Basic question about recording

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musicguy569
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Basic question about recording

Post by musicguy569 »

So, I'm an independent music teacher. I have DP. Totally new to recording audio.

I have a microphone and I need to record my singing into a DP project. The microphone has a thick cable on the end of it. Do I need a Pro-Tools M-Box as the go-between for the mic and computer?

On a related note, I have an electronic keyboard and I want to record from the keyboard into DP. Can I use the Pro-Tools M-Box to do this?

Is there a better product to use?
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MIDI Life Crisis
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Re: Basic question about recording

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

There are a lot of audio and MIDI interfaces. What you get is based on the best port in you Mac. USB should be fine for simple audio. The M-box is probably waaaay overkill. Google "audio devices for Mac" or call Sweettwater Music. They'll set you up or at least tell you what your options are.
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musicguy569
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Re: Basic question about recording

Post by musicguy569 »

I did google audio/MIDI interfaces that are cheaper.

Just wondering, why would an ProTools mbox be overkill?
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mikehalloran
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Re: Basic question about recording

Post by mikehalloran »

Just wondering, why would an ProTools mbox be overkill?
One microphone and one instrument?

You have lots of choices from MOTU, Focusrite and others in the $149-249 price range. No need to spend more.

How you want to monitor will have an effect on what works the best.
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MIDI Life Crisis
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Re: Basic question about recording

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

mikehalloran wrote:
Just wondering, why would an ProTools mbox be overkill?
One microphone and one instrument?
MOTU, Focusrite and others in the $149-249 price range. No need to spend more.
I suppose it's built well enough but specifically for PT, but I'd much rather go with a MOTU or Focusrite device. The track 16 from MOTU is also probably overkill, but if you want a rock solid interface, that or any other MOTU device is likely to work better with DP.
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stubbsonic
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Re: Basic question about recording

Post by stubbsonic »

It sounds like right now you probably could get by with may be 2-4 audio inputs, and MIDI in and out.

This way you could record a few things simultaneously if you need to, or you can layer them in one at a time.

There are a couple really important things to understand.

First, audio. If your mic has a big connecter with 3 "pins" inside it, it is probably an "XLR" connector. You will need an interface with XLR connectors that a built-in mic pre-amp. The other kinds of connectors are 1/4" (like a guitar cable) and RCA (like on older stereo equipment. You probably won't need RCA connectors, but 1/4" and XLR are pretty useful. You can sometimes just record the audio output of your keyboard.

But what can be more flexible and useful is to record the MIDI output of your keyboard (if it has either USB or MIDI connectors on the back). So a word about MIDI. You can record the notes you play into DP then edit those notes and send them to either play your keyboard, or send them to a different "virtual instrument" on your computer. DP comes with a few VIs.

You'ld probably be safe to choose a USB interface. If you computer has firewire, you might be able to find a deal on a used firewire interface. MOTU makes good ones. RME makes good ones. I think there are quite a few good options for interfaces that will do what you need and not be obsolete any time soon.

Let us know what kind of computer you have and we can get more specific.
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