set up studio

[Kristian Erik Hermansen]

On Feb 9, 2008 9:23 AM,  <chris-n/jUll39koHNgV/OU4+dkA at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Sorry, in advance, for the long post. I want to record my songs but I'm
> having trouble just setting up the software/hardware infrastructure (if that
> term works). I thought if you knew my layout and challenges, I could get
> some general advice (instead of just specific things like, 'this is a good
> amp', and 'this is a good software mixer'), so that my studio, though not
> state-of-the-art, will at least be functional - so that everything works
> together well. Here are my challenges:

Ubuntu Studio, 64Studio, or others?

> *E-mu 1212m pci card in linux*. I couldn't get my emu1212m pci soundcard to
> fully function under Ubuntu 7.10 (even upgrading alsa sound drivers to
> 1.0.14rc didn't give me full functionality). I even tried installing alsa
> 1.0.15, but the repository file I had to edit and the commands that the
> package manager advised me to run made a mess of my system (I had to
> re-install).

Sounds like you need a new driver in the latest ALSA.  If you are
having trouble installing it manually, you could try to go with Ubuntu
Hardy as an /easy/ solution...

> *E-mu 1212m pci card in W2K*. So, I finally gave in (I'd really like to keep
> using linux) and tried Windows 2000 Pro. The soundcard works fine in W2K.

It would be nice if the manufacturer made a driver for your Linux
system now wouldn't it :-)  Call them up and tell them you are pissed.
 It helps.  I never sit by and let them get away with it.  If they
didn't write a driver for me, I call, ask why, open a ticket, and then
try to talk to at least one developer...

> *Linux/Windows dual-boot*. Since I want to do my other business work (word
> processing, printing, email) on linux, I tried to do a Ubuntu 7.10/Windows
> 2000 dual-boot. Linux/Windows dual-boots usually work fine as long as you
> install Windows first (which I did). However, I'm getting W2K's version of
> the blue screen 'o' death. I have repeated this problem several times now,
> so it wasn't a fluke. I'd like to have a dual-boot scenario, at least until
> I find that there is a stable version of a linux distro that will fully run
> the emu1212m. Another reason I want a dual-boot is that I can save files
> between Windows and linux, easily. This would be good, for instance, if I
> created .aup (Audacity project) files in Windows, then (when stable emu 1212
> support is available in linux) move them over to linux and run them in
> Audacity on that OS.

Dual-booting is nothing special...

> *Cubasis VST OEM, and Audacity*. Although Cubasis VST OEM (the
> recorder/mixer that came with the emu1212 m) seems to be giving me full
> functionality (of the emu 1212m), I was hoping to also have Audacity on the
> same system (so I can use both apps – I'm somewhat familiar with the
> Audacity interface and I know it will give me .ogg and unlimited .mp3
> functionality (both of which Cubasis does not offer "out-of-the-box)).
> Audacity does not seem to be fully functional for me under W2K (for
> instance, the mixer toolbar input selector drop-down menu is not even
> present).

If you are doing multi-channel recording, you probably want to try
Ardour over Audacity...

> *Mic Pre-amp?* Yesterday, for the first time, I got the emu1212m to record!
> I was thrilled. It was just a phrase of singing. However, the singing
> sounded muddy. I have not done any EQ (which I don't know how to do yet) but
> it was really muddy. I'm wondering if the problem is that I have inadequate
> microphone pre-amplification. I saw in the emu1212m manual that the balanced
> 1/4" lines IN are "line level". So, I plugged my mic into the only pre-amp I
> have (it's just a little Realistic Stereo Pre-amplifier Model No. 42-2109).
> It's a phono (record player) pre-amp; only about the size of two packages of
> cigarettes. Should it be obvious to me that this thing is just not clean
> enough or powerful enough (or both) to use as a pre-amplifier in a semi-pro
> recording studio? I don't mind buying a mic pre-amp (which, I hope, would
> double as a guitar/bass pre-amp) but I don't buy anything until I hit a wall
> and am sure of why I need to buy something. At one point I was looking at
> the "Presonus Firebox 6X10 24-bit/96K FireWire Recording System". However,
> that was before I bought the emu1212m pci soundcard, so the Presonus may do
> the job but it may also be more than what I now need.

At least in Gnome, if you open up the sound settings you can tick the
checkbox for "mic boost".  You can also do this via alsamixer command
line interface...

> *Analogue guy*. By the way, I am (for now) an analogue /non-midi guy. I
> don't care (yet) about firewire, midi, adat, and s/pdif. I just want to plug
> a mic or guitar, keyboard or drum machine into an XLR or 1/4" port, record
> tracks, mix 'em down on a simple interface, export as .ogg or .mp3, and burn
> a CD.
>
> *Balanced/Unbalanced*. I have a dog's breakfast of balanced and unbalanced
> devices/cables/adaptors in my studio. I really don't want to have to get a
> physical mixer (because of the expense) so I am using a patch bay. Nice and
> simple. Unfortunately, after years of using this (just to choose among
> listening to my tapedeck, CD player, and computer) I did a web search and
> find that it is probably an unbalanced patch bay (TASCAM PATCH BAY PB-32P).
> Rats.

I am not a professional record produer :-)
-- 
Kristian Erik Hermansen
"Know something about everything and everything about something."
--
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