MIDI Interfaces for the budget-minded

E-MU Xmidi 1X1 USB MIDI interface
Street price $29

Edirol UM2-EX USB

Yamaha YPT-310 (PSR-E310) Voice List for MIDI - LSB Bank 112

It's a pain to use the voice list supplied in the Yamaha YPT-310 (PSR-E310) user manual when using the keyboard as a MIDI sound module, so here's a simplified list.

Yamaha YPT-310 (PSR-E310) Keyboard
VOICE LIST

BANK 112 VOICES
(The LSB bank is set to 112 for all voices)

The only thing that changes is the PROGRAM numbers.

1 Grand Piano
2 Bright Piano
3 MIDI Grand Piano
4 Honky-tonk piano
5 Funky Electric Piano
6 DX Modern Electric Piano
7 Harpsichord
8 Clavi
9 Celesta

11 Music Box
12 Vibraphone
13 Marimba
14 Xylophone
15 Tubular Bells
17 Jazz Organ 1
19 Rock Organ
18 Click Organ

20 Church Organ
21 Reed Organ
22 Musette Accordion
23 Harmonica
25 Classical Guitar
26 Folk Guitar
27 Jazz Guitar
28 Clean Guitar
29 Muted Guitar

30 Overdriven Guitar
31 Distortion Guitar
33 Acoustic Bass
34 Finger Guitar
35 Pick Bass
36 Fretless Bass
37 Slap Bass
39 Synth Bass

41 Violin
43 Cello
44 Contrabass
45 Tremolo Strings
46 Pizzicato Strings
47 Harp
48 Timpani
49 String Ensemble

50 Chamber Strings
51 Synth Strings
53 Choir
54 Vox Humana
55 Air Choir
56 Orchestra Hit
57 Trumpet
58 Trombone
59 Tuba

60 Muted Trumpet
61 French Horn
62 Brass Section
63 Synth Brass
65 Soprano Sax
66 Alto Sax
67 Tenor Sax
68 Baritone Sax
69 Oboe

70 English Horn
71 Bassoon
72 Clarinet
73 Piccolo
74 Flute
76 Pan Flute
75 Recorder

80 Ocarina
81 Square Lead
82 Sawtooth Lead
86 Voice Lead
89 Fantasia

92 Xenon Pad
95 Equinox
99 Star Dust

101 Brightness
106 Banjo
115 Steel Drums

The Yamaha YPT-310 (PSR-E313)

In the early 1990s I had a Yamaha PSR-500 keyboard that I bought initially to record tracks with its built-in five-track recorder. Eventually I moved up to the Master Tracks Pro MIDI-based program and used it as a controller. After recording a song, I would link then trigger the sounds via my MIDI interface and record the sounds as a stereo (or sometimes mono) track on my Tascam Portastudio cassette recorder.

I really loved that keyboard. It had two fairly high-quality stereo speakers that had some umph to them. The piano sound was much better than the sound of its competitor, Casio, which started the portable keyboard industry. (Casio's portable keyboards seem to be improving recently).

Eventually, I upgraded to a 76-key Yamaha DGX-202 keyboard and gave my PSR-500 to a singer friend. After only using the DGX for a matter of months, another musician friend presented me with an unbelievable deal on his Roland XP-80. So I lent (gave?) my new DGX to my musically talented cousin.

But ever since, I have missed having a portable keyboard. So I sold some gear on eBay and with the proceeds bought a refurbished Yamaha YPT-310 from a popular online retailer. Because technically it was used, there was no sales tax, and the shipping was free. My total cost was just $120 and what a good purchase it was!

Eliminating hums and ground loops

I don't normally publish an email someone has sent to me, but this response from the Lexicon support team was extremely helpful. I thought I'd share what Ryan says about tracking down a ground loop.

Peter,

You may be experiencing a ground loop in your system, if so you may want to try to find which component is causing the loop. Typically a ground loop will cause hum in a system; however, since the Alpha is a USB device the data transfer signal may also be heard.

Try disconnecting all devices that are connected to your Alphas inputs and outputs then connect a microphone and a pair of headphones. If you hear the hum sound at this point there may be other issues aside from a ground loop. If the hum is not initially present, connect one device at a time to the Alpha to see if you can find the component that causes the hum.

If you are able to find which piece of equipment is causing the ground loop you may want to use an isolation transformer or hum eliminator between this piece of equipment and the Alpha.

Does this same noise occur when you connect to the instrument input on the front of the Alpha with an unbalanced cable? Does the noise occur even when a passive device such as a guitar is connected to the Line 1 or Line 2 input?

Let me know if you need more help.

Regards,
Ryan Hauschild
Lexicon Pro Support

Free Plug-ins

Virtual Instruments
Plugsound Free
Sonik Synth Free

Jupiter-8V demo (limited number of sounds)

SFPlayerMKII

(free Soundfont player for Vista)

Free plug-ins from TriTone

Least expensive USB audio interface with recording software

THE LEXICON ALPHA

One of the least expensive USB audio interfaces is the Alpha made by Lexicon, known for its digital delay and reverb effects.

The Alpha is a two-channel device that has a front instrument input for guitar. Also on the front is a stereo mini jack for headphones.

There are also two quarter-inch line ins, an XLR input for a microphone that does not need phantom power, two quarter-inch line outs and two RCA line outs on the back.

It's very important to note that the Alpha does not have phantom power, so you can't use a typical studio condenser microphone without the aid of a separate phantom power device.

But the Alpha comes bundled with Cubase LE, which is one of the most powerful of the entry-level recording programs. There are certain aspects of Cubase LE that can be tricky (more on that later), but overall it's a great program that can yield professional results.

The Alpha by Lexicon retails for $99 but can be found for $79.

