Acoustic Guitar Recording - Can't get a crisp sound (user error?)

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Bobbsy said:
Yeah...but...

I've been practising for 40+ years and I can't make the mic input on a Realtek built in interface sound like anything other than rubbish. Even if I attenuate the line level signal down to something it can accept, you're still running through what passes for a pre amp there which is adding noise, a skewed frequency response and a general naff sound. Even for Skype calls that I care about, I tend to run through an interface rather than use the Realtek.

The OP has a decent guitar and a decent (even if not ideal for guitar) microphone. The huge limiting factor right now is the Realtek mic input and getting even a basic interface will give the biggest bang for the buck in terms of improvement. A line to mic attenuator, on the other hand, will be wasted money. It may seem cheaper now but it won't deliver the sound that is wanted.
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I fully agree. If I were him, I would not waste my money or my time buying random adapters. That's why I listed it as the "worst" option :) But, it is an option, so I included it just to give him a thorough list of his choices. It's amazing what you can do at home now with a relatively small investment. Still, some people need to see what they can do with the cheapest stuff. If nothing else, it's a learning experience, and makes you appreciate better gear that much more.
 
Don't roast me for being a cheap Charlie -but I only have $100 bucks to work with. Out of these three audio interfaces, does one stand out? Or is the another model in my price range that you could recommended?

Alesis iO2 Express Audio Interface

Lexicon Alpha USB Desktop Recording Studio

TASCAM US-100 USB Audio Interface
 
johnthomas19 said:
Don't roast me for being a cheap Charlie -but I only have $100 bucks to work with. Out of these three audio interfaces, does one stand out? Or is the another model in my price range that you could recommended?

Alesis iO2 Express Audio Interface

Lexicon Alpha USB Desktop Recording Studio

TASCAM US-100 USB Audio Interface
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Out of those three, I would recommend the Alesis iO2 Express for the fact that it is the only one with phantom power, that is, the power supply required for condenser mics. While I like the performance of the Lexicon Alpha and its ease of use, it doesnt provide phantom power. If you dont intend using condenser mics then any of them would be fine. But you would not want to be denied the benefits of a condenser mic just because you cant power it up. So I would go the Alesis

If you dont have powered speakers, you may have to take the line out of the audio interface to the mixer which I presume you have speakers connected.

The audio interface will work fine with headphones but it is not an ideal setup.
 
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GuitarLegend said:
Out of those three, I would recommend the Alesis iO2 Express for the fact that it is the only one with phantom power, that is, the power supply required for condenser mics.
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big +1 on the alesis iO2. i've had a couple of friends pick these and the iO4's up and have had good results with them.

it may also be worth looking at the Maudio Fast track but, imo, the alesis is a better option as the two XLR mic inputs make it more versatile
 
Justsomeguy said:
big +1 on the alesis iO2. i've had a couple of friends pick these and the iO4's up and have had good results with them.

it may also be worth looking at the Maudio Fast track but, imo, the alesis is a better option as the two XLR mic inputs make it more versatile
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Just be aware that the iO2 does not come with ASIO drivers - in order to operate at lower latencies you will need to run ASIO4all on windows - odd to say the least.
 
Uh oh...I don't understand. Are you saying the Alesis IO2 won't plug and play easily with my laptop (running Windows Vista)? Do I need to download a driver for it or make any additional steps?
 
johnthomas19 said:
Uh oh...I don't understand. Are you saying the Alesis IO2 won't plug and play easily with my laptop (running Windows Vista)? Do I need to download a driver for it or make any additional steps?
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Alesis provides a link to the ASIO4ALL driver that you will need to download and install in order to record or play virtual instruments with low latency. Its not that complicated - and people here are more than willing to help :-)
 
johnthomas19 said:
Uh oh...I don't understand. Are you saying the Alesis IO2 won't plug and play easily with my laptop (running Windows Vista)? Do I need to download a driver for it or make any additional steps?
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It will plug and play but you might find that you have latency issues. Running ASIO4all will improve its performance.

Let us know how you go
 
There are two main classes of drivers used to control audio hardware on PCs.

The standard one is MME which is part of Windows. It's designed for basic playback of videos and gaming and simple recording stuff like Skype calls. Because it's part of Windows, MME involves going through lots of different layers of the operating sytem, all of which takes time which means latency.

The more professional drivers are known as ASIO. ASIO drivers bypass all the Windows extras and allow your DAW software to communicate directly with your interface. This means lower latency.

Most interface manufacturers provide their own ASIO drivers but the iO2 doesn't. You can either use the basic MME or they recommend ASIO4ALL which is a generic (and free) driver that gives you ASIO-like control of MME devices. ASIO4ALL actually works very well and does reduce latency but, since it's an ASIO wrapper for MME devices, it may not be as satisfactory as dedicated drivers. Then again, not all hardware manufacturers are all that good at writing drivers....

My instinct is always to go with dedicated manufacturer drivers but, if budgets are tight, the ASIO4ALL solution is workable and simple--Alesis ever provide a link to an ASIO4ALL download on their site.

A second point is that, since the iO2 provides direct monitoring anyway, latency isn't necessarily as big a problem as it would be if you had to monitor everything via your DAW. If the iO2 suits you in all other aspects, I wouldn't rule it out because of the drivers.
 
Bobbsy said:
A second point is that, since the iO2 provides direct monitoring anyway, latency isn't necessarily as big a problem as it would be if you had to monitor everything via your DAW. If the iO2 suits you in all other aspects, I wouldn't rule it out because of the drivers.
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Your advice is spot on - but I would like to point out that direct monitoring is not helpful if you play virtual instruments. I have piano libraries that I trigger from an 88 key controller, and drum libraries from a small midi kit. Neither is usable without low latency drivers, and direct monitoring doesn't help in this situation. I do know that I have a small laptop configured with ASIO4ALL and the onboard sound that I use for NI B4 hammond sounds. It is very usable with ASIO4ALL on my rig on the built in soundcard. I lucked out in that my laptop has a SPDIF out - I connect this to my main audio interface.
 
Yeah, that's a good point Chuck. I tend to forget about virtual instruments because I only ever work with live stuff--but if you're effectively "playing your computer with a keyboard" then direct monitoring doesn't help much and latency becomes critical.
 
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