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Forums > Software: Apple Computer

Basic Recording on Mac Questions

DaveWL	Date: February 15, 2005 @ 6:24 AM I’m trying to collab with someone who works on the Mac and doesn’t have any basic recording software and has only worked in studio before. I use PC and know almost nothing of MAC but am trying to advise them. I thought that there is a basic raw sound format in Mac called an AIFF file but I don’t understand if that is instead of or as well as WAVE files. So without that person spending loads of money on Logic or Cubase etc what would be a cheap (or even free) solution to do the following. I send them a backing track in MP3 format created on my PC. That person then records vocals against that track and return the isolated vocals in MP3 format. Were assuming that person has a decent Mic. I’d know many solutions if this was PC but don’t know what Mac could use. Help please.
0Hz	Date: February 15, 2005 @ 12:19 PM You don't say which mac OS they are running, I don't know about OS 9 but all versions of OS X come with garageband, I don't use garageband but it probably has the abilty to import MP3 if not then you can get MP3 to AIFF coverters.
DaveWL	Date: February 16, 2005 @ 6:08 AM Thanks OHz. I'v heard of garageband but I didn't know if it was something you could record audio on to. I'm not sure what the OS at the moment that the person is using but I have found a free audio editor now that has versions for OX 9 and OS X. This is at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/mac. You can import MP3s to this as well. I tried a windows version and it's not too bad for a freebie and should be adequate. Does not have real time effects as such but I would probably want that person to record Vox dry anyway for me to process on my side.
SilverShining	Date: February 17, 2005 @ 5:50 AM Heya...I'm on a Mac. Macs do favor the AIFF format, and it is a raw format anagalous to WAVE. Audacity is the best freeware program out there, if you ask me. Garageband does come with new Macs; if not, you can get it at http://www.otherworldcomputing.com as part of iLife '04 or '05 for cheap. Next up the line is Tracktion, which may be a bit overkill for this guy, but is the most usable audio recorder/sequencer I've ever used. It comes in around $100 and you can find it at http://www.mackie.com.
SilverShining	Date: February 17, 2005 @ 5:54 AM (Oh BTW I am assuming OS X on my post. I OS9, but I've never done recording on it. Maybe Bias or PeakLE would be a good shot there?)
DaveWL	Date: February 17, 2005 @ 6:43 PM Thanks Silver. I have now established this person has OS X . I’m glad someone else rates Audacity as well as it does not look too bad to me for a freebie. I have played with Tracktion on the PC from time to time – Mackie were giving away free licences a little while ago, I guess to encourage people to buy the new version. I’v never really been comfortable with it. There are some things I really like about it and somethings that drive me nuts. The MIDI editing is too fiddly for me and lack of a mixer I find a bit of a hindrance too. I can’t work out how to record an audio track on Tracktion either. Help says something about assigning an audio device to a track but can’t see how to do that. How would you actually record an audio track like a vocal using Tracktion? Tracktion use to cost $80 in the UK when Raw Materials owned it. If it is about $100 now then I guess it’s not much more to buy the litest version of Cubase – Cubase SE.
0Hz	Date: February 18, 2005 @ 6:48 AM I don't have any experience of collabs like this but loads of peeps here are doing it all the time, however it occurs to me that if they have OS X and your trying to get them to record vocal over your MP3 and cost is an issue (ain't it always !) then get them to persue using it, its a start and its already there, if things go well then start looking at what other options are available. I also assume they are going to need some sort of I/O and a mic. If there not to techie then apple do have some options on their website. Why not post a question and see how others go about their collabs.
SilverShining	Date: February 21, 2005 @ 8:16 PM Heh. All I use is Tracktion. Once you enable your inputs and outputs in Settings tab, then the inputs appear along the side. You drag one to the track you want to record on and bam. That's all you need to do. I record vocals on Tracktion pretty easily. I have an external mixer which then pipes into my audio in 1/2 on my sound card. I change what goes into the mixer and that changes whether it's guitar or microphone that ends up in Tracktion. I have pre-amp further up the chain that I run all the audio through before it gets to the mixer.
blacklieder	Date: February 22, 2005 @ 6:13 PM I've been getting decent results with Reason Adapted and Ableton Live Demo; got it with my MBox, which I was using as a pre-amp, but I've had some really interesting results with mastering and remixing. My 2 cents.
