Need help on Cubase AI4 !!!!help!!!!

[rocktheworld]

hey guys i have just bought a yamaha mx8cw which comes with the cubase software.Got a couple of questions as i am totally new in this and really in need of a lot of help.

1.)this is regarding mx8cw, it's stated in the owner's manual tt adjusting the GAIN controls and i will see the PEAK indicators flash at certain point...but i dun see any flashing of the red lights when i adjust the GAIN controls, so is it some prob with the hardware or did i missed out on smthing?

2.)this is regarding Cubase i m trying out tutorial 1. everytime i click on the "Enable Record" button, there will be a pop up saying: "Could not create record file!" and there and then i will be stuck.

3.)i have tried opening up new projects and trying to record and although the bar moves right there's no change in the soundwaves(meaning no sounds were picked up!) although i have my mic plugged in.
i have checked my ASIO DirectX full duplex driver and my VST connections seems to be alrite, meaning i can see inputs and outputs as connected to USB AUDIO DEVICE. But i am also wondering how i know it's connected to which ports? as the connections all states the same, for eg. -->
Speaker(USB AUDIO DEVICE 1) or Speaker(USB AUDIO DEVICE 2) / Mixer (USB AUDIO DEVICE 1) or Mixer(USB AUDIO DEVICE 2)?


Please advise. Really need help on this.Thanks.

 

[blueprintstudios]

rocktheworld : sorry I'd like to help ,but I can't seem to find your Yamaha model at all on google. did you get model right?

 

[rocktheworld]

bro thanks man i got things straightened out liao after days of trying...
but wrt cubase i given up hope and moved on to using Adobe Audition it seems a much easier-to-use DAW.

but one question bro, quality of the recordings lies much with wat exactly? the DAW used, the interface, equipments or wat? which holds the higher percentage of affecting the quality of a recording?

 

[kongwee]

Some people can guess which DAW is coming out. But most of time, it is the quality of mix that come out from you. That mean the hardware and software you are using. Every DAW has it own algorithm to come out final mix, that quality is too subtle.

If you are producing commercial album, you may sub mix and send to Japan or USA for mastering. One of my friend did that for her jazz album. About US$2800(Berine Grundman Mastering Japan) for not more than 60 minutes.

 

[rocktheworld]

omg! thats ex but guess thats how the pros charge.
then bro so u are saying DAW is nt main deciding factor la?
and btw wat u mean by this :"Every DAW has it own algorithm to come out final mix, that quality is too subtle."

Thanks man.

 

[kongwee]

In commercial sense, US$2800 is a fraction of a production. In Singapore context, one commercial quality song(regional) is about $1500-$3000 for indie. It can be done cheaply, but ..... For labels, it is a lot more as you are paying everyone in the production.

Every DAW has it own mixing algorithm. In logic pro there is two setting. I never try that cos what you hear in the DAW and bouncing out is too little to know the changes. I have would say your mixing ability and record quality in sub groups and master track contribute 99.5% of the final mix. DAW only affect how you work. Of cos, the plug-ins they offer do make a impact on buying a DAW. I train in using Sonar and own it once before. Now I'm work only in Logic environment.

 

[blueprintstudios]

firstly in case you missed out http://tinyurl.com/diyrecording

what adobe audition version are you using? it's a pity you're giving up cubase as a former cool edit (ex adobe audition) user for 7 years, I moved to cubase because of its stability/powerful functions. but true it's alot more complex at first but once you get the hang of it it should be alright. doesn't matter as long as you've chosen your "weapon" and comfortable with it you can move on.

Quality of the recordings lie with your player, instrument, settings, pedals, settings, cables, amps ,settings ,mic, miking technique, room acoustics,cables, preamps, AD converters on your audio interface, to your DAW/computer, mixing gear and settings, experience and technique in post production. then after that comes the final touch of mastering, gear and experience. the one that holds the highest percentage in my opinion is the user/mixing engineer. cos I've heard mixes that sound better than the mastered (by someone else) before. the typical saying is "The strongest link in the audio chain is as strong as the weakest link"

mastering is a whole ballgame itself as there's a complete different set of mastering hardware audio equipment , monitoring studio and a pair of "golden ears".

how pros charge is how much cash the client has and their demands.

hope this helps

 

[Cheez]

Yes, I agree. You are actually paying for the pair of "golden ears". Equipment is only a one part of it and nothing compared to the experience of the mastering "master" (pun unintended).

 

[kongwee]

Paying a visit to mastering "master" like Berine Grundman, is not a bad idea. They have link to all major distributor. Like my friend jazz album, went to japan for mastering session. Today, she told me people in Berine Grundman help her to link two distributor. Once the album is pressed, send to Berine Grundman, they will help her to promote.

