I apologize in advance for the length of this, but I want to make sure
I don't miss anything.

I'm a musician and composer who has been out of the loop more or less
for too long. I play keyboards, bass, drums, guitar, and a bunch of
other stuff. I'm aching to get back to composing and recording.

Here's my problem: I haven't bought any new equipment for a _long_
time, and browsing through music stores now, looking at keyboards,
digital multitracks and computer software, I'm completely
overwhelmed. Offhand, I don't know what any of the new equipment can
do. When I read a bit about what it can do, it doesn't end up
telling me what I want to know. So I'm looking for equipment advice
from someone very familiar with the new technology. I can make this
much easier for you (and help you understand why it's difficult for
me to figure out what to buy, and why I need an expert who might not be
found working in a music store) by explaining what I want to do. A lot
of what I want to do is unusual. Some isn't so unusual. I realize
that some or many of the features I want might not exist (and maybe I
should field this stuff to equipment manufacturers), but I'd
appreciate knowing what is closest to what I'd like (and don't just
say "magic", lol):

1. Start off with something easy: I want a set up on which it is easy
to record acoustic instruments. I plan on doing a lot of stuff with
odd instruments, such as toys and just any objects that make
interesting sounds. I want something with a large number of tracks.

2. Another easy one: I want a set up from which it is easy to make
digital files, burn songs to CDs, etc.

3. Slightly more difficult: I'd like software that can translate what
I play into traditional notation. That would be easiest for me to work
with. At the same time, I'd like to be able to work with the
material in a more mathematical setting. I'll explain this more
below.

4. I'm pretty sure this one is available, but I don't know: I want
to be able to record small phrases, grooves, sounds, etc. and be able
to copy, cut and paste them at whim. So maybe two bars or something
can be copied indefinitely. Then I could record another two bars and
copy one bar to the middle of the repeated first stuff. I just want as
much flexibility and expandability there as possible. Also, I'd like
to be able to take a single track and extract it, copy and paste it in
different places-maybe layering . . . anything I can think of.

5. Now moving towards the crazy requirements (I can explain any of
these better if you're curious): In addition to the above, I want to
be able to manipulate the material in a variety of ways. Maybe stretch
out the time of something so that the pitches do not change. Or
compress it. Or transpose it. Or flip it upside down, or backwards,
and so on. I'd like to be able to take, say, bar 144, or a 250 bar
recording and stretch it out so it's two bars long, or a bar and a
half, or use actual time-so that it's 3.7 seconds instead of 3
seconds, and have everything else automatically shift over. I'd also
like to be able to do this with just one track. Or just single notes.
So that maybe the toy piano track at bar 144 gets stretched out to last
3.7 seconds while everything else at that bar stays the same. (And
then I'd like to have the option of everything in the toy piano track
shifting out of whack by 0.7 seconds for the rest of the recording, or
having it layer over what existed, so that it remains in sync from bar
145 onward.) I should be able to easily remove single notes or
sections and replace them with something else. Maybe instead of a
brake drum on beat 2 of bar 112, I could drag and drop a train horn.
I'd like to be able to easily replace something like that on beat 2
of every bar, too. I'd also like to be able to define "snippets"
so that my point A to point B on track 1 takes 4.2 seconds and so does
my point A to point B on track 2. Alternatively, I could tell the
software to change the speed of one snippet or another so that the
snippets are quantized to each other in various ways.

6. Further to the last point, I want my sequencers and or recording and
notation software to be able to deal easily with any conceivable time
signature. I should also be able to have time signature and tempo
changes as frequently as I like, and I should be able to have different
instruments playing in different time signatures at the same time.
Ideally, I could also do things like change the tempo of tracks
separately from each other, I should be able to have the software
change the time signature of any track at any point to any time
signature, and I should be able to either quantize or "dequantize"
any track to an internal click as much as I like. The quantization
should be more or less exact by my dictate, I should be able to
completely turn it off, and I should be able to make it randomized
within a particular range. I should be able to set this differently
for each track (or any number of tracks in unison) at any point, with
multiple changes. I should be able to set particular beats to go off
quantization in particular ways for each track. So maybe I'd want
beat 3 of each bar to be behind for all instruments, or just some, or
to be randomly off-beat, etc. Basically, most quantization is designed
to keep things relatively in beat, or "naturally" a bit ahead or
behind or relaxed. While I want that capability, too, I also want to
be able to make it sound sloppy, off . . . varying degrees of chaos and
disorganization.

