...With Only A PC Workstation

Let me start off with a bit of background -- Bob has been riding me to get this article done for weeks (I am weeks behind, after all...) and in that time, the scope has shifted from being the simple "plug-ins article" he requested into something much larger. As such, there's too much info to fit into just one issue. This is the first part of a multi-part article on home recording, how to build a workstation, what plug-ins are (and why we love them!), some stuff about production, artist/producer relations, and just a touch of 5.1 surround.....

I recently entered a production deal with a talented group of poets from Detroit (who I intend to help make big...this time without getting screwed!). I decided that the best sounding product we could make would have to be made at my home studio, as the other studios I had access to were lacking in one way or another.

My studio was setup with only myself in mind. The Original Mr. Selfish Bastard! Actually, it was because I was now a certified Video Guy™, with no desire to ever have a recording client in my home studio. I had everything I needed to do my own stuff (and work on Fatt Haxx projects) and I was happy. Transferring in tons of MIDI tracks against time code it could do with ease, but recording overdubs would be impossible. My soundcard was going out via S/PDIF to my DA-30 DAT machine, which had to be in record to allow the signal from the computer to reach the amp. With me? OK....

With the DA-30 in record (and looking for the digital signal from the computer) it was physically impossible for me to record in using my usual inputs -- the inputs on the back of the DA-30. Normally, when I wanted to load audio into the computer, I would put the DA-30 into record ready, and switch the input to analog. That way, whatever was feeding the DAT (in this case, the "tape out" of my amp, would go out the DAT's S/PDIF port and digitally enter the computer.

You see the problem here? I need another DAT machine if I want to do that! Of course, that would be the silly way. The search for a new soundcard begins here.

I've always liked the Layla/Gina/Darla family of cards from Event (or Echo, or whatever the hell they're calling themselves today) and was heavily considering one, when a new wave of products started arriving: the workstation controller/interface. In particular, I was interested in the Tascam US-428, with 8 faders, full transport/function controls, jog wheel, 4 analog ins, S/PDIF in/out, 2 MIDI in/outs, and complete control over my favorite workstation software, all on a single USB connection!

At under $500, I figured I'd give it a shot. Besides, the closest competitors were a lot more expensive, so it was this one or nothing. I could always return it if it turned out to be junk.

When it arrived, I unpacked it, (it looks like a typical Tascam 4 track portastudio that's been painted metallic blue and had it's cassette deck removed) plugged it in and installed the software with no problems at all. In addition to the driver software, the 428 comes with Cubasis, an extremely limited version of Cubase/VST (an excellent workstation, itself). I ran the configuration program that comes with my software, and it said everything was just fine. When I attempted to launch the program, though.......nothing. Just black. No screen, total reboot...so....I tried again!

Same thing, every time I tried it. Just as I was debating whether or not to punch the wall or try and summon the almighty spirit of Mothersbaugh to fix my problems, it occurred to me that I was running WindowsME, and was looking for a reason to upgrade. Upgrading requires a complete format and reinstall of everything.... Perfect!

After surprisingly little bitching, ME was vanquished forever in an eternal hell of Michael Bolton and Celine Dion duets (written by Desmond Child and Diane Warren, no less!), where it shall suffer as I did while using it. I now had XP on all three of my main systems (not counting the Apple IIe or the Atari 800XL) and was loving it. I really love XP, guys. Seriously, it seems to have INCREASED my system performance! Even on the old P2/400 (which barely meets the required specs for XP) it was running nicely. I DO recommend throwing as much RAM at it as possible. I have 512 (because my motherboard won't allow for any more...) but the P2 has 640MB of RAM, since I threw in the extra chips I had that my computer would not support.

With enough RAM, you can do anything. (My system has had more RAM than a field of sheep....) As a side note, none of my XP systems have crashed yet! Some haven't been rebooted in weeks. It seems much more stable than those "crash proof" macintosh thingies, which I seem to be fixing every time I turn around at work. I finished reinstalling my software and got ready to try things out. It didn't reboot! Success!

This is the main editing window from Steinberg's Nuendo ($1299.00 MSRP). It's very much like the edit screen you'll find in Pro Tools, and just about every other multitrack software out there. Nuendo is actually a higher priced cousin to Cubase/VST, so if you're short on funds (and aren't interested in jumping into 5.1 surround mixing just yet) then keep in mind that most of what I describe in this article can be achieved just as easily with a $350 copy of Cubase.

This particular shot is of my setup while I was programming a beat last night. I decided to try and come up with a complete song (minus vocals, of course) using only the computer, one software package, and a MIDI keyboard for input.

In the screenshot, you can see 8 different MIDI tracks and one audio track (where I decided to throw in a sample at the very end of the night...) If you look closely, you'll see that the MIDI inputs are set to receive from the US-428 Port 1, and the outputs are assigned to things like "LM4 MkII", "B4", "SC101", etc. Normally, these would relate to sound modules that would be hooked up to the computer/sequencer via MIDI. This particular set of instruments, however, is completely virtual. More on that in a moment.....