DOLEMAC	Date: March 3, 2005 @ 4:41 PM STOP USING MP3s PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!! A quick tip to make your recordings sound better is to STOP converting everything to MP3. These files lose much of their quality when they are turned into MP3s. I have MACs and PCs. My main puter is a dual G5 with OSX. I use PRO TOOLS, but I know that AIF and WAV files are interchangeable from PC to MAC. no one is better than the other, in fact, they are virtually the same thing. some MACs have the ability to use SDII files as well. These work great, but are not compatible with almost all PCs. Whatever you use (AIFF or WAV) it should work fine, just DON'T turn it into an MP3 unless you have to. MP3s sound like ASS.
DaveWL	Date: March 3, 2005 @ 5:28 PM There is in theory a loss of quality when you convert from wave/aiff to MP3 I agree. But it’s pretty minimal. Many of the frequencies held by a wave file are not audible to the human ear and these are the ones that MP3s omit in order to achieve their slimmed down size. Most people I understand work with waves or aiffs except in the case of on-line collabs. With an MP3 being approx 1/10th the size of a wave it is the only way to make this sort of exercise manageable. I’m happy to compromise a little if it gives me a chance to collab with an artist I would not normally be able to. In the scenario I described in the first post this might lead to a piece of music made up of 16 tracks. Only say 3 of these will be MP3s while the rest will be waves. The 3 tracks being the vocal trax recorded by the other artist in another location. They may have recorded their vocal part against an MP3 but the results get mixed in with the original wave files on my side. There have been 100s of great collabs on DMusic and the majority have involved some sort of file sharing with MP3s
DOLEMAC	Date: March 3, 2005 @ 5:56 PM I agree that it would be stupid not to collab with someone if given the chance. By all means send an MP3 to them and let them cut VOX to it, but make sure when they are recording, they are using either WAV or AIF. and at the end of the day...they send an AIF or WAV file for the final mixdown. this is great, I even work like this from time to time. The point I wanted to make is take the extra day to FEDEX a cd of AIF or WAV files whwn you are finished, rather than turning them into MP3s and sending them back...This works for reference, but you really want to send full UNCOMPRESSED files to be mixed. As for the audio quality difference between MP3 and WAV or AIF: There is no theory...There IS a LOSS in quality. think about a 40MB WAV is converted into a 4MB MP3...a 36MB loss of info is not minimal. You may not be able to hear it very well through a consumer soundcard through consumer speakers...but believe me WE hear it. I am a Professional Engineer, this is how I make my living. I spend 18 hours a day in the studio listening to all types of music in all types of formats. When someone comes in with a cd they made from MP3s someone e-mailed to them, I can definately tell. I am not saying to stop using MP3s altogether...just that if you cut VOX or MX to an MP3 make sure that at some point in time replace that MP3 with the original (uncompressed) file. There is a noticable difference, and your music will sound better in the end if you use the original (uncompressed) files for the mix.
DaveWL	Date: March 3, 2005 @ 6:49 PM Dolemac I accept that there is more of a different between wav or Aifs and MP3s in quality than what I have indicated. I can not really argue with a professional sound engineer especially when you guys work with the best monitoring equipment and develop the acutest hearing. Just a word on the difference in file size though. Although there is a difference of about 90% in file size you are not loosing 90% of the data as Waves and Aiffs are not compressed. So compression and omission of those very high and very low frequencies which in theory are inaudible to the ear account for much of the size difference. But I do accept there is still a substantial difference in quality. Thanks for the advice.
DOLEMAC	Date: March 4, 2005 @ 11:31 AM I agree that much of the frequencies held in an AIF or WAV are out of the range of human ears, and therefore are not heard....However...When these frequencies are removed it can change how our ears hear the remaining frequencies. Some of the frequencies removed are also felt more than heard. The lower freqs (below about 35 Hz) add a rumble to the bass which is felt rather than heard, and our minds take the combination of this feeling with the freqs heard to give our brain a complete picture of the low end. As for the higher freqs, when they are done away with it is less noticable than the lows. BUT, this can still affect the AIR in the track and could possibly affect the sizle of the hats and cymbals, along with maybe even some of the reverb tails. Your point is duly noted, but I also present this.....There are tricks and preperation that can be done to a file before converting it to an MP3 which can fool even the most scrutinizing ears. There are MP3s that sound pretty good, and there are some people how can create MP3s that sound amazing. There is more to getting a great sounding MP3 than just highlighting file and selecting Convert. It is a science all on its own.
black-dog930	Date: December 19, 2005 @ 7:05 PM You can get a recording device (i use a boss) and record it into garage band (free). Then just play around with it, but you have to record on an instrument under the heading "real intrument" or else it wont work.
black-dog930	Date: December 19, 2005 @ 7:06 PM ^to add, I forgot that under "File" you can select Export to Itunes and go from there