I'm currently using Cakewalk 6.0 as my sequencer (This version is old as hell, but i know it inside out) and I have 3 synths and 2 sampler connected to a Midiman USB Midisport 8x8. My PC (1.44 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 120 GB harddrive) has a crappy Hercules Gamesurround Muse XL soundcard.

I use MIDI exclusivly (no harddiskrecording) when i make music and I'm experiencing that it's not always as "tight" as I want it to be. Especially when I put fat chords on top of hi-hats and other stuff.

My questions are: If I buy a better soundcard, Echo Mia or something similar, will this fix my problem? Or do you recommend changing sequencer software? Or maybe record synthriffs etc. on to my PC (this I actually don't want to do because that means alot of extra work if I decide to transpose or change some notes)?

Please help me out here!

This is another one of these posts where they will no doubt be a massive que of "experts" all dying to tell you what to do.

Well... for what it's worth, here's my two cents worth:

I was plagued with a midi problem for around 4 years and I dare say it was probably the same thing you're talking about.

What was happening was if I had a simple tune, then it would play back fine, but if I had an elaborate very busy song, then it would tend to stutter on playback. It was kind of like having a drummer who couldn't *quite* play on time cos he was a little bit drunk.

To this day I'm not entirely sure what the problem was caused by, but from my own research I can absolutely confirm for you that changing the software will NOT solve the problem.

As for buying a new soundcard? Hmmmm... well, I'm not sure.

One thing that's absolutely GUARANTEED to solve the problem however is to record each of your midi tracks as individual audio tracks.

Now, I know that's not the answer you want to hear... but trust me- you will not look back!

Like I say... I had the same problem ruining my life for around 4 years. I was just like you! I used to swear by midi and I wasn't interested in all the fuss that comes with audio. But two years ago I started tuning into the audio vibe and I can honestly say it's opened a whole new world for me!

Using audio is not going to restrict you at all- but using only midi tracks already IS restricting you!

I mean you mentioned transposing. I say "big deal!" If you're really desperate to change keys then you can always revert back to your old midi files and make a new audio recording in a matter of minutes.

Listen man... you've GOT to tune into audio! You've got to remove this barrier that you've got in your mind about audio being a lot of extra work. Just think of all the things you'll be able to do!!! Think of all the effects, the reverbs, the EQing, and the tweaking that you're missing out on!

Audio is fun. Audio is freedom. Audio is where the action is!

I'm sorry about the longwinded response but if your story is anything like mine then I know that this has been making your life a misery.

You've got a very powerful computer. Use it!

Ima bout to Buy a Sound Card.. what do yall recomend i get.. i got the Korg Triton and i want to hook that up to this lil EuroTrack Guitar Center just gave me fo free.. cuz they felt sorry for my poor ass.. and i want to run that to my Midi Sound card once i get that.. what midi card should i get?

Im ofcourse gettin something that don't cost an arm and a leg and from Guitar Center.

Does Circut City sell midi soundCards? If so whats a good one to get.. cuz Midi = Pro stuff.

I got me a Dang on Creative lab 5.1 sound blaster or something.. i don't think thats a midi sound card. Earlier some person was trying to tell me that the Joy Stick thing port on my soundCard was also my midi port... is this true?

ALso I seen Midi soundCards that have a three prung mic port so you can plug a condencer mic str8 to your Midi soundcard. Isn't that the best one i should get? then using th joy stick one on my creative lab.

Well, if you guys had Yamaha keyboards or synths you wouldn't need a sound card at all. You can connect the synth via a com port and the sequencer talks to the Yamaha driver directly. So I have Cakewalk and PowerTracks and a bunch of other stuff on my laptop and make all the noises on my PSR740 where I have over 700 instruments, 4 DSPs, up to 102 effects per DSP and up to 16 parameters per effect. Enough there to keep me busy for years.

Bryan

Equalizer: Thanks for taking time to answer so good.

OK, let's say I start with audio recording on to my PC. What software do you recommend? I've tried that with Cakewalk 6.0, but it's even more messed up than when I use MIDI. The "drunk drummer" is not the problem this time though, it's more like my PC lacks polyphony or something 'cause I can only play about 5-6 audio tracks at once.

I've been looking into Cubase SX a bit, but honestly I can get the damn thing to work...

I have so many ideas for huge, epic elecronic music and the only thing holding me back is this technical shit.

[This message has been edited by Tinnitus (edited 12-19-2002).]

^^ Feels your pain brotha!!!.. i usta have problems with Recording and it would sound all messed up and some times choppy but when i got a better computer with mor "RAM" all that cleared up..

maybee you need more ram.. also do some check ups on your sound card.. see if it gets bad ratings and if other people are having the same problems as you.

you'll get to the bottom of this one way or the other.

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"Im sick of living in hell, I don't want to die and go to Hell".

All you need to do to be totally up and running is to get hold of a slightly better soundcard. Now... I can almost hear your gasp of disappointment from here at the thought of having to cough up a fortune for a pro audio sound card, but there's some good news...

You do not NEED to buy a mega expensive pro audio sound card. Yes- it would help. Yes- it may be something for the future. Yes- it would have more features. But right now you'll get by on a Soundblaster 5.1 Value card. You'll get one for around $20 and it'll get you up and running with midi and multiple audio tracks too.

This is a contraversial subject and I've often got a lot of stick in here for always giving the thumbs up to cheapo sound cards, but believe me... you *can* get away with them if you're desperate. If you've got the money for a pro audio card then all the better!!!

As for software.. well, it's all a matter of personal choice but for what it's worth I would recommend Cubase cos I'm a bit of a sheep and I like the idea of sticking with the rest of the herd (more books, more virtual instruments, more effects plug-ins, more websites, more users to get advice from... etc).

I've never used Cubase SX and I don't know much about it, but I'm using the slightly older Cubase version 5 and so far I have nothing but good things to say about it.

I've also read that Cubase and Cakewalk have quite similar layouts, so the changeover shouldn't be too painful should you go in that direction.

Listen... don't be put off with the idea of having to suddenly go through the slow and painful nightmare of *learning* how to make music using audio tracks.

I wasted 4 years of my life trapped in the world of MIDI, thinking that MIDI was all I'd ever need and that the audio world was just some worthless venture for geeks who liked looking at oscillators in their spare time.

But let me tell you... if you put your mind to it you can learn pretty much everything you *need* to know about audio recording in a day or two.

I've only been tuning into audio for 2 years, but already some very good things have been happening for me. It really has opened a whole new exciting world and I urge you to liberate yourself from midi and give it a go!
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Get a new soundcard. Tune into the audio vibe.

Good luck!

Equalizer is right. Any sound card will do for MIDI. MIDI is really only a COM port running at 31.25kHz with a special hardware interface to give electrical isolation between instruments. The real problem is the low speed of 31.25kHz which was set back in the days of slow technology. That's only 3.125kB (including start and stop bits) and each note will take at least two bytes. If you are trying to send too many notes down the pipe then things will get choppy and there's nothing in the world to cure that. What we need is a faster MIDI but who knows when that will happen.

Bryan

Thanks again!

You have been really helpful. I just passed an order for the Echo Mia soundcard after reading your reply. It'll cost me 2990 norwegian kroner (about $420). But it's no big deal for me. I just want to be able to make serious music.

My curiosity is killing me. Where can I find out more info on audio vs midi?

Thanks,
Magnaman

Search this forum for starters. We've been down that road many times.

-tek