hook up to computer

[martinepiphone]

ok, i have a mixer that has rca outs and ins, and what i did was send my outs from the mixer to the in behind the computer on the sound card. its a carcin pa mixer, and my soundcard is the one that came into the computer when i bought it, i think it is the soundblaster sound card. i can do recording, but the sound is kind of small, or thin...mainly the acoustics, but i dont have a condenser mic, and i think that will help that part out, because when i record acoustic tracks plugged straight into the mix, it doesnt sound natural, and its a little thin. im not sure even if i have my setup hooked up correct...i had to get a convertet that converted my rcas to a 1/8 in plugin to the back of the computer (is this bad, good, does it matter?) ive looked all in the forum and i cant find the answers to my questions. is my sound totally limited, because of my soundcard, or can i make due with what i have, and will a condenser mic really improve alot of the sound qualities on acoustics and vocals? i just want to know how i can get the biggest sound out of what i have, or not having to purchase all that much more stuff right at the moment.

 

[SPINSTERWUN]

You will eventually need a better soundcard. I would suggest that you invest into a new soundcard now, if you have the money to spend.

Check these out...

http://www.midiman.net/products/m-audio/delta.php

But...............


In the meantime, do you have the correct cable? Make sure that the 1/8" (35mm) side is stereo, not mono.

Also, make sure that you are connecting to the correct input (LINE IN, not MIC IN).

Do you have the computers' VOLUME CONTROL set properly?

Write us back, to let us know....

Peace....

spin

 

[martinepiphone]

how do you know exactly if you have the volume "set correctly"? how good of a recording can i get with the soundcard that i have now...like bits, is it recording at 16bit? it is in the in spot, and not the mic spot, i did check that. if my cord is mono, what would be the difference in the sound, and also how do you check that if you have already trashed the package?
thanks

 

[drstawl]

if my cord is mono, what would be the difference in the sound, and also how do you check that if you have already trashed the package?
thanks

If the 1/8" end is mono there will only be one insulator "ring" on the end of the plug (SIGNAL/GROUND). Stereo plugs look like headphone plugs in that there are TWO insulator rings to separate the three connections (Left/Right/Ground).
1/8" plugs in general are a pet peeve of mine from way back. The connection is extremely fragile. If the connection is secure it will sound as good as any decent unbalanced connection, but that is a big "if".

how do you know exactly if you have the volume "set correctly"?

Your recording software should provide some sort of level meter.

 

[martinepiphone]

so the 1/8 plugin "could" be ok in some circumstances, but another quesiton i have is if i use another card, would it have "ins" on the card that were rca's to where i wouldnt need a cable that changes the connections, and just use a rca cable straight, or is it 1/4 in, or still 1/8. also since i have a mixer i shouldnt need all the inputs on the card right, because i can use all the additional 8 channels on the mixer at the same time right? only would i use that is for drums, because everything else i do is just one at a time.

 

[drstawl]

The idea behind having more than two mono inputs on a soundcard is to allow you to capture the separate sources to separate .wav files simultaneously. If you use a mixer to funnel the sound from 8 mics on a drum set into two for example, there is no way to change the mix by adjusting volume and pan position (not to mention other processing, gates/reverbs/compressors/other effects etc.) for each sound source. You are stuck with whatever you got from the sub-mixdown.

Also- it is better to have an adapter cable with one kind of connector on one end and another on the other end than to use one of those handy-dandy adapter gizmos. Always keep your number of connections to a minimum.