7. Similar to my requirements for quantization, I want to be able to
control pitches in the same ways. Equipment is usually designed to
keep things more or less on pitch. I want to have that capability,
too, but I also want to be able to change pitches drastically, and not
just within the well-tempered system. I want to be able to detune
pitches by small fractions at a time (at least by a cent, but maybe
even less). I want to be able to define pitch shifts like quantization
shifts-from a bit off, or tending to be flat sometimes, or tending to
be sharp sometimes, or randomizing this to a greater or lesser extent.
I want to be able to do this for individual tracks, or maybe even
define particular notes that tend to go out-like define all b-flats
to be 15 cents sharp for all instruments. I want to be able to use
microtonal scales, and I'd like to be able to define my own
microtonal scales mathematically-so there would really be infinite
possibilities.

8. I'd prefer something that's easily adaptable for future
developments, rather than having to buy all-new equipment, software,
etc.

9. I'd prefer a keyboard that has easily customizable sounds, that is
also a sampler, that I can expand easily, etc.

So what should I go with? What keyboard, digital multitrack and or
computer software?

Thanks in advance. If you help a lot, I'll give you a credit on my
next CD, featuring the weird music I'm talking about . . . not that
anyone pays any attention to my work, but still ;-)

Brandt Sponseller
www.CarnyBarkerMedia.com

wrote:
I apologize in advance for the length of this, but I want to make sure
I don't miss anything.

I'm a musician and composer who has been out of the loop more or less
for too long. I play keyboards, bass, drums, guitar, and a bunch of
other stuff. I'm aching to get back to composing and recording.

Here's my problem: I haven't bought any new equipment for a _long_
time, and browsing through music stores now, looking at keyboards,
digital multitracks and computer software, I'm completely
overwhelmed. Offhand, I don't know what any of the new equipment can
do. When I read a bit about what it can do, it doesn't end up
telling me what I want to know. So I'm looking for equipment advice
from someone very familiar with the new technology. I can make this
much easier for you (and help you understand why it's difficult for
me to figure out what to buy, and why I need an expert who might not
be found working in a music store) by explaining what I want to do.
A lot of what I want to do is unusual. Some isn't so unusual. I
realize that some or many of the features I want might not exist (and
maybe I should field this stuff to equipment manufacturers), but I'd
appreciate knowing what is closest to what I'd like (and don't just
say "magic", lol):

1. Start off with something easy: I want a set up on which it is easy
to record acoustic instruments. I plan on doing a lot of stuff with
odd instruments, such as toys and just any objects that make
interesting sounds. I want something with a large number of tracks.

2. Another easy one: I want a set up from which it is easy to make
digital files, burn songs to CDs, etc.

3. Slightly more difficult: I'd like software that can translate what
I play into traditional notation. That would be easiest for me to
work with. At the same time, I'd like to be able to work with the
material in a more mathematical setting. I'll explain this more
below.

4. I'm pretty sure this one is available, but I don't know: I want
to be able to record small phrases, grooves, sounds, etc. and be able
to copy, cut and paste them at whim. So maybe two bars or something
can be copied indefinitely. Then I could record another two bars and
copy one bar to the middle of the repeated first stuff. I just want
as much flexibility and expandability there as possible. Also, I'd
like to be able to take a single track and extract it, copy and paste
it in different places-maybe layering . . . anything I can think of.

