I have a question about making rhythms.

[mellamoben]

I'm very new to this and I just really want to make some cool sounds. I have a couple of "tracks" up on the board. They are horizontal and they have their own rows across the big white board. I'm guessing that the tracks mean that that is their own line for music, but I was wondering how to actually put notes of that track's sound onto the white grid. If I need to be more specific, then, let's say... 32nd notes please. Thank you

[FnA]

First of all, for what it's worth from another relative newcomer, welcome to the forum.

Yes, you do need to be as specific as possible here. There are lots of nice helpful people on the forum, but nobody knows what your musical background is or what your ultimate goals are for using Reaper. I think the lack of response is due to the vague nature of your post.

Cool sounds? By itself Reaper doesnt really have too many of those. It's more of a platform for you to bring cool sounds to, and then manipulate them. It's too complicated to be thought of as a toy. Professionals are using it for all kinds of writing, editing, and recording tasks. The array of options can be bewildering.

It sounds like you just want to use your computer to make music. No recording of instruments and such? For that you will have to work with MIDI. MIDI is a complicated topic. You really should download the "Up an Running" manual. Theres also a quick start guide available in the HELP menu. Then you will need a virtual instrument, commonly referred to as VSTi. It goes in the FX box on the track. Reaper comes with a couple of VSTi. But they dont produce what I consider to be "cool sounds." You will have to use the MIDI editor to input notes on the screen, unless you can use a MIDI keyboard to record live. Try this for starters-CTRL+left mouse button drag in the empty white space next to a track to create an empty MIDI item. Double click on the item to open the MIDI editor. At the bottom are things you can use to get 32nd notes. Play around/read up on that.

Click on the FX button on the track. Then double click in the white space on the left to open a menu of effects and instruments. Try Reasynth, it's not much but it makes noise.

[mellamoben]

Thanks
When I say cool sounds, I just meant cool music, sorry. My goal with reaper is to create music in general. Probably more on the electronic side. I do have a keyboard, but I don't know if I can plug it into the computer. Is there something that would stand out about it? My music background is 3 years of band, so I know how to read music and place notes to where they will sound right. I don't know much about how to change pitches to make songs sound cool, just rhythms, but I'm hoping to just experiment.
Okay I inserted ReaSynth and now it is a track, but how do I put it on the FX box? What is that even?
Hah! I made a MIDI item like you said for reasynth and I made a rhythm. Thank you so much.

[mellamoben]

Another thing, what are channels? And how come whenever I try to extend to make more measures it copies what is in the first measure and whenever I try to delete it it also deletes the corresponding part of the first measure?

[mellamoben]

And yet another thing: If I were to get a keyboard that I could hook up to my computer, would it have to have sounds already on it, or could I download sounds, pick one, then play the notes of that sound on the keyboard? Because that seems a whole lot easier.

[FnA]

OK I'm not an expert. I've had Reaper for a little over a month. Consider that a warning.

Keyboards-Does your keyboard have a MIDI out jack on it? On the back? You would need an INTERFACE to put between the keyboard and computer. Most people are using interfaces because they have "soundcard" chips in them that allow for better audio performance than a PC straight from the factory. Mac computers have good performance already, but you still would need something to connect wires together. My keyboard is a CONTROLLER. It has no sounds built in. It plugs in to a USB jack. It puts the stuff you see in the MIDI editor in. If you have a virtual instrument (like ReaSynth) in the "FX box" you can listen to it while you play. You have to have input monitoring turned on. The FX box (probably not the correct technical term) and the monitoring switch are both right on the track control panel (the thing with the red button, track name, etc). You have to make the TCP big enough to see all the controls. Drag the bottom edge with your mouse or double click on the scroll bar "handle" on the right side of the screen to zoom. Theres other zoom options as well. Get the manual! If you "inserted a virtual instrument on a new track" (ReaSynth) it should be in there when you open the box. You can download virtual instruments. Some are free even. Check the forum to see what people say they like. I downloaded more expensive ones because I'm picky. It is easier and cheaper to use virtual instruments than to buy an expensive keyboard. They can go up into the thousands. Any midi keyboard can put midi information in. But to get the sounds that are on the keyboard recorded, you have to use the keyboards audio outs.

