Learning new skills!

[offthewall]

A story about learning.

In 1965/66 or thereabouts I was a teenager learning to play the guitar with a few others. This record came out by Spencer Davis Group (with Stevie Winwood) called Keep On Running. It had the very first public version of, what would now be called, a distorted fuzz-box guitar sound. As I was an apprentice electrician at that time I bravely took on an old reel-to-reel tape recorder and smashed the 'play head' off with a hammer, soldered a guitar lead to it, then smashed the 'output speaker' off and soldered an extension speaker lead to it, then plugged the whole nightmare into my Vox AC30. I ended off with the EXACT sound of the 'record'. Everyone was saying How The F*** do you do that?

After all these years I have now taken up the old guitar again. I, with the help of folks on this forum, have set up a PC system >>AMD64 3000 : Gigabyte K8-9NF: 1.0GB PC3200 RAM: Gigabyte PCI-E6600 128Mb: 2x 80Gb HDD's: 500W PSU: Pioneer DVR-109D: M-Audio 2496 PCI S/card. <<
I am now running Cubase VST32 5.0, Kristal Audio Engine, Reason Adapted Express, Ableton Live Delta 2.1.2., and, through the ideas of this forum, have downloaded loads of superb free plug-ins.

My mission is to be able to record multi-track audio. Accoustic instruments through my Behringer XM1800S mic and Behringer UB1002 mixer, along with electric guitar and bass, again through the UB1002, together with MIDI via an Evolution MK 261 keyboard controller.

With my old head still firmly in the 60's I have found the whole process to be an uphill struggle.....but I'm getting there !!

I'm looking for simple, jargon-free tutorials.
I find Cubase too complicated, although it does handle both Audio and Midi in the same 'take'. Kristal is superb, but doesn't seem to do Midi. Reason seems fine but won't do Audio, and Live just seems to foul up every time I try it!

I really can't find SIMPLE explanations of VST instruments, effects and hosts. On advice I downloaded Tiny MiniHost and various guitar-related plug ins, but I really don't know what to do with them.

You folks on this forum are really extra-special. You tend to know your stuff and give good advice.......but some of us are starting to learn (slowly) from nowhere!

I need basic tutorials to explain the various recording processes. The difference between 'sends' and 'inserts', between VST instruments, effects and hosts.

Can anyone help an extremely baffled 'old codger' who has all the kit, a head full of musical ideas, but can't understand the terminology ?

[Hink]

to start someone posted this which is a good for definations

http://www.dilettantesdictionary.com/index.php?let=a

You have asked a very opened question, I don't use Cubase so I'm afraid I can be little help there. But we are probably close to the same age (I was born in 59) so I might be able to help "translate" somethings for you...

[ross g]

i would suggest looking into Tracktion 2 now distributed by Mackie. I'm looking at it as well, I have one of my usual long-winded posts asking dumb questions, pre-purchase, on their forum at Mackie. It is touted as a very easy to learn midi and audio host, they have a downloadable demo version of the app with a demo song loaded in. It seems to be crowded but easy to understand as far as hosts go, perhaps you will find it easier to understand than Cubase...check it out, mate!

here's the link:

http://www.mackie.com/products/tracktion2/index.html

good luck, have fun,
rg

[bobbyblank]

welcome to the fray, offthewall.
You'll get widely varying responses, but here's mine. get a subscription to www.TapeOP.com - it's free magazine that caters to indie engineers. You'll feel at home with interviews with Tony Visconti and and classic debates about how good/bad Steely Dan's production aesthetics were. heheh. they also have a firm grip on present time computer-music issues, but it's a great way to jump back in to music production.
also, grab every computer-music magazine that you can find. Just soak it in, It'll make sense soon enough.
there are lots of used books on Cubase 5.
personally, i would ignore them and get FL Studio and Adobe Audition.
cubase's learning curve is steep. FL studio is one of the easiest ways to get MIDI down, and it can be very expressive. They offer lifetime upgrades, which is better than free beer. For audio, tracktion, Adobe audition, or sound forge are good choices. the key to a good multi tracker is it's ability to make precise edits, i think. Cubase 5 won't do that. I love Audition, and for some strange reason there are a couple used OEM copies on ebay for 20 bucks. lot's of people say that tracktion is by far the easiest multitracker to dive into.

i hear 'home recording for musicians for dummies' is a really good book to cut your teeth on. http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dummies ... 16345.html

that's a good start, take it with a grain of salt.
hope you get alot more input.

