Tracktion Software

rsher · Post by **rsher** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:38 am

Hi;
I am old (but young) in 1971 while at Cal Arts I worked on a Buchla 100 and 200 series synthizer (analoge). I left mucis to do video art , then production, then computer animation, now I'm a dad that's involved with real estate development.

I'm getting back in music by building a Pc based music system. I'm using E-mu 1820m hardware and Traction, a e-mu Xboard 49 MIDI controler.
\My kids mainly sing...there 9 and 12. I'll connect and electric gutair and Rode NT1a mic for now.

I'm also new to this forum and would appreciate any advice and product recomendations.

Sincerely;

rsher

.

SaviorNeeded · Post by **SaviorNeeded** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:29 am

Welcome--always good to see a fellow codger. The "Quick Links" to instruments and effects is your friend. Specific recommendations for your needs really require more details--there is a wide variety now, and growing all the time. It's all fun!

Tom

Lunch Money · Post by **Lunch Money** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:02 am

Hey, sounds like you already know what's up with what's down for getting things started.

Your kids' gear is better than mine! <chuckle>

Whenever you need any specific advice or pointers, feel free to ask. We're a rangy bunch, but quite helpful. Welcome aboard!

Greg

IIRs · Post by **IIRs** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:07 pm

Hi rsher,

A quick look at the 1820m specs tells me you already have a suitable pre-amp for your Rode mic, and a Hi-Z input for the guitar, so monitor speakers and headphones would seem to be the only things missing..? (closed back headphones are usually used when overdubbing vocals with a sensitive mic like your Rode, though there are some little tricks you can do if the kids don't like singing with headphones on.. start another thread if you want me to elaborate!)

I think Tracktion is a good choice anyway, its the friendliest DAW I've ever come across

rsher · Post by **rsher** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 3:57 pm

Thanks all;

To update my post, I'm purchaseing the m-audio BX8a powered speakers. thinking of adding a copy of Absynth

Just descovered a product comming online in spring of 2006 called Auroa from unitinic, expensive ($650)
but it looks amazing its nowa vaalible as a mac product and a Digidesign (plugin i think).

I'll be the TD untill the kids get up to speed with the interface of tracktion.

One question...will the MIDI controlers (keyboards) let me play ployphonic or just single notes ?

If any of uy need info/help on computer based editing or animation or related hardware/software ...please dont hesitate asking me.

Sincerly;

rsher

.

IIRs · Post by **IIRs** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:04 pm

rsher wrote:
One question...will the MIDI controlers (keyboards) let me play ployphonic ?

Yes, if you have it controlling a polyphonic synth. You may want to check out the free VSTi's available before buying Absynth, as there is no shortage of exciting synths out there (poly and mono!) for just the price of a download.

rsher · Post by **rsher** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:15 pm

Thats good news about the free VSTi's Its just that I heard soome good things about Absynth.
P.S. thanks for the quick reply IIRs.

tomg · Post by **tomg** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:33 pm

Nothing against T2 (although I don't use it at all these days) but you might want to try the version of Cubase SL that came with your 1820. It's hard to tell this is a lite version most of the time. Very nice!!

If you got your 1820 before the new software bundle came out, upgrade here for about $25 bucks. Click the production tools pic.

http://www.emu.com/

Regards

rsher · Post by **rsher** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:45 pm

Tomg;
Thanks for the reply...I am actually about to purchase the Emulator X Studio
bundle that includes the 1820m.
I'm just a day or two away from placeing the order (thinking of buying from Sweetwater) so any timelu replys are appreciated !

rsher

Lawnmower Of The Damned · Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:57 pm

You have very lucky kids

As for softsynths and whatnot, it really depends on what kind of sounds you are looking for. There are some great free synths out there that can get you started before you move on to paid plugins. Since it's all midi data you can write a song with a free synth and then switch to a different synth with almost no effort, so writing with a freebie and upgrading to a paid synth later is common practice in my home studio.

Since you mentioned Absynth I'd suggest you take a look at Krakli's Cygnus http://www.kvraudio.com/get/1929.html

It's completely free, and it sounds great. Cygnus is very capable of producing the same sorts of evolving atmospheres and huge sounding pads that Absynth is good for. Of course, it's not the same as Absynth, but it can still sound quite similar.

