Acid Pro and Direct Recording to CPU

[matt986]

Hey everyone, this is my first time posting here, and it seemd to be a friendly environment so i was wondering if maybe I could get some help. Recently, I got Acid Pro 4.0. I want to record directly into my computer and mix/master using the Acid Pro software. My sound card has a 1/8 inch input. At first, I thought I would need to get a mixer, send the output of the mixer through a converter (to bring it to 1/8") and plug that into my sound card directly. Will this work? If not, what do I need to get to make it work? And I'm kind of on a budget (acid pro was expensive) so if I can pull this off without spending more then 200 bucks I'll be extremely happy. I've already got the mics and such that would need to plug into the mixer/ DI box/whatever, I just can't figure out how to hook it all up to my computer.

Thanks in advance for your help!!

Matt

 

[bennychico11]

I'd suggest getting a new soundcard. Chances are the one you have with your computer isn't really made for audio recording. Here's one that can help you get started. If you are looking for cheaper, just do a search for audio interfaces around the web. Some good sites to start off at are www.musiciansfriend.com and sweetwater.com

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7...rec/s=computer/search/detail/base_pid/701368/

If that link doesn't work for some reason, look for the M-Audio Mobile Pre
This interface is USB connected, so you don't even need to remove your old sound card. And it's about $150 (can find it cheaper on ebay probably). You'd also probably want to look into getting some nice monitors down the road, if you don't have any yet. Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[matt986]

thanks, that helps a lot. My soundcard is a Turtle Beach, a little outdated now, but great for when it was released. Thanks for the advice. So if I get the new sound card, how do I connect all of this?

 

[bennychico11]

It's easy...if you buy the Mobile Pre you just plug it in to a USB port, install the drivers, and hook up the microphones to it (or plug in a guitar into the instrument in). Then, in Acid just go to Options-->Preferences and locate where you select which soundcard you want and choose the Mobile. Bam! You should be ready to record. And to hear it all you can plug your speakers right into the outputs.

 

[AlChuck]

You can get an adapter cable that will allow you to hook up a pair of RCA or 1/4" line outs to a stereo miniplug. Should be $15 or less.

 

[TimOBrien]

Radio Shack, Matt. (2) 1/4" mono to one 1/8" stereo adapter. About $6-$7.

You can learn a lot of basics with the Turtle Beach and then move up to a full 24-bit card when you get the chance (its a little better than an SBLive; not bad for a gaming card.)

 

[matt986]

Thanks a lot guys, I really appreciate all your help!!