Advice for preamp + soundcard

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trickedthePigs

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Alright guys well I went to my local music store looking for an Audio Buddy or the Eururack UB802, and the guy there recommended the M-Audio Fast Track USB. The way he described it made it seem real simple and easy for what I was doing. So I bought it and tried it out, and it sucked. I'm definately returning it and saving up for something better in the long run. Alright, so now I need some more advice from all you smart people . I realize that if I want good quality recordings I am going to either need,

A) New soundcard for my computer, and a decent preamp.

B) Preamp/Interface which I believe is both a preamp + soundcard?

Correct me if i'm wrong. So now I need some good examples of a way to do this. I am short on cash right now, so I need the cheapest ones. But i'll save up if i have to. Thanks guys.
 
An external interface is a soundcard. Here are a few popular ones (some have preamps, some don't) and a lot of these come with some sort of software-

Presonus Firepod
Presonus Firebox
M-Audio 1814
M-Audio 410
M-Audio Delta 1010

How much are you looking to spend, and how many inputs/outputs/preamps do you want?
 
Alright well I'm just starting out so I dont think I need anything too amazing. Just a cheap and simple thing. I record guitar and vocals and use MIDI drums sometimes. If I use drums I record guitar over them first, then vocals over that. I do one at a time so I guess i'll just need one input, maybe two. I definately need at least one preamp. I already have recording software. Hmm, i'm trying to give you all the info I can. I'm really short on cash, so I would say I can spend around 200-300. But if i need to i'll spend more. I think that's pretty much it.
 
My suggestion would be the Presonus Firebox ($299), or the Presonus Inspire ($199). The main difference between the 2 is that the Firebox has SPDIF and MIDI. If you don't think you'll need SPDIF, you might consider the Inspire. (you can always get a MIDI interface later on). They both have 2 preamps and 2 additional analog ins. The Firebox's preamps are probably a little bit better, and the other 2 analog ins on the Firebox are Balanced, whereas the other 2 analog in's on the inspire are unbalanced I believe. But, the Inspire looks like a pretty good bang for the buck.
 
Hmm i've heard really good things about the PreSonus Firebox. I'm thinking about saving up for that. Now I just need to clear this up, if I get this, is this like everything I need all in one? Meaning I don't need to buy any soundcard or preamp or anything?
 
I have the DMP3, and a Delta 44 card. Works well for me, but is on teh high end of your budget.
 
trickedthePigs said:
Hmm i've heard really good things about the PreSonus Firebox. I'm thinking about saving up for that. Now I just need to clear this up, if I get this, is this like everything I need all in one? Meaning I don't need to buy any soundcard or preamp or anything?
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If you get the Firebox, you will have everything you need to get going. The Firebox becomes your soundcard, and has 2 mic preamps built into it. It even comes with Cubase LE recording software if you don't have any. As long as you have a mic and some monitors (speakers) or headphones, you will be ready to go.
 
Sweet, thanks man, that's what I wanted to know. I'm using Adobe Audition 1.5, would I be better off using the Cubase LE that comes with it, or just sticking with Audition?
 
I don't use Cubase, but I use Sonar, and they both do the same type of thing. I use Audition for Final Wave Editing, but not for Multitracking. Plus I like to use Soft Synths, and I don't believe you can in Audition, nor do any midi stuff I don't think. So, like I said, I track and mix in Sonar, and do some final tweaks in Audition.
 
I'm so used to Audition though, so i'll try Cubase and if I like it i'll start using it instead. I just noticed that you can't use MIDI in Audition. Which is kind of a bummer for me.
 
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