Reference Guide

1216
Beginner’s Guide to Cakewalk Software
MIDI
the Record button in your Cakewalk software, start playing your instrument, and then click the Stop
button (or press the SPACEBAR). The Line input has a little icon next to it, which is very hard to
recognize, so it usually helps to look at the documentation that came with your sound card or
computer. A guitar cable has a plug on it that is 1/4 inch wide (diameter), and the Line input on low-
priced sound cards is 1/8 inch wide. You need to connect your guitar cable to a 1/8 inch adapter in
order to plug it into most sound cards. These adapters are inexpensive and are available at most
electronics supply stores.
If you want to record an acoustic instrument or vocal, you would use a microphone. You connect the
microphone’s cable to the adapter and plug the adapter into the Mic input of the sound card. You can
get a better sound, however, by plugging the microphone cable into a preamp, or a mixer with a
preamp, and plugging the outputs of the mixer or preamp into the Line input of the sound card,
instead of the Mic input. You would then need an adapter to connect the two outputs (left and right)
of the mixer or preamp to the 1/8 inch Line input. Ask the store where you buy your preamp or mixer
what kind of adapter you need to connect to a sound card that has 1/8 inch inputs.
Professional-quality sound cards do not use 1/8 inch inputs, so you do not need one of these
adapters to use a professional-grade sound card.
To play back the music, you need to connect powered speakers or headphones to the output of the
sound card, which on new computers is usually painted green. Then you click the Rewind button (or
press w) in your Cakewalk software, and then click the Play button (or press the SPACEBAR) to
play back what you recorded.
Music software uses two different formats to play and record sound—MIDI and Audio. Knowing the
differences between the two formats is essential for using most music software. However, some
Cakewalk programs, such as Guitar Tracks Pro, do not use MIDI.
For more information, see:
MIDI
Audio
Audio Hardware (Sound Cards) and Drivers
MIDI
Besides introducing MIDI in this section, we’ll explain the following MIDI topics:
• MIDI Channels, Interfaces, Inputs, and Outputs
• MIDI Drivers
1/4 inch to 1/8 inch adapter