VEGANGELICA

Hi, SATCHMO and Freebase,
Ahh! You posted new messages while I was working on my last one. Thanks for your support and suggestions! I do definitely want to figure out how to improve the recordings of my songs in a home setting. For me, this doesn't mean achieving perfection, because I realize that my skills are mediocre and may always be, although this doesn't mean one can't make music that one enjoys! :-) Also, my songs are driven by the lyrics, so less-than-perfect music might be forgiven by someone who actually likes the lyrics.

However, when I listen to the recordings I have made so far, I do see ways to improve the recordings (such as with the timing issues) that I agree should be solvable. Additonal problems are the pop at the beginning and end of the recordings (I always have the microphone on and then click on the ACID record button...perhaps I need to try the reverse or edit out the pop somehow), and ACID metronome ticks that seem to always be faintly in the background when I record a track using the ACID metronome (but listening to it through earphones, so there shouldn't be any sound reaching the microphone). The quality of my instrument playing and singing is a separate area I will probably always be working on!!
--Erica

ElephantSack

I disagree. Every time I have ever recorded in any studio, drums are always first to be laid down to track. One, they're the biggest and most complicated instrument to record. Two, rhythm and beat are the the foundation of the song. And when you record, its just like building a house. You start at the bottom with the foundation, get the basic structure of the song put up, and once its well put-together, you add on whatever extras come to mind.

My advice would be to start over. Record the drums first, then move to bass and guitar. And lastly, add the vocals. Trust me, it will be a lot easier next time around.

VEGANGELICA

Hi, Freebase, thank you for the information about the basic recording sound card, the MAudio Fast Track Pro (USB).

Here are answers to your questions about our computer set-up, etc.:
(1) PC SPECIFICATIONS (Dell Dimension 4600):
Processor: Pentium(R)4 CPU 2.80 GHz
Ram: 512 MB

(2) SOUND CARD:
SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio manufactured by Analog Devices, Inc.

(3) SONY ACID MUSIC STUDIO 7.0 BUFFER SETTINGS:
A. Playback buffering (seconds)–currently is set at 0.10

B. “Automatically detect and offset for hardware recording latency” is currently selected (to automatically compensate for offset between the time you initiate recording and when your sound card starts recording). The “user recording latency offset” is thus currently set at 0. Perhaps this is what I’d need to adjust, since the automatic compensation doesn’t appear to be compensating enough?

C. “Enable Track buffering” is selected (by default), and track buffering is 0.25, and I can drag the track buffering slider if I want to adjust the amount of audio that is prerendered ahead of the cursor position (though I haven’t tried this).

D. Under “Advanced Audio Configuration,” ACID says that for “INPUT” the “microsoft sound mapper” audio device (the one the software uses by default) audio buffer is on 6.

E. Under “Advanced Audio Configuration,” ACID says that for “OUTPUT” the “microsoft sound mapper” audio device does *not* have the following box checked: “Do not pre-roll buffers before starting playback” (so I assume buffers are pre-rolled before starting playback). It says the audio buffer is on 6. The “buffer size (samples)” is on “MME” (but other options range from 64 to 16384). Finally, it says “Priority–Time Critical” (which appears to be the highest setting of the ones available). I’m not sure what all that means, but thought I’d tell you just in case it is meaningful!

F. As mentioned above, ACID by default is using an Audio Device driver type called “Microsoft Sound Mapper,” which “allows the sound mapper to choose an appropriate playback device.” Two other drivers available for use (but are not currently selected) are “Windows Classic Wave Driver” (“Allows you to choose a specific audio device using a classic wavedriver”) and “ASIO” (“Allows you to choose a specific audio device using a low-latency ASIO driver”). Low latency sounds good!

(4) OUR MICROPHONE: Highball “Dynamic Microphone Unidirectional, 33-984C, made by Realistic.” I think this is quite old (over 15 years old). It certainly isn’t a fancy microphone, but it does have that metal mesh around its ball shape to reduce problems with p’s. This microphone doesn’t seem very sensitive, because anything more than several inches away is very difficult to record...sounds very faint...which is an advantage in a home with a 6-year-old not far away playing rather rambunctiously and occasionally shrieking for fun.

(5) INSTRUMENTS: electric guitar, acoustic guitar, Casio electric keyboard WK-110 with touch response and MIDI, Mapex Qr series 5-piece drum set with hi-hat and crash/ride (plus a splash I haven't set up), violin, tenor recorder, flute, trombone(!), and voice. My musical background is in classical violin.

I hope this provides you with the information you need to see if you have some recommendations in addition to the Maudio Fast Track Pro sound card that might be useful for us. Also, if these recommendations are similar to ones you gave someone in a previous thread, please just let me know so that you don’t have to type out everything again (or cut and paste) for yet another person! I really do appreciate you taking time to help me with this issue and share your knowledge. –Erica

Freebase Dali

Thanks for putting that info together, Erica.
I'll do this in the order of your list.


(1) Computer specs
Your processor speed is ok. I'm not going to say you wouldn't benefit from dual core or higher, but we're not trying to build you a gaming computer. You should do fine with your processor's handling of Acid.

