what would you suggest ?

[mazz]

ibanez is right, I think your Korg would serve you well if you can learn more about the part of the recording process that occurs prior to the Korg. Sometimes it's a simple issue of learning how to record a signal hot enough but not too hot and things like where to put the microphone, etc. These concepts are the same whether recording to a Korg or to some DAW so it pays to study recording as a discipline seperate from the medium that the sound will eventually end up on. That's an ongoing process/study that's as crucial to becoming a film/tv composer as practicing your axe.One way to make the learning curve a bit less steep and still be able to get some work done might be to record basic tracks on the Korg and then develop a work flow with your engineering friend where you load the tracks in to a DAW for mixing/editing. This way you could learn a little bit about the DAW as you go and grow in to it rather than jettison something all at once that's working right now. As far as copyright goes, I don't copyright my tracks one at a time. I usually hold off on that because hopefully they'll end up with a publisher or library and they'll want to administer the copyright for some duration of time anyway.Hope this helps,Mazz

[telaak]

thanks guys..i'll take a hard look at what i'm doing with the korg..I might even read the manual I know one thing that hurts my results is the out on it's either rca plug analog out or digital out..{also a scsi port }been using the rca - plug/analog out....then mastering to a tascam cdrw5000 stand alone cdr burner..but it ends up being analog...the tascam has a scsi port, digital in & out & rca plug analog in & out..been using it as a low quality demo "scratchpad" for so long I forgot about the other ins & outs..Questions..* what's a better way to hook the two up - digital or scsi ?* the mic/line ins are 1/4" - so i've been using cables that are 1/4" on one end & 3 prong {forgot the name of that} on the other end..would an adapter be better ?* the korg has a bunch of decent effects but has a loop for one piece of outboard gear - I have an alesis microlimiter I bought for some reason back in the day..what if anything should I have for outboard gear ?* I have a fader that's shot - last time I had it serviced locally I didn't see the damn thing for like 3-4 months..anywhere I can send it that you'd recommend with a quick turnaround ?* I have basic mic's - sm 58, sm 57, beta 58 & a rode nt3 condenser...good enough ?also - when I use the rode it's almost always a hassle..great results when I get it right but a lot of work to get the damn thing to work with the korg..do I need something in between the mic & the korg ? thanks for any help you can throw my way..later..john

[mazz]

I'd go digital from the Korg to the Tascam. One unit will have to be the master clock and the other the slave or you'll get clicks and pops in your audio. I don't think you can hook the two together via SCSI, I wouldn't go down that path. I bet the SCSI interface is on there for connecting a hard drive or CD burner, depending on the unit.For your dynamic mics, I'd recommend getting an impedance converter which is basically a device with an XLR connector on one end (the three prong thing) and a 1/4" connector on the other end. Then you plug your mic cable on to that and then in to the Korg. I think you'll get a better sound this way. I think you can even get them at Radio Shack.For the Rode, I bet it needs phantom power. I'm not familiar with the mic, does it have it's own power supply? Most condensers need power. Some have a battery inside but it's more common to have them powered externally either by a mixer/preamp or a seperate power supply. That's probably what you'll need to make it work. I'd stick with the effects in the Korg unless you have a nice reverb/effects unit you could put in the loop. Running a limiter in the loop wouldn't do much for you.I don't know about repairs, maybe someone else has an idea on that.Do you have a mixer, even one for a PA? You could use the mixer in front of the Korg for your mics. If the mixer has inserts for the mic channels even better because you can go straight from the mic preamp to the Korg without the EQ or other stuff in the circuit. All the Mackie mixers have this feature.All of this might sound like a lot but in the process of hooking it up and getting it running, you're learning a lot about audio, recording and studios, all of which are necessary to know until you're making enough money to hire your own team to run the stuff for you. A worthy goal but for now, you probably have to be chief cook and bottle washer.Could you hire your studio engineer to come over and get everything working for you for the first time? If you did that and took copious notes and drew pictures of how it was connected, you'd have a nice understanding of your studio and it would work. I've done that for clients years ago and they even had things like "push the red button to do xxxxx........". Whatever works.Mazz

[ibanez468]

Hey john,All I can say is if it took that long to get it repaired (3-4 months), you'd be better off (in my opinion) just purchasing a new standalone. It'll probably be delivered to your doorstep in a matter of a few days, plus you'll have something fresh to work with. Too much time will go by waiting to get the D8 repaired if that's how long it takes. You'll have to look up a repair shop on the internet though if that's the way you wanna' go. I'm not in NY. I know it hurts the pocket (Ooouuuchhh!), but we all have to make sacrifices sometimes to get where we wanna' go. I just unloaded a couple-a-hundred yesterday on yet another virtual instrument plug-in. This freakin' ride never stops. Settin' up mics and testing your sound, and all the other stuff is always a pain in the a**, but quite necessary to get as close to a professional sound as possible. But your mic list sounds sufficient for what you need to do.I don't think it would hurt to put something in between the mic & the Korg, like a pre-amp of some sort. I use an art tps II direct box, a dbx 1660a compressor, and a behringer parametric eq between my signal and the TASCAM 2488. Using only XLR connections(3-pin). Works out pretty good for me. Here's a great engineering book that I recommend. If you purchase this, and follow procedures, you'll end up with some very acceptable tracks. This book was created primarily for the musician who uses all the standalone & outboard gear. The principles in it may seem old, but they're still used to this day, and probably techniques that you're more familiar with. Name of the book is: "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording:How to make Great recordings at home from cassette portastudios to digital mutitrackers". Best recording manual out of all the books and dvds' that I own. It explains and shows all the things necessary to get good sounds into your multitracker, and also how to get 'em out when it's time to mixdown. Priceless for me. Hope this helps. Good luck.ibanez468

