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Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Well, I tried the Cubase program for a while. It’s more that what I want. I spent lots of time reading the manual & experimenting with limited success. It’s a very full featured and therefore complicated program. When I come back to it a week later it’s a major re-learn to get started again. It’s one of those things that to get the use out of it you have to make it a major hobby/commitment. I’d rather spend more time working on the fretboard than the soundboard. I like the editing features it offers, but the recording process is just to persnickety.
So it’s back to looking for something that will allow me to layer a few tracks on each other without becoming an audio engineer. Maybe I can find a way to record the tracks in an easier way and then use the Cubase program just for it’s editing features.
On a related subject, especially to Waskel who has offered me some good advise….. I’m finally having success with my VCR tape to DVD disc project. I tried to set up my recent computer purchase to take care of it but somewhere along the line something is unstable.
And before anyone else says it, Yes… a Mac would probably handle video-editing programs better.
Rather than attaching the VCR right to the computer, I now use a separate VCR to DVD recorder. Once I get the material on a DVD, the editing program in the computer works much smoother. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Brad, the trick is to not let a week go by before getting "back to it" . . .
Try t'give yourself just 15-20 mins. a night just "dickin' around" with it.
I was the same way at first.
I was constantly going back to the manual to look up something that I'd previously learned (tip: leaving the manual in your bathroom's a big help;-) I also ended up photocopying some of the key pages and tacking 'em up on the bulletin board in my Music Room as a quick reference.
Like a lot of things, after a little Trial&Error, it becomes a "snap" relatively quickly.
Now, the only major stumbling block I have is finding the time . . .
If y'think you might need some help, feel free to e-mail/call me. |
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Posts: 627
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | Brad, I've been recording on the Fostex VF160, its a 16 track machine that, works very well for me. I did use cuebase, and spent a lot of time learning it, but maybe I'm stupid, and went back to the Fostex. I think musicians are not sound engineers and visa versa. I've made some great recordings on the Fostex, over the past few years, and had fun doing it. |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | Brad,
ADS makes a neat little gadget called "DVD Express" that converts the analog signal from an input source like a VCR and captures it to your computer. It cost $77.00 at Wally Mart but can be had on eBay for less. I use it nearly every day as I generate extra income from folks who hire me to convert their family videos to DVD. Often old VHS/8mm/16mm tapes are moldy or in otherwise bad condition and require cleaning and sometimes splicing. But to do any editing, you gotta get the original on to your puter. The DVD Express unit is excellent! |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | Originally posted by Slipkid:
And before anyone else says it, Yes… a Mac would probably handle video-editing programs better.
Brad, I own a Dell Gen4 (XP) that will keep up with the Mac G5 for video editing. I tried out a few Apple G5s before going with the Gen4. Now of course, Intel is mfg. the dual cores for PCs.
I have Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 as well as Pinnacle (Avid) Liquid 6 and also Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 and 9. Roxio is certainly the most simple, non-challenging software and most of my projects are easily handled using it. (By the way, Roxio is now offering that software (EMC 9) at a Christmas discount 1/2 price for $49.00 downloaded which is a $50.00 savings.) |
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Location: closely held secret | Bradley, Bradley, Bradley... I told you to try ACID for audio recording.
And no, a Mac wouldn't necessarily do it better.
How were you trying to get the video into your computer? Via a camcorder? Let me know what issues you were having.
Check out an ATI All-In-Wonder video card, they have inputs for TV or VCRs. They even have one to make your computer an HD DVR.
I can't recommend transferring to DVD first. DVD recorders compress the video, and you'll lose quality, both going to DVD, then again when you transfer to the computer. As you're starting with VHS to begin with, you really don't want that. Editing with the source material is always the best. |
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Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | funny, people have told me to try acid also. |
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October 2006
Posts: 5575
Location: big island | I agree that the ATI All-In-Wonder video card is a very good option, albeit an expensive one. I used one on my former computer. I found the ADS DVD Express unit, which is an external device, to be considerably less expensive and loses no quality from the original source media during the conversion to digital. |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | Originally posted by alpep:
funny, people have told me to try acid also. al,
reading your sentence without the comma seems quite appropriate! |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by alpep:
funny, people have told me to try acid also. Hey, it couldn't hurt. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by Lanaki:
I found the ADS DVD Express unit, which is an external device, to be considerably less expensive and loses no quality from the original source media during the conversion to digital. Really? What format does it write on the DVD? |
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Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
Hey, it couldn't hurt. Just stay away from the brown stuff. |
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Posts: 7209
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | A key with most of these programs is DO NOT try to learn everything about the program to use it. Most of these programs do way more than you will ever need. I've been using Sonar (previously known as Cakewalk) since the 80's and there are still features and tools I have never needed/touched.
