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#499133 - 06/20/20 08:30 PM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: Fran Carango]
Steve A Offline
Member

Registered: 02/08/08
Posts: 388
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
I don't like clicking a mouse when recording, & I also like FADERS. And when I get a routine down that works, I stick with it

I track basic tracks on the Arranger. Sync it VIA MIDI to my TASCAM DP24. Lay additional tracks. Cut VOX etc

MIX on DAW...I have yet to record on DAW, though I have PRO TOOLS & STUDIO ONE...I even bought the FADERPORT 16 hoping to use that, but haven't...

It may take longer, but I get my desired result...I love a Hard Disk Recorder over DAW all day long...But ya gotta mix on DAW if you wanna automate

_________________________
Steve A http://www.stevealtonian.com
Korg Pa4x 76...TASCAM DP24 & DP24 SD. Studio One 6 Professional with a FADER PORT 16. 1969 Yamaha FG-300 Yamaha Red Label Nippon Gakki. Breedlove American CME 25. Neumann TLM-49

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#499138 - 06/21/20 01:03 AM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: Steve A]
abacus Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/21/05
Posts: 5345
Loc: English Riviera, UK
Originally Posted By Steve A
I don't like clicking a mouse when recording, & I also like FADERS. And when I get a routine down that works, I stick with it

I track basic tracks on the Arranger. Sync it VIA MIDI to my TASCAM DP24. Lay additional tracks. Cut VOX etc

MIX on DAW...I have yet to record on DAW, though I have PRO TOOLS & STUDIO ONE...I even bought the FADERPORT 16 hoping to use that, but haven't...

It may take longer, but I get my desired result...I love a Hard Disk Recorder over DAW all day long...But ya gotta mix on DAW if you wanna automate



Have a look at Korg’s nanoKONTROL Studio or their other Kontrollers if you don’t want to use a mouse. https://www.korg.com/uk/products/computergear/nanokontrol_studio/

Bill
_________________________
English Riviera:
Live entertainment, Real Ale, Great Scenery, Great Beaches, why would anyone want to live anywhere else (I�m definitely staying put).

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#499856 - 07/10/20 10:40 AM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: abacus]
KN_Fan Offline
Member

Registered: 10/01/02
Posts: 492
I downloaded Cakewalk a couple days ago thinking, yeah this is a good way for me 'to get started' after not actively playing music for..ooh about nine years. BIG MISTAKE. Yeah, after lots of frustration, wondering why I couldn't even get the damn 'play' button working (on the demo project), getting conflicting advice from people ("Don't install Asio".."Oh you DO need Asio", oh just get the Focusrite driver there, etc) even after I managed to have somebody help installing the ASIO4all, I still couldn't get that thing working. So after Uninstalling it from my computer just now, I feel better..and wondering, maybe trying to accept that I've been away from this game for too long. Some people are keyboardist, some are software users/Daw Producers...I probably have to just accept I am not the latter. Like I told somebody today, I just want to spend 80% of my time playing/recording, 20% tweaking (percentage may change)...and not 60% trying to figure out software, 30% wondering why certain things don't work, and maybe 10% of actual playing. Sorry if I sound sour, definitely it has been a frustrating 48 hours. Somebody I met at a studio today suggested (and helped a little bit) Studio One..although yes it looks a bit simpler than Cakewalk (and seemed more intuitive), maybe I missed something but the free version doesn't have even the most basic sound plug-ins...and adding to the injury, I couldn't even get the Tyros hooked up to the computer. Could be the cable issue, or again I miss something in the set up (and as always, the owners manual didn't explain squat)...and this, I haven't even get to the Focusrite yet! (two weeks loan from the store).

And all I wanted was an easy recording from my keyboard...

Pardon me for hijacking the thread, I've been really frustrated since yesterday!

