MIDI STUDIO

Phill I dont have any experience with midi I use a digital 8 track boss BR8 and transfer to Audacity for rendering to mp3's I think Jerome would have a better idea of what gear you need free or not good luck buddy

Wow that is a tough question. Money plays a big part here and as always the more you pay the more you get.

Firstly though, Have you tried searching for updated drivers for your old midi interface?  It could just be drivers that are the problem.

Now for some midi programs that I have used:

FL Studio ::  starts from as low as $49 with studio express edition. There is a free trial and they provide free updates for life.  I have the fruity edition and while it is great for midi I no longer use it as I am now more recording focused and use a strong daw with specialised midi plugins to achieve what I am after.

Mixcraft :: $74.95   This is a great recording program with built in midi control and the ability to handle plugins. Comes with a library of wav loops and there are thousands of free vst instruments and effects plugins available on the web.  This is a robust program and can handle most users requirements.

Cubase : $$$  This is now my daw of choice. It is fantastic to use, never crashes and has great midi capabilities. Some of their specialised plugins ie HALion Sonic provide more featurs and sounds that you could ever hope to explore.

Of course you are also going to need a controller or keyboard to connect with and that is probably the best place to start looking as they often come packaged with software. I only use a 49 key keyboard controller and for my needs it gets the job done. Mine is an M-Audio keyrig 49 and it connects via usb and I have never had a problem with it. I was not interested in M-Audio's software, its probably good, but I didnt want to go through another learning curve and it was only bundled with entry level versions anyway. The controller only really acts as a way to get the signal into your program in a tactile way IMHO so I beleive in buying a cheapish controller and concentrating on the software for the real investment in getting top draw sounds and expressions.

Hope that rambling helps a little Phil, if not it may serve as a good introduction to someone who is thinking about midi.

This is fantastic.  Awesome link.

hi, thanks for your input and it's all been a big help.

as seriousfun said "money plays a big part" so true and i've just shelled out for my new PC, so the wife's not overjoyed about buying a new recording program!

i have a midi controler keyboard a korg k61p. it has a usb output (which i've never tried) and cubase studio on the CD, which i think is for XP. but as thinking is not knowing, i shall give that a go.

thanks for the ideas and help, going now to try that web site

phill

Big fan of Mixcraft. Been using it for 3 years now. Very "unbuggy"

I have been following most of the posts on recording and am learning alotabout what works well and what will not do so good.they are helping me chose things I will get soon.