Channels. I told you MIDI was a complicated subject. Maybe you should google it. For now leave everything on MIDI channel one. Audio and MIDI channels are similar but different. While you are first starting you should only have to use audio channels 1/2. Do you know how stereos have left and right channels. Like that.

The other problem with extending is related to LOOP settings and options. Theres a bunch of them. Try to get the length of the item right, from the start. See the notches in the item? thats where the loop starts. You can GLUE an item to remove them. Theres really too many options to go over on this subject. Get the manual!

Also you will probably get more help in the newbieland subforum. This subforum is kind of busy.

[mellamoben]

I made another thread about my keyboard, sorry. It's in this same forum though.
Yes, my keyboard does have MIDI In/Out jacks on it.
By "If you have a virtual instrument (like ReaSynth) in the "FX box" you can listen to it while you play." do you mean that if I have a virtual instrument, I can play it either by dragging notes onto the editor that you showed me how to bring up for the MIDI item, OR by just playing the notes on the keyboard? If so would that mean I could play a bunch of different sounds on my keyboard? It already has a bunch of sounds, rhythms, and songs already on it, would it allow me to use the sounds it already has, too? Input monitoring meaning that it would allow reaper to recognize the sounds, or play them out of my speakers?
Okay now I read "But to get the sounds that are on the keyboard recorded, you have to use the keyboards audio outs" Is that like the MIDI Out slot on the keyboard, or something else I would need to purchase?
"Do you know how stereos have left and right channels" No sorry. Do you mean like I have a left and right speaker, and I could play the sound out of left/right/both?
I didn't really understand the third paragraph much, but I played around with reaper, and I saw that everything past this movable thick grey bar that ran vertically down the center marked where it repeated. How do I remove and replace that? It just got kind of annoying moving it further down the white note board every time I added more notes. I'll go to that sub-forum next time I need help. Thank you very much for the help.

[dea-man]

What kind of keyboard do you have?

Go to this thread http://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=52382
and check out all the free VSTi's you can download and play.

Midi is one thing, audio is another.

Midi just tells you DAW system what notes to play, for how long, and any other pertinent information, to make your music.

Audio is actual recorded sound, Midi is just recorded information about the sound.

[dea-man]

But, you need to get a little familiar with Reaper so, download the free PDF User Manual, to help you get some terms under your belt.

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/userguide.php

[bluzkat]

Originally Posted by dea-man

But, you need to get a little familiar with Reaper so, download the free PDF User Manual, to help you get some terms under your belt.

http://www.cockos.com/reaper/userguide.php

I think 'mellamoben' might be a candidate for one of Geoff's other books: Home Recording for Beginners.

This is a very good book and would help you develop a good foundation to get you started.

[mellamoben]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[FnA]

Audio outs would be most likely two jacks on the back of the keyboard. Do you know how TVs and DVDs have a white,red, and yellow wire you can connect them with? The red and white are for stereo channels left and right. (The yellow is video) A channel is like a seperate wire for carrying signal. You want to keep things seperated in many cases. The keyboard might have bigger wire jacks you would use. These would be wired to two inputs on an interface (if stereo)

Do you know how an old fashioned player piano works, not exactly but in general? It uses a wheel that turns and hits notes at different times. MIDI is the high tech version of that. It carries much more information. The "piano roll" in the editor is something comparable to that. Theres also a bunch of control channels, but you dont need to worry about that just yet. Audio (sounds) dont go thru the MIDI cable. Your keyboard MIGHT put out MIDI information (note pitches and rhythms) when you play the presets but if it does you would need a virtual instrument in reaper to convert the information to sound. Your keyboard WILL put out MIDI when you have it connected to Reaper properly. Then you can record to an item in real time, or use it in the editor (step time input) instead of using the mouse or computer keyboard to select different notes. Using input monitoring in conjunction with a virtual instrument will allow you to hear what you play as you play it. You would have to use audio outs to get the exact sounds your key board has, but that has to be recorded in real time.

