Virtual Studio Technology-The VST Plugin

This is a follow-up to my article "Turn your computer into a Recording Studio". This article will cover what types of programs are available, how to set them up, and hopefully enough info to help the beginner work around any D.A.W.

www.hotconcept.net

Many Good Choices 

How much do you want to Spend ?

The D.A.W. is the software equivalent of a multi-track recorder, editor, and mixer. It also takes the place of many hardware devices such as reverb, compression and delay machines.
Some of the most popular are : Digidesigns Pro Tools, Cakewalk Sonar, Cubase, Ableton Live, and Samplitude.
They usually come in two editions. The limited or LE editions, and the full version pro editions.
Some of the "light" editions are Sonar Home Studio, Ableton Live LE, Cubase LE and Samplitude SE. Another good starter D.A.W. is Acoustica Mixcraft 4. You can get a good deal on it, or try it free here......
The main difference between the limited and the pro comes down to the number of tracks you can record, and how many features, effects and instruments they include.
If you can live with 8-12 tracks the lighter editions will do nicely. If however you have large amounts of cash, what the heck, buy the Pro versions. Lighter editions sell for aprox. $100. or less, while the pro versions can cost hundreds to thousands. Either way you will be able to record in better than cd-quality!

Setting up the Basics 

First things First

After installing your software you will need to specify some basic settings. Depending on which DAW you are using, look for a menu item for Settings or Preferences. There will be an audio setup to configure. You are just telling the software what interface you are using. Using a Tascam interface, you would need to choose that in your settings. Similarly there will be a MIDI setup where you must locate your hardware, such as Tascam Midi in. If you are using an external device for playback like a synth, you must specify the Tascam (in our example) MIDI out. Now your software is ready to receive and send signal to your equipment.
The music you're about to create is called your project. The next thing you should setup, is your project settings.Look for Project settings, or right click on the workspace.
An important one is Grid. This sets up the "Graph" behind your music.Later this will help to keep your timing accurate.
You may wish to setup the tempo of the project as well. To find tempo, look for a large "120" on your workspace. This is the default tempo . Look for a Tempo menu, or right click the "120" display to change the tempo.
There is more important info on setup at www.hotconcept.net

The Interface and Basic Operations 

Finding your way around.

Most D.A.W.'s have two main views. The "track view" and the "mixer view." The track view is where you will edit your music, and the mixer view is where you will mixdown your instruments into a masterpiece.
The track view is shown in the above image. The different colored horizontal bands are the different recordings or instruments. To the left of that is an area on each track where you can find buttons for Record, Solo, Mute, and usually a dial or slide for Pan for each track. There are other settings as well including a speaker icon button for you to monitor the track. Usually to the left of that is a dropdown box where you can specify the "ins" (your interface) and the "outs" for the track.
Another important control is called the transport. This is a set of controls that resembles the controls of a VCR, having a play button, record button and buttons for advancing forward, or rewinding.
If your interface is hooked up correctly, you should now be able to choose a track, arm it for record, push the record button on the transport, and you should be recording whatever is setup to record on that track.
This is a very basic explanation of your workstation. The workstation is an incredible tool with many different functions including recording, editing and mixing. 

For more info visit www.hotconcept.net . Also check out the review of Samplitude Music Studio 14
A.W. 

The D.A.W.

The next thing you will need is a digital audio workstation, or D.A.W. This is your software recording studio, editor and mixer.

These are products such as Digidesigns Pro Tools, Sonar, Cubase, Samplitude, Ableton Live etc.

All of these usually come in two flavors. The pro version which includes all the bells and whistles, or a "lite"version, SE, etc. The difference between the two usually comes down to how many features you need, and the number of tracks. Most of the lighter versions only allow about 8 tracks, however there is usually a way to cheat to get more tracks. One feature i do think is important to most people is the ability to freeze tracks. Without this, you will get much less out of a memory lacking computer.

Other than those things, either addition will allow you to record in better than digital quality. 

A couple of these workstations, i feel are a bit different than the others. These being Fruityloops, and Ableton Live. These two are geared more to clip based music production. If you dont play a real instrument, these two might be your choice. If you do play an instrument, you might be better to look elsewhere. 

One product in the budget line stands out to me, and that is Samplitude Music Studio 14. It is a light version of Samplitude Pro which is a very expensive professional workstation. For a reasonable amount of money you get the same audio engine as the pro version. It is a great workstation for under $100.  Check the link on my page, www.hotconcept.net for a special offer.

So, like everything else, its a matter of how much you have to spend.Just remember a cheaper version does not mean cheaper results. If you have a question on picking a daw, leave a comment.

Next time a closer look at the D.A.W. workstation. 

If you have an interface, and a daw, you are ready to rock and roll, as they say.

Your Computer Recording Studio

Being a musician, many years ago I purchased a Tascam Portastudio for about $500. Today on Ebay that multitrack recorder would sell for about $20.00. But thats a good thing. The reason for that huge depreciation is home digital recording.

Todays musician can record in better than cd quality, using an ordinary household computer as the backbone of his studio.

Would you like to be able to record your music in better than cd quality? Add backing tracks like other instruments or even voices? To be able to mix your music using high quality studio effects?

Well, you can, its easy, and its inexpensive.

This is the begining blog on turning your computer into a recording studio. 

it took me a couple of years to figure everything out. I read books, magazines and subscribed to countless online forums.I made many mistakes that cost me the loss of tracks, and the loss of a lot of time. If you are just starting out, you can benefit from my mistakes, and start recording your music in no time.

The first thing you need of course, is a computer. Hopefully a recent one with decent processor and loads of memory. I would recommend 1mg ram minimum. The more ram you have, the more tracks and effects you can use. Of course nice monitor speakers will help.

So lets say youve got that covered.

By the way, id be happy to answer any questions that im capable of answering so, fire away!

Anyway, the next thing you need is a digital audio interface. They range in price from about 50-2000. Quite the spread. A 2000. interface may have way more than you need and may not record or function any better for you than a less expensive one. 

The main considerations here are, what kind of port do you need? If you have usb inputs, this may be the way to go, at least to get you started. Most interfaces have one or more midi inputs, as well as audio inputs. Most will have phantom powered mic inputs as well. Are you planning to record many instruments at the same time, or just your voice and guitar. If you are pretty much a soloist, then an interface with four inputs will probably be fine.

Another consideration is pre-amps. Obviously a more expensive interface will hopefully have better preamps. Preamps come in handy especially for acoustic instruments. An acoustic guitar for example needs that amplification to bring out its soul, so to speak. The only other consideration at this point is if you plan to use Digidesigns Pro Tools. Pro Tools requires a specific interface while almost all of the others do not.

So theres the first step. If its just you and your guitar a two to four input usb audio/midi interface will probably do just fine. I am currently using a Fast Track Ultra. If you are low on cash, check Ebay. There are interfaces that would work fine for $50.00 or less. Be sure to check out my site hotconceptfor more info as well as great stores. More very soon.