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For a list of all the components of a Tapeless or virtual studio, with links to various product reviews, see:
/studio/virtual.html.
Impossible to answer - there are just too many great cards out there, and
everyone's needs differ.
ADAT owners will love the Frontier Wavecenter, cause it has
optical I/O (which can be connected to an ADAT or a stand-alone DA/AD converter), as well as MIDI - but it's a 16-bit card, and so now a bit dated, as some of the newer cards use
24-bit, 96-kHz format.
For ease of use and powerful mixing out of the box, I vote for the
Digidesign Session. The drawback with it is that the wicked software only
works with the Digidesign card (although the card works with other software
packages).
If you want a tried-and-true performer, but only need 2 channels, consider
the Card D+ from Digital Audio Labs. They have a new version of the old classic that sounds pretty
awesome. The Card D has been around for a long time, so one might
reasonably expect to encounter fewer compatibility problems than with some
of the new hotshots.
For reviews of various audio cards, see:
/studio/hard.html.
It depends on what you need to do. Basically audio packages provide one or more of the following functions:
- Multitrack recording
- Audio editing
- MIDI editing
Cakewalk offers multitrack recording, and the best MIDI editing around, as well as basic audio editing. Also in this category are Cubase, and Voyetra Digital Orchestrator.
Sound Forge has the most extensive audio editing out there, but only 2 tracks and no MIDI.
SAW Plus and Samplitude Studio offer multitrack audio and audio editing, but no MIDI.
Note that although some packages don't have MIDI capabilities, they can all sync up with other software to play MIDI and audio together.
Noise reduction? Try DART or the noise reduction plugin for Sound Forge.
For reviews of various audio software packages, see:
/studio/soft.html
For CD recording, you need a CD-recordable (CD-R) or CD-rewritable (CD-RW) drive, and a CD recording software package. All CD recording software can do audio CDs, but special audio-oriented packages like CD
Architect offer more control over audio-specific features. CD Architect, however, won't allow you to create data CDs, only audio. Making backup CDs of your audio files (not the same as recording audio) is highly recommended, so you'll need a generic CD recording package such as Adaptec's Easy CD Creator.
You'll need:
- A good-quality audio card (see reviews).
- An audio recording program like Sound Forge or Cakewalk (actually any decent audio program will do).
- A CD-R or CD-RW drive (see above).
- A CD recording software package (see above).
Some kind of noise reduction software is recommended, to cut down the snap, crackle and pop. Noise reduction software works by taking a sample of the noise by itself (perhaps from a silent passage before or after a song), then removing from a sound file everything that sounds like that noise sample. Sound Forge has an optional noise reduction plugin that works well, and DART is a full-featured dedicated noise reduction package.
Be conservative with your noise reduction. Too much can make your recordings sound lifeless and artificial. Don't try to get rid of all the tape hiss, just reduce it a moderate amount. If your record has a scratch (or two), you can go in and fix them individually with an editor like Sound Forge.
Send your soundcard's audio outputs, and the outputs from your MIDI instruments, to an analog mixer. Attach the main outputs of the mixer to the inputs of your sound card, and route
them to two new tracks within your multitrack software. Mute these tracks, and hit Record. Your soundcard will now play back and record at the same time, while you use your analog
mixer to mix down.
When you're done, export the two new tracks (left and right) to a stereo wave file, and make your CD from that.
The short answer is that you can't. Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) is not an audio format. It only records and plays back a set of instructions that a MIDI instrument can use to create a performance. For more info on MIDI, see our MIDI Primer.
That said, there are such things as pitch-to-MIDI converters. This is how most guitar MIDI controllers work - the gadget detects what pitch is being played, and generates the appropriate MIDI note-on message. I believe there are some software programs that let you do this. However, it's an inexact process, and presumably only works well with a monophonic line. It's difficult to imagine a situation in which you would want to do this, instead of simply transcribing the part by ear.
If what you imagine is somehow converting a finished musical recording, complete with vocals, into a MIDI file, that's not within the realm of possibility. MIDI cannot record actual sounds in any way - just note numbers that tell a synthesizer, drum machine, or other electronic instrument what notes to play and when.
