Хорошая статья по домашним студиям:
Home Studio 101
How to get started
with MIDI and digital audio
how to build a basic recording studio inexpensively
The MIDI Sector
1. MIDI, the Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a protocol developed in 1983 by major synthesizer manufacturers to allow one synth to play another remotely. They quickly found out a computer could record and playback this data and it revolutionized the way music is produced. MIDI works by sending NOTE ON and NOTE OFF events down a midi cable as well as timing information and controller (knobs, wheels, and sliders) information. IMPORTANT: Understand that MIDI does not, cannot, and will not send an audio signal. The sound of the keyboard or module does not go down the MIDI cable, only these computer encoded "events" do. This is NOT digital audio data, its MIDI data. There's more to it, but that is the basic point you have to fully understand. We'll get to digital audio later on the page. Now lets move on with understanding MIDI.
2. MIDI Sequencers (i.e., Sonar, Logic, Cubase) work by recording these NOTE ON/OFF events along a timing grid that can be played back at any tempo. When you press Play on a sequencer, it simply sends the data back to the synth, which plays it just like a player piano. Get it? Because the Synth receives the exact same events that it sent when you played the track, it sounds exactly the same. Makes sense so far? Cool.
3. MIDI instruments (i.e., keyboards and hardware sound modules) typically have 16 channels they can send and receive on. Much like your TV, you can have a different program on each channel. The only difference is that MIDI can play all 16 channels at the same time. These channels correspond to tracks in your sequencer. On each track, you can assign a different instrument. You record each track while the previous tracks play back. Because MIDI has 16 channels, you can have 16 instruments playing together, like a 16 piece band, if you want, that is totally of your own design.
4. There are 16 channels for every MIDI PORT on your computer. Your computer's soundcard are where the ports are, and when you need more you can buy a MIDI interface to add more, but to get started we'll just look at the typical soundcard so we can get you running.
There are INTERNAL MIDI ports and EXTERNAL MIDI ports. The internal port(s) go to a MIDI synthesizer that is a physical sound chip or processor "on" your soundcard. These are sometimes called "wavetables" "soundfont devices". You can see if your computer has them already installed--it probably does. In win98se, look in the Windows control Panel. Double click Multimedia, go to the MIDI Tab. There they are, all your ports. The EXTERNAL MIDI port is there too. The external port goes out your soundcards JOYSTICK port. You need a cable that connects to it on one end and gives you 2 MIDI connectors on the other end, a MIDI IN and OUT.
You need it because that's how you connect a keyboard. Any keyboard with a MIDI out will work, even if it sounds like crap. Remember, you only need it to trigger the NOTE ON NOTE OFF event to the sequencer, which will send them to the soundcard's synth(s), which will send the sound to the speakers. Get it? Though the playing happened at the keyboard, the sound was triggered at the soundcard. You can even use an old CASIO with the speakers ripped out as long as it has a MIDI out.
But if you have a nice keyboard, The external MIDI out port can connect back to your keyboard's MIDI IN and play 16 channels of voices if the keyboard is "multi-timbral" (meaning it can sound many voices at once). Some are not. Old keyboards, like a DX7, only respond to 1 channel unless you hot rod it. Most modern professional keyboards are multi timbral. You can usually set the keyboard to respond to only one channel if you want or to only channels 1,2,3,7,8, for example, or to all 16. Turning off channels allows you to daisy chain more keyboards or modules by cabling up the 2nd machine from the MIDI THRU on the 1st machine (which is an exact copy of the data coming in the MIDI IN) to the MIDI IN of the second machine. It is possible to have one MIDI port to control 16 different keyboards if you want it too! Usually, if your rig gets this large you will buy a MIDI interface with 4-8 additional ports so you can play 7 channels of your Triton with 10 channels from your Proteus 2000, a couple for your Electribe, one for each effects box, another for a drum machine, then 16 for the sampler, 16 more for your digital mixer...ooops sorry, I forgot we are just getting started.
