Help Me Get Started, Please!!!, a mac G3 user Options

[vervy]

Hi there!
I am new to midi but have the keyboards and a Mac G3. I am interested in getting a copy of Cubase VST but am unsure of how to connect properly. I have seen midi interfaces advertised but the one's i mainly see are all of the USB type. Can I use a usb type to connect my keyboards (Yamaha DJX and Novation Bass station) to my G3? I have 2 usb sockets in my G3 and I'm running Mac OS8.6 . The VST handbook only seems to mention the modem/printer connection port and not the usb. I've seen a cheap usb midi interface for £50 (I'm on a bit of a budget!) but can I use it without any problems? Please help me out as I'm dying to get started up! Many thanks to anyone who will help me out!!!

This post has been edited by vervy: Mon 12 May 2003, 19:06

[Synthetic]

yep... just get yourself a USB midi interface and you should be fine. Some manuals were written when serial ports were plentiful on computers and USB was still just emerging so that is why you see mention only of printer and modem ports.

[vervy]

Cheers Synthetic, nice 1 mate!

I have another query though so here goes.
As you may have already guessed, I'm a complete novice to midi. My only experience of it was about 9 years ago when I had used a Roland D50 hooked up to an Amiga running Music X (remember it anyone?) - how things have changed! Anyway, having now progressd (reletively speaking as I AM a novice!) to a yamaha DJX, a Novation Bass station (keyboard) and several modules gathering dust in my cupboards (Roland D110 and an akai drum XE8 of which I'm not too concerned with at the moment), I'm looking forward to using the DJX and Bassstation on my G3 running Cubase VST. The problem is that I was used to just dealing with a simple midi interface for connection (as with my Amiga and Music X). With my G3, I can get my head around a midi i/face but what are sound cards for? Call me stupid (easy!) but are they just used for sampling via a PC or what? And is it worth me getting one? I'm in need of some advice as to what to do with the gear that I have already - can anybody advise me on how to get the best out of what I have? Ta......

[Synthetic]

ok... so yes a midi interface is needed.... but to get the sound from say your DJX or bass station into Cubase you might want to get an audio interface as well or a sound card. Sound cards or interfaces are good for several things.... first, using the built-in sound inputs on macs is not really the best quality. It will work with right adapters but its limits your sound input to 16bit 44.1khz which is ok but even though a CD sound is same at 16bit 44.1khz sampling rate, to achieve the sound quality on that CD (from major labels for example) is to record at 24+bits and maybe even higher sampling rates such as 96khz... then this higher resolution will capture more dynamics of your sound giving it more depth and less background noise. Then just dither that high resolution sound down to 16bit 44.1khz for your CD.... see actually recording at 16bits really only gives true 14-15 bit sound due to loss of info when recording... that is why most use higher rates. So sound card or interface is good for that.

Also, a sound card or imight give you several inputs and or outputs which is nice for using outboard FX or recording multiple devices at once. Plus it might come with mic preamps which are nice to boost low level signals or for recording condensor mics.

Lastly, a sound card or interface will provide higher quality playback than built-in sound manager alone. If you are serious about your mixes sounding good... its advisable to get the best studio monitors you can afford and then connect to monitor outs of sound card or interface. You'll be amazed at how much difference it will make. Most computer based speaker systems are not built for audiophile quality sound and thack suffer from boosted low frequencies and often lack good midrange. Using headphones is ok but you will still get better sound if headphones are plugged into sound card or intgerface than Apple headphone jack.

So it all depends what your goals are with your music. Me, I wanted to get good sound quality, lots of flexibility and I knew I would never pay for someone to mix my music so I opted for a Digi001 interface that has lots of inputs & outputs, mic pre's, midi in and out, and monitor outputs. Then I added a Tannoy Reveal monitor and sub package that sounds seet. I like just using it as a jukebox in my home it sounds so good.

Hope that clears up some things for you. So you might want to look at some interfaces with both midi and audio inputs unless you don't think you'll need audio inputs.

[vervy]

Big thanks to Synthetic - you've been a major big help with my efforts! I'm soon to be up and running - with your help! All the best and you will probably be hearing from me in the future as I'm bound to be having a few 'teething' troubles. Cheers mate, respect!

[bilhep]

I also am a novice at computer recording! I have not used a sound card but suspect they might be the ultimate interface.

I also have an Amiga 500 and refuse to go digging to see if I have Music X! :-) I did perouse my pile to look at the MIDI interface to find that it is an RS-232(DB-25) device. I believe the Mac is unique at using the printer and modem ports as a substitute for RS-232. I believe the G4 dispenses entirely with that technology and uses dedicated USB/ IEEE1394. This is why I write; I have a G3 Beige. It now has a G3 466 processor in it so it's upgraded along with more RAM than anyone dreamed about ten years ago!

I started my foray into the "new" recording in February with a Tascam 224; USB interface. I plugged it into the port I'd acquired by installing a Belkin USB/FireWire Combo Card. No Good!

Problem is; I don't understand it nor has anyone been able to explain it, let alone solve it; the USB network just shuts down periodically. This may be due to certain IRQ activity in the system but it does not matter what the cause is if there's no solution worth finding.

I'm using a Yamaha portable AW16G and so don't need the Mac but found that I want to be able to work on sound waves with the computer and besides, I'm beginning to actually like working with Cubasis! :-) I've ordered an M-Audio FireWire 410 for two reasons:
I want to interface MIDI and
It has Optical links I can use with the Yamaha.

It performs both tasks. It also plugs into that combo card but I've never had any issues with the FireWire network.

All that was to warn you away from using any USB recording device with an add-on USB Card! It's not like anything will blow up but you surely do NOT want your conduit cutting out in the middle of a session! Right? I think M-Audio expresses it best when they say they only support(rely on) native USB. G4+. I'm taking a chance with the 410 because it provides me with most for the dollar. I will certainly let you all know what the outcome is when I receive the 410 and work with it a bit.

By the way, one reason I'm interfacing inspite of having spent the $1100 on the Yamaha is that I'm uploading my songs to MP3.com and I need to make a CD before I can access the modem and The Web. Consequently I've spent considerable time taking songs produced on the Yamaha and loading them into either Cubasis(If I have something I need to do) or iTunes for conversion to MP-3 format. You can hear some of the product at the link below.

Good luck and keep in touch because I'm learning music via the side door; MIDI. Never took a music class in my life but for some reason it fills my life; the one some say I ahould "get!"

Bill Heppe
william.heppe@verizon.net
http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/544/will_adam.html