I am thinking of buying a drum program, like EZ drummer 2, to create my own drum tracks. Can I record these drum tracks from the computer to input channels on the model 24 to record them to the sd card. Then I can record guitars, bass, vocals directly onto the model 24. I like the idea of recording on the analog recorder but a live drummer isn't always available. I'm new to computer recording, so if this is possible what do I need?
Recording drum tracks from computer into model 24
- Thread starter WVP19
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Yes. However once recorded they are "locked in" as audio files (not MIDI files) so you can't tweak them the same way as you could on a DAW; if you want to make changes you would need to re-record. If you want 5 minutes of drums then you need to create a 5 minute drum file; you can't import a 1 minute loop and set it to repeat.
The fastest way is to do assembly on your DAW, and export them as WAV files using your DAW. I would make sure to use the same bit/hZ rate as you do on your T24. Save them to your SD card.
Then If you look in manual section 7, "Track Editing" subsection "importing tracks", you will see that you can import the WAV as a track into your current song. Obviously the track remains, so you can reuse them.
Your other option is to run a cable from the output of your PC (or from an audio interface) into one of the inputs on the T24 and record live. But that is clunkier and also involves extra unneeded D/A/D conversions.
The fastest way is to do assembly on your DAW, and export them as WAV files using your DAW. I would make sure to use the same bit/hZ rate as you do on your T24. Save them to your SD card.
Then If you look in manual section 7, "Track Editing" subsection "importing tracks", you will see that you can import the WAV as a track into your current song. Obviously the track remains, so you can reuse them.
Your other option is to run a cable from the output of your PC (or from an audio interface) into one of the inputs on the T24 and record live. But that is clunkier and also involves extra unneeded D/A/D conversions.
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If it were possible to use MIDI to start/stop the Model 24 and it would reliably stay in sync and not drift, you could (in theory) keep the drums in the box and just monitor on the console as you add tracks.
That being said, sexy is not always practical when it comes to technology. So, personally, I would do as @Hammarlund suggested and export the drum tracks and import them to the M24. That way, you gain in two areas: 1, you don't have to do a real-time recording and risk not being able to line things up perfectly (see below) and 2, you don't introduce the possibility of even more issues arising from improper levels, clipping, distortion or anything else associated with recording analog signals. Export/Import keeps it all in the digital domain and more importantly, it keeps the audio file at a fixed length.
Why would that be important?
If you would like to change the drum parts because of further development of the song, all you have to do is, do the edits on the PC and by using the same export/import routine again, everything will line up because you used the same methodology and the file length is exactly the same.
However, if you recorded those drum tracks on the M24, you have to press Start on the PC playback and then press Record on the M24, and what are the chances that you would have the exact same timing each time you had to re-record the drums? Near impossible. The M24 has limited editing capability so "nudging" the drum tracks to line them up would probably not be possible. And even if you could get the PC playback to start the M24 using MIDI, there is no MIDI sync and so drift is possible.
That being said, sexy is not always practical when it comes to technology. So, personally, I would do as @Hammarlund suggested and export the drum tracks and import them to the M24. That way, you gain in two areas: 1, you don't have to do a real-time recording and risk not being able to line things up perfectly (see below) and 2, you don't introduce the possibility of even more issues arising from improper levels, clipping, distortion or anything else associated with recording analog signals. Export/Import keeps it all in the digital domain and more importantly, it keeps the audio file at a fixed length.
Why would that be important?
If you would like to change the drum parts because of further development of the song, all you have to do is, do the edits on the PC and by using the same export/import routine again, everything will line up because you used the same methodology and the file length is exactly the same.
However, if you recorded those drum tracks on the M24, you have to press Start on the PC playback and then press Record on the M24, and what are the chances that you would have the exact same timing each time you had to re-record the drums? Near impossible. The M24 has limited editing capability so "nudging" the drum tracks to line them up would probably not be possible. And even if you could get the PC playback to start the M24 using MIDI, there is no MIDI sync and so drift is possible.
