Logic Pro 9 Users Group

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Comment by Edward Sparks on June 19, 2012 at 10:30am

Comment by Edward Sparks on March 28, 2012 at 8:03am

OMG!  I went to a free Guitar Center demo of vitural instruments and in the course of showing midi tracks of the instruments he was adding, the guy accidentally hit the "Score" button and I saw the notes on the staff!  I jumped and said "What's that!" and he said oops and I said no go back and then I went home and spent four days literally emersed in mdid and scoring my music...made my first lead sheet with guitar chords, etc.!  This is something I had been wanting to do for a long time and shied away from it because, being a snobby acoustic musician I saw no merit in midi at all, and as a result I didn't know the  Score area even existed!  Has anyone else had experience with the Score editor...thanks, Edward  

Comment by Edward Sparks on March 1, 2012 at 7:22am

This is pretty handy...

I actually got my hearing checked and then compared the results with this chart to help me to be sure I was hearing what I thought I was hearing for the instruments I am recording...fortunately for me, my hearing remains great even at 56 years old and the instruments I am recording are well within my normal ranges! 

Comment by Edward Sparks on March 1, 2012 at 6:07am

Yeah, I guess asking questions is the best part...I have only sat in on one and it was a basic one, but the guy really seemed to know his "stuff" so being able to ask him something outside the subject for that day, maybe afterwards, seems like a good thing...Thanks, Edward

Comment by Ken Rogers on February 29, 2012 at 5:32pm

Edward, I've been to all the GarageBand sessions at Guitar Center (more than once, I'll admit).  They're a good introduction, but no really in depth.  More of an overview, I'd say.  But you do get to ask questions.  Not bad if you don't have much experience with the aoolication.

Comment by Edward Sparks on February 29, 2012 at 8:21am

Hey just got this...Guitar Center offering free recording workshops on Saturday mornings at 10am (early for a Friday night gigger) but still...FREE!

http://gc.guitarcenter.com/recording-made-easy/?rel=email&sourc...

Comment by Edward Sparks on January 13, 2012 at 6:48am

Hey, a new book on recording at home...anybody seen this yet?

Backbeat Books Publishes 'The Home Recording Handbook'

Backbeat Books, publisher of books for performers and fans who are passionate about music, has published The Home Recording Handbook ($29.99) by Dave Hunter, and is now shipping to retailers and customers.   Gone are the days when home recording was limited to four tracks of tape hiss on a cassette porta-studio. Now, limitless digital multitrack recording and a vast array of outboard effects and processors are available to anyone with a computer. Add a few other essentials such as a microphone, some headphones and monitors, and anyone can have a home studio capable of making professional recordings worthy of airplay and release. What one might not have is the know-how to harness all that vast potential, which is where The Home Recording Handbook comes in.   In this latest entry in Backbeat's best-selling handbook series, author Dave Hunter shows readers how to make pro-sounding recordings without pro budgets and expensive studios, and get great results with the gear they have. He takes readers through tracking, mixing, and mastering, showing how to make each effective with minimal gear. He includes tips for drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, vocals and more.   Packed with tips and techniques, The Home Recording Handbook is designed to open flat for use as an easy reference guide and is supported by specially recorded audio tracks on the accompanying CD. This is an essential volume for the working musician. About the Author: Dave Hunter is a musician, writer, and editor. He has contributed to numerous publications and TV and radio documentaries, and is a leading reviewer of guitar amplification. His bestselling books include the Interactive Fender Bible, Guitar Rigs, Star Guitars, The Guitar Amp Handbook, Guitar Effects, The Guitar Pickup Handbook, Play Acoustic, and the Totally Interactive Guitar Bible. Dave records and gigs with the Molenes. He lives in Portsmouth, N.H.   The Home Recording Handbook Backbeat Books December 2011 256 pages Paperback with CD $29.99, ISBN: 9780879309589 www.halleonardbooks.com

Comment by Edward Sparks on January 10, 2012 at 2:38pm

Here is a link to a very interesting booklet in PDF form on building your own home studio...it's really great!  Edward

http://www.discmakers.com/pdf/home-studio-series.pdf

Comment by Terry Angelli on December 30, 2011 at 3:59pm

I uploaded an original song that I would be interested in getting feedback on the recording, not the tune. I recorded it on a Zoom H2 and edited it in GarageBand and would be interested in any input about how to improve my recordings.

Thanks!

Comment by Edward Sparks on December 9, 2011 at 12:57pm

And another from this site:

High-Quality/Low-Cost Recording

If you've always wanted own a recording system but thought you couldn't afford it, we're here to tell you that your time has come. With the onset of Digital Audio Workstations, also known as DAWs, the cost of owning a high quality home recording system has dropped about 5-10x every 4 years. All together that's a total 100,000x less over the past 20 years. In fact today's basic home recording studio package, which cost less than $250 is more powerful and sophisticated than the recording studio where I first recorded back in 1986, which cost about $150,000.

