Beginner on Powerbook Options

Sampling then ripping from cd's?? jq please, what does that mean? i am a beginner on a G3 Powerbook laptop with 160 mb ram/ running mac os8.5 and with a single scsi port. Tell me in dummies terms how i can cheaply record vocals into my midi/audio sequencer programs multi-tracks without a sound card and without a usb port. i'd obviously love imic from griffin tech but...

please someone.

[musoman88]

Hi James. I can put a CD in the CD tray in my Powerbook. Then through my USB port I can copy that CD, with the aid of 'Toast', on a blank CDR in the tray of my LaCie CD writer. But that's all I can do. Without being off topic again, the 1/8th inch input plug in the back of the PB is stereo, so you need a mixer to plug your mic cable into. Then from the output of that mixer, into the input on your computer. Do you have an input? If so, it's probably 1/8ths inch stereo plug, and you'll need adapter(s) to go from two 1/4 plugs to one 1/8th stereo plug. A decent little mixer is cheap - check out Behringer - and valuable to controlling all the inputs into your computer. From there, hit record on an assigned audio track in your sequencer, and go nuts... m

Thanks Musoman it is 1/8 you are correct and I already have the little adaptors to go from 1/4 to 1/8. I will run the mic mixer into that huh? It's all just a routing thing i am realizing, I mean I could also run my sequences back out via MIDI thru the casio into my boombox and record my vocal in the kareoke function on the boombox. But it's better to run a mic in the computer so i can do vocal overdubs and background vocals. I will look for a solid mic/mixer with 1/4. And if that puts vocals in onto the audio in Cakewalk I am done.

Now how can I get sound to go out to my box from the powerbook? How can it be hooked up to the boombox? I would prefer to play my sequences with the vocals and backing vocals completed out through my home stereo. It's more notes and tracks than the casio will manage if running it all thru the casio into the stereo. I'd rather run all my cakewalk audio/midi tracks out of the computer from the sequencer into my home stereo. Now would be SLAMMIN'! But I didn't see in the G3 manual how the powerbook can feed sound out to a stereo system.

Wait a minute, now i'm thinking how can sound come out and go in at the same time? Using the microphone input for the mic can sound still be heard? If the singer has headphones on listening thru the headphone input and the mic is in the mic input can the singer hear the sequencer tracks? And are you sure?

Anybody please.
Thanks.

[abbie]

I don't know how this would work with an iMic. Some recording software packages allow you to route your input to the output, but the problem with this is that you might have a latency problem (i.e. delay) which makes this process useless.
I get around this problem by using my mixer to monitor what I am recording as well as monitor what is already recorded on the Mac.

Specifically I am using an old 4 track portastudio as a mixer. My mic goes into one track of the mixer and the output from my mac goes into another track. So that I don't re-record what comes from the mac and I monitor in mono and pan one track to stereo left and the other to stereo right. This method poses a problem, however, if one wishes to record a stereo instrument.

Another way of doing this which is better if your mixer allows it is to use the auxiliary out of your mixer to monitor. This is more complicated to explain and if it is of interest let me know.

[musoman88]

It's best to use headphones when recording with a mic anyway, but I monitor my computer through my mixer, and I use a submixer for inputting - 2 mics and 2 stereo lines. As long as I turn the submixer down during listening back, no problem. This way I can mix the stereo audio output with the MIDI instruments on my main mixer and route that signal to my headphones or reference amp & speakers. The 'tape out' on my Mackie 1402 allows me to 'master' things to my Mini Disc recorder. Aux outs are very handy for monitoring as well. m

That's very interesting. I feel I need to investigate that. Thank you Abbie. I
like that idea of running the mac sound output into the mixer and the mic I GUESS I NEED A line level mic to run into the mixer, and the singer plugs into the mixer and the mixer sends the macintosh output to a boom box. I assume is also possible? And all without any sound card? and
BEAR IN MIND I DO NOT HAVE USB I HAVE A SCSI PORT. A SCUZZY PORT. For my older MAC g3 NOT G4.

That's very interesting. I feel I need to investigate that. Thank you Abbie. I
like that idea of running the mac sound output into the mixer and the mic I GUESS I NEED A line level mic to run into the mixer, and the singer plugs into the mixer and the mixer sends the macintosh output to a boom box. I assume is also possible? And all without any sound card? and
BEAR IN MIND I DO NOT HAVE USB I HAVE A SCSI PORT. A SCUZZY PORT. For my older MAC g3 NOT G4.

Thanks again buddy..er, Musoman. ;-) I may be on my way to beautiful music time soon guys! I need a mixer to control the flow of input and output. Happydays~!! Yea no soundcards!!! I hate 'em when I plan to do ALL MIDI with NO AUDIO but the singer. Why pay $700 for a PCMCIA? I am on a scsi port mac so there is no soundcard I can afford. Keep the reply's and info coming.

[abbie]

uh, looks like I missed an important point here - James, if you don't have a sound card what is it that you are monitoring from you Mac? Are you just using your mac for midi sequencing? Musoman, the sub-mixer sounds like a good idea but I use the aux out of my mixer to monitor to an external amp so that I can record and monitor in stereo. Also, it was mentioned earlier that the iMic records a much better sound. Does it make sense to run my mixer output through an iMic instead of using the audio in port or should I just leave well enough alone?