Q How can I avoid digital repatching?
Q What do I need to move from DJ'ing to music production?
Q What kind of CD writer is best for me?
Q Should I upgrade to digital mastering?
Q How do I insure my equipment?
Q Can you recommend some powered monitors?
Q Where can I find an editor for my FM synth?

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Q How can I avoid digital repatching?

I'm trying to set up my digital recording system so that I don't have to do any repatching. I'm using a Wami Rack 24 audio card and breakout box, Line 6 Pod Pro and Bass Pod Pro, for recording guitar and bass respectively. For the S/PDIF audio side, I've decided to buy a Midiman Digipatch 12x6 digital patchbay to avoid repatching of the Pods in turn to the single S/PDIF input of the WR24. I can also connect my CD-ROM and future gear to this.

And now here comes my question. I like to make the WR24 the word clock master in all cases. To achieve this, I have to connect the word clock out of the Wami to the word clock in of the Pods. The Wami has one word clock out. The Pods both have a word clock input, not an output, so I would still have to repatch the BNC cables carrying the word clock signal when changing between Pods.

How could I avoid this patching? Can I just make a split lead, or use asplitter? Will the word clock signal be OK if I do? If this won't work, is there a (cheap) device that sends out multiple word clock signals?

Gert-Jan van der Hout
The Netherlands

SOS Technical Editor and digital audio specialist Hugh Robjohns responds: I'm pleased to say that there's an easy solution... in theory! Word clock is a pretty simple square-wave signal running at the sampling frequency of the system, and it can be 'daisy-chained' between virtually as much gear as you like, as long as you are a little careful.

For your applications, all you have to do is take the word clock out of your WR24 card from its BNC connector and run it to the first Pod's WC input. Make sure you use a proper 75(omega) cable designed to handle digits or video, equipped with 75(omega) BNCs. Anything less will distort the shape of the clock signal and you will get all sorts of problems.

At the clock input of the first Pod, connect the cable to a BNC T-piece connector (available from most electronics hobby shops and mail–order catalogues such as Canford Audio) and plug that into the Pod's clock input. The master word clock is now available at the Pod and you should configure the unit to clock to this new reference signal.

Then take another length of 75(omega) cable, connect it to the open terminal on the T-piece and extend it to the second pod's clock input. Again, connect through a second BNC T-piece and configure the second Pod for external reference clocking too. On the open connection of this second T-Piece you need to plug in a 75(omega) termination to stop reflections back along the cable. This is nothing more complex than a pair of 150(omega) resistors soldered in parallel between the pin and body contacts of a spare BNC connector. You can buy ready-made terminators if you don't want to make your own. Everything should now work exactly as you want it to (see diagram).

With properly designed clock inputs, this kind of daisy-chaining between equipment can be extended almost indefinitely, as long as the 75(omega) termination is connected at the end of the chain. However, there is a potential fly in the ointment. If the Pod clock inputs are already terminated — ie. the manufacturer has already fitted the termination resistors internally — the clock signal will be diminished in amplitude with every additional piece of equipment connected to the chain. Eventually, there will be insufficient signal for anything to clock reliably. Usually, however, the clock input circuitry is sufficiently sensitive to cope with a few double–terminated connections, but not many! It shouldn't cause a problem with just a couple of Pods.

You could check the specifications for the Pods in their user manuals, to see if their clock inputs are terminated, but manufacturers often don't provide this kind of information. A better method is to connect an oscilloscope to the clock cable at the end and take a look at the shape and size of the signal. If it is halved in size when you plug in the second Pod, or if the square waves look triangular or rounded, take off the end termination and see if that helps. If the signal is very jittery and confused, put the termination back on! There is a certain amount of trial and error involved here, with just a dash of black magic!

If you suspect double terminations, just plug the linking cable directly into the second Pod's clock input and don't bother with the second BNC T-piece or termination plug. If you are not sure, try both ways and see which works best, but if in doubt, leave the termination plug on at the end of the chain.

