Hi everybody,
what a great forum. Im so glad I stumbled here.

Heres my situation. Ive studied classical for quite a while and recently dropped classical and started persuing jazz. Ive got a great teacher, an old upright piano, but Id like to invest in a keyboard as well.

How do I go about setting up a minimal studio? Whatever keyboard I select, I would like to connect it to my computer and do recording that way. Im not trying to make an album, just jamming and recording my progress. What other items do I need to get started? I really dont know anything about this...

To make matters a little more complicated, I live in south america and will be returning to the states for only a month (June 2005), so whatever I buy needs to be fairly reliable.

Thanks so much,
Joe

Well, if you don't need a high quality studio equipment then you don't need to purchase items for many thousand dollars. If you only plan to record your progress for self controlling then a normal sound card will be sufficient. This will work like a tape recorder.

Which hardware is needed? - Well, you'll only need a keyboard with stereo audio outs, a 1st stereo audio cable from your kb to your sound card, an ISA or PCI sound card, a 2nd stereo audio cable from your sound card to your HiFi amps.

Which software is needed? - You'll need a program for recording and playing audio tracks from HDD. WinAmp for example is a player only but can be used for WAVEs and for MP3s. I'm using NeroMediaPlayer V1.103 for myself which came as a part of the software bundle of NeroBurningROM V5.0. It has the ability to record from the audio ins of your sound card to your HDD.

From where to get NeroMediaPlayer? - You can find NeroBurningROM V6.0 on this page Nero but it is not for free (about 60 $US). NeroMediaPlayer is a part of the software bundle. You'll get much more for editing audio tracks and something more...

------------------
Greetings from Frankfurt (Germany),
Sheriff ;-)

[This message has been edited by Sheriff (edited 05-10-2005).]

Thanks Sheriff,
next question...Im reading that its hard to find a sound card that works well with audio recording and MP3/DVD playback. Is it true that you have to pick your priority and pck appropriately?
If so, then for now my priority is more MP3 and DVD sound than audio recording. Any recommendations for a PCI card? I dont want my audio recording to sound like dookie. If its really worth it, I can drop $200 on this.

Thanks,
Joe

Well, I think it's only a question of what you want to reach with your system. There are some problems with audio recording in relation to midi signal latencies. For this you'll need an real audio card in combination with a professional studio recording software which both supports the ASIOdirect standard.

If you want to record and hear your own playing a simple tape recorder is absolutely sufficient. So, if you plan to use your PC for it you can simply use it like a tape recorder. This will be sufficient for WAVE-files (audio) and for MP3-files.

If you want to hear DVDs and MP3s it could be interesting for you to buy a modern sound card which supports a 5.1 (or 7.1) surround sound like in cinematic atmosphere. But for this you'll have to buy a fitting PC sound system too (I mean the power amps). But I have my doubts that this all is available for not more than 200 $US.

Yeah he's right. Just get a descent sound card. I will add that you should just record MP3 at a bitrate that is no higher than what is good enough for you to deal with during your initial learning phases DVD's are overkill unless you are talking about video. It would cost you a real lot more money that way. It's worthy if you are going to record super audio (I dont care to get into that right now), but for practice? For practice/review, I reccommend a CDRW (rewritable). This is a good way to begin proper recording habits as well.

Classic to Jazz. Sounds like you are dedicated allright! Big rewards ahead (musically speaking of course!)
Classical onto to jazz influenced is the way to go I think. Good choice. Wow are you ever in for a heavy duty point of enlightenment. Awesome.

Thanks guys! Your help is much appreciated.

Since Im just going to be doing some simple recording, will any soundcard work or do I have to look for certain types of input connections?

- Joe

As I've mentioned above you can use a simple sound card based on PCI or ISA interface. So, for example, an old ISA sound card at a starting price of about 5 $US can do this job as good as a modern sound card.

I'm using a modern 5.1 sound card but I let it work as a simple stereo system. So, my sound card is absolutely overpriced but it was already on board. I have a HiFi stereo amplifcation system (since about 25 years). So, I can't connect a 5.1 sound system to my HiFi system...

You'll be surprised how good it'll sound to you if you'll have done your first recordings on it. It is 44.1 KHz at 16 bit - that's the actual HiFi standard like you wont it by your regular CDs...

[This message has been edited by Sheriff (edited 05-11-2005).]

I forgot...

Your ins and outs on your sound card generally are 3.5 mm stereo Klincke connectors (I think it's called 1/8" stereo plug in USA?).

I guess your synth have two 6.3 mm mono Klincke connectors (two 1/4" mono plugs). A normal adaptor should fix this problem.

You can use normal audio cables for connecting your devices but don't use longer cables than about 10 meters because of the fact that you'll increase the cable's impedance by increasing the length. This will lead to a higher noise and a lower signal power.