Your RAM, however, needs some help. Even if you didn't record on your computer, you'd be far better off with at LEAST 1 gig of RAM. But especially (and this ties into your latency problems) that you record on your computer, you can be sure that a good portion of your issues are a result of only having 512MB of RAM.
Recommendation:
Since your computer (and I checked) has 2 sticks of 256MB RAM, it'd be best for you to buy two (of the same type) sticks of 512. You have four DIMM slots, but I didn't look into your motherboards' specs to determine whether your computer is equipped to handle more than 1 or 2 gigs of RAM. I venture to say you could handle 2 gigs, but I don't see you needing more than a gig for your specific application. I'd recommend 2 gigs, but I think you could get away with 1. Either way, two 512MB sticks are dirt cheap. But if you want reliability, look into Corsair or Kingston. Just make sure that the type of RAM is the same as the RAM in your computer, which you should check before buying more RAM. (See notes at the end regarding technical questions)

(2) Sound Card:
7 letters: UPGRADE.
It's not a question... you WILL benefit from having a recording dedicated sound card. After looking around, this is probably the best decision for you:
Lexicon - Lambada
If you're looking to pay something less, then you could always grab one of these:
Lexicon - Alpha
Thing is, you're obviously not trying to outfit yourself with a high-end studio. You just need gear that's going to allow you to do what you need to do without any problems, and still do it better. The above two options will do that, and they do it very cheaply. I spent a lousy 600 dollars on my audio interface, but honestly, I barely use half of its capability. I would advise that you get what you need, regardless of any other audio snobs who may scoff at the notion that you'd buy anything but the best and most expensive gear available.

(3) Settings:
B. No, don't worry about this. It's basically delay compensation and it is crap if it's totally relied on. Since you'll hopefully be getting an acceptable sound card and upping your RAM, this shouldn't be an issue. Even if you were to experiment with delay compensation, and you might get ok results, you're going to be hard pressed to get consistent ones, because delay compensation only works well when it's not in constant demand. And of course, it relies on your RAM, so just leave it is for now.

C. Track Buffering simply means that it will store the track audio in a particular amount of RAM so that your playback of them is more smooth and with less drop-outs. Obviously this is a situation you'd need to think about. Which is more important, Quicker operation and results? Or smoother playback of audio?
You'll find that if you increase the number on the buffer slider, you'll get less audio drop-outs and more consistent audio (but this only relates to playback, aka, you monitoring it... NOT the actual recording).
If you decrease the number on the buffer slider, you'll have less latency when recording into the tracks, and you'll have less delay between actions composed via MIDI and especially between recorded audio and MIDI programmed synthesizers and drums in the program.

F. Microsoft Sound Mapper is a disgustingly horrible excuse for a sound driver. So is the other one. Choose ASIO. It's the standard. ASIO drivers, which you apparently have, are usually the best reacting drivers with most of today's DAWs. Sony's Acid should have no problem utilizing ASIO. But really it's not up to Acid, it's up to your sound-card. I can't speak for yours, but if you get a recording sound card, you'll want to use ASIO, no doubt.

(4) Microphone:
I won't get into a big spiel about the importance of quality microphones, but you obviously need something that will be able to effectively pick up close vocals without picking up too much of the background. The industry standard is a Shure SM58. Not extremely expensive, but it will last you a lifetime. Look into that. Plus, it's dynamic, so you don't have to worry about phantom powering or anything like that. It would be completely compatible with the sound-cards I mentioned. (as they have their own pre-amps)

(5) Other:
Looks like you've got a lot of other sources waiting to be recorded. But you apparently know the concept of tracking, so just to let ya know, you can record all your instruments with the simple setup I've outlined.
You might eventually outgrow Acid, but for the time being, it will allow you to achieve what you're trying to achieve.

I hope this has been helpful.
Also, if you have any technical questions regarding the purchase or installation of particular computer parts related to my recommendations, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks,
J.

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VEGANGELICA

Freebase, thank you very much for all your suggestions, which we will use, such as getting 1 or perhaps 2 (if that works with our system) sticks of RAM that match our current ones, purchasing a Shure SM58 microphone, and a sound card intended for recording music. If I were wearing a hat like Obama, I'd tip it to show my gratitude! Truly, thank you. --Erica

PerFeCTioNThrUSileNCe

That has nothing to do with what I said about ACID at all. And I know the process of studio recording. Not only have I been in a band that has recorded multiple times, but I'm majoring in audio engineering.

The pops at the beginning and end of the track are normal. If you do punch-ins and spot edits you'll get them in the middle of the tracks as well. I'm not sure what the equivalent is in ACID but in ProTools there's a waveform editing tool (a pencil that allows you to redraw the waveform). Find where the pop is in the waveform (it may be a tedious process) and smooth out that section.

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VEGANGELICA

Thanks for the tip, pERfEctIOntHRusILEncE,
I'll have to look into how to use the waveform editing tool, which I've never done (having never edited my tracks before). I just know I was surprised by the pops because when listening to the tracks/songs, say at the very beginning, the track appears to be flatline, and I can't *hear* the pop until I save the song as an MP3, so I didn't think to look at an expanded view of the tracks and check for noise. Thanks again for your help!
--Erica

Freebase Dali

The pops may not be caused by a peak in the recording itself, but a hard transition from having no sound, to having sound (even if it's just background noise). Although it's weird that you don't hear that until export.
If that's the case, the simple fix is, prior to exporting, to create a volume envelope that quickly ramps up from no sound, up to normal level. Obviously, you'll want a little lead time to do this in, but you wouldn't need more than a second of time for it to be effective.

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VEGANGELICA

Thanks! I'll look into making a volume envelope. I hadn't thought of that.
--Erica

bluesman

I agree with ELEPHANTSACK,

You've gotta start with the foundation and work your way up.