For bigger systems where daisy-chaining word clocks gets messy, a better solution, employed routinely by professional installations, is a word clock distribution unit, although these are relatively expensive.

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Q What do I need to move from DJ'ing to music production?

I've been DJ'ing (trance and hard house music mostly) for two years. I've done countless small gigs and several fairly large ones and I'm thinking about broadening my horizons and going into production, but as I'm only 15 it seems a pretty daunting task considering the expenses. I currently own a 400MHz iMac with a basic version of Cubase VST, but I'm wondering what other things I need (sampler, synthesizer, mixing desk, etc) — or rather, which ones you could recommend. Cheapish ones please. Also another question, regarding CD writers: a Philips CDR770 or an Iomega USB CD-RW drive?

DJ Duggy

Assistant Editor Sam Inglis replies: For dance music, the main things you're likely to need are a sampler to provide sounds, a keyboard to trigger them, and a MIDI interface to get the MIDI data in and out of the computer. If you end up with more than one sound source, you'll also need some way of mixing them together. In your position, you could go for a 'budget' sampler such as Korg's Electribe S or Zoom's ST224 (reviewed SOS August 2000 and January '99 respectively), a second-hand but more professionally specified sampler, such as an older Akai or Emu model, or a software sampler that can run with Cubase, such as Bitheadz' Unity DS1 (reviewed April '99), or even inside it, such as the forthcoming Steinberg HALion. The advantage of the latter option is that you can do everything inside the computer, and there won't be any messing about with cables or synchronisation. The disadvantage is that you won't be able to take it out to gigs, if you ever want to do that.

Yet another software idea is Propellerhead's Reason, reviewed in the March issue of Sound On Sound. This almost completely self-contained music production system has features that include analogue–style synthesis, drum programming, effects, and two methods of sequencing. Though it doesn't offer a user sampling facility, it does allow you to import audio in popular formats such as AIFF and WAV, and then manipulate it with a sampler 'device' and use it in your tracks. You could potentially get around the lack of user sampling by recording audio into Cubase, saving it in AIFF format and importing that into Reason. The program comes with a large free sound and sample/loop library, and your computer should be well capable of running it.

As for a keyboard, unless you actually want to get involved with playing complex keyboard parts you could probably make do with one of the very low-cost models made by companies such as Evolution. Unless you have several external MIDI sound sources/modules, moreover, you can probably get away with a simple one-in/one-out USB MIDI interface — Midiman make very cost-effective small interfaces. You could also consider the new Roland PC300 controller keyboard, which has a USB interface for connecting direct to your Mac and costs under £150.

If you end up doing all your production in the computer, it makes sense to record your mixes within Cubase and then burn them to a computer-controlled CD-RW. If, on the other hand, you decide to use an external sampler for all your sounds, you could use a stand-alone CD recorder, such as the Philips you mention, as a master stereo recorder.

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Q What kind of CD writer is best for me?

I would be very grateful for your advice on what I need to burn CDs from my Mac G4/Digi 001/Pro Tools LE setup. I have read your reviews of different types of CD recorder in previous issues and would be very grateful for any help on the following points.

Would a stand-alone CD recorder go well with a Digi 001? How would I connect it (would I need to get a SCSI card for my G4 or would I connect it via my Digi 001 box)? Would I need additional software? Or could I just use a CD writer from somewhere like PC World?

Adrian Mathie

Assistant Editor Debbie Poyser replies: As it happens, Adrian, you have the exact same setup as myself and my partner — Digi 001 and G4 Mac — and we've just bought a CD writer that's working well so far. We used to use a Philips stand-alone CD writer, first sending mixes out of the optical S/PDIF digital output on the Digi 001 PCI card to our DAT recorder, then copying them to CD. (We could, of course, have gone direct to CD via the coaxial S/PDIF output on the Digi's breakout box.) This worked fine, and I'm sure that any of the current stand-alone models would work fine in this way too, but when you have such a good computer it's a shame not to take advantage of it for CD-writing.