[haydxn]

ditto on Tracktion. you can just DO stuff with it in an easy to follow way, and you don't need to learn how computers have chosen to emulate hardware. you just do things pretty much as you would imagine.

plus, when you start using it it automatically explains what everything is anyway with pop-up help. the manual (downloadable) is great too.

be warned tho, of course, you will have people try to lure you to their host! I use Tracktion. it's the best.

[topaz]

Cubase SX really is a doddle to use, don't you know anyone that could give you a demo of the basics ?

you sound like a kean guy to learn, im sure there must be someone near you to help ?

cheers/
topaz

A story about learning.

[Sascha Franck]

offthewall, you could also just start with some easy but concrete questions about what's irritating you the most. I'll gladly try to answer, and I'm sure others will join in, too.

I think that software-wise you're allready sorted fine, Cubase VST 5 isn't all that tough. Of course downloading the Tracktion demo won't hurt, but as you allready have a fully functional host it might be like wasting some money.

There's some Cubase tutorial books around (sorry, I don't know any titles), but IMO some hands-on experience along with questions answered by your fellow KVR'ers might even get you into the right direction a bit faster.

[Hink]

Sascha is right about the books...it seems every application has one these days....I bet a search at amazon would turn something up...

[Hink]

here yah go
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/searc ... 05-7243126


link broken...go amazon>books>search>cubase

[ross g]

welcome to the fray, offthewall.
get a subscription to www.TapeOP.com - it's free magazine that caters to indie engineers. You'll feel at home with interviews with Tony Visconti and and classic debates about how good/bad Steely Dan's production aesthetics were. heheh. they also have a firm grip on present time computer-music issues, but it's a great way to jump back in to music production.

i just want to point out, that although it was very nice for bb to give the free mag subscrption info, they state they will sell your info to others for the free subscription, but not for the paid sub, just pointing it out, i sometimes miss the fine print myself...

rg

[dry bones]

You'll be able to get recording within half an hour of booting Tracktion up, or I'll eat my virtual hat.

[offthewall]

Thanks for the help and information.
As suggested, RossG, I checked out 'Tracktion2', which looks like the answer....except that I've spent up on the rig, and the 'demo' version seems to be plagued with 'noise', so what's the point of finding and learning a new application if you can't afford to upgrade to the real thing? £129 is like 100 over my budget !

Anyhow, I'm slowly finding my way through Cubase. I'm annoyed about Kristal Audio Engine as that is SO much easier to use for straight audio recording, but I can't seem to find a way to input MIDI to the mix.
I'm not too bothered about editing facilities, as I am from the old school who would rather rehearse until it's right, then lay it down in one take !! The great thing about this medium is 'UNDO'.

My needs are small, but specific.
I desire to lay down tracks, one at a time, such as : guitar strum; guitar pick; mandolin; bass guitar; electric guitar; penny whistle; MIDI keyboard; possibly MIDI drums (but rarely).

I've managed to do some in Cubase.
Sascha Franck.....Regarding plug-ins, VSTi's, hosts, etc.

What is the difference between an 'insert' and a 'send' ?
How would these effects be used within my forementioned application ?

Can I record a MIDI section in, for instance, Reason Adapted, and import it into a mix in Kristal as audio input ?

Sorry, Hink '59er, I'm a '49er !!

[ross g]

Thanks for the help and information.
As suggested, RossG, I checked out 'Tracktion2', which looks like the answer....except that I've spent up on the rig, and the 'demo' version seems to be plagued with 'noise', so what's the point of finding and learning a new application if you can't afford to upgrade to the real thing? £129 is like 100 over my budget !

Anyhow, I'm slowly finding my way through Cubase. I'm annoyed about Kristal Audio Engine as that is SO much easier to use for straight audio recording, but I can't seem to find a way to input MIDI to the mix.
I'm not too bothered about editing facilities, as I am from the old school who would rather rehearse until it's right, then lay it down in one take !! The great thing about this medium is 'UNDO'.

My needs are small, but specific.
I desire to lay down tracks, one at a time, such as : guitar strum; guitar pick; mandolin; bass guitar; electric guitar; penny whistle; MIDI keyboard; possibly MIDI drums (but rarely).

