Topic: newbie seeks help,please

[sonnygable]

hello all,brand new to taping and not much of a computer guy.bought a zoom h4 cuz it looked like a unit i might be able to figure out.amazingly,i did get some music on it(just got back from moe.down x)the shows sound surprisingly good when played back thru home stereo or headphones.so i now i have all these sd cards full of tunes and dont know how to get them to cd.one guy told me to download goldwave and cd wave and would walk me thru it,but he dissappeared.would anyone care to be a mentor?any and all help is greatly appreciated,and thanx to the taper on chuckside who turned me on to this website-looks like a great place to get some knowledge

[chrisdavis]

hey sonny
welcome, good to see you over here after years on the emule.

ok, im about to split the house to run errands.  but first:

1. have you dumped the files to a puter?  dont know about the zoom, but alot of recorders function as external hard drives, so you wont need any software.  plug it in usb style and it should come up.  drag the files where you want them...then...

edit:  occurs to me you may need a card reader if zoom is not usb capable. we can discuss if that is the case.

2.  right click on the file (s), then hit properties.  hopefully you recorded in 16/44.1.  later you will want to bump up to 24/48 if the zoom does that, but all good things.....if your files are in 16/44.1, then you are ready to....

3. download the cd wave editor.: 
http://www.milosoftware.com/en/index.php?body=cdwave.php

load the file into the wave editor and make your track splits at the beginning of each song.  save the cut tracks into a folder.  at this point you can burn them to cd.

we will worry about further editing later.  baby steps old friend.

you just joined so you cant pm yet.  i think you still have my email addy, or you can poach it off my profile.  out for errands talk soon....Cd

[admkrk]

3. download the cd wave editor.: 
http://www.milosoftware.com/en/index.php?body=cdwave.php

load the file into the wave editor and make your track splits at the beginning of each song.  save the cut tracks into a folder.  at this point you can burn them to cd.

we will worry about further editing later.  baby steps old friend.

you just joined so you cant pm yet.  i think you still have my email addy, or you can poach it off my profile.  out for errands talk soon....Cd

actually, splitting tracks should be the last step with all editing done before hand. 

[chrisdavis]

3. download the cd wave editor.: 
http://www.milosoftware.com/en/index.php?body=cdwave.php

load the file into the wave editor and make your track splits at the beginning of each song.  save the cut tracks into a folder.  at this point you can burn them to cd.

we will worry about further editing later.  baby steps old friend.

you just joined so you cant pm yet.  i think you still have my email addy, or you can poach it off my profile.  out for errands talk soon....Cd

actually, splitting tracks should be the last step with all editing done before hand. 

unless you use batch process in wavelab, as i do:

files > matrix (if necessary) > cd wave > wavelab (fades) > wavelab batch process (downsample/dither) > cd/flac

[admkrk]

never understood how to do batches in the first place, not just with wl. altho one of these days i'll try to figure it out.

i do track and save a cue sheet before any finishing touches in wl tho. once i flac a show don't have any reason to keep the tracked set anyway so if nothing else it saves on defragmenting.   

[unclelouie]

i agree with admkrk, but i use batch processing with split files on occasion - but only for processes that don't have much effect on the dynamics.

IMO, editing should be done over the entire waveform - especially if you do any type of dynamic processing such as normalization, and/or compression. For example, if you do a peak normalization for each track, you'll find that each track ends up at a different volume level, and you'll hear that volume change with each track. This is bad for live music if you keep the crowd between tracks. Sure, you could use fades between each track, but I feel that ruins the point of taping a full show.

I guess what I'm saying is to be careful with batch processing because you can screw up the continuity (of volume) between tracks.

[chrisdavis]

i disagree.   i think the chances for issues with processing DECREASE when you use smaller samples.  i think the chances increase when you process an entire file.

furthermore, wavelab (at least my version) will not write files over 2 gigs; so writing an entire set of the music i like will; for the most part; render wavelab useless.

[admkrk]

agreed the 2 gig limit is a pita! i don't record @ 24bit so the only time i have an issue is with temp files. still i would think most sets are under 2 gigs just the same? unclelouie pointed out one of the main reasons for doing most of the work on a whole file instead of tracks.

btw, i only track for other people's convenience. when i play a show, i play a show. no skipping around and the like. mixing up unrelated shows is annoying to my ears. although i believe tracks need to be in the right place, they are the least important part of mastering imho.