EQUIPMENT SETUP LIST IN CAKEWALK

[Doug Crawford]

HI I'm Doug and I have always wanted to be able to play an instrument and at 63 yr I got the chance during the pandemic. If I had figured out that I could play by ear when I was 15 you would know who I am already! I have a home studio kit that I put together not even knowing that this is what I was going to be very happy to be in possession of at that time. I play along with my favorite music and have never gotten everything like it should be to be able to do what I have been attempting. I think it has  a lot to do with there being such an eclectic array of devices that windows doesn't know whether it needs to  figure out what exactly a since of humor consists of or whether to play along like Spock  failing to see the humor of the matter. If their is something that explains how to configure this and I can find it I can figure it out and have gotten close trying to post live on Facebook but it isn't consistent.  Or I'm not, my computer is a little slow and tries my patients and that is a good deal of the issue.  I will explain what I have set up now and hopefully someone can give me a clue. I am using a Baldwin pianovelle rsp that has a lot of Rolland, or Korg features of the 80's era for the $50 I paid for it I thought it was a Rolls Royce compared to the Casio ctk 2100  I have that got me going.  I use one of the headphone jacks on the front to mic 1 on the front of the Pyle,I have a cheap mic that I haven't got up the courage to get serious yet for mic 2 my computer line out is going to the source in on the back of it. My line out goes to a splitter that is for 1 stereo set of rca in and has about 5 sets out that are click lock and I push them all in at the same time so its basically a 1 in 5 out switch of which go to the bass and monitors and one goes into the sound card on the computer. There is a midi in out and thru that I bought a midi to usb pnp  with 16 in and 16 out channel that goes to the pc It works fantastic  I have about 1500 watts leftover because the bass and monitors are powered well. It would be capable of rattling car windows driving by wouldn't that be a switch! I just don't know how to tell the software what to look for and am not sure if it would find what it is looking for in windows. So far it has not. Thanks in advance for any help!

[bitflipper]

First, congratulations on choosing to do something productive with your pandemic time. Wish I could say I did as well.

But also a warning: once this hobby sinks its hooks into you there won't be enough hours in the rest of your life to fully explore it. No, I'm not talking about you being a geezer of 63. I'm 70 and have been doing this since I was 15, and there's no apparent end in sight when it comes to learning about this stuff.

I'd focus on the basics first. It's easy to get hoodwinked by marketers who love to convince you that the only thing standing between you and your certain Grammy is the lack of whatever it is they're selling. Don't buy stuff just because somebody here tells you to, including me. At this point you have a computer and some excellent software and that's technically all you need to get rolling. 

Think of your keyboard not as an instrument, but a data-entry device for recording MIDI. Software synthesizers and samplers can do a much better job of making sounds, and you've already got a few of them that came with Cakewalk. There are many free third-party virtual instruments to build up your arsenal of sounds. Explore these thoroughly before investing any money - unless you're very wealthy, in which case everyone here will be happy to help you spend your fortune.

The first limitation you'll run into is your cheap (your adjective) microphone going into a generic audio interface. Unfortunately, these two things need to be upgraded together, because a better microphone will have an XLR connector and won't be compatible with the little microphone jack on your computer without adding a transformer/adapter. An even better mic will likely require phantom power, which your interface probably doesn't support. We can recommend some inexpensive outboard interfaces, but first you need to decide how many microphones you'll be using at once, as that will be one of the main determinators of price. A good starter microphone would be a Shure SM-58. Those go for $99 and are extremely versatile. Every professional studio has a locker full of them.

But lack of those things shouldn't stop you from getting creative and having fun right away.

[Byron Dickens]

Start here:

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4ylp_4AhfKtyYYRWyp9B4v2CLm32__9P

And here:

https://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_Audio_Interfaces

[Doug Crawford]

Thanks  I really like the Pyle  I  can combine  my keyboards  and use the rythem on the Casio and still  have three more inputs .  I also have a 2 channel  Numark  DM-1090x  mixer that I never have tried yet. Also I am disabled and I found a place that helps out with computers that has I3 laptops for under $100 and Desktops up to I5 quad core for not much more and I have plenty of peripherals.  I would like to in the future to find a  good quality Korg Workstation that someone didn't need any longer or needed a little work. Thanks again!

[Starship Krupa]

Doug, I'll also welcome you to the (potentially) all-consuming hobby. I'm 60 and have been recording myself (and others) in some way for 50 years, starting with a mono Sony cassette recorder I got as a gift from my grandma. A small Sony mic mixer followed and with the addition of another I could overdub.

Anyway, in order to help you with anything, it's best if we can know exactly what equipment you already have, along with the specs of whatever computer system you are using. Check my sig for an example of this. Include which model of mic you have.

It looks as if you don't have an external audio interface as such, and since it looks like you wish to record vocals (and probably MIDI), it's essential to get one. The standard recommendation is the Focusrite Scarlett. Focusrite claim it is the best-selling interface in history, which I don't doubt. Either the Scarlett 2i2, which has two mic inputs, or the Solo, which has one, plus a higher impedance input for electric guitar or other instrument.

However, the two base models don't include a MIDI, which your Pianovelle requires to be able to record MIDI into Cakewalk. For the same price as the Focusrite Scarlett Solo, PreSonus make a 2-mic input interface called the AudioBox USB 96, which also has the 5-pin MIDI jacks required by the Pianovelle.