Basic MIDI setup using only the Soundcard Port
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Keyboard MIDI OUT--------->Computer MIDI IN (essential)
Computer MIDI OUT--------->Keyboard MIDI IN (if you are only using your soundcard's "onboard" synth this connection is not required. If you want the computer to play your keyboard, or if you want to connect a 2nd module it is required)
Keyboard MIDI THRU ------->Keyboard or Module #2 MIDI IN (optional)
Keyboard or Module #2 MIDI THRU -----> Keyboard or Module #3 MIDI IN (optional)
MIDI In/Out/Thru Brain-work Study the diagram above. Lets say you have 2 machines connected on the same port. If, for example, you are sending a track down channel 4 from the computer and have the 1st machine is turned OFF on channel 4, it will ignore all that data. Because all of the data coming in to the 1st 'board is also going out the MIDI THRU, the second machine will play the track, if you have channel 4 turned ON. So you ask, what happens if channel 4 is set to ON for both devices? Bingo dude! You got it, they both play. Now if each synth was on a different PORT, would both synths make a sound. Nope! Each port is totally discrete. The data on Port A does not go down Port B. Remember, each port has 16 channels. The Port is the parent; the channel is the child. So if you get a midi interface that has 8 ports, how many channels do you have? Yes, you math genius, 128. Does that mean you can connect 128 keyboards to ONE 8 port midi interface. YES! But don't call me to wire it ok? Most people put each synth on it's own dedicated port so they don't have to turn channels on and off all the time.
General MIDI. Most soundcards follow a specification called General MIDI or GM. This specifies which programs are available for the 16 channels. Drums are always on channel 10. The rest you define how you like. The basic GM set consists of 128 programs which always have the same program number. Piano is always program 1. 34 is always Picked Bass, 67 is always Baritone Sax.. Ok, Here's the Chart of GM sounds. Because there is this common reference, any file you make with GM can be played on any computer or synth that follows the GM spec. That's what a MIDIFILE is. Its a sequence made up of tracks filled with timing information and NOTE ON/OFF information. A "MIDI" or Midifile has no audio data again. It only has note and controller and time data. But because manufacturers follow this standard spec, it sounds the same, or similar, on different soundcards. Its possible to do a great composition with GM, but the limits are in the limited palette of 128 sounds. But its an excellent way to get started. After a while you might want better, more varied, or more specific sounds--that's when you know its time to move on to standalone modules that give you often thousands of sounds, or focus on specific genre's like dance sounds, orchestral, hip hop, world fusion, R&B, etc.
The Computer and MIDI, a great match. Because MIDI data is compact in size its easy for a computer to manipulate it. You can easily have 50 tracks of midi instruments running in a song if you have enough ports and channels. In the sequencer, midi tracks can be copied, looped, transposed, doubled, stretched and edited to fine detail. You hit a wrong note? No problem, edit it to the proper value. You have a great idea but your timing is off? No problem. Simply apply a quantize template and your notes will lock to a grid or a groove. You don't have to be a good keyboard player to make excellent sounding compositions. Simply correct the tracks till they sing for you. From the sequencer, every element of the MIDI stream can be modified. You can call up a track and edit it on a musical stave like the "old" composers used to or on hi-tech grids, or in a list of events.
Why Mess with MIDI? : OK, all you homeboys and dudes who think that MIDI is "old" and not as cool as hot audio loops and beats take note: Most commercial loops are built with MIDI data controlling digital samplers. The true and authentic tweak-head and groovemaster either uses MIDI to make their loops or has such impeccable timing they just record it cold. Of course you could buy and use store-bought loops, but you'd be restricted to using other people's sounds and stuff. Get a sampler, makes some noises, edit to perfection with MIDI, grooving, quantizing, transposing and you are 100% originally you! Record the output and edit the sample and you just made your own audio loop. That's how the true tweaks do it.
Don't think for a minute that MIDI is not a serious musical tool. Nearly all TV/film scores today make use of MIDI. Many top 40 songs are made with sequencers in home studios and converted to professional audio. MIDI is the core building block on which to build a totally original musical masterpiece on a computer.
The Audio Sector
The Audio section of our budget studio is found right on the Soundcard with its Mic IN, Line IN and Line Out jacks. On your soundcard is a microprocessor called the digital audio converter (DAC) which contains 2 parts. 1) Analog to digital conversion (a/d) and 2) Digital to analog (d/a) conversion. Some call the DAC an ad/da converter. The Audio Line in goes to the a/d then to the CPU, memory, and storage. The stored digital audio (called a .WAV file) goes back to the memory, CPU, then out the d/a to the Line Outs. Simple enough. Yep!
Connecting Microphones and guitars and other sources. A good soundcard will let you connect these to the soundcard inputs. A cheap sound card that only has MIC and LINE ins might pose a small problem. You'll have to use a cheap mic to connect to the little 1/8 inch phone jack, and you'll need a little adapter to connect the guitar to the MIC in. (be careful to keep you guitar at very low volume). If you have a direct box or a pedal, connect that to the LINE IN. A better solution here is to get a small mixer that lets you connect the mixer output to the LINE IN jacks on the soundcard. The Mixer will let you use better microphones with XLR jacks and will have better clearer sounding preamps. Also a Mixer will be able to boost the guitar signal just right, making it easy to use pedals and all the cool guitar gadgets you might have.
