Is there any possible way to directly record the midi into audio

#1 James,

There are a number of ways to accomplish this. One of the advantages of converting a MIDI file to an audio file (e.g., WAV or MP3) is that you don't have to worry about the end user's MIDI hardware--the file will *basically* sound the same on every computer. I'm guessing that this is why you want to do this.

Here are my suggestions:

1. If you're happy with the way the MIDI files sound on your computer (through your own MIDI hardware), you can record the playback of these files as a WAV file. There are several programs that do this; do a search on "computer music capture" or something along those lines. I particularly remember one program that would capture *anything* played on your computer into a wave file. Harmony Central (I believe it's harmonycentral.com or something like this) is a *great* place to go for music utilities.

2. I use a shareware program called Melody Assistant (I think it's about $18 to register--www.myriad-online.com). This program has its own built-in digital sounds (you can download the medium grade version, and the highest quality sounds can be ordered from them on CD for $10). Anyway, this program will create a wave file (I think it might even create an MP3 file now) from your MIDI file using its own built-in sounds. Just make sure you like how your MIDI files sound when being played back through this system before converting it to a WAV or MP3 file.

3. Yet another way to go is through the use of a soft synthesizer, such as LiveSynth by a company called LiveUpdate. This is similar to the setup with Melody Assistant in that it contains its own sounds--but in general these sounds are of better quality. Not only that, but this synthesizer can also playback SoundFont files, which include professional-quality sounds for a huge library of instruments and sound effects. This software is not shareware, but I think it's somewhere between $40-$60.

If you buy LiveSynth, there are *two* ways to go: (1) again, play back your MIDI files and record them as wave files using one of the recording utilities; or (2) actually include LiveSynth in your game install, and then use it to play back your MIDI files. For the second option, you will need a license from LiveUpdate--I've never done this so I'm not familiar with what licensing arrangements they provide.

4. A shareware program called "nTrack" (an *excellent program) can combine MIDI files with audio tracks--or it can simply record your MIDI as a wav file. You can mix many tracks together though! Go to www.ntrack.com.

I hope that these suggestions help you.

Regards,
Mike Matloff

#2 James,

I just did a quick search for you at Harmony Central and some other sites. I was able to find the following two audio (music) capture programs, and I'm sure there are quite a few more:

Total Recorder
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http://www.highcriteria.com

This program does just what it says it does; it records anything that you can play on your computer. Play your MIDI files, and this program will record them as WAV files. It's very cheap, too.

Virtual Audio Cable
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http://spider.nrcde.ru/music/software/eng/vac.html

This one is slightly more expensive, but it allows you to create a "virtual audio cable"; in other words, not only can you record your MIDI files, but you can send the OUTPUT of any audio program to the INPUT of any other audio program. You could pass your MIDI output through an FX processor, etc. But you may not need this capability, in which case Total Recorder will work just fine for what you need.

Total Recorder is a quick, easy solution for converting your MIDI files to WAV files.

Good luck!!!

Mike Matloff

#3 midi to wav?

err, Im not sure if this works on all computers, but I did it once a while back.

setup your pc to play midi first of all.
goto your audio properties shortcut, select mic, select recording source to be synth.
turn on your sound recorder and you should be set.

play the midi and record at the same time, save as wav first (so you can edit) then resave it as mp3 format when your done.