Need Help On Purchasing A Interface!!

[P Stew]

arright well first off im recording rap vocals....so that might help with the sound im tryna get.....the equipment i got right now is.....

Shure KSM 27
Yahmaha 10/2 MG Mixer
Auralex Xpanders
Emu 1212m Soundcard
Coby Headphones
Stand / Pop Filter
Bad Cables
Cubase SX

alright....i arready have a soundcard so im not 100% sure if i need a pre amp or an intereface...i really need to upgrade from the Yahmaha 10/2 MG its really hurting my quality....i need something that i could in the future connect monitors too....because im getting Wharfedale 8.2's after i purchase either the pre amp or interface...alright my price range is $300 - $600

thanks to anyone that can help me

[LP2006]

well, you want a pre-amp. Not an interface. But really you can just use the pre's on your mixer. That yamaha stuff is decent. Make sure you're using the inserts for the preamps right into your sound card. Also, spend the money on monitors before you buy anything else.

[jkokura]

Yup...Monitors and decent cables first...and then look at some specialty pres... In the 3-6 range you should look at the Grace 101, the M Audio Tampa, and some others that I've liked are the Toft EC1 and the Mindprint Envoice.

And what's your room like? You might want to look at treating it as well...

Jacob

[P Stew]

im not sure bout coppin a Pre Amp because i want studio quality and i heard the interface is a good thing to have for that instead of a pre amp.....ima cop Monitors once i get this so dont worry bout that.

[OhSh1rt]

Originally Posted by P Stew

im not sure bout coppin a Pre Amp because i want studio quality and i heard the interface is a good thing to have for that instead of a pre amp.....ima cop Monitors once i get this so dont worry bout that.

Usualy you need both a interface and a preamp, while some interfaces have built in pre's they aren't always that good.


-jeffrey

[P Stew]

ya, well then i want a Interface with a good Pre Amp in it thats in my price range....

or if someone can tell me a real nice pre i could get that could help me with getting studio quality

[jkokura]

Originally Posted by P Stew

ya, well then i want a Interface with a good Pre Amp in it thats in my price range....

or if someone can tell me a real nice pre i could get that could help me with getting studio quality

You already have an interface! If you want a great one, you're looking at things WELL out of the 3-6 price range...

I use an M Audio Delta 1010 ($300 used) and it's great ... But your EMU should be pretty comparable. Yes, your interface is going to be important, but so is the pre...

Let's put it this way...You have 600 bones to work with. Looking at your equipment, the things you need to upgrade are your monitors, your cabling, and since you didn't mention it at all, your room. Seriously, if you upgrade your interface or pre it will be meaningless if you don't upgrade your monitors and room first!

If you're set on a new interface that will be a serious improvment, check out the Rosetta 200 from Apogee...

Jacob

[Botinok]

you dont need an interface..that wont change your quality

a good preamp will give you better quality, but dont expect miricles..i also record hiphop vocals..im using a delta 44 and a dmp3 and im loving it....

as for cables....all of mine are monstor..and they are good for what i need..in my experiance (not that much:-)) cables have not made a really big diffrence for me..especially if your using them in just a room..and they arnt that long...

the monitors you can hook up to your emu...without a problem..im not sure if it has 1/4 output..but even if it doesnt you can get cheap converters without a problem...

[killthepixelnow]

Digidesign MBox2 is a great option, about 550 bucks in amazon, musiciansfriend and music123. Good luck.

[treymonfauntre]

your emu card has 2 analog outputs. you will connect your monitors to this.
your emu card has lightpipe and spdif inputs. these are digital inputs that you can connect to any preamp with its own a/d converters built in. lightpipe (also called toslink) can carry 8 channels of audio. spdif can carry 2. if you want all new preamps you can get something like an maudio octane (they're about $450 used), this will give you 8 nice channels and will be interfaceable through lightpipe.
your sound card also has 2 analog inputs, which you're probably using right now. i'm sure they're fine (they are the same ones that pro tools hd systems use but don't be fooled into thinking any other components are the same). you could get any single or double channel preamp and just plug it right into those inputs.

[P Stew]

arright thanks....uppin for more suggestions on a great pre amp/interface