[James Romeyn]

I bought Sony ACID Music Studio.  I'm old & it's not been fun to get up to speed.

I should have bought something more simple because right now I'm only doing spoken word for a DVD project. 

Recommendations please would be highly appreciated.

TIA.

 

[richidoo]

Acid is for making computer music, it's not the best tool for you.

Audacity is free, looks like it might be good enough for what you need, record and edit digital audio.

For simple DVD editing and burning try Nero. It has a free 15 day trial. It is the standard for consumer digital media software. It probably can record and edit audio too, but Audacity will probably be easier and more powerful. You can import your Audicity tracks into Nero to make the DVD.

If you need fancier tools to make a more polished production, then check out Sound Forge (for recording and editing audio) and Vegas (for DVD production.) They are pro strength, probably overkill for one project.

Have fun!
Rich

[James Romeyn]

So much for doo-doo head (me) walking into BB for completely unfamiliar software!

Thanks richidoo! 

I'm only recording my voice for an educational DVD sound track, nothing else, just to clarify my current needs.  My only intent is to record voice & send to producer.  (My house is amazingly quiet, working out great.)

Man I'm a doofus for not posting here first.  At least I helped move the economy along a little bit...

Hey, what do you think about ACID for acoustic music recording later? 

[richidoo]

Is this what you bought?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8426429&st=Sony+Acid+Pro&type=product&id=1181832626529

It does have audio recording and editing tools so it can do the job. It may have been the best thing available at BB. For that price it is a good value. If you bought Acid Pro, then maybe you bit off too much, but it will still do your job. I don't think they sell Pro at BB. Anyway, it's the steep learning curve that is annoying you, not whether Acid can do the job. Audacity might be a lot easier for you to use to record and edit your tracks, and since it's free, no harm to load it up and see how it goes.

Acid is pretty cool, but it is primarily geared for jamming on the computer, mixing sampled sounds, time and pitch shifting, midi, virtual synths, etc. A powerful computer music composition and improv tool, with some provision for recording your own samples and editing them for use in the synths.   When it comes to recording live music, editing, mastering, it won't be as powerful or flexible or intuitive to use as software designed primarily for audio. But it is plenty enough for what you're doing. Maybe get a MIDI keyboard and start jammin!?   

If you can deaden your recording space as much as possible, then you can add reverb back in afterward to make a cleaner, clearer sounding narration. It will sound horrible when first recorded with no ambience, but the synthesized reverb you add afterward (in the mix) is infinitely adjustable and gives a better result than the random and unchangeable echoes in your house. Even just piling pillows around the mic and a comforter behind you is something to try to kill reflections. You will find topics like reverb, echo, EQ under "Audio Effects" in your online help file. You can learn it easily if you take your time and keep it fun!
Rich

[James Romeyn]

Is this what you bought?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8426429&st=Sony+Acid+Pro&type=product&id=1181832626529

Guilty as charged! 

It does have audio recording and editing tools so it can do the job. It may have been the best thing available at BB. For that price it is a good value. If you bought Acid Pro, then maybe you bit off too much, but it will still do your job. I don't think they sell Pro at BB.

Not pro version, as you guessed. 

Anyway, it's the steep learning curve that is annoying you, not whether Acid can do the job.

Yup, as I estimated. 

Audacity might be a lot easier for you to use to record and edit your tracks, and since it's free, no harm to load it up and see how it goes.

Too bad I'm too dumb to know how to transfer some of the already recorded reading tracks from ACID to Audacity; obviously if I knew how to do that I wouldn't be typing this!

Acid is pretty cool, but it is primarily geared for jamming on the computer, mixing sampled sounds, time and pitch shifting, midi, virtual synths, etc. A powerful computer music composition and improv tool, with some provision for recording your own samples and editing them for use in the synths.

To think that almost 40 years ago I was one of the best kick-ass analog synthesizer programmers (studdied w/ Pat Gleeson at Different Fur, worked at The Record Plant, Roy Buchanan, Tower of Power, etc)

When it comes to recording live music, editing, mastering, it won't be as powerful or flexible or intuitive to use as software designed primarily for audio. But it is plenty enough for what you're doing. Maybe get a MIDI keyboard and start jammin!?   

You can say not intuitive again!