One thing you can do to ease your loop frustrations- Right click on the item in arrange view (the big white area). Pick the menu entry that says item properties F2(thats the shortcut key you can use on a selected item). A Grey window will appear. You will see a box checked that says "loop source......" or something. Uncheck that an you should be able to drag the edge of the item in arrange view to make it longer without making stuff repeat in it.

[mellamoben]

Ok I see how the red and white cords are for the two stereo channels.

What did you mean by "(if stereo)" here "The keyboard might have bigger wire jacks you would use. These would be wired to two inputs on an interface (if stereo)"

"Your keyboard MIGHT put out MIDI information (note pitches and rhythms) when you play the presets but if it does you would need a virtual instrument in reaper to convert the information to sound"
Does this mean it would still show up on the MIDI item as notes, but I just wouldn't be able to hear them while I play? Because that's alright, it already makes noise when you play it. What do you mean to convert the info to sound with a virtual instrument? Wouldn't I have to find the exact same sound as the one on the keyboard?

I think I understand what you mean by "Then you can record to an item in real time, or use it in the editor (step time input) instead of using the mouse or computer keyboard to select different notes."
In real time would be playing exactly what you want it to sound like, lengths and pitches. Step time would be like play the note on the keyboard and then the note would show up and you can change it's length and position on the editing board. Right?

"Using input monitoring in conjunction with a virtual instrument will allow you to hear what you play as you play it. You would have to use audio outs to get the exact sounds your key board has, but that has to be recorded in real time." By audio outs do you mean the two jacks that say MIDI In and Out? The only other slots on the back are phones/output, sustain, and the slot for the power cable.

I'll do that loop advice, thanks.

[FnA]

Sorry dont have much time now.

I meant your keyboard would have to have two audio outs and your interface would have to have two inputs to get a stereo sound into Reaper.

No you dont need the exact same sounds on a VI. The MIDI notes have numbers which correspond to pitches. the same midi notes can play a synth, sample player or whatever. Just like inside your keyboard, the same keys play a piano, violin or other sound. Sounds like you are going to need an interface which has a midi input at least. USB to computer. If you have a PC (Not a mac) get something that says ASIO. Probably want headphone jacks as well at least. Maybe a pair or two of audio outs to go to a stereo or monitor system. Computer speakers suck.

3rd paragraph basically correct.

4th paragraph- No I told you before audio doesnt go thru the midi cable. Appears your keyboard lacks audio outs.

[mellamoben]

"I meant your keyboard would have to have two audio outs and your interface would have to have two inputs to get a stereo sound into Reaper."

--Where are the audio outs on my computer? And what do you mean by get a stereo sound into reaper?

I found this interface yesterday, will it suit my needs?
http://www.zzounds.com/item--ROLUMONE

I have two speakers for my computer.

[Sound asleep]

Reaper is little more than a digital mixing board. Just like any other DAW. I mean, its much note but look at it that way. Basically a bunch of tracks those horizontal lines, that you can control volume and pan for.

Reaper has other fix as well, but that's a more advanced step.

So you need to plug an instrument into those tracks, so you can record it.

This can be anything. A guitar, or a a mic recording anything or bass or whatever.

Or, it can be a vsti. This is basically an fix unit.

You will want an audio interface that has asio drivers which will remove delay from recording and allow you to plug in an instrument, including a midi keyboard.

Midi is digital information. Very basically it is down press and lift off information of when you play a note on your digital keyboard. And also how hard you pressed it down. It does more than that, but that's the basics.

That way you can put a vsti, a virtual instrument on your track and play any sound you want. Your vsti may be digital sounds or it may be realistic violins or piano or drums. Whatever.

You can also edit the midi data recorded in a grid called piano roll. So you can play vstis, or program vstis or edit your performance.

The vstis will be responsible for sound.

Komplete 8 is half off. Still 560$ but easily the best way to spend 560$ for vstis as your first complete set. You get loads of instruments all across the range, and guitar distortion plugin and everything.

So I'd say figure 200-300$ on a good interface and if you can 560$ on komplete. Otherwise, get the interface, and people here know a lot of great free vstis that can get you started.

Then there is much more in depth you can go with reaper on how you can arrange and shape your music and how it sounds.