We've now bought a Yamaha CRW8824 SX computer-based SCSI CD writer — not from PC World, but from another general retailer — which came bundled with a version of Adaptec's Toast CD-burning software and can write CDs at up to 8x normal speed. This is much faster than the real-time writing that stand-alone models offer. The Toast software allows CDs to be recorded, and you can also use the combination for data file backup, unlike a stand-alone CD recorder. (Adaptec's Jam software, which you could buy to go with the CD writer, has more sophisticated audio CD–burning powers; details of the software, along with a list of compatible drives, can be found at www.roxio.com/en/support/index.html — Paul White)

We bought a SCSI CD writer (and an Adaptec PCI SCSI card for the computer) because we also want to connect it to our sampler, but if you don't need this kind of facility, you could buy a USB or FireWire CD writer instead. Either way, try to buy from a Mac specialist, so you can get the Mac support software and Mac-specific sales backup.

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Q Should I upgrade to digital mastering?

Until now I have been using a normal domestic cassette deck to make master copies of my recordings. The results are not great, and I would like to improve on the situation. Could you please advise me on a suitable alternative that would give better-quality masters and allow me to make better-sounding copies?

My equipment list includes a Roland XP50 keyboard, Tascam 424 MkII Portastudio and a Tascam M106 mixer. Should I be looking at a DAT machine or some kind of CD mastering? Also, could I record from my Roland keyboard directly to DAT or CD? A lot of the music I record is instrumental, but I also record acoustic guitar and vocal pieces as well.

Jim Holland

Assistant Editors Tom Flint and Debbie Poyser reply: Mastering to CD or DAT will certainly improve the situation. We'd also suggest that you consider investing in a stereo compressor, from someone like Drawmer, Dbx or Alesis, if you don't already have one, to improve the level at which you can master. If you can get the signal as loud as possible (without distortion), noise will be less of a problem and your mixes will also sound more polished and professional. The Philips CDR775 dual CD recorder (under £300 in the UK; SRTL, +44 (0)1243 379834) which was reviewed in the December 2000 SOS, is worth looking at for mastering. It has one CDRW deck and one CD–player deck, which is capable of playing back un-finalised CDRW discs, unlike normal domestic CD players. You can thus not only master to it, but also run off CD copies of your master, at double speed.

That said, cassette mastering may not be as much of a problem as you think, if you can get the source material as high-quality as possible. Your recordings will still only be as good as the weakest link in your recording chain, and in this case it's probably your cassette Portastudio. You could consider buying a recorder with better preamps and a superior signal-to-noise ratio, perhaps one of the new digital personal studios. Almost all of these have built-in mixers and a digital output for recording directly to CD or DAT.

You could certainly record direct to the mastering medium of your choice directly from your XP50, and this should result in excellent quality for synth instrumentals, especially if you're mastering to CD or DAT, but it wouldn't, obviously, allow you to work with acoustic instruments or vocals.

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Q How do I insure my equipment?

I have a small digital studio (Roland VS880 8–track recorder/mixer, sampler, synth, etc) and am looking for some advice about insuring it. When talking to normal insurers they recommend special insurance policies for musical equipment, but with all these little studios around is it really such an unheard-of thing that needs special insurance? Perhaps you could shed some light, or give me a couple of names of companies that are trustworthy?

Sven Mitchell

Editor Paul White replies: We often carry ads from insurers who will cover studio gear in the classified section of the mag. Check out Hencilla Canworth (+44 (0)20 8686 5050), GM Imber (+44 (0)20 7231 5005), Golden Valley Insurance's Musicover (+44 (0)1981 240536), Robertson Taylor (+ 44 (0)20 7510 1234) and Musicguard (+44 (0)2476 851000, www.musicguard.co.uk)

Also, many home insurance policies will cover a sensible amount of recording gear at an extra premium — that's how I do my insurance now. All the insurer usually asks is that the total value of the items is disclosed, and that individual items worth over £1000 are specifically listed. Just don't call it a studio, unless you're taking in paying clients of course — technically it's just expensive audio equipment for your own use.

