Beginners Questions to add to 'How do i record stuff?' sticky help please???

caesura

Hey Folks,

Just been looking through the How do I record stuff?? A complete beginners guide sticky here and wondering if anyone would like to add a few extra hints and tips for beginners.

The information on there already is excellent in terms of building and setting up a home studio but there’s a couple of things not mentioned there that would probably seem obvious for anyone with a grasp on the home recording set up but for beginners like myself they’re completely confusing so I’ve been thinking maybe it would be an idea for beginners like myself to put up some questions and hopefully the more experienced around here will reply with a few pointers/tips/suggestions and solutions. And then I can add this to the sticky

Anyway to begin here are a few of my problems:

WAV files for remixing: 1. Are there different types of wave file (ie. Ones that can be remixed and ones that can’t) because I’ve tried opening WAVs I’ve been sent from other recording sessions and they only ever open as normal stereo tracks (so I could record an extra guitar track for example over the song but couldn’t mix/edit what’s already on there) Should I be asking for a specific type of wav file or am I doing something wrong? (though I’ve been following the instructions in reaper)

Programmes: I put a post up here recently about this. If something is recorded in for example Cubase can it be automatically opened in Reaper (I learned from the previous thread I posted that pro tools recordings can only really be opened in pro tools packages…but is this true of all other packages too?) How do I get around this as I send songs back and forth around the world?

Opening a WAV from CD: I know this might seem ridiculously ignorant but having tried to google for an answer I haven’t been able to get an answer to this question. How do I open something from a CD into a recording programme to add/edit/mix it without it automatically opening in for example Windows Media Player and again if imported how do I avoid the problems outlined in my previous question.

What exactly is MIDI used for?...or do I need to know at the early stages of Home digital recording

And finally for now: Can anyone recommend some decent online content to refer to for these type of beginners questions.

Cheers
C.

dav nagle

caesura wrote: »

Hey Folks,

Just been looking through the How do I record stuff?? A complete beginners guide sticky here and wondering if anyone would like to add a few extra hints and tips for beginners.

The information on there already is excellent in terms of building and setting up a home studio but there’s a couple of things not mentioned there that would probably seem obvious for anyone with a grasp on the home recording set up but for beginners like myself they’re completely confusing so I’ve been thinking maybe it would be an idea for beginners like myself to put up some questions and hopefully the more experienced around here will reply with a few pointers/tips/suggestions and solutions. And then I can add this to the sticky

Anyway to begin here are a few of my problems:

WAV files for remixing: 1. Are there different types of wave file (ie. Ones that can be remixed and ones that can’t) because I’ve tried opening WAVs I’ve been sent from other recording sessions and they only ever open as normal stereo tracks (so I could record an extra guitar track for example over the song but couldn’t mix/edit what’s already on there) Should I be asking for a specific type of wav file or am I doing something wrong? (though I’ve been following the instructions in reaper)

Programmes: I put a post up here recently about this. If something is recorded in for example Cubase can it be automatically opened in Reaper (I learned from the previous thread I posted that pro tools recordings can only really be opened in pro tools packages…but is this true of all other packages too?) How do I get around this as I send songs back and forth around the world?

Opening a WAV from CD: I know this might seem ridiculously ignorant but having tried to google for an answer I haven’t been able to get an answer to this question. How do I open something from a CD into a recording programme to add/edit/mix it without it automatically opening in for example Windows Media Player and again if imported how do I avoid the problems outlined in my previous question.

What exactly is MIDI used for?...or do I need to know at the early stages of Home digital recording

And finally for now: Can anyone recommend some decent online content to refer to for these type of beginners questions.

Cheers
C.

Hi


You are confusing WAV files with session folders. Reaper saves its sessions using a different alias to pro tools and so on, so therefore one cannot open/mix a Reaper song/project on a Protools system.

You can open a WAV file on just about any recording program out there. Files with the .WAV extension can be a single mono audio file or a joint stereo interleaved file. .Wav is the most widely used type of audio file extension, there are many others. All wav files can be used to mix.

