Hi guys I'm T wrex, an up and coming rapper. I need some help..

I have 4 things:
1. a musical keyboard with midi outputs/inputs
2. a computer (+a mic)
3. a freeware audio editing program called "audacity"
4. a couple hundred dollars

my question is:
what extra cables/special soundcards/jacks/ports/shishkabobs woulld I need in order to record sounds from my keyboard and my TV/stereo on to my PC??

also...
is anyone here familiar with audacity? when I try to import audio files on it the program tells me it needs to be compressed and I tried all audio types and it still wouldn't let me do it. the only files it let me use was songs that were sent to me using AIM and files I downloaded off purevolume.com.

any help at all would be appreciated

Good questions, t wrex.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

OK, I found the software.

I record music in three ways, presently.
I use old LP's and convert them to mp3.
I use cassette tapes, and convert them to mp3.
I rip CD's to hard drive and convert them from .wav format to others,
including mp3, mp4, AAC & .wmp at various levels of "quality" and "file size".

Any of the above can be burned to CD-R disks, using a CD-RW internal optical drive
I have installed in the PC, using any of several software programs, most are free.

Several things I've sorted out about the various media players & the above issues,
and have thoudands of songs to play with.

Editting them, and storing them, and in general moving them around and through the system is fairly easy with practice, but some trial & error has proved valuable, also.

So, I have some things to learn, since you must have noticed no MIDI experience, etc.

If I knew the particulars of your PC and the other components,
I could search online like I did with the audacity program, and find
the specifications that will inevitably come into the picture.

That's your first step, posting more details, as others also may be able to provide insight into the matter, better with more details.

BTW, one more thing.
My motherboard is enabled to accept the TV-out feature, they call it JTV1,
but I'd need to buy that little bit of additional hardware to make it work.
Thats the sorta thing that will creep up and make us scratch out heads betweeen posts.

Hey T Rex,

I produce beats.
Sounds like you need a decent soundcard. I can recommend M Audio's Audiophile 24/96 for $100. http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_gb/Audi...e2496-main.html.
Quality is crisp and nice. Has 2 sets of RCA jacks, one for output to your stereo, and the other set you can plug in to a mixer (for your mic and keyboard). It also has midi and the latency is barely none (10 miliseconds). You will need to beef your RAM up to compenstate. So plan to get more.
I don't use Audacity, so I can't help out there. If you need help using the other programs like Reason , Fruity Loops, or Sonar for beats jus give me a holla on AIM : UNIverse360o


Peace,

Each One, Teach One

What type of audio files are you trying to import into Audacity.
You can only import WAV, MP3, AIFF, IRCAM, AU, and Ogg.

apparently not because on Itunes there are several different types and Ive tried all of them. When I get a song off kazaa, the file doesn't work. When I get it from a cd I own, it doesn't work. When a friend sends me a song on AIM it works, and when I download a song off purevolume.com it works.

If I knew the particulars of your PC and the other components,
I could search online like I did with the audacity program, and find
the specifications that will inevitably come into the picture.

call me stupid but I don't even know what you mean by "particulars" let alone how to find them.

and as for the first response, my goal is to get sounds from my tv such as video games, cassetes, and channels and dvd's. If I can get a sound onto a cassete tape (hoping i have an old stereo somewhere with jacks and cassete player) and convert THAT to an mp3 file (which I don't know how to do), then maybe that can be an option. It would be pretty hectic however, but if it's cheap then I can go that route.

do rca jacks mean you can get sounds from the vcr?

thanks once again guys and please excuse my stupidity..

Hi T wrex,

UNIverse360's idea of getting a mixer and a good sound card seems a good way to go. However you can probably use your existing computer sound to experiment with stuff before you buy more equipment . I'm assuming you have at least onboard sound in your present computer?

For instance you can buy 'off the shelf' midi to midi cables that will allow you to connect your keyboard to your PC's midi port (often called the joystick port) that will enable you to record keyboard tracks.
You should also be able to plug your mic into the mic jack (you may need an adaptor to drop the size down) to record your voice.
Then its in to Audacity or other programs for all the fun stuff. Not my area of knowledge sadly.

Another hint - PC Magazines often run articles on multimedia techniques, including step-by-step explanations of burning audio from external sources, and the CD's that come with the mags may contain trial versions of the software needed and tutorials on how to run them.

Good Luck.

naw, nobody using a PC is stupid, particulars = details.