5. Now moving towards the crazy requirements (I can explain any of
these better if you're curious): In addition to the above, I want to
be able to manipulate the material in a variety of ways. Maybe
stretch out the time of something so that the pitches do not change.
Or compress it. Or transpose it. Or flip it upside down, or
backwards, and so on. I'd like to be able to take, say, bar 144, or
a 250 bar recording and stretch it out so it's two bars long, or a
bar and a half, or use actual time-so that it's 3.7 seconds instead
of 3 seconds, and have everything else automatically shift over. I'd
also like to be able to do this with just one track. Or just single
notes. So that maybe the toy piano track at bar 144 gets stretched
out to last
3.7 seconds while everything else at that bar stays the same. (And
then I'd like to have the option of everything in the toy piano track
shifting out of whack by 0.7 seconds for the rest of the recording, or
having it layer over what existed, so that it remains in sync from bar
145 onward.) I should be able to easily remove single notes or
sections and replace them with something else. Maybe instead of a
brake drum on beat 2 of bar 112, I could drag and drop a train horn.
I'd like to be able to easily replace something like that on beat 2
of every bar, too. I'd also like to be able to define "snippets"
so that my point A to point B on track 1 takes 4.2 seconds and so does
my point A to point B on track 2. Alternatively, I could tell the
software to change the speed of one snippet or another so that the
snippets are quantized to each other in various ways.

6. Further to the last point, I want my sequencers and or recording
and notation software to be able to deal easily with any conceivable
time signature. I should also be able to have time signature and
tempo changes as frequently as I like, and I should be able to have
different instruments playing in different time signatures at the
same time. Ideally, I could also do things like change the tempo of
tracks separately from each other, I should be able to have the
software change the time signature of any track at any point to any
time signature, and I should be able to either quantize or
"dequantize"
any track to an internal click as much as I like. The quantization
should be more or less exact by my dictate, I should be able to
completely turn it off, and I should be able to make it randomized
within a particular range. I should be able to set this differently
for each track (or any number of tracks in unison) at any point, with
multiple changes. I should be able to set particular beats to go off
quantization in particular ways for each track. So maybe I'd want
beat 3 of each bar to be behind for all instruments, or just some, or
to be randomly off-beat, etc. Basically, most quantization is
designed to keep things relatively in beat, or "naturally" a bit
ahead or behind or relaxed. While I want that capability, too, I
also want to be able to make it sound sloppy, off . . . varying
degrees of chaos and disorganization.

7. Similar to my requirements for quantization, I want to be able to
control pitches in the same ways. Equipment is usually designed to
keep things more or less on pitch. I want to have that capability,
too, but I also want to be able to change pitches drastically, and not
just within the well-tempered system. I want to be able to detune
pitches by small fractions at a time (at least by a cent, but maybe
even less). I want to be able to define pitch shifts like
quantization shifts-from a bit off, or tending to be flat sometimes,
or tending to be sharp sometimes, or randomizing this to a greater or
lesser extent. I want to be able to do this for individual tracks, or
maybe even define particular notes that tend to go out-like define
all b-flats
to be 15 cents sharp for all instruments. I want to be able to use
microtonal scales, and I'd like to be able to define my own
microtonal scales mathematically-so there would really be infinite
possibilities.

8. I'd prefer something that's easily adaptable for future
developments, rather than having to buy all-new equipment, software,
etc.

9. I'd prefer a keyboard that has easily customizable sounds, that is
also a sampler, that I can expand easily, etc.

So what should I go with? What keyboard, digital multitrack and or
computer software?

Thanks in advance. If you help a lot, I'll give you a credit on my
next CD, featuring the weird music I'm talking about . . . not that
anyone pays any attention to my work, but still ;-)

Brandt Sponseller
www.CarnyBarkerMedia.com

i feel you most informed response will come form the denizens of
rec.audio.pro.

i would suggest your subject line be something like: help with recording
software and keyboard selection

for your Foley recording you might state whether it needs to be portable or
not. does the sound come to you or do you go to the sound? mono or stereo?
as a general purpose mic you might look at the Rode NT-5

Adobe Audition is my preferred recording software, however i only scratch
the surface of it's capabilities. to find whether it will fill all or part
of your requirements you will have to wade through the info at
http://www.adobe.com/products/audition/

for DC burning i find Roxio to be friendly. Nero works ok too.