This is the VST Mixer. It looks very much the same when running any of the Cubase family of VST products. If you learn the mixer in Cubase (or Cubasis, for that matter) you've learned the mixer in Nuendo... Besides, you've all seen mixers before, and this one is no different.

There are individual faders for each channel, with dedicated 4 band EQ, 8 effects sends, 4 Inserts, rec/mute/solo enable, and automation controls..... Which reminds me: The one thing I truly dislike about the Nuendo software is the automation system. I like to update in Absolute mode -- period. I can count on one hand the number of times I have willingly used Trim mode to update an automated mix. Most workstation software automation can be told to work in either absolute or trim, just like real-life console automation. Unfortunately, Nuendo seems to operate in a mode of its own, which is neither absolute nor trim, in which additional passes at the automation result in a "merged" automation track. In other words, if I bring the fader down between 2 and 4 seconds, then decide I didn't want to do that, backing up and re-writing the automation with the fader in the proper position will do nothing. You have to go in physically, with the mouse, and delete the automation paths that have been drawn in, THEN go back and write the proper data. This is an unacceptable working situation, for me, and I generally avoid the automation until the last possible moment. Hope they get that fixed in version 2.0...

This is a shot of the actual processing window. You can see the 4 band EQ section on the right hand side, with the 8 effects sends directly to its left.

From looking at that shot, you can see that (in addition to some truly wacky EQ settings) I'm using a bit of reverb on Send 1 (which is labeled "Nuend...rb", short for Nuendo Reverb) and I have the Waves L1 Maximizer inserted on this channel. This was one of the channels out of my virtual drum machine, LM4. I was drastically altering the sound quality of the samples I was using, if you haven't figured that out already...hehehe

This is the LM4 module itself. Rather than programming the beat on my MPC, syncing to MIDI Time Code, and dumping all the tracks in as audio, I've chosen to simplify the process whenever possible, and use the MPC as a controller, triggering the internal sounds of the LM4 (which can be loaded with virtually ANY soundfile you can get into your computer, simply by right-clicking on a pad) and recording the resulting MIDI data into Nuendo.

The only downside? Going through MIDI (and creating sounds on the fly) tends to produce an amount of latency. I've seen this cause serious problems on under powered systems (or systems with older, non-ASIO compliant soundcards) One system I experimented with recently had a completely unacceptable 1000+ ms of latency -- meaning that a full second would pass between the time you hit a note on the MIDI keyboard and the time you heard the note come out of the computer. That was on a Celeron 800, with 128 MB of ram and (here's the problem) a Sound Blaster 16. Sound Blasters are great for gaming, but leave them out of the home studio....They're not made to keep up with multiple tracks of audio! This latency problem can really screw things up if you don't have an excellent sense of timing. Of course, there's always Quantization for the rest of you....

These guys are a major part of my arsenal. Virtual synthesizers! They sound great, they're easier to carry, and they never need to be repaired! Many of these (and there are many more available than the three above) are designed to emulate classic synths from the past, such as the Pro-5 (emulating a Prophet), the DX (emulating a DX7...) and the B4 (emulating the Hammond B3 organ, and doing a DAMN good job of it.)

You can load up to 8 VST instruments in your virtual rack per project. The number of available voices/notes/polyphony is limited by a) your system; b) your soundcard; and occasionally c) by the synth itself. Don't expect 16 voices out of something that's emulating a monophonic synthesizer from 1972.... On the other hand, sometimes the plug-ins have MORE capability than the original instrument, as in the case of the DX, which has options to either fully emulate a DX7 (including its inability to output a MIDI number over 100) or to work as if it were a new device, offering access to all the current MIDI commands we know and love (after 20 years, it is now possible to play the DX7 Tubular Bells patch at full velocity....)

So....I loaded up all the stuff you've seen above (and then some...), set up an 8 bar loop, hit record, and jammed. When I would hear an 8 bar section that I liked, I would save it, copy it out to 32 bars, and move on to the next instrument. There's one of the beautiful things about MIDI - copy and paste! When I had a full 32 bars of all my instruments, it was time for a bit of arrangement. See, 32 bars looped for 9 minutes does NOT make for the most interesting song.... With a bit of nudging and tweaking of MIDI data, I had a song structure roughly in place. I usually like to wait and do my breakdowns AFTER the vocals have been cut, so that I can play off the rhythms of the vocalists. Satisfied with the sound (for the moment) I ask the software to bounce my mix to disc. Listening back to the bounce (which only takes about 1:30, rather than the 9:00 it would've taken in Pro Tools) shows no problems, so I burn the temp mix onto a CD and prepare to present it to the group.

Next issue: Part Two: Cutting Vocals, or Keeping the Band from Killing One Another