One way to get fast details, and a lot of them,
so you can learn about what you have,
and talk those details is to download this:

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/everest.html

It is fairly easy.

download it, install it.
Open it and choose report from top.
All pages.

scroll down and read about the details of your machine.

then we can know specific things, as they might come up in "post conversations".

i am right about to send a weapon of mass destruction at this computer. I POSTED A REPLY AND IT GAVE ME A "PAGE CANNOT BE DISPLAYED" AND DELETED MY REPLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so now I'll reply again with the best of my memory...

For instance you can buy 'off the shelf' midi to midi cables that will allow you to connect your keyboard to your PC's midi port (often called the joystick port) that will enable you to record keyboard tracks.

I was going to do that but I know I would have just wanted TV sound eventually anyway with a soundcard. With that, I can also record my desired songs on to Audacity through the tv with my ps2.

if the rca jacks mean I can get sounds from the TV AND midi, then I'm in business. Please tell me how to find the particulars and then hopefully we can figure this out. if all this works I'll give you a shoutout in one of my songs.

one more thing...

does fruity loops or anvil or whatever program out there let you play with MIDI recordings? cuz I think i just read up on Audacity that you can only use the MIDI sounds as you recorded them, without copying, pasting, speeding up, repeating..

hey your up!!

so snapfiles.com will get me the info so we can figure out exactly what I need? thats good news...

I'll have it tommorow (its 1 am in MN)

*cough* - apparently I'm a bit out of date on midi interfaces and if your computer is new you may not have a midi/joystick/gameport. The solution is an external midi device connected to the PC's USB port.

You can find some basic info here: http://www.musicmall.com/cmp/tutindex.htm
See articles #6 and #7.

Connecting your Stereo to your PC is fairly straightforward but again you need cables to match both ends. Depending on your soundcard you need to connect to the 'line in' and 'line out' sockets - these are most likely 1/8" mini stereo phone jacks. On the other end you will need to connect to your 'Aux in' and 'Line out' or to unused tape 'Play' and 'Record' sockets on your Stereo - these are most likely RCA connectors. So for recording and playback from your stereo you need two of these cables. Even if you buy the wrong cable there are hundreds of adaptor plugs available which will get you connected. Here's a link with some good info: http://www.teamcombooks.com/mp3handbook/10.htm

Re the software - I keep hearing the name Cakewalk, maybe you should google it and look for equivalents?

BTW - when you get your system info following phawgg's instructions, compare it with these recommended min specs for running SONAR:

* Windows XP or 2000 (XP recommended)
* Pentium-class 1.2 GHz or greater processor speed
* 512 MB RAM or greater
* EIDI/Ultra DMA (minimum 7200 RPM)
or SCSI Hard Drive (s)
* 1024 x 768 monitor display resolution or greater
* Full duplex audio sound card or audio interface with WDM or ASIO drivers
* CD-ROM
* MIDI Interface
* Audio Interface or soundcard

Dear T,

I am not exactly sure what you are trying to do but I can help you with the MIDI issue.

I have not seen any MIDI input/output device come with RCA jacks. Correct me if I am wrong but RCA jacks have limited digital ability.

I am a Metal guitarist and currently use a guitar processor which I control from my computer via MIDI.

I use a M-Audio Midisport 1X1 with two MIDI cables and USB interface. Now this won't work for you because you will need more input/outputs. They make a 4X4 Midisport that should do you good.

This will allow you to hook your tables, mixers, drives, and keyboard/syn's all to one USB port. Or to several USB ports...4 tracks, sound mixer, external CD burner, and etc.

If you don't want all of this, you can go with the 1X1 just for your keyboard. You can pick up the M-Audio Midisport 1X1 for about $30 and the two MIDI 15ft. cables for $30.

Hope that helps,

Junkdk

ok my head is twisted in a knot. i did the snapfiles thing and got a description a about 5 books long. I found a soundcard at bestbuy that supposivly has everything. Its called the but then i looked at the midi in/outs and they look way different then the ones on my yamaha psr 175. so then i think maybe theres a cable that has different sides but that is impossible for me to search. now im gonna look into that teamcombooks site and see if I can every fully grasp the entire thing.

if theres anymore help, i appreciate it.

peace

hey junkdk,

i found a way with the rca bleep, but now what i need to know is what software did you use? i found out on audacity you couldn't use MIDI. im sure theres a way to go from one program to another with it though. I found a cable with 2 usb's on one side and 2 midis on the other (male, female).. all i need now is a program that lets me play the keyboard and it gets saved into the computer through the cable.