Best budget microphones

DYNAMIC

Most dynamic microphones are made for live performance. As a result, you can use them in your studio or on stage without the need of  phantom power.

Shure SM57 - $99
A vocal/instrument microphone, the SM57 is used on many applications. It's a go-to mic for recording drums and acoustic guitars.

Shure SM58 - $99
Considered the most used microphone the world, this is a great microphone that everyone should have in their mic closet. Although it's essentially a live sound microphone, the SM58 has been used as a vocal and instrument mic on zillions of recordings, even some famous ones. 

CAD-22A - $25

The specs are almost identical to an SM58 (the CAD is 60 Hz to 15 kHz) and CAD is a very good company with a solid product line. I haven't heard it, but I'd like to get one. It's hard to beat the price.

CONDENSER (PHANTOM POWER NEEDED)
Audio-Technica AT2020 - $99

Studio Projects B1 - $119

USB
Audio-Technica AT2020 USB - $149

MULTI-PATTERN

CAD M179 - $179

Resources

Cubase LE forum

Setting up MIDI in Cubase LE

VISTA

Vista compatible interfaces list

Using Samson USB mics with Vista

Microsoft page on USB devices and Vista
Windows Vista recording information

How to fix Vista issue on Cubase LE
Dell support forum on laptop audio
Information on interfacing microphones with sound cards
Vistaheads

Article on audio latency issues with Vista

REVIEWS OF SONY ACID MUSIC STUDIO 7.0
What PC Pro says
Reviews on Amazon.com
Musicians Friend reviews

SOLVING PROBLEMS

How to find and eliminate a ground loop or hum

DIY hum eliminator

INTERESTING AND HELPFUL INFORMATION

Voice frequencies chart

DIY Guitarist site

Resources

Cubase LE forum

Don't be afraid of MIDI, it's great!

Many home studio enthusiasts shudder at the thought of using MIDI. They don't have any idea what it's all about or why they would benefit from hooking up to their computer with a music keyboard via MIDI. Today, MIDI is easy to interface and the pluses are numerous.

I first began using MIDI, which stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, in 1992 when I began squencing music using Master Tracks Pro on a Mac Plus computer. With the help of a sync box, I would synchronize my computerized song sequences with my portable cassette multitracker. Instead of recording only four tracks, or suffer signal degradation by bouncing three tracks down to one for a total of five or six tracks, I could record five, six or seven tracks via MIDI and blend it with my cassette tracks. With a total of eight or nine total tracks, my songs started sounding more professional.

Recording programs under $100

For under $100 you can buy one of several recording applications that can transform your computer into a recording studio. Not only are there several under $100, but a few are free open-source programs.

THE FREE ONES
Audacity (Windows)
Audacity (Mac OS)
Koblo

SOFTWARE THAT COMES BUNDLED

GarageBand (Mac OS only)
Cubase LE (comes bundled with the purchase of several items)

Sonar LE

UNDER $100
Mixcraft

Sony Acid Music Studio

DEMOS

Sonar

Favorite podcasts on home recording

The best podcast is Project Studio Network featuring Allen Wagner and Michael Bolan. This podcast, which is available via the iTunes Store or directly from the PSN website, contains a wealth of information on recording. And Big Al and Mike are so darned entertaining.

Subscribe Free Now!

Studio Monitors

LowFi

MIC PREAMPS

My first condenser — Studio Projects C1

It's easy to get taken over by the desire to buy new and expensive microphones. It's often referred to as "mic lust," which I certainly have experienced, especially while perusing a pro audio catalog. But nowadays there are numerous inexpensive, quality choices for those without a lot of cash.

A few years ago I saved up my money to buy the Studio Projects C1 condenser microphone, which was touted as poor man's Neumann U87. It cost me $239 from Sweetwater.com.

Getting my first real studio microphone was both exciting and frustrating. It was exciting because I finally had this impressive-looking microphone with wonderful 20 hz - 20 kHz specs. But I quickly discovered that there were down sides too. Because it was such a sensitive mic, it picked up computer and other ambient noise in my home studio. That was kind of a bummer. And I learned about the true meaning of the word "siblance."

I recorded a friend, a R&B/Gospel singer named Tina Mosley. Her S's sizzled way too much. Here's an example of Tina's voice on the Studio Projects C1.



Conversely I used the C1 to record my cousin Bob Day, who has a wonderful baritone voice. The recording, which was made using an AudioBuddy preamp to a Sharp mini-disc recorder, sounds great. I think the C1 really works for his voice.



So I learned that microphones have difference characteristics and sound differently on different voices. That's an important lesson to learn.

Do-It-Yourself

Homemade microphone with $3 Radio Shack electret mic element

A while back I made two small microphones using condenser microphone elements that cost just over $3 each. Altogether, with cables and connectors, the mics came to about $10 each. The mic elements (RS #270-090) are omnidirectional signal-to-noise ratios of 60dB.

Take a listen. I think these little microphones sound surprisingly good.

LISTEN TO THE HOMEMADE ELECTRET MICS

Examples of DIY microphones

Welcome to Budget Home Recording

Welcome to Budget Home Recording, where you can learn how to record quality audio in your home with a small financial investment in audio equipment.

For many of us, recording is a life's passion. Often it begins as a teenager fiddling with a primitive reel-to-reel or cassette deck. While tape-based recording has given way to digital, the essence is the same — the addictive enjoyment of recording.



One man's budget recorder might be a 10-year-old laptop running MicroLogic AV on Windows 95, a three-year-old Mac with GarageBand — or that trusty old 1970s reel-to-reel. Whatever the device, many of us yearn for the least expensive gear to get the job done. With creativity and ingenuity, great recordings are possible with second-hand or even do-it-yourself equipment.

Join the journey!