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#499863 - 07/10/20 03:14 PM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: KN_Fan]
abacus Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/21/05
Posts: 5345
Loc: English Riviera, UK
Originally Posted By KN_Fan
I downloaded Cakewalk a couple days ago thinking, yeah this is a good way for me 'to get started' after not actively playing music for..ooh about nine years. BIG MISTAKE. Yeah, after lots of frustration, wondering why I couldn't even get the damn 'play' button working (on the demo project), getting conflicting advice from people ("Don't install Asio".."Oh you DO need Asio", oh just get the Focusrite driver there, etc) even after I managed to have somebody help installing the ASIO4all, I still couldn't get that thing working. So after Uninstalling it from my computer just now, I feel better..and wondering, maybe trying to accept that I've been away from this game for too long. Some people are keyboardist, some are software users/Daw Producers...I probably have to just accept I am not the latter. Like I told somebody today, I just want to spend 80% of my time playing/recording, 20% tweaking (percentage may change)...and not 60% trying to figure out software, 30% wondering why certain things don't work, and maybe 10% of actual playing. Sorry if I sound sour, definitely it has been a frustrating 48 hours. Somebody I met at a studio today suggested (and helped a little bit) Studio One..although yes it looks a bit simpler than Cakewalk (and seemed more intuitive), maybe I missed something but the free version doesn't have even the most basic sound plug-ins...and adding to the injury, I couldn't even get the Tyros hooked up to the computer. Could be the cable issue, or again I miss something in the set up (and as always, the owners manual didn't explain squat)...and this, I haven't even get to the Focusrite yet! (two weeks loan from the store).

And all I wanted was an easy recording from my keyboard...

Pardon me for hijacking the thread, I've been really frustrated since yesterday!


Have a read of this https://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_get_started_with_midi.html and you should be able to get things up and running.

Have fun

Bill
_________________________
English Riviera:
Live entertainment, Real Ale, Great Scenery, Great Beaches, why would anyone want to live anywhere else (I�m definitely staying put).

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#499867 - 07/10/20 06:19 PM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: abacus]
KN_Fan Offline
Member

Registered: 10/01/02
Posts: 492
Thanks Bill. I do have an idea how MIDI works since I was in a studio, involved in a few projects myself although it was many years ago. The link is ver basic for someone who is fresh brand new into MIDI while i think my problem was more about wether a midi to usb cable really works, tyros midi set up, and possible windows issues as usual..

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#499869 - 07/10/20 09:41 PM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: KN_Fan]
squeak_D Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 10/08/00
Posts: 4715
Loc: West Virginia
What are your computer specs? Will you be recording audio into Cakewalk, or just plan on using VST’s? Cakewalk is pretty straight forward IMO. If you have a computer with an i5 or i7, 8 gigs of RAM (or more), you shouldn’t have a problem setting up Cakewalk. If you’re doing strictly VST work, you don’t need an audio interface, as you can simply use your internal sound card. Cakewalk seems daunting just looking at it, but it’s actually very easy to use.

If you want simplicity, MixCraft is probably the easiest DAW to use on a Windows system. If you find Cakewalk to be a bit overwhelming, then I’d also suggest not using Pro Tools either. Studio One is also good, but again for ease of use, MixCraft is probably the best option. It’s not free, but the standard version is less than $80, and you get quite a lot with it. Plus, you can use the SI Instruments that come with Cakewalk in MixCraft too.

Sqk
_________________________
GEAR: Yamaha MOXF-6, Casio MZX-500, Roland Juno-Di, M-Audio Venom, Roland RS-70, Yamaha PSR S700, M-Audio Axiom Pro-61 (Midi Controller). SOFTWARE: Mixcraft-7, PowerTracks Pro Audio 2013, Beat Thang Virtual, Dimension Le.

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#499870 - 07/10/20 11:07 PM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: squeak_D]
KN_Fan Offline
Member

Registered: 10/01/02
Posts: 492
Originally Posted By squeak_D
What are your computer specs? Will you be recording audio into Cakewalk, or just plan on using VST’s? Cakewalk is pretty straight forward IMO. If you have a computer with an i5 or i7, 8 gigs of RAM (or more), you shouldn’t have a problem setting up Cakewalk. If you’re doing strictly VST work, you don’t need an audio interface, as you can simply use your internal sound card. Cakewalk seems daunting just looking at it, but it’s actually very easy to use.

If you want simplicity, MixCraft is probably the easiest DAW to use on a Windows system. If you find Cakewalk to be a bit overwhelming, then I’d also suggest not using Pro Tools either. Studio One is also good, but again for ease of use, MixCraft is probably the best option. It’s not free, but the standard version is less than $80, and you get quite a lot with it. Plus, you can use the SI Instruments that come with Cakewalk in MixCraft too.

