Midi to Wav to MP3 Projects

Adding Analog Voice/Instrument Tracks to the Final Midi

Once the midi is done - you can then add non-midi vocal or instrumental tracks by recording the misi to a wav, and opening it up in a multi-track editor, such as CoolEdit (my favorite).  CoolEdit allows you to hear the original instrumental tracks being played as you record a new voice track with the microphone.

For good sound with a PC using a mic - you will need a pre-amp.  If you want really good sound you should also get a decent mic - I recommend the classic, Shure SM57 ($150 but check E-bay first). The 10-cent mic's that come with PC's are horrible.  All microphones have very low-level outputs, and PC sound cards are notorious for poor mic inputs.  Also, they do not support the XLR interface.  I recommend the "Midiman Audio Buddy" preamp - the best 120 bucks I ever spent !!  It is the only simple, cheap, yet perfect pre-amp I have found, made specifically for the purpose of PC input.  I has two XLR inputs (for the Mic) and two 1/4" outputs.  It amplifies the mic signal to a line-level signal, so make sure to plug it into the "Line In" input of your sound card.

Connecting it Up

The Audio Buddy supports two tracks (left and right).  However, a microphone is mono.  You can use two mics, but that is going overboard.  For the regular, mono setup, you will need a 1/4" male to 1/8" male cable.  This will give you a single channel, mono input, of course.  When you use one mic and normal connection cables, the sound will be recorded into your PC using the Line In - either left or right.  Then in your sound software, you will need to mix the single track into "fake" stereo, so that both L/R tracks show the same signal, but this will allow you to mix the voice in with the stereo midi compilation.  Even if your midi is mono, most sound editors by default use a stereo window, so it is just easier to lave it as stereo, and at the last step save it as mono.

Creating Stereo Input from the Mono Mic

For me, I became tired of always having to mix the mono into stereo within CoolEdit.  Here is a workaround.  To get the single mic input to actually record onto both left and right tracks - you can jerry-rig it.  Get a cable that has two 1/4" mono male plugs on one end and a 1/8" stereo plug on the other.  Then attach a stereo-to-mono 1/8" Radio Shack adapter and plug that into your sound card's "Line Input" (when you insert a mono plug into your sound card's stereo jack - the two channels both receive the same signal).