If you can deaden your recording space as much as possible, then you can add reverb back in afterward to make a cleaner, clearer sounding narration. It will sound horrible when first recorded with no ambience, but the synthesized reverb you add afterward (in the mix) is infinitely adjustable and gives a better result than the random and unchangeable echoes in your house. Even just piling pillows around the mic and a comforter behind you is something to try to kill reflections. You will find topics like reverb, echo, EQ under "Audio Effects" in your online help file. You can learn it easily if you take your time and keep it fun!
Rich

My downstairs office is huge, maybe 20x14, one of the luxuries living in north Utah.  Floor & one wall are slab, only one basement window/light well (below grade).  Quiet gated community w/o kids!  Using an Ampex 2001 mic w/ a sharp cardiod pattern.  Getting almost no room ambient & almost no ambient noise, even w/ the computer about 4' away & the monitor directly IFO the mic.

Let me know if you ever want to visit!  Extra room/private bath upstairs.  It's heaven out here.

Do you record professionally?  Never got that great on the piano (great Chang grand upstairs) but not too bad on the steel string guitar.  USU's Performance Hall is a stunning design, about 10 mins away & blessed w/ the best acoustics I've heard.  http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=42752.msg381898#msg381898


Noticed you're in NC.  My wife will visit Charlotte in September to midwife her nephew's wife's first baby (as someone who's mother was 1/2 Philipino, it's surprising this Philipino-American woman has no nearby female relatives).  I'm still debating whether or not to go w/ her but I'm 6-3, 230 & don't fit well in long coach flights.               

[James Romeyn]

Rich
Audacity offers versions 1.2.6 or 1.3.5 Beta

Unless you advise otherwise Ill download 1.2.6 because Beta specifies advanced users. 

Regards,
Jimbo 

[richidoo]

Hey Jimbo! Sorry for the slow response.

Current official version of Audacity is what you want, beta is for "advanced users" only because they understand that it could potentially threaten their project if it hoses up. It doesn't mean it's any more advanced or harder to use. They report bugs to speed up and reduce cost of development.

Sounds like you know some about recording. I'm sure it will come out great when you get computer tools you are comfortable with.

To move your existing tracks from Acid to Audicity, all you have to do is "Save As..." from inside Acid to a directory of your choice as .wav files. You may need to do an export if the wav files are locked inside a canister file. I assume you are recording in redbook digital format (16 bit / 44.1MHz) You can name the tracks whatever you want up to 256 characters. Then you can import or open those wav files right in Audicity for editing. If you have any trouble PM me and I can try to walk you through it. They are probably already saved as wav files in the Acid directory, so you might be able to just copy and paste to the new Audio directory. Look around the Acid directory, or do a test Save AAs.. command in Acid to discover where it is saving tracks. Then you can use Windows Explorer to copy paste the tracks from there into somewhere more flexible.

It is a good idea to create a directory called $:/Audio/projectname/trackname.wav  so you can keep things in your own organization rather than assume one made by Acid or Audacity. Then you know where your tracks are and can backup easier.  When you are done recording and even during the recording, absolutely without any hesitation BACKUP everything to another directory at a minimum, or off the computer is ideal. If you burn it to a DVD or CD-R make sure you use a reliable burner software like Nero and verify that the copy was perfect before you continue. It is too easy to make a computer mistake and delete a file or accidentally save a mistake over the only version of the original. At a minimum make a separate directory called ../backup/ and copy your audio in there, then mark it read only. Then it will ask you "are you sure" before it changes anything in there. Once you've lost valuable audio tracks you will be as vigilant as me. "Data is forever!" 

If you are a synth man, you will really dig Acid! Just not for audio recording... hehe So get going on there Jim! You will have a blast, it is sooo easy, but the music can be rather limited in dimension unless you are very creative. Post some tracks here on AC for us to all enjoy on our stereos! Programming analog synth is infinitely harder than "composing" on one of these idiotic DJ synth programs. You're much more advanced than you think. Don't be afraid of the computer stuff - to appeal to the target market these kinds of msuic software are designed to be very simple if you catch my drift. You'll pick it up in no time. The first lessons are the hardest just to learn the interface. You're already a musician, you can do it. RTFM! That's the easiest way to start. Also there are a milliion books written about Acid, they can help you get started jamming.

I've done some recording, but nothing serious in many years. I do produce some local amateur things once in a while, mostly classical, more to have hi res recordings to play on the stereo than for any great musical statement. Hey thanks for the invite. I have driven through Utah a couple times, absolutely beautiful.
CU,
Rich