You don't need stereo, your interface will be your in. I have edirol ua25ex and it is great. You will want phantom power, midi, and I'd figure at least 2 inputs. things like this are great to get used. Often people will either stop making music, or upgrade to something more advanced woth more inputs so you can usually find atuff like this fairly easily on like kijiji and craigs list and stuff like that.

[FnA]

Thanks for helping out Sound asleep. Good advice, but I dont know how committed mellamoben is to this yet. You and I know the time and money that can go into this process. I have a focusrite saffire6. It was about 180 bucks. Does most everything I need at this point. But if you, mellamoben, are not sure about how far you want to go with this Reaper stuff, it might be too big of an investment. Are you starting to see what you are getting yourself into? This will be a huge investment of your time at least. Quite possibly of money as well, but you can get by cheaper depending on your needs.

We dont know what kind of computer you have. You might want to describe it in your signature. Make/model, operating system(windows7,vista,etc),type of processor (i3,etc). I'd have to guess its a laptop. In which case it probably doesnt have "audio outs."

A fancier keyboard might have a stereo sound. different sounds(maybe only slightly different) out of each speaker on it. to get both of those different sounds into Reaper you would need stereo outs on the keyboard and two inputs on the interface (dont worry about this its apparently not applicabe to your situation). Some tower computers have more complicated soundcards with different inputs and such. The two speakers on your computer, they just plug into a little jack on the side? One of the main benefits of an interface like I got is it has different sound processing chips in it than the poor performance chips Windows computers come with. It also has 2 inputs, headphone jack, MIDI in/out, 4 audio outputs (for monitors or for feeding a stereo that has line inputs) and some other features. The ASIO system allows much greater performance than the Windows audio system. I cant tell you much about the cheaper interface you got your eye on, except that it looks like a bare minimum approach. You will still have to use your computers built in sounds. You will have problems with latency which is a delay between playing a note and hearing it. Alot depends on how bad you want to do this.

Audio is a confusing term because it is like a "blanket" statement that covers alot of different situations. For example there is digital audio and analog audio. Both of those are somewhat blanket terms as well. Much could be written. You should start doing some homework on your own. Google as much as you can. Even wikipedia can help you understand some of this. We cant detail this complicated subject entirely for you.

Did you say that you got sound out of your speakers yet using Reasynth? Heres another thing to check out. Maybe your computer has the Microsoft wavetable synth built in. Read 3.30 in the user guide for instructions. The grey box on page 70 is accessed via the I/O button on the track you are using. Might be more fun than reasynth, if your computer has it.

Also- before I got my interface I played music thru my computers HDMI cable to the TV and then to the stereo. Better than computer speakers anyway.

[mellamoben]

"Are you starting to see what you are getting yourself into?"
It appears that way, yes. I just wanted to be able to sit down with a keyboard, choose my sound off the computer, play something, maybe edit if I mess up a bit, then go to another sound and play a different rhythm and then put those two "songs" together into one piece of music. I probably don't need reaper to do that either, but this is the most helpful place I've been to.

You don't know how much I wish I could be beside you while you just showed me what this stuff looked like so I could associate each of the terms you are using with a picture, I'm pretty lost. Wikipedia often uses terms that they don't define, which makes reading articles there meaningless, so I guess I'm just going to have to buck up or something...

I have a desktop computer-windows xp 32 bit, operating system... I can't remember how to find that info so I'll have to look that up ... It says I have an Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.40 GHz.

Yes I plug my speakers into a jack on the back of the computer, and they do play the ReaSynth sounds.

I'll try to look it up as well, but what is an "audio out"? is it a jack to put a cord in, what does it accomplish, etc. You've probably already answered some of these but I've just not associated the info with an audio out.
--"A fancier keyboard might have a stereo sound. different sounds(maybe only slightly different) out of each speaker on it. to get both of those different sounds into Reaper you would need stereo outs on the keyboard and two inputs on the interface (dont worry about this its apparently not applicabe to your situation)"

I'm beginning to see a connection here with the 2 inputs and the 2 stereos on the keyboard, but I'm not quite there. If the keyboard played the exact same thing on both speakers would it only need 1 input? What does an input do? If the midi cables carry the info, than what is left to do?

