How do you use the built-in recorder ?

I have been fooling around with the built in recorder but have yet to get it to work. Does anyone have simple instructions ( I can't follow the owners manual) that can be followed. Also, I would like to ask how one creates an MP3 recording for submission to contrebombarde.

I purchased a desk-top MP3 recorder (the Sangean DAR -101 Recorder) which was simple to use ( I recorded from the headphone output right into the Sangean). Unfortunately , there were some audio interference coming in through one of the channels. I returned the unit for a replacement but it does the same thing. I need to learn how to use the already available built-in unit in Hauptwerk. The instructions in the owners manual don't see to make it work.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated. Prior to me moving, I had an old audio CD recorder and recorded directly from a headphone output on my Presonus and then took the audio CD and converted it to MP3 audio on my PC before submitting it to contrebombarde. I thought I would make things easier for me by just going directly from the computer to an MP3 recording but I am picking up extraneous noises in the left channel. It happened on the previous model I returned, too.

It can't be to difficult to go from the the Hauptwerk computer to some form of conversion since so many members are doing it. Can you tell me how you do it ( the steps you have to take). I would also like to get an editing program so that I can go through my recording and remove spaces, etc.

Antoni

For editting audio, you can use the free application 'audacity'. It is available for Mac and PC. You can download an add-on for audacity that will do mp3 encoding. Then, you edit your tracks in audacity and export to mp3 for upload to Contrebombard.

Someone else can list the steps for using the built in recorder, I haven't used it recently to remember...

In what sense doesn't the record function not seem to work?
When you use the start recording function any current stops are cleared. You must then set the registration and start playing. Is that what is confusing you?

I use Soundforge Pro to edit my files.

Hi Antoni,

Check Page 135 of the Hauptwerk 4.1 user guide. Perhaps you haven't yet ticked the boxes for "arm audio recording" or "arm MIDI recording". These options plus other recorder controls can be permanently displayed on the screen as mini control panels and assigned to pistons or launchpad buttons.

Bear in mind that when you hit "record" with MIDI record active that any stops which you may have already drawn will be cancelled, so you'll need to set your registration after hitting "record" before you start to play.

Page 134 shows how to set the folder into which the recordings will be saved, and how to choose the recording format.

I would like to second the suggestion to use Audacity to edit the audio files and convert them to MP3 format for CCH.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net

Andrew

I have been fooling around with the built in recorder but have yet to get it to work. Does anyone have simple instructions ( I can't follow the owners manual) that can be followed.

For version 4.0 you can read about it starting on page 129 of the Users' Manual.

First, under General Settings / Audio Outputs, select the desired Recording Format (32-bit, 16-bit, or Nothing at all, which of course will not work for making recordings).

Then under View / Large Control Panels, select the Recorder/Player control panel.

Now when you are ready to record, press either of the two buttons for "Audio Rec". Then set your registrations and begin playing. When you are all done, press the button called "Stop".

Now your Wave Audio File is complete. For further processing I suggest "Audacity", as others have said as well.

To OrganoPleno:
Thank you for your response. I tried everything you had suggested before I posted my question. Like I said in my original post, the "Stop" button does not appear in the tan color like the Rec button, but is light-grey instead, and does not function when I click over it with my mouse. I don't know what I am doing wrong. Why is the "stop" button light-grey and non-functional ?

Antoni

Why is the "stop" button light-grey and non-functional ?

I'm sure I don't know. On my system, the buttons that can be pushed appear in dark grey, and those that CANNOT now be pushed appear in yellow. The STOP button cannot be pushed until after you push another button, either Audio Record or MIDI Record or MIDI Playback. Then it changes colour and can be pushed to stop whatever Recordings and Playbacks may be underway.

If the Stop button is ALWAYS light-grey and non-functional, even after starting a Recording, it suggests an error with your installation.

For version 4.0 you can read about it starting on page 129 of the Users' Manual.

First, under General Settings / Audio Outputs, select the desired Recording Format (32-bit, 16-bit, or Nothing at all, which of course will not work for making recordings).

Then under View / Large Control Panels, select the Recorder/Player control panel.

Now when you are ready to record, press either of the two buttons for "Audio Rec". Then set your registrations and begin playing. When you are all done, press the button called "Stop".

Now your Wave Audio File is complete. For further processing I suggest "Audacity", as others have said as well.
OrganoPleno Member Posts: 153Joined: Thu Dec 03, 2009 4:08 pm




Hi OrganoPleno:
I was able to get the on-board recorder to work but the play button does not light-up or work. It is very user-unfriendly. Not a good system at all. I had to go to "my recordings" and double-click on the icon to get it to play. There was no indication that a recording was underway except a red colored "Aud" in a tiny box at the bottom of the screen. Also, for some strange reason, when I was looking through "My Documents" and saw a huge list of previous attempts which somehow played even although I did not click on them. I tell you, this is a real mess. Mac's are so user unfriendly compared to PC's. I can't even back-click on the recording to delete it. The bottom line is that I still can't use the on-board recording but I do appreciate you taking the time to help. I think the best thing for me to do is just buy a CD recorder and convert the file to an MP3 like I used to do before.

Antoni

I was able to get the on-board recorder to work but the play button does not light-up or work.

Glad you're making progress. About the PLAY button, I answered that for you in your other thread. It's tricky when you post the same questions in different places at once.

Here's what I said over there:

Also, the "play" button is always light grey and doesn't work.

