopard and Vista and on top of that I bought a MobilePre in July that is already dead. If they are outfitting their gear with potentiometers that cripple their preamps that is just too much. You can redlight a Beta 57 with a Mackie VLZ or a Presonus Firebox, at normal speech levels, I promise. Whether their preamps have more gain or whether the taper of their pots is different I have no idea, but comparing that problem to those pieces of gear is disingenuous. To answer your previous question, yes you want to record with peaks as close to 0dB as possible. You cannot really add gain later, certainly not as effectively as with a preamp on the input.
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Oct 15, 2008 21:33
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Thanks, I am much closer to my target of 0dB with the pre-amp, I just have to find the right spot so I don't clip then I'm good. Yeah, I was pissed with their drivers in addition to that problem. I have limited rights on my vista work computer and their solution to my driver installation problem was to disable UAC  . I'm still considering returning it since it's under 2 weeks.
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Oct 15, 2008 21:55
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