please explain to me as if i were a child...

[cydonia]

hello. I want to stop using 4 track cassette recording. I have a Macintosh G4 450 with 448 Megabytes of Ram. There is something called a PCI slot and my apple system profiler says it is an ATI Rage 128. I have no idea what that is or what it does.

I have a Yamaha keyboard which i bought at Best Buy. It has Midi in and out on the back. I guess midi is something i will need to use. I also have a microphone from radio shack from a few years back, i think someone told me it won't do the job. I know that USB is where i plug my mouse into, but aside from that i don't know what any of the stuff on the back of my Mac is for, or what it does. I wonder if my little labtec speakers with a tiny microphone jack will be involved in this.

So, basically please please explain to me as if i were a child (with a child's income) how i could make the jump to recording music on a mac with pro tools free.

Thanks!

[Bastiaan]

first some explanations:

midi is like electronic sheet-music. It contains the info (this note...that long) but not the actual sound. Installing a midi-inteface in your computer will give you the ability to control your synth with the computer, and record whatever you play into the computer (remember....its midi....so only the notes are recorded, not the actual sound)

PCI is some kind of slot to pop a card in to get your computer do more then it can now. You want really good sound? Pop in a really good soundcard. You want good video? Pop in a good video-card. It is a possibility to extend your computer. There is also something called firewire/IEE1394 or something like that. Its a lot like USB but better and faster....

Something to consider to buy is an midi-interface that connects to usb. This will give you the ability to save your songs on the computer, and more importantly, edit what you played. So if you made a mistake, or change your mind, you dont have to play it again. And editing music on the computer is usualy way better then on the synth itself.

I am not really into macs, so i cant tell you wether your mac has an audio-input (to connect your mic into) but if it has, you maybe also have to get something called a pre-amplifier (pre-amp) to amplify the signal (microphones give very weak signals that needs to be amplified to be used by inputs normally occupied by cd-players and all (line-level). I suggest you do some reading in the books that came with your mac to see if you have an audio-input and if it is line-level (you need a pre-amp) or mic-level (you dont need a pre-amp).

This is hopefully enough for you to decide wether you will get the midi-interface or not.

I am going to talk basics now....

install the midi-interface
configure it
Download ptfree
install it including oms and quicktime
configure it
test it

now you should be able to play your keyboard and capture the notes into protools. If you have somehow gotten a line-in or mic-in you should also be able to record audio at the same time.

I am not telling this is the whole deal, but it sould give you an idea what to do (and what to expect......) You will probably do your share of cursing and thinking wether it will ever work.....but come here on the duc and someone will help you....if you are very specific on what you want to do, what you did, how the computer responded, and what you use.....

But also consider this:

You will get a powerfull system, capable of 8 audiotracks and many more midi-tracks along-side. Also you will jump fro " a type-writer to a word-precessor" with undo, powerful editing capabilities, the releave that you wont mess up a recording, because you still have the original recorded tracks (non-destructive editing) and many more great things....

[cydonia]

thankyou for the very informative response, Bastiaan! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I guess i just need to learn a little more about what holes i need to have on the back of my computer.

[TooLoud]

Well and clearly said, Bastiaan...
You're a real class act [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Bastiaan]

[img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[abrice]

If you want to use your microphone with ProTools you should buy something called the Griffin iMic this is an adapter that plugs into a USB port and you can plug a 3.5 milimeter audio jack into it. Your microphon probably has a 6.9 milimetre audio jack but an adapter for that will cost you under £1.00 (about $2.00). Have a look at Griffin

[cydonia]

so am i right in thinking that all i need is an iMic and i'm ready to go? Do you know anything about the delay it's supposed to have and if it's a big factor?

[cdh3]

Depends on which iMac. If you are using g3 (crt instead of flat panel) you don't need an iMic (use mic input and save lots of grief). The iMic I bought is in the junk box. If you do the research on duc you will see that iMic is the subject of many posts, some good, some bad.

[cydonia]

I have a regular G4 tower. I just need a starter device or something to at least get me started. I don't want to have to buy a sound card or anything if i don't have to.

[cydonia]

Thanks for that link, abrice. That iMic looks pretty cool. I guess that means i can plug my acoustic guitar with pick up as well with it. So now i just have to research USB midi interfaces, i suppose.