[telaak]

Quote:For your dynamic mics, I'd recommend getting an impedance converter which is basically a device with an XLR connector on one end (the three prong thing) and a 1/4" connector on the other end. Then you plug your mic cable on to that and then in to the Korg. I think you'll get a better sound this way. I think you can even get them at Radio Shack.thanks..clears that up..For the Rode, I bet it needs phantom power. I'm not familiar with the mic, does it have it's own power supply? Most condensers need power. Some have a battery inside but it's more common to have them powered externally either by a mixer/preamp or a seperate power supply. That's probably what you'll need to make it work. the rode has both..a mixer would be a good investment..wish I still had my mackie 1200I'd stick with the effects in the Korg unless you have a nice reverb/effects unit you could put in the loop. Running a limiter in the loop wouldn't do much for you.cool..I don't know about repairs, maybe someone else has an idea on that. might simply buy a new one..prices have come way down on those these days..Do you have a mixer, even one for a PA? You could use the mixer in front of the Korg for your mics. If the mixer has inserts for the mic channels even better because you can go straight from the mic preamp to the Korg without the EQ or other stuff in the circuit. All the Mackie mixers have this feature. will probably buy a small mackie 1200 - 1202 or even smaller if there's such a thing..All of this might sound like a lot but in the process of hooking it up and getting it running, you're learning a lot about audio, recording and studios, all of which are necessary to know until you're making enough money to hire your own team to run the stuff for you. A worthy goal but for now, you probably have to be chief cook and bottle washer.agreed..Could you hire your studio engineer to come over and get everything working for you for the first time? If you did that and took copious notes and drew pictures of how it was connected, you'd have a nice understanding of your studio and it would work. I've done that for clients years ago and they even had things like "push the red button to do xxxxx........". Whatever works. that's very possible..Mazzthanks Mazz..

[telaak]

Quote:Hey john,All I can say is if it took that long to get it repaired (3-4 months), you'd be better off (in my opinion) just purchasing a new standalone. It'll probably be delivered to your doorstep in a matter of a few days, plus you'll have something fresh to work with. Too much time will go by waiting to get the D8 repaired if that's how long it takes. You'll have to look up a repair shop on the internet though if that's the way you wanna' go. I'm not in NY. I know it hurts the pocket (Ooouuuchhh!), but we all have to make sacrifices sometimes to get where we wanna' go. I just unloaded a couple-a-hundred yesterday on yet another virtual instrument plug-in. This freakin' ride never stops. Settin' up mics and testing your sound, and all the other stuff is always a pain in the a**, but quite necessary to get as close to a professional sound as possible. But your mic list sounds sufficient for what you need to do.I don't think it would hurt to put something in between the mic & the Korg, like a pre-amp of some sort. I use an art tps II direct box, a dbx 1660a compressor, and a behringer parametric eq between my signal and the TASCAM 2488. Using only XLR connections(3-pin). Works out pretty good for me. Here's a great engineering book that I recommend. If you purchase this, and follow procedures, you'll end up with some very acceptable tracks. This book was created primarily for the musician who uses all the standalone & outboard gear. The principles in it may seem old, but they're still used to this day, and probably techniques that you're more familiar with. Name of the book is: "The Musician's Guide to Home Recording:How to make Great recordings at home from cassette portastudios to digital mutitrackers". Best recording manual out of all the books and dvds' that I own. It explains and shows all the things necessary to get good sounds into your multitracker, and also how to get 'em out when it's time to mixdown. Priceless for me. Hope this helps. Good luck.ibanez468i'm going to buy a new one Ibanez..and I actually own that book..it's buried somewhere in a box..gotta dig it out..thanks for the help..john

[telaak]

couldn't find the korg d8 {new} but found it's bigger brother D888 - works pretty much the same but has a lot more features & better in's & outs..you think i'd still need a mixer on the way in for mic's ?...seems to be a mixer in & of its self..also comes with cubase so I can master directly to my computer..could even sell my Tascam burneryou can see it here..http://korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no ... anks..john

[ibanez468]

John,I don't think you have to have a separate mixer. I just like my mixer better (mackie 1604vlz). Looks like ya' got everything there that ya' need though. Go for it!! Oh, and john, make sure ya' read the manual this time. You'll get better results. ibanez468

[mazz]

Quote:couldn't find the korg d8 {new} but found it's bigger brother D888 - works pretty much the same but has a lot more features & better in's & outs..you think i'd still need a mixer on the way in for mic's ?...seems to be a mixer in & of its self..also comes with cubase so I can master directly to my computer..could even sell my Tascam burneryou can see it here..http://korg.com/gear/info.asp?a_prod_no ... nks..johnI think this is a good unit. The fact that it has a mixer and XLR inputs is a good thing. The other big plus is that it records WAV files. In the past, these stand alone devices have used whatever proprietary format the company came up with. It also looks like you can mount the drive on your computer via USB and transfer files back and forth which is a great thing because you can do some editing and sound design things that you wouldn't be able to do in the Korg. I don't think you'll need an external mixer unless you've got a lot of synths or other things that take you beyond the built in mixer's input capabilities.I think you'll get up and running quickly with this since you are already familiar with the previous version. Companies usually keep their nomenclature the same from upgrade to upgrade and just add features. Then you can learn to use the software as you go. It looks like it comes with a version of Cubase which is one of the standard DAWs out there. You could use another one too. Since you'll be working with WAV files any DAW will be able to handle your tracks.Good choice,Mazz

[ginstl]

John, I agree with mazz and ibanez.It's an all around good choice for now and down road especially with the added cubase DAW.Greg.