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Q Can you recommend some powered monitors?

I need a pair of monitors and like the look of the Mackie HR824s, but would also be interested in the KRK V8s. Do you have any preference? Or any other thoughts for a pair of self-powered monitors for under $1500 (US) that would suit a home studio about 13-foot square recording techno, funk-jazz, metal and rock music?

Jim Sloves

Editor Paul White replies: The Mackie HR824s are a good choice for the type of material you mention, simply because they can handle a lot of bass at realistic monitoring levels — though see the warning about room sizes at the end of this reply. In your situation, setting the bass switch to its mid position would probably give you the best results. The 824s are also pretty neutral sounding, so you can rely on your mixes being properly balanced. The KRK V8s are also worth a look; you can search for our review of those on the SOS web site. Another personal favourite of mine is the Dynaudio BM15, and again you'll find a review on our web site.

At a lower price point, I recommend the Alesis M1As, though Alesis have a new active monitor just about to hit the marketplace, so it may be worth waiting until we've checked that out before making up your mind. Bear in mind that with your room size it may be unwise to choose anything larger than the monitors we've mentioned, as you could end up with low-frequency problems, especially as the room is almost square.

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Q Where can I find an editor for my FM synth?

Can you help me find a good patch editor/librarian for my Yamaha TX81Z 4-operator FM synth module? I really would like to manage all these parameters with a graphic interface instead of killing my eyes on the LCD!

Jerome

SOS contributor Derek Johnson replies: I know the feeling, Jerome! I wouldn't get rid of my TX81Z for anything, but it's no fun to edit when it's stuck in the rack. I think Yamaha might be onto something with their new DX200 FM desktop synth module... Anyway, back to the TX. You don't say what platform you'd prefer your software to run on, so I'll do a quick run through for several!

First of all, commercial options include multi-MIDI device editors such as Emagic's Sound Diver and Mark of the Unicorn's Unisyn, which are both available in versions for Mac or Windows PCs. A large, and regularly updated, collection of drivers for MIDI equipment new and old is included with these packages, and either would be a good addition to any computer-based MIDI studio with more than a couple of MIDI devices. Sound Diver was available at one time for the Atari family, but your only hope there is to find a copy second-hand; if you do, it will have a TX81Z driver.

Another cross-platform universal editor is Sound Quest Inc's MIDI Quest. This one has a long history, and has been available for Atari, Amiga, Mac and PC at one time or another. I've spotted the latest v8 for PC in British retailer Turnkey's advertising (+44 (0)202 7419 999, web www.turnkey.uk.com); this version will apparently integrate closely with Steinberg's Cubase VST and Cakewalk's sequencing software. MIDI Quest's web site (www.squest.com/) is worth a visit if you're not a PC user, though: Mac, Atari and Amiga versions of the software are still available direct, and TX81Z drivers are included with all three versions. I know you're from France, Jerome; Sound Quest's local distributor is Synthe Diffusion (www.synthediffusion.com).

Yamaha's 4-operator synth family is also particularly well-served by dedicated editor/librarians, both commercial and shareware. There isn't space to list and describe all the options, but the net is a good place to start. Try Shareware Music Machine (www.hitsquad.com/smm/) first — shareware TX81Z editor librarians for Mac, PC and Atari are amongst their huge collection of MIDI and audio software. Atari–based TX81Z owners should discover YSEditor Plus if they don't already know about it; it's a mature package capable of editing any 4-operator synth (there's even a version for FB01), as well as loading virtually any format of 4-op synth patch file, and is located at www.telebyte.nl/~mt/yseditor.htm.

 

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