Newbie !! need some advice.....

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RichardN
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2011/08/11 00:49:50 (permalink)

Newbie !! need some advice.....

Hello,
I am a newer user of Project5 LE, ver 2.0.1.66
My only MIDI device is an Edirol PCR-300
I also have the other Cakewalk bundle stuff- Sonar6 LE, Dimension LE, VST adapter 4, some awesome VST plug-ins.
 
I am having a gas playing with this stuff !! I am not really a talented musician by any means. Just a hobby.
My level is about at the stage where I can lay down multi-tracks and pretty much get the output I want, though not always.
I have "just" started to get serious about the Editor part and have been playing with 'time' and re-syncing tracks. Heady stuff, for me. Here, I get some very weird results, but I'm not worried. I just keep experimenting until I figure it out.
I am retired and have the luxury of time-to-play.

Here is my 'real' question:
I want to sing, into a digital mic, probably a 'Blue' brand mic., like the Snowball (with the isolation frame and spatter shield.)
I know that bringing in the audio feed is no big deal.
What I don't understand is this-- where the heck are any tools that can affect a mic track ??  That is-- where do I find the patches and/or 'whatever' to do simple brightening or maybe even frequency adjusting ?? Anything like a comb filter ?
Of course what I would drool over would be some cool stuff like octave shifting and chorus features (I know.. dream on...)
I know that a PCR-300 and P5 will never come close to simulating a Roland VP-770 !! But, what the heck..I can try.
I guess I need to emphasize that I am ONLY recording... I intend NO live usage whatsoever.

Anyway... If anyone has any hints, I'd really appreciate it. Perhaps I just don't have the correct product for this.. any suggestions ?? Of course I'm on a limited budget, otherwise I'd buy a high-end product.

This is the project I want to do---
Background- I have a little kitten that was a rescue. He went through quite a struggle to live. One thing that I did to help him sleep was to make up (usually - on the fly) funky little songs that I would sing to help him relax and sleep. I still do it, even though he is quite healthy now (4 months old, 6.8 pounds).
In any event, my girlfriend keeps telling me to record AND video tape these little sessions for the internet. Thinks folks will eat it up, as the lyrics are usually quite "Monty Python" in content. Well, I have the video down as I have been using an HD (1080p) camcorder for a while and have lights and editing equipment. So, I figure that if I'm going to do excellent video, then I must have excellent sound. Obviously the onboard camera mic is useless. I'd rather record offline and dub it in-- as only the kitten will ever be on camera (I'm way too ugly !!)
Thus we are back to this conversation...

Thanks, again, for any advice in this area. Heck, anyone who can "hold-my-hand" through this will get credited on the video which I'll probably put on Vimeo as they do 1080 format better than anyone (so far)

Be Well,
Richard
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    AT
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    Re:Newbie !! need some advice..... 2011/08/11 11:00:44 (permalink)
    Richard,

    Welcome aboard.  I assume you are using your on-board card.  That is your biggest drawback at this point.  The usb mics have gotten better, but one is probably better off getting a "real" music soundcard.  This will not only be simpler for recording, but also give you better sound coming out - an important aspect of mixing your sound as opposed to just listening.  If you have firewire and some cash, the TC Electronics Konnket 6 is a pro solution at a good price ($200) for a stereo in/out solution.  It also includes a pretty good mic preamp.  No midi, although you don't indicate you have any outboard equipment.  However, there are plenty of usb midi units available if you end up needing one.  There are also lots of other interfaces for less (and more!), but I happen to use TC and am happy.  Any musical interface/soundcard will perform better than your on-board card - not just soundwise but latency, which is how long it takes for the sound to respond to incoming signals (such as a key-press to actually hearing a vst instrument's sound).

    Usb mics seem like an easy answer, but w/ an interface you can get better sound and use a better quality mic.  IT is also a little simpler to use one unit if you are singing over prerecorded tracks.

    As to affecting voice tracks - unless you are using an outboard unit with effects built-in, it is very easy to add your desired effect to the recording or any other audio.  P5 has 4 effects buses, where you send a signal (say - vocal and backing vocal) and put an effect (say - reverb) inline.  You can also put a vst pitch-shifter on a track itself, so it just effects that one sound.  P5 comes with a good reverb and a multi-effect unit that is very good for mucking up a voice, tho it can't do the "cher" auto-tune effect.

    Have fun and don't be shy about asking more questions.

    @

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    RichardN
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    Re:Newbie !! need some advice..... 2011/08/13 13:42:36 (permalink)
    Thanks for the reply.
    Hey, I did fool around with a really cheap mic, like $6. I did get it to input through my RealTek sound card and I did get P5 to record it. What was weird was a strong delay, like almost a full second- between the voice-in and the audio-out, to headphones.  So, I think a real-time voice-over my other tracks is out, for now. I really don't want to fool with syncing to 'that' extent. Soo.... offline recording is looking better... much better. I do have Audacity and think I'll play with that.
    I'm sure I'll have more questions over time. I really think P5 is a good product for getting my feet wet and love playing with it.
    Thanks again, AT



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