"It also has 2 inputs, headphone jack, MIDI in/out, 4 audio outputs (for monitors or for feeding a stereo that has line inputs) and some other features. The ASIO system allows much greater performance than the Windows audio system."
2 inputs, does that mean two jacks on the interface? what do they do? what plugs into them? 4 audio outputs (for monitors or for feeding a stereo that has line inputs), to me monitor means the computer screen and I don't think that is what you meant here, and I don't understand what feeding a stereo that has line inputs means, but if it's unimportant, just omit that (re)explanation please.

"You will still have to use your computers built in sounds."
What about your interface makes it to where you don't have the latency, and what is a sound card? I'll look it up too, for repetition.

3.30 in the computer manual, or the reaper manual, because I didn't buy this computer from a store so I don't have any manuals for it

Thanks for being patient and persistent with me, I appreciate it.

@sound asleep
thank you for clearing up what midi was in general for me. And what is "pan"?

And you said I don't need my stereos, that my interface will play the music for me? (Assuming I got an expensive one?) If that IS what you meant, what about the interface compared to other cheaper ones allows it to play music?

[ivansc]

If you go right back to the home page: http://www.cockos.com/reaper/index.php
you will find details of where to get the FREE download version of the Reaper manual.
Be warned it IS a monster, because Reaper is immensely powerful and flexible.

It does sound like you are a very very newby newb to audio recording, with or without computer, so it would be a really good idea if you looked around on youtube for videos demonstrating really basic essentials of recording as well.

Once you have a few of the basic terms understood, you could do a great deal worse than go watch some of Kenny Giaiola's videos or Johnny Ginese's.

They are both members here and very helpful folks.
Either way you will find the reaper forum is a great place to get help.

[KevinW]

As you have found, this is an incredibly helpful forum, and as Ivansc points out, there are lots of great resources on the internet.
But as you observed earlier in this thread, it would be great to sit next to someone to show you the basics. Do you live in an area with any recording studios/college music depts/large schools/medium-large churches, etc.? Any one of those places would have people who could help you get started, probably much quicker than searching the internet. Some might be willing to donate their time, others might want a little cash. I'm thinking that you could pay someone US$50 and they could spend 30-60 minutes with you, would be a much safer investment than a new interface/software/pc/whatever.

[FnA]

I meant the book ivansc is describing. It's called "Up and Running." It is big. There are other books by the same author, including the one bluzkat recommended. Other than that one I have all of them. I've read over a thousand pages, and still must consider myself a beginner with this program. It IS a monster. I bet that book (bluzkats suggestion) is probably a good thing to get. I just bought ReaperPower from Amazon and it only took 4 days to get it. Same place you can get the beginners book.

It seems you are serious enough to keep helping you out. Others with more experience will surely stop in. This forum is probably unique in that regard, so you could do worse. But you have to show that you are trying your best to figure things out on your own as well. You need to get the bigger picture somehow. It's too much to ask a forum member to describe it all. It pays to ask specific questions.

You are catchin on a little regarding paragraph 5 and 6 of your post. MONO is one channel. STEREO is two. A single guitar or microphone would be mono. A keyboard might be as well. Theres a bunch of different kinds of jacks. If you have headphones you get stereo out of one jack. The plug has 3 sections. A BALANCED plug also has 3 sections but is used for mono. A recording book will probably describe this kind of stuff better than I can. Geoffrey Francis has a pretty good way of talking to beginners I think. Author of Up and Running and Home recording for beginners(I think that is the title)

MIDI connecters are only for midi. Thats all that will come out of your keyboard. I think the interface you pointed out would work for that, but would maybe not be the best long term investment. There are tricks to improve your computers audio performance without using an interface or ASIO souncard.. Using ASIO4ALL is one. But I have no experience with that. I think an interface that uses ASIO technology is your best bet. I think you should post a specific question in newbieland asking for help choosing an interface before you buy anything. List your computers basic specs like you did here along with your needs and plans for using reaper. You want to consider how you should be listening to what you are playing. Thats why I mentioned monitors and such. (outputs) Monitors are a type of speaker. One output on an interface for each monitor/speaker. Two outputs are required for stereo. (2 speakers) You might be able to ask for help with a complete basic setup that can give you anything you need.

