total beginner please help

2013/01/28 12:22:08

columbia1982

hi there this is my first go at recording on a p.c and in all honesty i cant believe how difficult it is just to even just get going and recording a basic guitar signal! .im experiencing all types of problems and as i have mild aspergers i find it very difficult to find the answers on the forum and make sense enough to help me . it would be great if there was sumone in the uk that would be kind enough to allow me to call them now and again to take me through step by step and to tell me what settins to adjust etc obviously at times that are conveniant to you!!.. i have managed to record sum guitar but whats realy confusing me is this midi lark!! i have purchased a keystation mini 32 keyboard that i belive is compatible with windows xp?.. would i need 2 download drivers for it ? it didnt come with a cd i had to go on the avid ignite website and download the free software which i done but it wouldnt install on my p.c ?! im guessin the correct driver is amongst the avid ignite software ,(which wont install on my p.c) so how would i get the correct driver for the mini 32 keyboard? ive googled but it just sends me 2 the m-audio website and for sum strange reason it only lists drivers for mac ?!! im gettin sound through when using REAPER but on sonar 8 producer signals coming through but no sound ?! ive made sure all the basics are correct like monitorin on etc but still no sound?. it seems to me like midi is very complicated .. i just wanna connect the keyboard and set the sound patch i want and then record my takes the same as i do with my guitar.. why is there midi charts? !! i expect its very simple once u know how but at the min im ready to give up?!!! im using a behinger ac202 external soundcard and a soundmax intergrated digital audio version 5.12.1.5246 soundcard in the p.c and its a dell 3.00hz pentium 4 on windows xp sp3 and 4gig ram if that helps ... thanks very much

2013/01/28 12:57:45

digi2ns

First Id watch and study the videos in Cake University-LOADS of information there.

There are other videos on Youtube as well, just have to hunt and search to find reliable ones.

There are some things Id also do to the computer before trying to get to far into it such as disabling WIFI card, Set power settings for monitors and computer to "Never Sleep", turn off auto-updates, etc...

Heres the link
http://www.cakewalk.com/CakeTV/SONARU.aspx

BTW WELCOME to the Forum

So many people here that are more than willing to help

2013/01/28 21:17:16

Cactus Music

First, The Behringer USB device is well know piece of junk, I know, I ~~have~~ had one. There are no proper drivers for it. $400 software does not play nice with $30 interfaces and worse with on board sound cards. Your first step will be to purchase a proper audio interface before attempting anything with Sonar.
A P4 is minimal but will work, I have a P4 laptop that I use for live recordings, It just won't run very many plug ins before stalling. So once again your a little under the wire with that too. You will only be using 2.7? GIGs of RAM with XP 32 bit. You need a 64 bit OS to use more than that.

You will not hear any sound from MIDI until you insert a soft synth and select that as the output of the MIDI track your recording too.

2013/01/29 06:27:36

columbia1982

ok cheers for the replies .. unfortunatle im not working so an upgrade isnt realy an option at the moment .. any recomendations on a decent interface as cheap as poss? thanks

2013/02/01 16:57:57

DaveT

columbia1982

ok cheers for the replies .. unfortunatle im not working so an upgrade isnt realy an option at the moment .. any recomendations on a decent interface as cheap as poss? thanks

Look around for an Echo Audio Indigo PCMCIA card. I paid $50.00 each for the two I own. They work fine in my Sonar 8/XP Pro laptops.

I use M-Audio Midi Man MidiSport interfaces. I bought them for less that $50.00 each. Very solid and reliable.

Understanding how MIDI works takes some time. Keep at it you'll figure it out.

DaveT

2013/02/02 05:59:07

columbia1982

Look around for an Echo Audio Indigo PCMCIA card. I paid $50.00 each for the two I own. They work fine in my Sonar 8/XP Pro laptops. I use M-Audio Midi Man MidiSport interfaces. I bought them for less that $50.00 each. Very solid and reliable. Understanding how MIDI works takes some time. Keep at it you'll figure it out. DaveT

DaveT

columbia1982

ok cheers for the replies .. unfortunatle im not working so an upgrade isnt realy an option at the moment .. any recomendations on a decent interface as cheap as poss? thanks

Look around for an Echo Audio Indigo PCMCIA card. I paid $50.00 each for the two I own. They work fine in my Sonar 8/XP Pro laptops.

I use M-Audio Midi Man MidiSport interfaces. I bought them for less that $50.00 each. Very solid and reliable.

Understanding how MIDI works takes some time. Keep at it you'll figure it out.

DaveT

ok mate ile look into those youve mentioned thanks very much .. yer midi doesnt seem easy . by the way im gettin a new p.c next week .. its a lenova think centre m70e with 64bit and 8gig of memory and intel dual core processor so do u think thats gona be suitable for x1 or reaper . cheers

2013/02/02 06:05:04

columbia1982

helo mate cheers 4 the advice . that m audio interface u mentioned . isnt that just for midi? i was looking to get a decent audio interface to record guitars/vocals etc .. and wouldnt the soundcard that comes with the lenovo think centre be compatible with sonra/reaper.. thanks

total beginner please help

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