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Help Required


britheguy

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Okay...I've got to come clean here.

Over the years I've had all sorts of stuff for recording. Software for PC's c/w those little boxes that you need to plug into to make it record etc. 4 track tape, 8 track tape (I actually got somethign down on that) and now a Boss 8 track thing (BR8 I think). Got a Boss drum machine as well.

However, I can never get anything recorded, or more to the point put down on the PC.

Can anyone help me. I could maybe take to the stuff to you along with my lap top. Or meet at Toms for a wee lesson etc.

Can YOU help?

Cheers

Brian

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Probably a bit of both. I managed to get one song if you could call it that on the BR8. Then the memory card was full. So I'm thinking I'll need to 'upload' every song on to the PC and then delete it on the recorder. I think it's possible to get larger cards, but it seems they are a pain to get hold of and format.

Then there's getting different guitar sounds from the onboard fx...nightmare trying to work everything oot

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BR8 and DR8 BOSS. Toshiba lap top, but when I was trying this at first it was on a PC....with calkwalk I think it was called. TBH I don't know if the laptop has program on it.....I had no idea it needed one. I though I just mixed the sounds from the BR8 straight on to it. The usb thing (line 6) had a wee mixer thing if I remember rightly...but nae idea where that went.

All I am looking to do is make some tracks together for myself to keep etc.

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Unless the multitrack comes with some software for your computer, I reckon the best way to get the tracks onto your PC is to download a free software multitrack (known as a DAW) - there are a lot of good ones, there's definitely a thread on here somewhere with some recommendations - and hook up the line out on the BR8 to the audio in on your laptop and record to a virtual channel on that.

Unless you are a human metronome, you'll probably want to lay the drum machine down on a channel on the BR 8, record along to it on a separate channel then you can record each channel to their own separate virtual tracks on the laptop, allowing you to mix them on the laptop. I wouldn't bother with bouncing tracks on the BOSS itself if you've only got a small memory card. There's definitely loads of how-to's online regarding the various DAWs, so those should help you go from getting the bits and pieces into your laptop to turning it into a mixed down mp3.

There's not really a one stop shop for this stuff though. You just have to get stuck in, get to know your own stuff and then it's just a case of picking up tricks as you go along. I've been recording my own crummy songs for like 6 years now, and I'm still figuring out new stuff every time I play about with my laptop.

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Another thought - instead of stressing out about recording something in perfect timing before you can use the gear, try recording some multi-guitar part songs, use a microphone and some homemade percussion to put a beat to it if you want, and just leave the drum machine to the side to begin with. It won't be that apparent that the guitars aren't in perfect 4/4 or whatever, and you can focus on figuring out the techy side.

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Cheers. Do you mean the little 2.5mm 'mic' input on my laptop?

Yep, that'll be the simplest way. Alternatively, you could hook it up to your line 6 USB input if you find that gives better results. Although you might have to download something to make that compatable with whatever DAW you opt for.

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Maybe the simplest way (2.5mm) route would be a start. Will I need a special sound crad for the laptop, or will the 'standard' one do. I have no idea what is in it though.

 

If you're out buying a lead for this it's a 3.5mm connection not 2.5mm usually. Your soundcard will certainly allow you to record but it will not sound very good and you may have problems with something called "latency".

 

The best way to do it would be to connect the Boss BR8's audio outputs to the audio ins on your Line 6 Audio interface (which one is it?). I'd record, set levels and do a basic mix on the BR8 then record that stereo output (connected to your Line 6 AI) into your DAW (Cakewalk is fine if you still have it but if you're looking at new ones i'd suggest Reaper as it will allow you do more over time) and convert it whatever you need (mp3 etc) from there.

 

It depends what you're trying to achieve though and what your Audio Interface can do as you may be able to bypass the BR8 and get guitars, bass and vocals down using just that then record drums on your BR8 and do the above for the drums.

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I think it's a Line6 UX2. Ah ok 3.5mm it is I was deailing with a 2.5 last month that's why i had it in my head.

Right, I'll try downloading a DAW later. Will that aloow me to record a track at a time, or just mix the full '6 tracks mix' into stereo?

thanks for the advice so far.

 

If it's a line 6 Studio UX2 I use that model myself for recording Guitar, Vocals and Bass on my Mac (all individually i.e laying down the guitar, bass and vocals separately).

 

I'm not too sure about the BR8 but if you can "bounce" individual tracks (of drums) across from it through the UX2 then you could mix them seperately in your DAW rather than on the BR8 and sending them as a stereo track.

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So are you saying that I don't need a BR8? The usb thing and the DAW will do the same thing?

Drums are the main decider there, as far as I'm aware the BR8 has a built in drum machine so you could use it for that, having said that though there are quite a few drum program's available like ezdrums that you could just use on your laptop to replicat drums.

When we're recording we use a Zoom 8 track to record drums live then everything else goes through my UX2 and the whole thing is put together and mixed in my DAW (Logic Pro).

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Really if you have that too then you don't need the br8, the ux2 is a recording interface and that's simple enough to use if you have plug ins and that which can easily be torrented. I used riff works which I found really easy to use along with my ux1 when I had it. If you need help with the ux2 set up I can help with that or alkaline can.

Edited by YoungA
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oh right. Okay looks like I need to get some DAW and muck about with it. I just lose the rag though when I canna seem to work it. Same with multi fx. My mate used to get cracking sounds out of his....I just used about 3-4 presets...pretty shite really.

Even my pedal board is shrinking to next to naff all.

Oh well that's a different thread maybe.

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