How MIDI and AUDIO work together. The digital audio/MIDI sequencer allows you to record the analog output of your synths as .wav files. You simply connect the audio outputs of the synth(s) to your soundcard's audio line inputs. Yep, the audio goes through the DAC to computer memory and hard disk. This type of data is correctly called digital audio data, where each second of sound is divided into 44,100 slices! So you should be digging that audio data is thousands of times larger than midi data, right? It is.
Once your synth tracks are recorded as .wav files, then you can process these perfectly synced wave files with "plugins" or effects. Or you can keep your synth tracks in the MIDI domain (where they are always freely editable) and add your voice, or guitars, or whatever else you want as audio tracks. (or you can record everything as audio then "mixdown" all the audio tracks to a single stereo .wav file. Getting the idea? In the sequencer, you can have MIDI and Audio tracks side by side. A good MIDI/Audio sequencer gives you everything you need to make a complete piece of music. You can sing or speak over massive orchestras, hip-hop beats, trance tapestries, audio loops, sampled snippets ripped from your music collection, whatever you can get in there. When it all sounds the way you like it you MIXDOWN to your format of choice. You can do this internally in the sequencer (if you recorded your MIDI tracks as Audio tracks). This process is called "bouncing", where several sequencer audio tracks are combined to a single stereo track. Or if you are using external keyboards and synths that you are not recording as audio tracks, you can blend them with the soundcard output in your mixer and route that to a tape deck, DAT, cd recorder or even to the inputs of a second soundcard. You should be getting an idea of how flexible a MIDI/Audio sequencer is, and how there is not a necessarily "best" way to go about making a final master. If it sounds good and you can record it--that's the bottom line.
The Basic Budget Recording Studio: What? You want me to draw you a picture? OK I will. Below you see a typical simple and advanced midi/audio systems and how they connect. If you have quality components, add a few soft synths and samplers, and if you work carefully, even this simple system below can rival the sound of the advanced system. If you already have a good quality soundcard with a good mic preamp on it, all you need is a working midi keyboard (an old one will do), a sequencer like logic or cakewalk, and a decent mic, and oh, the joystick port midi cable we talked about before.) Even with just one module or soundcard, an immense wealth of music power is under your control. The more you learn about it, the better your music will be. All you need is a musical imagination and some basic gear and you are on your way.
Q) Tweak! Help Me out! Tell me what I need to get started! I don't have a lot of cash but I really want to get going with my music!
A) Ok, you asked, here's your Options:
The Really Really Cheap Studio (under $100 total)
You already have a soundcard and computer, right? Go down to the local pawn shop and dig for an old keyboard--just make sure it has a MIDI out. Probably find one for under $50 bucks. Get the Midi cable for the soundcard. Find a cheap plastic mic with an 1/8 inch plug ($10 or so, maybe you already have one?). Get a basic entry level sequencer here for about $30. Yer Done. For a hundred smackers you have a recording studio. It'll work. It'll be fun, and you can get really serious if you want.
The Inexpensive Studio, but Decent under 5 bills
At the same pawn shop look for a keyboard that has MIDI and sounds good and is multitimbral. Should be some there in the 200-300 range. Spring for a better entry level sequencer like Cakewalk Home Studio, Cubasis or MicroLogic. Get a soundcard that has Mic and guitar inputs on it, or get a small mixer or preamp, and get a good XLR Mic.
A Fine quality Budget Studio, under a grand
All the stuff is on this page except the sound card. Look at the M-Audio Delta Cards. Get a fine digital audio sequencer like Sonar, Cubase VST or Logic Gold. My "Sequencer City" page will take you as deep as you want into these products. Get a Small Mixer, like the Behringer above or maybe a class better, or Mic Preamp and an XLR Mic, like the SM57. Check out my "Guide to Mixers" Page Find a new keyboard you like. The Yamaha S03 is one that won't let you down. I also talk more about keyboards on m "Buy the Right Keyboard" Page. Later on you can add a software synth or sampler, esoteric plugins and more. The sky is open with a pro sequencer and a clean way to get audio in it. If you go this route, you'll enjoy excellent sound quality. This is enough stuff to make music at CD quality, your own original MP3s you can upload to places on the internet and more than enough to experiment with many different forms of music from classical to drum N bass to Hip Hop.
http://www.tweakheadz.com/how_to_get_started_with_midi.html
