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I'm pretty sure the best price you'll find is at Amazon: The Audio Expert This is an expensive book, and retailers don't get the same 50 percent discount they did years ago. --Ethan

There you go. I've been using PCs to record since Windows 98 was the current OS. I never have problems, but I know how to set up Windows properly to avoid conflicts and disable unneeded services etc. These days almost no effort is needed to "optimize" a PC for audio and video work. They mostly...

Yes, exactly. As far as I know, converters haven't used brick wall filters for ten years or longer. --Ethan

Ideally, microphones are not placed very close to acoustic instruments. If you can get at least a foot or two away, that will yield the most balanced sound. But in small untreated rooms, once you get that far away the sound takes on a hollow off-mic quality. So the benefit of a good sounding...

Thanks very much guys. :thumbs up: Bring it on! :D Seriously, discussion is a Good Thing. As long as people are open minded and willing to consider what's being presented. --Ethan

Yes, addressing the acoustics of your room will improve the quality of your projects vastly more than any gear upgrade or sample rate increase. This short article explains the basics in plain English: Acoustic Basics --Ethan

Ah geez, more work for me. :D Most of these articles are short and to the point: Artifact Audibility Report The Truth About Record Levels Dither Report Converter Comparison A common-sense explanation of audiophile beliefs Audiophoolery Perception - the Final Frontier --Ethan

Not only the environment, which does matter, but our ears can't hear the difference even in the best sounding room. Plus 100. :thumbs up:

The myth that "analog hardware" is better than digital plug-ins is so pervasive that many just can't accept that plug-ins can be excellent. I blame the audio press mostly. :D --Ethan

The short answer is you probably can't do that. There are ways to remove vocals (and everything else panned to the center), but it doesn't work well with MP3 files. However, if you have a receiver that supports surround sound, you can try its Dolby ProLogic II decoder. That take stereo music and...

My best advice is to skip the outboard gear and use plug-ins. Yes, you can connect an external compressor (or EQ or other device) to one track of a DAW. But it's a nuisance, and you lose the ability to recall a mix exactly later, and IMO there's no sonic advantage. --Ethan

Right, summing and mixing are the same, though summing implies a bunch of numbers that are summed together, so it's not inappropriate. I also agree about the marketing of "summing" boxes. IMO this is a product that solves a nonexistent problem. --Ethan

LOL, agreed. From my Wisdoms page: "Common etiquette says not to talk about politics, sex, religion, or money. But these are the most interesting things to discuss!" :D --Ethan

If it has separate line-level outputs for each input channel, then it can be connected to a sound card. More here: Using a Mixer with a DAW --Ethan

I promise you there's nothing wrong with your Scarlett interface. A better microphone would be a good move. But you said the clarity is lost only after converting to MP3, so that's a clue. And also proof that the gear itself is fine. I agree with Jay that what you need most is probably guidance...

^^^ LOL, exactly.

And yet, today I saw a post by you in another forum that undid all we accomplished here. :facepalm: My posts are censored in that other forum because they can't defend their position with science or logic either, so I'll reply here: I handed to you on a silver platter several short articles...

Apparently not. :D Seriously, this is a gain-staging issue. I'm not familiar with your various pieces, but clearly the output of the mixer was set too loud for the input of your sound card / converter. --Ethan

This short article explains the basics in plain English: Acoustic Basics Acoustic treatment can be taken with you just like loudspeakers, a computer, and any other gear. So that's never a reason to not treat your room. If you want to avoid permanent installation and holes in the walls for...

Excellent post, you totally nailed it. Also: Any analog summing that really is transparent will sound exactly the same as normal DAW summing, which is also transparent. Why anyone would spend thousands of dollars on "clean" analog summing when they can get the exact same result for free in...