See...2 more experienced guys just stopped in.

My interface will power headphones by itself. It will send an audio signal on its outputs to an amplifier for bigger speakers. You can get monitor speakers with built in amps.

Inputs and outputs generally refer to electrical audio signals. MIDI in/out is listed seperately. Unfortunately here is another complication. There are two main output types balanced and unbalanced. There are even more input types-line level, hi z,phantom powered,etc. My interface has adjustments and multi jacks to deal with several different types. Again a recording book is most definitly invaluable to decipher this kind of stuff.

[mellamoben]

Found an awesome article on what analog audio is, but I'm not sure how it much it helps here:
http://www.ehow.com/about_5101414_analog-audio.html

[mellamoben]

Thank you ivan and kevin for posting.
@kevin, there is a music shop where a guy sells keyboards and stuff that I could go to. I mean I don't know the guy, but he should probably be able to help me out, right?

@FnA
Ok, I'll describe what I know from learning from you and maybe that will be specific enough so that you can describe it well. -- looking back that first sentence might have sounded condescending but don't read it that way please -- So I have my keyboard, my computer, and my metaphorical interface. I want to connect the keyboard to the computer through the interface. The interface connects to the computer in only one place(?), the USB port, but connects to the keyboard through the MIDI Out/In jacks. These send the music info to the interface which "reads" it for the computer.
-- Here I am unsure -- The interface has input cables that connect to the keyboard. One is used if the same exact sound is played out of both speakers on the keyboard (Mono -- does this word describe my keyboard, or the cables?), but if the speakers have the ability to play different sounds out of each speaker, then you use both input cables (Stereo). These input cables (do something, still not sure, you said you could plug in headphones to the interface, so I think the inputs allow for that, but what if you can't plug in headphones, is there a need for the inputs?)

There. Oh, and the inputs would be analog audio, wouldn't they? I looked up digital audio but haven't found a friendly article yet. I will also search up the interface that you use so I can see what it looks like. Thanks

[dea-man]

Elements:
1. Midi Keyboard
2. Audio Interface
3. Computer
4. DAW Software installed on computer(Reaper)

How they interact:

1. The computer has the DAW software installed on it.
2. The Audio Interface is in between the Midi Keyboard and the computer.
3. The Keyboard is connected to the Audio Interface

Interaction between the Interface and Keyboard:

The keyboard can hook to the Audio Interface in at least two "usual" ways.

The first is via the midi ins and midi outs. Keyboard Midi out to interface midi in. Keyboard Midi in from Interface Midi out. This transfers midi information only. No sound/audio is transferred.

The second is from the Keyboards audio outs (One for mono, two for stereo) to the Audio Inputs on the interface. These carry only sound/audio, no midi information is transferred.

Other Audio Interface connections:

The other "usual" connection coming out of the audio interface us, from the interface to the monitoring system. These are usually specialized speakers, and/or headphones as well.

In addition: Your keyboard may have internal sounds. While it can transfer midi info through the "midi" cables, it needs "audio" cables to transfer it's internal audio to Reaper.

You will need:

Two midi cables (In and out, both directions)
Two audio cables (For stereo, Right and Left)
An Audio Interface which has:
midi in and out connectors,
audio 1&2 connectors (which is the same as left & right)
headphone connections (if you want to use headphones)
monitor connectors (For your speakers) These can be audio cables (L&R) or optical cables or digital cables, but depends on your speaker set-up.

The audio interface can be hooked to the computer one of either two "usual" ways:

1. USB
2. Firewire

The Audio Interface is sometimes referred to as a sound card, but it is different than an average computer internal sound card. It is a specialized, optimized type of sound card utilized for audio applications. A computer internal average soundcard does not do well for audio recording applications.

Long winded, I know, but that's a description of a basic DAW/PC set-up.

[mellamoben]

Great explanation Dea, you really hit it there.
I do still have a few questions but mostly they are just little things:

"it needs "audio" cables to transfer it's internal audio to Reaper.
Why does my computer need to transfer sound to reaper? Wouldn't it be the other way around? Or is it not playback sound but the immediate sound played from my keyboard?