Midi is used for synthetic instruments. Producers use midi to record instruments like piano or trumpets that are sampled or computer generated. Midi is widely used in dance music as-well as all other genres of music. Midi is a trigger for samples and synthetic instruments.

Midi stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, hence the word digital.

caesura

dav nagle wrote: »

Hi


You are confusing WAV files with session folders. Reaper saves its sessions using a different alias to pro tools and so on, so therefore one cannot open/mix a Reaper song/project on a Protools system.

You can open a WAV file on just about any recording program out there. Files with the .WAV extension can be a single mono audio file or a joint stereo interleaved file. .Wav is the most widely used type of audio file extension, there are many others. All wav files can be used to mix.

Midi is used for synthetic instruments. Producers use midi to record instruments like piano or trumpets that are sampled or computer generated. Midi is widely used in dance music as-well as all other genres of music. Midi is a trigger for samples and synthetic instruments.

Midi stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, hence the word digital.

Cheers for that Dav,

So i should be asking for session folders off the people i've previously recorded with if i want to remix a song myself or send it on to somewhere else for remixing is that correct?

And outside of protools...WAV files can be used in the mix but they won't open as multiple uncompressed remixable tracks no? Or will they and i'm just not opening them the right way?

I think your right i'm getting confused somewhere!

Neurojazz

The wav file is a solid lump... like a cake made from several ingrediants... once baked there is no going back

Basically in cubase when you record several instruments and mix them down they become a single combined and irreversable final wav.

dav nagle

caesura wrote: »

Cheers for that Dav,

So i should be asking for session folders off the people i've previously recorded with if i want to remix a song myself or send it on to somewhere else for remixing is that correct?

And outside of protools...WAV files can be used in the mix but they won't open as multiple uncompressed remixable tracks no? Or will they and i'm just not opening them the right way?

I think your right i'm getting confused somewhere!

No problem anytime.


You should only ask for session folders when you have the same program the band/artist used to record the session on (i.e Cubase, Pro-tools, Logic, Reaper etc...)


If you want to mix a session/song recorded on let's say Logic then you must ask the artists to send you all the WAV files of the project on a DVD/CD (depending on the size of the project files). In most recording applications you can take all the recorded tracks (takes) and save them to CD/DVD as .WAV FILES. WAV files can be opened on any computer recording application.

So the ideal is to have the program the band used to record their music and the second option is to take the .WAV files from the project instead and mix the bands music on another recording program.

caesura

Neurojazz...nice analogy!! Cheers.

Dav - Thanks again...so am i understanding it right regarding the CD/DVD option does that mean for example that someone might record in Pro Tools and save each track of a song as an individual WAV so the Guitar track is one WAV and the Vocal is another WAV which can then (because that particular track is a WAV file) be opened in say Reaper with each track being dropped in individually thus allowing them to be lined up and mixed. So a single song with say 12 tracks will come up on the CD as 12 different WAV files??

dav nagle

caesura wrote: »

Neurojazz...nice analogy!! Cheers.

Dav - Thanks again...so am i understanding it right regarding the CD/DVD option does that mean for example that someone might record in Pro Tools and save each track of a song as an individual WAV so the Guitar track is one WAV and the Vocal is another WAV which can then (because that particular track is a WAV file) be opened in say Reaper with each track being dropped in individually thus allowing them to be lined up and mixed. So a single song with say 12 tracks will come up on the CD as 12 different WAV files??

Now you are smoking son, thats exactly right

PaulBrewer

caesura wrote: »

.so am i understanding it right regarding the CD/DVD option does that mean for example that someone might record in Pro Tools and save each track of a song as an individual WAV so the Guitar track is one WAV and the Vocal is another WAV which can then (because that particular track is a WAV file) be opened in say Reaper with each track being dropped in individually thus allowing them to be lined up and mixed. So a single song with say 12 tracks will come up on the CD as 12 different WAV files??

Yes, and that's why a proper name is important for each Wav.

caesura

Thanks a million for that...at least now i have some:eek: grasp of what i'm up to:D