As time marched on, the difference between who recorded and who did not has become more about knowing how to use the equipment, which these days is mostly software, than who could afford it. And if you know how to use a basic Word Processor and move files around on your computer, then you're 80% the way there. While we won't dive into the details of how to use a specific DAW, we will point you in the direction of some very inexpensive solutions that sound fantastic.

The first thing to know is that there are three parts to a typical DAW. First is the microphone or instrument, second is the hardware interface, and third is the computer with software installed on it. When putting these together the microphone converts an acoustic signal to an electronic signal, which is sent via a microphone cable to the hardware interface. Then the hardware interface conditions the electronic signal so that it can be converted into a digital signal and sent to the computer using a USB or Firewire cable. Once inside the computer, the digital signal is written onto the hard drive for playback, editing and mixing in the software. It's that simple.

Although learning how to connect hardware interface may take a little time, it only needs to be done once and then you're ready record. The software is where you'll spend the most time learning how to record, edit and mix. However the learning curve is really not that steep as moderate use of most software can be learned in a weekend. Furthermore, learning the software is most easily done using video tutorials. Time and time again, I've tried to read DAW manuals without getting brainstrain and a subsequent perplexed look on my face to no avail. I've always found that the best method to learning DAW software is to find and view the video tutorials for that software. The best part is that these video tutorials are just a quick Google search away.

Now with the basic concepts under our belt, let's look at some great quality recording systems that you can truly afford...

Microphone: MXL V63M Condenser Studio Microphone ($69)

Hardware Interface: MXL MXL USB Mic Mate Classic ($49)

Software: Reaper ($40) - http://www.reaper.fm/

Total = $158

Custom Selected - Super Inexpensive

The first one is based around the availability of a relatively new, but extremely stable and well-designed software package by the name of Reaper. Reaper is available for free and instant download at the Reaper website. While the download is free and the software is not crippled or time-limited, they do ask that you honor their request for a $40 license if you decide to use it for personal use. They also have professional licenses available for $150, which shows that this is serious software with full support for professional plugins and such. The next part of the system is the MXL-V63M microphone, a solid member of a new class of ultra low cost large diaphragm condenser microphones, which are used to capture crystal clear and silky smooth vocals. Then to tie it all together we suggest an MXL USB Mic Mate, which is a simple inline hardware interface to get the audio signal into your computer. While this hardware interface does not accommodate large variations of signal, with the careful and correct gain adjustments you can get a great sound. As a final note, this gear is just a starting place. As you continue to record you will likely upgrade each piece of gear and the great part is that the connection and interface between each piece is standard and can be interchanged and upgraded with new additions as you grow into your new hobby.

Hardware Interface: M-Audio Fast Track MKII USB Audio Interface - Includes Pro Tools So...

Microphone: MXL V63M Condenser Studio Microphone ($69)

Microphone Cable and Stand ($20) - ask Musician's Friend when ordering

Total = $208

M-Audio System

Next we'll look at a bundled system where the hardware interface and software are sold as a package. M-Audio has been around for over 12 years making high quality and affordable gear. In fact they do this so well, that their main competitor Digidesign (now Avid) purchased and owns them. This system comes with the Pro Tools software package, which is the industry standard for most professional recording studios. However, don't let this make this the deciding factor as having a compatible system with pro studios only matters if you have the same plugins as the studio (software extension for mixing and mastering), which cost thousands of dollars. Keep in mind that anything you record on any system at home can be exported out of your software and into another software package using standard file formats, while maintain perfect sound quality. One of the great features of the M-Audio system over the previously mentioned system is the audio interface has a higher dynamic range, meaning that it will sound cleaner. As you can see we've mated the same mic to this system.

PreSonus 1Box Audiobox Collector's Edition Recording Bundle - With ...

Microphone Stand ($10)

Total = $229

PreSonus System

PreSonus is one of my favorite brands in that they focus on the quality of the hardware interface and balance it with features and price. I'm hard pressed to find a better value than these guys and the 1Box proves this in spades. This is truly a bundled system in that it includes software, hardware interface, microphone and even a set of headphones, as you will need something other than your built in computer speakers to monitor your recordings.

PreSonus FP10 10x10 Firewire Interface (Firepod) ¹

As a last note, all of the above systems are for recording 1 or 2 channels simultaneously; as most home recordings capture one channel at a time, also know as overdubbing.

If you have a little more to spend, you should definitely check out their FP10 hardware interface ($399)...

The FP10 has 8 audio inputs for those who want or need to record a drumset or full band per "take."

We hope this gives you the information you need to take the dive and start recording your own music at home.

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