Other freebies to check out are anything from UGO http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php?mode=results&st=d&c=288 . His Motion and Texture synths are great for more atmospheres and pads. Also, for a nifty virtual analog synth check out Rez while you're at his site.

Since I don't know what other sorts of sounds you are looking for it's hard for me to make suggestions. Some general purpose high-quality free stuff is RGC Audio's SFZ, which is a great sampler http://www.kvraudio.com/get/769.html as well as Soundfonts.It's MrTramp and MrRay SeventyThree http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php?mode=results&st=d&c=292 which are excellent emulations of a Wurlitzer and Rhodes electric piano respectively.

As for paid plugins, there is some really great stuff from G-Media http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php?mode=results&st=d&c=27 and Arturia http://www.kvraudio.com/get.php?mode=results&st=d&c=5 . impOSCar, MiniMonsta, CS80 V, Arp2600 V, MiniMoog V and Moog Modular V are absolutely terrific general purpose plugins.

If you are looking for a modular synth like the Buchla that you used to use (Lucky jerk

) then SynthEdit http://www.synthedit.com/ allows you to make your own softsynths without any programming knowledge. It's not really a modular in the classic sense, but you can still wire any component in however you like, so the idea is still similar. Synthedit also happens to be free, which is very nice.

On the paid side you have Native Instruments' Reaktor http://www.kvraudio.com/get/54.html which is a very powerful modular synth. Not only does it have all of the components of the Buchla you are familiar with, there are tons of things it can do that wouldn't be possible in hardware format.

That should be enough to get you by for quite a while. And of course, if there is anything more specific that you are looking for I'm sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction.

Oh, and welcome to KVR

tomg · Post by **tomg** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:01 pm

rsher wrote:Tomg;
Thanks for the reply...I am actually about to purchase the Emulator X Studio
bundle that includes the 1820m.
I'm just a day or two away from placeing the order (thinking of buying from Sweetwater) so any timelu replys are appreciated !

rsher

Excellent!! You should wait until you get it and have time to check it out before you buy anything else at all. You might find out that you have everything that you need. That might not stop you from buying more stuff though.

EmualtorX/1820 is just plain awsome.

Regards

Lawnmower Of The Damned · Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:04 pm

I have an 1820M and I love it. I mainly use it for recording guitar, bass, hardware synths and vocals. It sounds great, and I haven't heard any complaints about stability since the last patch came out a few months ago.

My only complaint is that the microphone preamps are only decent. For the kind of work I'm doing they don't meet my needs, but then again it's a freebie thrown into a very good and affordable card. Putting in better pre-amps probably would have pushed the price past the $500 mark.

There are some other excellent cards available from M-Audio, Echo and Hammerfall in the pricerange. However, I don't have any experience with them, so I can only endorse the E-MUs.

tomg · Post by **tomg** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 5:42 pm

tomg wrote:
rsher wrote:Tomg;
Thanks for the reply...I am actually about to purchase the Emulator X Studio
bundle that includes the 1820m.
I'm just a day or two away from placeing the order (thinking of buying from Sweetwater) so any timelu replys are appreciated !

rsher
Excellent!! You should wait until you get it and have time to check it out before you buy anything else at all. You might find out that you have everything that you need. That might not stop you from buying more stuff though. EmualtorX/1820 is just plain awsome.

Regards

I forgot! The one more thing that you'll want to buy is Chainer. ($60)
http://www.xlutop.com/html/chainer.html

There are others but it's still the best in class. With this little gem you can layer as many instruments as your CPU can stand or run as many effects as you want. Hell, you can run as many Chainers as you can stand. Chainer will load another Chainer and so on! All in one inset slot if you're that crazy.

You can go old school and build a VSTi sound module out of an older pc/soundcard. Then use it just like a hardware rack sampler or dedicated GM module ... thing.

IE: Proteus / M3r / D110 / Roland SC or whatever??

Here's a friend of mine..

Regards

rsher · Post by **rsher** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 6:57 pm

T-
Is there any way to replace the preamps in the 1820m? I assume they are hardware not software based. Am I correct?

rsher

.

rsher · Post by **rsher** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:03 pm

I frogot one thisg also...

Thanks for the great post, all of the link are very appreciated/I'll be busy

Tracktion Software

KVR Audio

Building a traction system for my children