cubase starter

[jimmychan]

I am thinking about getting a new PC with cubase and / or cakewalk. I think this question applies to both so i'll put it here: I tried both programs out on a friends PC to see what they were like, just using a basic SOundblaster 32 (I think" soundcard - it's a new PC so it's a recent card.

What I noticed is that when recording audio (from a mic) directly into either program, whilst listening to the playback on headphoens (to get timing, obv.), any other audio tracks that are already in ther do not play back over the headphones, only the MIDI-soundcard synth things. Is this just because my friend's PC isn't set up for cubase or cakewalk properly, or is it a feature of soundcards in general - they can either record inputs or playback outputs but not both at the same time? Is the answer to have a PC with 2 soundcards - one for recording and one for playback - seems an expensive option? Or can specialized cards do both at the same time, or what.

Please help, I wanna to get my PC soon, but don't want to get a wrong'un.

Jim

[toyL]

hello jimmychan....I'm not familiar with the demo-software I assume you are speaking of, but, the sound-card must be "full-duplex"--which means it is capable of simultaneous playback and record...and, you are correct, cubase must be set-up properly.