Sqk
My Lenovo actually has a good spec..i5 with 8Gig RAM. So no problem with the hardware itself...but very likely the Windows 7 is one of the issues. Originally I was going to use Cakewalk as it was recommended by my friend, but again...I spent 24 hours just trying to figure out why it wouldn't play when I click it. Cakewalk or not, originally I wanted to just record my playing, maybe download MIDI files, tweak/replace the sounds and replace some of the tracks with my own...and maybe add vocals. I did this a long time ago with my Triton and I thought I could do it again, but now as I've mentioned earlier it's just too much connecting different bits and pieces and who knows, many of my stuff (Windows, Tyros OS, etc) are already outdated. It's interesting how many people say Cakewalk are really straightforward, to me it's really complicated and definitely not intuitive in my opinion. VSTs yes, it sounds cool, but again..based on my experience in the last 48 hours...even when I thought i could use it in Cakewalk, I tried it again last night...no sounds were coming out. I will check out MixCraft just to see what it's about, but I think based on my mood in the past 48 hours (grumpy, angry, frustrated), probably it's a sign that I should just maybe stick to playing keyboard and not producing...a hobby should bring me joy not frustration, and right now I'm beyond frustrated.

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#499874 - 07/11/20 01:22 AM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: Fran Carango]
abacus Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/21/05
Posts: 5345
Loc: English Riviera, UK
I recommend you get a combined audio/midi USB interface for your laptop as most standard inbuilt chips are naff.
You interface will need Midi In, Out, Audio In, Out (In addition to any microphone input) and the ability to add (Or is included) an additional power supply, as while most interfaces should run on USB2, laptop USB2s are not usually the best in supplying power, which means they are not always recognised by the OS.
Once you have the above (They do not need to cost a fortune to get you going) just connect your instrument Midi & Audio to the interface, and make sure Cakewalk is using the interface for Midi & Audio. (Your laptop speakers will be muted in this configuration hence the reason you need to connect the audio output of the interface to your instrument, as well as the Midi cables)
I also recommend you upgrade to Win10 (It’s free) unless you have a particular piece of software that will not work with Win10. (Support for Win 7 is no more and many software manufactures are also dropping support for it)
Have fun

Bill


Edited by abacus (07/11/20 01:28 AM)
Edit Reason: Added additional information
_________________________
English Riviera:
Live entertainment, Real Ale, Great Scenery, Great Beaches, why would anyone want to live anywhere else (I�m definitely staying put).

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#499876 - 07/11/20 02:27 AM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: abacus]
KN_Fan Offline
Member

Registered: 10/01/02
Posts: 492
Originally Posted By abacus
I recommend you get a combined audio/midi USB interface for your laptop as most standard inbuilt chips are naff.
You interface will need Midi In, Out, Audio In, Out (In addition to any microphone input) and the ability to add (Or is included) an additional power supply, as while most interfaces should run on USB2, laptop USB2s are not usually the best in supplying power, which means they are not always recognised by the OS.
Once you have the above (They do not need to cost a fortune to get you going) just connect your instrument Midi & Audio to the interface, and make sure Cakewalk is using the interface for Midi & Audio. (Your laptop speakers will be muted in this configuration hence the reason you need to connect the audio output of the interface to your instrument, as well as the Midi cables)
I also recommend you upgrade to Win10 (It’s free) unless you have a particular piece of software that will not work with Win10. (Support for Win 7 is no more and many software manufactures are also dropping support for it)
Have fun

Bill

Thanks Bill...maybe sometime in the future, I'd go the Windows 10 route sans the Cakewalk...granted this time it's my Windows 7 that's causing issues, but from my time playing with CW for about a day, it's just too complicated for me...it puzzles why so many people recommending it and saying it's easy to use. I did try Studio One for maybe an hour and my impression is, it's definitely easier (somebody also recommended FL Studio and Squeak recommended MixCraft which in a quick glance they seem to be easier and serves what I need without too much of the unnecessary extras). As for now, I decided to just go back to occasional (actual) playing music on my Tyros 3. No computers, no Daw. Thanks again for your input.

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#499879 - 07/11/20 05:10 AM Re: DAW vs Keyboard [Re: Fran Carango]
abacus Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 07/21/05
Posts: 5345
Loc: English Riviera, UK
Before you throw in the towel, have a watch of the video below as Cakewalk should be reasonably straightforward to get into.

Have fun

Bill

_________________________
English Riviera:
Live entertainment, Real Ale, Great Scenery, Great Beaches, why would anyone want to live anywhere else (I�m definitely staying put).

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