Ikaru
Max Output Level: -86 dBFS
- Total Posts : 214
- Joined: 12/13/2005
- Status: offline
DI vs. MIDI?
Hello-
I'm in the process of upgrading my DAW, which will include going from a couple 1/4" sound card inputs to a decent 8 channel firewire interface, which includes MIDI input. Until now, when I record my band, we track in the keyboard using the DI, but now that I will have a MIDI input, I can do it that way. What are the advantages/disadvantages of working with a midi track over analog? I confess I've not messed with MIDI (apart from extracting sheet music from downloaded MIDI files) very much. Thanks!
|
Guitarhacker
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 24398
- Joined: 12/7/2007
- Location: NC
- Status: offline
RE: DI vs. MIDI?
February 18, 09 12:13 AM
(permalink)
I love midi. First of all, Midi is data, and not music. A synth...either hardware of software based...will be required to get music. BUT..the advantages... you can easily change the patch or font.....from a piano to a hammond B3, or to a flute, or bagpipes.... what ever patches and fonts you have, all are available to you with a simple mouse click..... that's advantage #1.
If you are recording: advantage #2 to working with midi.... in the audio world, you have what you play.... make a mistake.... you need to record it again or punch in/out to fix it. Want to add something...same thing. In the midi world, make a mistake.... keep playing. At the end of the recording...simple enter midi edit mode.... the music appears in a staff form...like sheet music.... play it back, and when you find the wrong note...simply click it and drag it where it should be. Need to add notes or remove notes.... simply click with the erase button or click with the add button to add new notes.... You can create some cool stuff with midi edit.
Most, if not all the cake platforms that support midi (MC4 & Sonar) have this editor function built in, as well as coming with included soft synths to create music....
BTW: I have some info that might help you...on my personal site.... it's for people getting started with midi & soft synths. Check it out. If you've not used midi soft synths before, it can be a bit confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it...you'll wonder how you ever got along with out it.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
|
Beagle
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 50621
- Joined: 3/29/2006
- Location: Fort Worth, TX
- Status: offline
RE: DI vs. MIDI?
February 18, 09 12:17 AM
(permalink)
MIDI is fantastic - you can edit it all you want and you can change the patch on the fly to some different sound and not have to re-do the performance.
if you have a quality soundcard then latency shouldn't bother you, but if you don't have your reported latency to less than 6msec then you're going to have a problem with MIDI because of the delay between when you press a key on the keyboard and when you hear the sound from the softsynth.
|
Ikaru
Max Output Level: -86 dBFS
- Total Posts : 214
- Joined: 12/13/2005
- Status: offline
RE: DI vs. MIDI?
February 18, 09 12:23 AM
(permalink)
I'm assuming that will be in regard to the firewire interface to the computer... not so much my souncard, which will pretty much only be responsible for playback, yes? I'm getting a MOTU 8pre, which I gather is a pretty fair piece of equipment.
|
MurMan
Max Output Level: -70 dBFS
- Total Posts : 1040
- Joined: 12/10/2008
- Location: Sunny San Diego
- Status: offline
RE: DI vs. MIDI?
February 18, 09 12:36 AM
(permalink)
Definitely go MIDI for keyboard. It will take some time to understand it, but it will be worth it for all the reasons mentioned above.
The latency problem that Beagle mentioned applies mostly to using soft synths. Since you're recording a keyboard, just send its MIDI out to the DAW and don't echo the keyboard channel. Monitor the audio out of the keyboard directly. (Lots of ways to do this depending on your rig. A separate keyboard amp for monitoring while recording is one way. Your firewire interface might have a direct monitor feature.)
|
Beagle
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 50621
- Joined: 3/29/2006
- Location: Fort Worth, TX
- Status: offline
RE: DI vs. MIDI?
February 18, 09 1:14 PM
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Ikaru
I'm assuming that will be in regard to the firewire interface to the computer... not so much my souncard, which will pretty much only be responsible for playback, yes? I'm getting a MOTU 8pre, which I gather is a pretty fair piece of equipment.
the firewire interface is still a "soundcard", but you should not try to use your onboard soundcard for playback at the same time you're using the MOTU for recording. use the MOTU exclusively for recording AND playback. trying to use both soundcards will cause you problems.
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 11/6/2003
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: DI vs. MIDI?
February 18, 09 1:38 PM
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Ikaru
Hello-
I'm in the process of upgrading my DAW, which will include going from a couple 1/4" sound card inputs to a decent 8 channel firewire interface, which includes MIDI input. Until now, when I record my band, we track in the keyboard using the DI, but now that I will have a MIDI input, I can do it that way. What are the advantages/disadvantages of working with a midi track over analog? I confess I've not messed with MIDI (apart from extracting sheet music from downloaded MIDI files) very much. Thanks!
There is no reason why you couldn't record both at once. If your performance just happens to turn out to be perfect and the patch you selected on the keyboard is perfect for the song you won't need the MIDI track. Just archive and hide it in case you change your mind. However, if there are some small problems with the way you played you can use the MIDI track and edit the parts that need fixing. Then you either re-record the audio from the keyboard using the MIDI to drive it or if it's a software synth just bounce to an audio track. Also, if you decide the patch you selected on the keyboard wasn't exactly right or want to use some advanced software synth to get a more realistic sound, again, you can use the MIDI track, change the patch and output to make a new track. In the MIDI track you can edit when the note happens (time stamp) to fix timing problems (even pedal events) and you can adjust the velocity of each note if you hit a key too hard or too soft during the performance. You can adjust how long each key was held down. You can also add events like if you forgot to press the sustain pedal at some point just insert one exactly between the two notes where it needs to go. Or you can add pitch and mod wheel or any other stuff your keyboard responds to. This is handy when doing a part where you just don't have enough hands to control all the aspects of the sounds. Organ drawbars come to mind...
post edited by ohhey - February 18, 09 1:46 PM
|
Marah
Max Output Level: -71 dBFS
- Total Posts : 975
- Joined: 2/4/2009
- Status: offline
RE: DI vs. MIDI?
February 18, 09 2:23 PM
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: ohhey
There is no reason why you couldn't record both at once. If your performance just happens to turn out to be perfect and the patch you selected on the keyboard is perfect for the song you won't need the MIDI track.
What Frank said. The production advantages of having the live MIDI data in addition to the direct audio are many. And it'll cost you nothing.
|
ohhey
Max Output Level: 0 dBFS
- Total Posts : 11676
- Joined: 11/6/2003
- Location: Fort Worth Texas USA
- Status: offline
RE: DI vs. MIDI?
February 18, 09 2:58 PM
(permalink)
ORIGINAL: Marah
ORIGINAL: ohhey
There is no reason why you couldn't record both at once. If your performance just happens to turn out to be perfect and the patch you selected on the keyboard is perfect for the song you won't need the MIDI track.
What Frank said.
The production advantages of having the live MIDI data in addition to the direct audio are many. And it'll cost you nothing.
One note: In some cases your MIDI performance might not work prefectly with some other patch. For example I had old piano MIDI tracks from years ago. Back in those days my sampled piano sound has very little memory so the notes didn't sustain very long. So even with the sustain pedal down I could leave keys pressed down longer then needed and no harm was done. Well... 10 years later I try to send that MIDI track to Tascam Gigapiano and got a shock. The notes continued to sound and had VERY realistic decay so my lazy finger method of playing the song resulted in discord all over the place. I had to edit the duration of half the notes to get it even close to sounding like I played it while hearing the Gigapiano. So if the ADSR of the patch is way different then the one you monitored while playing the track it can be a mess.
|