I have two speakers, but only one cable (they merge from one cable into to separate cables), so how would I plug that into the interface? And also would I even need to plug it into the interface? Why couldn't it just remain plugged in to the computer?

"Two audio cables (For stereo, Right and Left)"
Are these two audio cables for the keyboard or the speakers? Like, where do they plug in at?

"audio 1&2 connectors (which is the same as left & right)"
again what if my speakers only have one cable?
-- Oh, these are for the keyboard aren't they, like plugging into the keyboard and the interface

"monitor connectors (For your speakers) These can be audio cables (L&R) or optical cables or digital cables, but depends on your speaker set-up."

So I would need to get an interface with just one jack (connector?) for my speakers?

Thank you

[KevinW]

Originally Posted by mellamoben

Thank you ivan and kevin for posting.
@kevin, there is a music shop where a guy sells keyboards and stuff that I could go to. I mean I don't know the guy, but he should probably be able to help me out, right?

Well, possibly - but if his very first response is to try to sell you stuff that you're not sure you need, then I would look elsewhere for advice.

BTW, have you already found this site?: http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

His buying advice is dated, but it walks you through a very logical sequence from the very beginning stages to the more advanced stuff, in a style that is not overly technical.

[mellamoben]

Yes, I found that site, someone else actually linked me there too. I do agree he uses appropriate language for a newbie.

[FnA]

2nd question post 25- He meant the casios internal sound. I checked out your keyboard based on your other post. I thought the headphone output might be too "hot" for plugging into inputs on an interface, but this guy says its OK.

http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-cen.../d--10/26/2000

woo-hoo...

You would need a Y connecter, probably, to split to 2 interface audio inputs.

Do your speakers also plug into an outlet on the wall? You MIGHT be able to get another Y connecter from 2 outputs on an interface. These speakers will not be optimum by any means. I dont know about this...

You only need TWO midi cables if you want Reaper to play your casio. But midi cables shouldnt be too expensive. In fact if you just want to try it someday you could swap the cable from keyboard midi out/interface midi in to interface midi out/keyboard midi in. (dea-mans post is good stuff, I'm not arguing with him)

I told you too much yet not enough before about balanced this and mono that. In fact it could be argued that what I said is actually incorrect. I just dont know how to condense it.

My headphones plug into a headphone OUTPUT on the interface. It is seperate from the other outputs that go to an amp for big speakers. It has a volume control. The other outputs have no volume control. The amp does.

MIDI and digital audio are both data streams. Different kinds however. Both can travel over USB or firewire. My controller keyboard plugs directly into the computer USB. MIDI jacks and cables are only meant for MIDI data. Its like a language. A special code.

INTERFACE- Another blanket term. The wiring section on the back of your casio may be referred to as an interface. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. An interface is required to go from MIDI cable to USB. AY-YI-YI...

Digital information is strings of 0s and 1s. You could think of them also as ons/offs or yes/nos sometimes. MIDI may be thought of as similar to the information that comes out of your COMPUTER keyboard. Push down X and hold it and you get XXXXXXXXX until you let go. Pushing a key on your casio sends a NOTE ON message. Releasing it sends a NOTE OFF message. In fact MIDI notes may be assigned to Reaper actions the same way shortcut keys can. (dont worry about that for now) There is also a VELOCITY message sent. That is how hard you hit the key. Its usual use is to determine volume. You can see the velocity bars at the bottom of the midi editor. Most midi values range between 0-127 (128 total values) Velocity of 127 is loud, Velocity of 1 is very,very quiet. Your pitch bend wheel will send messages as you turn it. It starts in the center at 64 and goes up or down depending on which way you go and how far. It goes back to center when you let go. The bars visible in the bottom lanes of the midi editor are displays of these 0-127 values.

Digital audio is strings of 0s and 1s called samples. CDs send 44100 of these strings every second. They determine the shape of the sound wave representation that is eventually converted to an electrical signal (analog) that drives the speakers. Theres a way to get a visual of this at maximum zoom in Reaper when you have the squiggly sound wave line in an audio item. I can tell you more whenever you feel like it. Its an easy experiment.

[mellamoben]

Alright I'll make another post after I've spoken with the shop owner.