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Topic: noteworthy to cds (Read 2949 times) previous topic - next topic

noteworthy to cds

Please consider me at kindergarten level in computers (at best). I have several public domain songs taken from our church hymnal and written them Ito Noteworthy to experiment with arrangements. I want to transfer them either to tape or CD. I tried a song with .nwc extension directly into our stereo system, but that did not work. What additional software and hardware do I need? As I said, I know nothing.

Re: noteworthy to cds

Reply #1 –
Joan - this topic has resulted in some of the longest threads in forum history. As you might guess from this, there are lots of different ways of accomplishing this, from the simple to the sublime.

But -- assuming that you have a tape recorder or CD writer on your stereo system -- probably the easiest way is to get a cable that goes from your computer to your stereo. This cable should have a "1/8" (3.5mm) stereo phone jack" on one end, and two "RCA plugs" on the other end. The little phone jack end plugs into your computer's sound card; either "line out" or "speaker out", depending on the particular card you have. The two RCA plugs connect to your stereo inputs, any of "Aux", "Line", "CD" will work. Once you've got this hooked up, you should be able to play any sound file from your computer through your stereo (including midis, NWC, mp3's, even the kids' game noises).

Once you've got that happening, assuming that your tape deck or CD recorder is set up to record from the stereo, you're home free. Set your recording levels, press "record" and start the computer playing whatever file you wish to play. Done!

HTH,

Fred

Re: noteworthy to cds

Reply #2 –
Be careful: if your sound card has a "speaker out", it may put out at levels that will blow up your speakers (and your ears). Always start with the Stereo and the PC volume all the way down, then turn the Stereo up to where you would normally have it. Then turn the PC sound up a fuzz, until you get an acceptable level.The PC volume might be much lower than you normaly have it for the PC speakers.

Re: noteworthy to cds

Reply #3 –
Joan,

I suggest you get the newest Virtual Sound Canvas from Roland -- the VSC-883H.

First, you get wonderful Roland sounds. Not as good as the Roland hardware, but better than most PC sound cards. Definitely better than most SoundBlaster cards.

Second, the new version has the ability to save MIDI output directly to .WAV files, which you can then burn to a CD or render to MP3 or whatever. Since the VSC has to render MIDI to analog anyway, there is no loss of sound quality. It simply saves the analog output to a .WAV file rather than just playing it.

Third, few if any PC sound cards produce even average sound quality when you attempt to record either their line or speaker outputs. There is quite a bit of noise. Ditto that for attempting full-duplex recording within the sound card.

The VSC is definitely the easiest solution -- and I've tried pretty much every option you'll find on this forum. And, it is the best quality I've found yet.

$60 from www.edirol.com (that's Roland's site, you might find it for a few $$ less elsewhere)

Also, don't think you can get a deal by purchasing the $29 VSC from PG Music, the Band in a Box people. They sell the 2.x version, which does not save to .WAV. You'll still have to spend another $30 to upgrade to the 3.x version.
 

Re: noteworthy to cds

Reply #4 –
There is a great midi-tool, including a midi-to-wav converter called Timidity. You can download from

http://www.stardate.bc.ca/eawpatches/html/default.htm

It's a lot of data (21 Mb) because it uses its own midi-patches. Go to the mentioned URL, click "Getting TiMidity++", click the link "Easy TiMidity and Eawpatches installer & updater", click the link "Download the installer" and be patient, really patient. It takes a lot of time but it works perfectly. The site explains also why it is so difficult to convert midi to wav or mp3. You can also take a look at

http://www.goice.co.jp/member/mo/timidity/

Converting the WAV's to MP3 use MusicMatch Jukebox, WinAmp etc. ...

Have fun!
Arnold (from Holland)