I've managed to do some in Cubase.
Sascha Franck.....Regarding plug-ins, VSTi's, hosts, etc.

What is the difference between an 'insert' and a 'send' ?
How would these effects be used within my forementioned application ?

Can I record a MIDI section in, for instance, Reason Adapted, and import it into a mix in Kristal as audio input ?

Sorry, Hink '59er, I'm a '49er !!

the only thing i can say is nobody gives anything away for free... T2 comes with a bunch of included VST stuff, i have yet to see a better deal...the noise in the demo is Mackie's way of keeping the demo a demo...if you have something to use, maybe you should just take the time and learn it, but it is a good idea to find the right application for you...it will help in the long run....


good luck,
rg

[Sascha Franck]

What is the difference between an 'insert' and a 'send' ?

An insert is used for things the whole signal will be passing through. And (at least usually) it's used on individual channels. The best example might be equalizers, compressors and, say, overdrives.
Let's say you'd have a guitar track and wanted to cut the lows out, to make it less muddy. In that case you'd insert an EQ in the guitar channel and use the appropriate band to do so.

A send however is usually used for FX without the need to send the complete signal through. In addition, you can usually share these FX for various channels.
The most common examples might be reverbs and delays, probably things such as chorus, flanger and the likes as well.
You would just set up the desired effect on a dedicated FX/bus/group channel (depending on your host they will be called different), set the effect mix on the used effect to 100% (because the amount of FX would be controlled by the send knobs/faders) and use, say, your guitar tracks FX send knob/fader to send a certain amount of it through your reverb.

You can of course use a reverb as an insert too, but that way you'd have to call up a new one for each channel you want to be reverbed, which isn't all that much of a great idea because a) reverbs are some of the most CPU intensive FX, so you better share them and b) it will most likely make your mix sound more consistent if you don't use too much different rooms but only 1-2.

How would these effects be used within my forementioned application ?

I don't have VST 5 installed anymore (I'm on Cubase SX or Logic), but the inserts are just there in your mixer, the sends as well, to set up send FX you will have to call up the FX rack and insert them there. There's buttons on the individual channels that you use to send to the appropriate send FX slot (which you can select in a pulldown).

Can I record a MIDI section in, for instance, Reason Adapted, and import it into a mix in Kristal as audio input ?

I'm sure there's some audio export or mixdown function in Reason, but the usual thing would probably be to rewire it to a capable host (such as Cubase), so the individual Reason tracks would show up in your Cubase mixer. I'd stay away from that for a start though, too much room for confusion.

I'd start with a single sequencer doing both the MIDI and audio job for now.

[offthewall]

Thanks for the replies, folks.
having looked through your suggestions I certainly can't afford to buy anymore software so I'll just have to keep on learning with what I have. It's a shame because Kristal is just SO easy to use!

Anyway, I'm still looking for some sort of online tutorial to enlighten my ancient brain about a few issues.

sascha franck wrote:

An insert is used for things the whole signal will be passing through. And (at least usually) it's used on individual channels. The best example might be equalizers, compressors and, say, overdrives.
Let's say you'd have a guitar track and wanted to cut the lows out, to make it less muddy. In that case you'd insert an EQ in the guitar channel and use the appropriate band to do so.

A send however is usually used for FX without the need to send the complete signal through. In addition, you can usually share these FX for various channels.
The most common examples might be reverbs and delays, probably things such as chorus, flanger and the likes as well.
You would just set up the desired effect on a dedicated FX/bus/group channel (depending on your host they will be called different), set the effect mix on the used effect to 100% (because the amount of FX would be controlled by the send knobs/faders) and use, say, your guitar tracks FX send knob/fader to send a certain amount of it through your reverb.

You can of course use a reverb as an insert too, but that way you'd have to call up a new one for each channel you want to be reverbed, which isn't all that much of a great idea because a) reverbs are some of the most CPU intensive FX, so you better share them and b) it will most likely make your mix sound more consistent if you don't use too much different rooms but only 1-2.

and I don't understand a word of it. It's like a foreign language.
I suppose we all start off like this! I apologise for being slow, but computer technology has had to be self-taught for me. In the 'old days' I could make music by plugging a jack into an amp....and that was it!
The modern benefits are worlds ahead....if I can just learn the jargon.