My suggestion is read over the table of contents. If you see something you don't understand or that you know you need, learn that process as you need it. You will be much happier, and less frustrated. |
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Joined:
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
Originally posted by Lanaki:
I found the ADS DVD Express unit, which is an external device, to be considerably less expensive and loses no quality from the original source media during the conversion to digital. Really? What format does it write on the DVD? |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Now, the only major stumbling block I have is finding the time . Yeah...that's the thing.
I've been recording on the Fostex VF160 Thanks,I'll look into that one.
A key with most of these programs is DO NOT try to learn everything about the program to use it. That is good adivise. I borrowed the Cubase equipment and have now returned it so that experiment is over. But it did give be a better idea of what I want to purchase.
try ACID for audio recording.
Please refresh my weak memory. Is that a program I can purchase somewhere or a shareware thing I can download???
How were you trying to get the video into your computer? I can hook up the digital camcorder right to the 'puter and get good results. It's when I hook up a VCR via a co-axe cable that things get shakey. I'm not to worried about perfect quality on the old family tapes. They work more for the historical value that the production value. The video tape ranges back 24 years. Not much quality to begin with. And some of it was transfered from 8mm movie film.
Thank you all for the advise.
No matter what the question, someone here usually has the answer.
BTW... What kinda strings should I use on my Ovation??? ;) |
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Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Round ones. |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | steel ones. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Brad, consider Cubase, Sonar, Acid, etc to be just like Microsoft Word. It has a ton of features and I just use 1 or 2 of them (basically to type and spell check). Occassionally I will need something a little deeper so I whip out the manual and find it in the TOC and away I go.
KISS is the best way to approach even the complicated programs.
You might want to look at RIFFWORKS STANDARD (by Sonoma Wireworks....don't get the line 6 version as it restricts you to line 6 interfaces) or Guitar Tracks Pro 3 by Cakewalk. These are simplier programs that have a nice feature set and are easy to use. I believe that both have free downloadable demo programs that allow you to try them out.
Another one that is popular and simple to BAND IN A BOX 2007 (or earlier versions) Not sure about demo versions but it is reasonably priced. |
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Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Sorry, Brad, it wasn't you I was talking to about ACID. Stephen's suggestions are good, and the same people who make Band In A Box (pgmusic.com) make PowerTracks, a great cheap multi-tracking software.
Here's what I do on video.
My digital camcorder (Sony), has a "Audio/Video" input jack on it. This is a 1/8" mini, but it's got 3 sections on the barrel instead of 3, and 3 RCA plugs on the other end. It's the same jack I can use to output to my TV, for example. My camera allows me to use that also as an analog input, and redirect it out the dv(firewire) output to my computer.
So I go from a VCR into the Sony cam via the RCS/1.8", and out to the computer via the DV cable.
If you have a reasonably new digicam (mine's about 4 years old) it should have this capability as well. |
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Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
...and the same people who make Band In A Box (pgmusic.com) make PowerTracks, a great cheap multi-tracking software... IINM (and I likely am), PowerTracks Pro, as distributed by PG Music, is really a stripped version of Cakewalk Home Studio (or something like that). At least, a lot of the people on the BIAB site talk about it that way. I never installed it when I bought BIAB, as I already have Sonar (2 through 5), so I'm not positive about that.
But, if it's true, then it seems like you'd be getting a good foundation in how the 'core' parts of Sonar work, so there's an upgrade path later down the line when you need more horsepower. |
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October 2005
Posts: 4025
Location: Utah | I've been using Guitar Tracks for the past few weeks and find it to be fairly easy to learn. It does a million more things than I'll ever need. The biggest part of the learning curve was the new words that it was assumed I already knew. Once I learned what a "clip" was, and all the other basics, it is an easy program to use. |
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The onward quest for recording equipment