 

[rocktheworld]

hey guys thanks alot for ur advices!


"Quality of the recordings lie with your player, instrument, settings, pedals, settings, cables, amps ,settings ,mic, miking technique, room acoustics,cables, preamps, AD converters on your audio interface, to your DAW/computer, mixing gear and settings, experience and technique in post production."
wa looks like long way to go...

blueprintstudio: i am using a adobe audition 1.5 (rather old version i know haha) anw i wanna check with u is Adobe Audition a VST compaitable host?

Thanks!

 

[kongwee]

Some will mod their gear(mic,mixer....). It is common in studio specialise in audiophile recording. It is not difficult if you know about soldering and know how to look for replacement parts.

 

[blueprintstudios]

rocktheworld : I'm at my 8th year and I'm only at half of what I listed to you man.. indeed is a long journey but it's been fun.

1.5 is around the same time when they bought over cool edit and ironically brought over the bugs as well. and it is slower than cool edit too (I've tried.) you may wanna consider branching back into cubase instead. Adobe Audition is not a fully VST compatible DAW as it doesn't load some VSTs too well and VSTis don't function at all (or highly unstable) with it.

I understand your favour for adobe audition as it is incredibly userfriendly, almost idiot proof with it. but sooner or later you will have to branch onto something more powerful like ableton/sonar/cubase

 

[kongwee]

I have two friend rave about buying the full suite Cubase 5 at $500++. This kind of price don't need to think.

 

[blueprintstudios]

TS has a cubase AI4 bundled which should be sufficient unless stated otherwise.

 

[rocktheworld]

Blueprintstudios:
hey man sorry for the many questions! got a couple more..haha
when u say branch out something more powerful like cubase what u mean? isit that Audition is not able to produce a similar quality of production compare to Cubase?
And btw i was thinking of using VSTIs strictly only for drum loops, but if i were to opt for getting a drum machine instead it shld nt affect the decision of sticking to Audition right? (meaning i wont have to use a VSTI for the the drum loops)

haha..anyway i have been using Audition for a couple of months already and i feel its really idiot proof as what u said and another reason why i stuck at cubase is also bcos of the technical compaitability issues it had with my laptop, everytime i sovled a problem loading smthing or initiating somethiing, the next move will meet with a new problem haha

And i have a personal thinking that if the people of the, lets say 1990s (my idol David Tao who recorded his whole album {forgot which one} at home and gt a award for best production HAHA!)they can produce quality productions with what they had then, i think audition shld be able to do the same thing rite?(its not that old from i know)

Pls correct me if i m wrong and thanks alot for ur answers as i really new in this!Cheers!

 

[kongwee]

I thonk you better switch to Cubase if you begin to explore all vst. It is not very diffcult to use, it is just where to find the function you want and know the workflow.

I even help people to use their DAW even I never touch them in the first place.

 

[blueprintstudios]

you don't have to be sorry about asking, you only have to be sorry for yourself if you don't ask heheh.

because you're using adobe audition 1.5 which is somewhat close to the original cool edit (i'm not sure about the new version 3). and I myself have used cool edit for years before I jumped onto cubase only 1+ year ago. I still use cool edit for mastering but I can safely say that cubase is alot more stable to work with. you are "in my path" if you know what I mean?

quality is in your gear, in your mixing technique etc. not in your DAW. DAW is just like a cake mixer, as long as you use fresh ingredients, whether you handmix or spatula mix or kenwood ($60) mix, or kitchen aid artisan mix ($700) , and you know your recipe well, you will put out good shit.

you can even simply "cut/n/paste" drumloops in audition without using VSTis, but when I say VSTis I mean stuff like VST drums , piano , strings, synths, pads etc.i'm not sure if audition can support. but this is eventually if you consider advancing on towards composition.

how about this ,what laptop specs, what OS , what audio interface, what midi controller , simply what gear you're using for your purpose. you've missed out pretty much alot of details for us to help you accurately. there shouldn't be compatibility issues unless you're using some new thing in the market like USB3.0 or windows 7.

my personal thinking was when I watched Silverchair's Neon Ballroom studio videos in 1999. I was on a 350mhz AMD 64mb ram 4gb hdd and using earphone as a mic + windows sound recorder (click start > run > sndrec32.exe) I told myself someday I will produce stuff that sounds good enough using computer, and I never expected that to be possible with advancement in computers + audio. If you got a dream go for it, I only can tell you it's "NOT IMPOSSIBLE." but walking your path before , I still think you should try cubase since you already have it.