On my system also, the PLAY button is initially light grey and doesn't work... UNTIL a MIDI file is selected for playback. This can be selected under MIDI Load (to select a file of your choice) or MIDI Last (which will load the most recent MIDI file accessed by Hauptwerk. Or, if you MAKE a MIDI recording, by pushing MIDI Rec (either of the two buttons) and then selecting a registration and playing something. Then press STOP when you are done. Hopefully, this makes the STOP button work, and this in turn will make the PLAY button work, to play back the MIDI file you just created of your own performance.

As others have pointed out, the PLAY button is only for MIDI files, it cannot replay any AUDIO files. That requires other software, for example WINAMP.

Many thanks for the responses to my built-in recorder frustration. Unfortunately, I have Version 4 of Hauptwerk which is no longer supported. To upgrade to 4.1 (or 4.1.1) I need to also upgrade my Mac to OSX 10.9 ( it now has 10.6.. I am reluctant to upgrade for fear of something going wrong knowing fully well that there is zero support. I would be stuck and own my own. Half of something is always better than a whole of nothing. I have been told that Version 4.1.1 has a built in recorder that looks like, what I was told was an old fashioned looking recorder with Stop, Play, Record, Rewind and fast Forward. I'm not sure that that is old fashioned as every recorder I have ever seen still uses this standard format.

However, all is not lost. I was using a desk top MP3 recorder which was incredibly easy to use and created nice recordings but I found out that it has some "encoding" that prevents me from uploading recordings to Contrebombarde. I don't even begin to understand why that would not upload, but it doesn't. I can always get another CD recorder and convert the files to MP3 as I had successfully done in the past.

Again, thanks to all that have taken the time to attempt to help me. It's comforting to know that the Hauptwerk community is always out there to lend a helping hand.

Antoni

You do not have to upgrade to OSX 10.9. You can upgrade to 7 or 7.5, and then upgrade Haupwerk to 4.1. I have done this with my 2007 Intel MacPro, and it works.
James

I am reluctant to upgrade for fear of something going wrong knowing fully well that there is zero support.

This type of remarks makes me a bit angry. Everyone knows that support is excellent, not only on the forum, but also by MDA. Don't be unreasonable.

[mdyde]

Hello Antoni,

Just to be clear, neither Hauptwerk v4.0 nor v4.1 currently have the ability to play audio recordings, or to save audio files in MP3 format. You need to use an external application to do that, such as the excellent freeware Audacity that others have mentioned ( http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ ). You can see the enhancements that Hauptwerk v4.1 does have above v4.0 in the release notice: https://www.hauptwerk.com/support/documentation/ .

If you want to upgrade to v4.1 then you need to be using at least OS X 10.7. To upgrade I would recommend:

- Ask your local Apple store to check which is the latest version of OS X that your Mac can run. (If I recall correctly you have a 2008 model, so my guess would be that OS X 10.7.5 would be the latest version that it can run, but your Apple store should be able to verify that for certain.) Buy a copy of that version of OS X from them.

- Use 'File | Backup ...' in Hauptwerk to create a backup of your Hauptwerk settings and files. Save the backup to an external drive or DVD (so that it can't get wiped when re-installing OS X).

- Likewise, also (separately) back up any other non-Hauptwerk files that you might have saved on your computer that you want to keep (including any audio or MIDI files, documents, etc.).

- Make sure you still have the original installation media for your sample sets. If you downloaded them, then also copy those to your external drive (or write them to DVDs).

- Install the new version of OS X you bought, using Disk Utility when prompted and re-formatting your main hard-drive. N.B. this will wipe all files on that hard-drive, so make sure you didn't forget to back up any files that you want to keep. (Although in theory it should be possible to upgrade an operating system, rather than wiping the hard-drive and installing the new operating system, in practice it's usually better to do the latter, since otherwise file permission issues, or other strange issues arise.)

- Use 'Apple | Software Update' to install any available OS X updates.

- Download the latest drivers for your audio and MIDI interfaces from their manufacturers websites, then install them.

- Now download and install the current versions of Hauptwerk (currently v4.1.1) and the USB key drivers from our downloads page: http://www.downloadhauptwerk.com/osx . The installation instructions are in the user guide: https://www.hauptwerk.com/support/documentation/

- Use 'File | Restore ...' in the new version of Hauptwerk to restore all of your Hauptwerk settings from the backup you made above.

- Use 'File | Install ... in Hauptwerk to re-install all of your sample sets.

- Copy any other non-Hauptwerk files back to the computer that you might want.

You should then be up and running with the new version. Note that occassionally newer versions of audio/MIDI drivers present their devices with different device names from older versions, in which case Hauptwerk will see them as completely different device. So there's a small possibility that you might need to auto-detect your MIDI settings again, for the 'new' MIDI devices.

If you think you'll need one-to-one help doing the above then my advice would be to find somebody near you who has a reasonable amount of computer experience to help you do it. Print out the above instructions, and the Hauptwerk installation instructions from the user guide, and give it to them.

[mdyde]

P.S.

Mac's are so user unfriendly compared to PC's. I can't even back-click on the recording to delete it.

You can find a list of OS X keyboard short-cuts on Apple's website here:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1343

E.g. to delete a file, press Command+Delete (=Command+Backspace).

I use OS X and Windows side-by-side all day long, so I'm equally familiar with both and I regard them both as equally easy to use (maybe OS X even a little more so). However, like anything, something that's new to you takes a little investment in effort to learn.