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Whether you're a solo musician or have a whole band to play with, the computer is the most versatile home or project studio and you probably already have all you need to get started. A computer will add to your musical arsenal not take anything away, so you can use your existing gear together with the computer and this book will show you how.
Included with the book is a CD containing a fully working demo version of Steinberg's studio recording software Cubase SX, and other useful bits like software guitar effects and a tuner. This book will take you through the easy steps of recording and producing music on your computer, with example songs and detailed illustrations to remove any doubts or confusion over what can actually be achieved.
You'll find everything you need in these pages including explanations of what's going on, a comprehensive guide to what you need, what you can do and how to do it.
Little did you know that inside that beige coloured box sitting under your desk beats the heart of an awesome recording and music production machine.
Robin Vincent is technical director of Carillon Audio Systems, where he designs and builds computer music studios. He also manages the PC music side of London's famous Turnkey music shop, and he fields questions from would-be PC musicians all day long so he's got all the answers.
| Starting with the familiar | p. 1 |
| The average guitarist's home studio | p. 1 |
| Installing the software from the CD-ROM | p. 4 |
| Setting up the tuner | p. 6 |
| Setting up Cubase SX | p. 7 |
| Setting up Amplitube | p. 12 |
| Playing the demo song | p. 12 |
| Let's record some guitar | p. 15 |
| Plugging the guitar into the computer | p. 17 |
| Using the line input | p. 18 |
| Using the mic input | p. 18 |
| Getting the right signal | p. 19 |
| Recording your first track | p. 20 |
| Multitrack recording and playing along with yourself | p. 23 |
| Getting the right hardware | p. 26 |
| Talking about soundcards | p. 26 |
| Dealing with latency | p. 30 |
| The 'right' hardware | p. 32 |
| Virtual effects processing | p. 34 |
| Talking about plug-ins | p. 34 |
| Using Amplitube | p. 38 |
| Recording with effects | p. 43 |
| Bring on the drums | p. 44 |
| Virtual drum machines | p. 44 |
| Loading VSTi's | p. 46 |
| Native Instruments Battery | p. 46 |
| Velocity layers | p. 48 |
| Fxpansion DR-008 | p. 49 |
| Playing and programming drums in Cubase | p. 53 |
| Understanding MIDI | p. 53 |
| Connecting MIDI to the computer | p. 54 |
| Playing drums in Cubase | p. 57 |
| Recording a drum track | p. 60 |
| Quantization | p. 63 |
| Groove Quantize | p. 64 |
| Using the drum editor | p. 65 |
| Arranging patterns | p. 67 |
| Present patterns | p. 68 |
| MusicLab's SlicyDrummer | p. 70 |
| MIDI files | p. 74 |
| Using drum loops | p. 75 |
| ACID | p. 75 |
| Loops in Cubase | p. 78 |
| Creating a virtual band | p. 84 |
| Talking about software synths | p. 84 |
| Development | p. 84 |
| Software samplers | p. 86 |
| Creating a VSTi bassline in Cubase | p. 89 |
| Using the Key Editor to create notes | p. 91 |
| Using effects with VSTi's | p. 93 |
| Adding other instruments | p. 94 |
| CPU performance | p. 96 |
| Adding and editing a guitar track | p. 96 |
| Hands- and feet-on control | p. 99 |
| Talking about MIDI control | p. 99 |
| Knobs | p. 101 |
| Drum control | p. 102 |
| MIDI floorboards | p. 103 |
| Controlling stuff in Cubase | p. 104 |
| Controlling the mixer | p. 104 |
| Controlling effects | p. 107 |
| Controlling VSTi's | p. 108 |
| Using a MIDI floorboard with Cubase | p. 110 |
| Basic floorboard control in Cubase | p. 111 |
| Floorboard control of Amplitube in Cubase | p. 113 |
| All-singing all-dancing control of Amplitube in Cubase | p. 114 |
| Mixing and automating | p. 123 |
| Mixing in Cubase | p. 124 |
| VST channel window | p. 126 |
| Track mixer | p. 126 |
| Applying effects | p. 127 |
| Level adjustment | p. 130 |
| Panning | p. 130 |
| Effects | p. 130 |
| EQ | p. 131 |
| Dynamics | p. 132 |
| Automation | p. 133 |
| Automating effects | p. 135 |
| Automating VSTi's | p. 135 |
| Tidying up | p. 136 |
| Creating a finished product | p. 138 |
| Mixing down in Cubase SX | p. 139 |
| Mastering software | p. 140 |
| Putting your mix onto CD | p. 143 |
| Creating MP3's of your music | p. 145 |
| What is MP3? | p. 145 |
| Making your own MP3's | p. 147 |
| Publishing your music on the Internet | p. 147 |
| Copyright | p. 152 |
| Other internet music formats | p. 152 |
| Studio setups | p. 154 |
| Basic setup | p. 154 |
| Enhanced basic setup | p. 155 |
| Basic mixer setup | p. 156 |
| 8-bus mixer setup | p. 158 |
| Digital mixer setup | p. 160 |
| The virtual studio | p. 161 |
| Virtual studio with real control | p. 162 |
| Taking it on the road | p. 164 |
| Using software effects live | p. 165 |
| Getting sound into and out of a laptop | p. 168 |
| USB and Firewire audio | p. 169 |
| Getting the right laptop | p. 170 |
| A round-up of computer hardware and software | p. 172 |
| Deciding what's right for you | p. 172 |
| Soundcards | p. 172 |
| Recording software | p. 184 |
| Effects plug-ins | p. 192 |
| Drum software | p. 194 |
| Software synths and samplers | p. 196 |
| MIDI controllers | p. 201 |
| What about the computer? | p. 208 |
| What to look for | p. 208 |
| Where to buy | p. 211 |
| The great 'PC versus Apple Mac' debate | p. 212 |
| Example specification | p. 213 |
| Windows? | p. 213 |
| Looking back through what we've learnt | p. 214 |
| What the future holds | p. 214 |
| Understanding the difference between MIDI and audio | p. 216 |
| Setting up Windows XP for music | p. 220 |
| Internet resources | p. 226 |
| Glossary | p. 227 |
| Index | p. 234 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
ISBN: 9781870775878
ISBN-10: 1870775872
Series: Pc Publishing Ser.
Audience:
General
Format:
Book with CD or DVD
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 236
Published: 1st July 2003
Publisher: PC Publishing
Dimensions (cm): 24.0 x 17.0
x 1.5
Weight (kg): 0.708
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