Beginner's Digital Solution?

[Eep]

Alright, I probably should say from the start that I don't really know what I'm doing . I've been reading various parts of this site (and the boards) for the last four hours, and I'm just starting to get a grip on this whole thing. I was given a large amount of (what I think is, from what I've read on this site) moderately good quality analog recording equipment. Unfortunately, I do not have it with me at the time, so I can't tell you the exact names of everything. It is in an empty room at my friend's house.

I know there is a Fostex 8-track recorder of some sort, it uses reel, not cassettes. It is from the '70s or '80s, like a large part of the equipment. There is a fairly large Ramsa mixing board. Bigger than my TV. In fact, that is still here... Alright, just looked... The box said: Panasonic Audio Mixer WR-8210A, and Ramsa was on it in various places as well. There is some sort of effects unit, some sort of stereo imaging thing - not quite sure about that one. A noise gate. A dedicated keyboard recorder thing. A patchbay (more than one actually, not sure why). A few other strange things. Not quite sure what type of mic it is, but it is XLR. Though, I believe there is a mic pre-amp as well. Or an impedance thingy (I don't have many of the technical terms down yet ).

Anyways, recently, I've been interested in a lot of synthesized music (like New Order, Suicide, and Radiohead to name a few examples). I'd like to be able to incorporate both my analog equipment with some form of digital solution so that I could use computer synthesizer programs rather than an actual synthesizer (to save money). And I'd like to be able to, when I'm just trying out some various melodies or stuff, record them on my computer in listenable quality just to send to friends and bandmates over AIM. I've been interested in getting an Audigy 2 Platinum for quite some time now, but upon finding this site, I heard about the Audiophile 2496.

First off, I don't have any clue as to how I could incorporate my analog equipment and my computer in the first place. Second, I do play computer games every now and then, and having DVD-A capabilities would be pretty nice too. I guess I really just want to know if I'll be able to use an Audigy 2 Platinum to incorporate electronic sounds with my analog recordsings. And probably to take the final analog recording and put it on my computer to be burned to CDs. I was also wondering what sort of software comes with the Audiophile 2496 and the Audigy 2 Platinum? I've seen lists of names, but I don't have a good idea to what these pieces of software actually do. Do either of them come with a computer synthesizer program? Or will I have to get that on my own elsewhere (what would you recommend)? Also, regardless of which soundcard you recommend, how would I do all that I mentioned above?

Any help is GREATLY appreciated. And you've got a wonderful message board here. So much information. It's been a major help already, until tonight, I wasn't sure if I was ever going to be able to use the analog equipment and I was on the verge of giving it back (where it would be put into storage and not touched for many years).

Oh, before I go, I guess I should post some comp specs...

Athlon XP 2100+
512 MB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (Corsair, w/ Heat-Spreader)
Right now, I'm using the integrated AC'97 sound just to listen to MP3s
the mobo is a Gigabyte 7VAXP Ultra
Gainward GeForce 4 Ti 4200 VIVO (I do some video editing as well)
Western Digital 80 GB HD w/ 8 mb buffer at 7,200 RPM
a cheap old 8 GB HD running at 5,400 RPM as its slave
a DVD-ROM, not sure who it is made by
Lite-On 52x CD-R/RW
420W Enermax power supply
all of this in a nicely cooled Lian-Li PC60 case with tons of firewire and USB2.0 ports to spare (well, four of each)
Oh yeah, I'm using Windows XP Pro
And it is all displayed on a 19 inch CRT monitor from Mitsubishi...

I guess a lot of that wasn't needed, but okay... Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. And thank you very much in advance.

One final note... Anyone ever listen to Fela Kuti?

 

[jmproductions]

You might want to consider posting this thread over in "Computer Recording and Soundcards". You're liable to get more exposure to folks with more experience in the PC stuff.

 

[Dan DA]

Well. your computer is certainly powerful enough to do what you want to do.

The Audiophile card will give a better sound quality than the Audigy2, but the Audigy2 is pretty good sounding. And in your case, may be a better choice if you only want one soundcard. (You said you needed support for games, etc.) The Audigy2 also has support for Soundfonts, which are samples of instruments that could be triggered by a midi program, keyboard or other midi instrument. There are many free soundfonts available on the web, ranging from acoustic to synthesizer sounds. The Audigy2 comes with a wide variety of software, but it's usefulness might be limited for what you want to do. Check the Creative website for more info.

If you have an synthesizer module or a software synthesizer, you could use that to generate sounds instead, and those can be used with the Audiophile.

An alternative could be to install both cards. You can buy an OEM version of the Audigy or Soundblaster Live! for very low cost, and that would handle the gaming, surround sound, midi, etc.

 

[Dan DA]

I forgot to mention that the Audigy2 Platinum comes with Cubasis(I believe), which is a decent audio/midi program for multitrack recording. It's a stripped down version of Cubase, a very popular professional level program.

If cost is a consideration, and you don't have a recording program yet, this would tilt the balance in favor of the Audigy2.

Also, if the need the DVD-A capability, you won't get it from the Audiophile card. The Audiophile is superior if you will be recording live instruments, but if you will be triggering samples or synthesizer sounds, I doubt you would notice much difference in the sound quality.

 

[Eep]

Yay! You answered all the questions I needed . Well, except for exactly how to use the analog and Audigy 2 together once I have the Audigy 2. But you helped me make up my mind . I will be using the analog for any live instruments, because I like the "warm" sound (and I love synthesizer music? Heh ). Thank you so much .

 

[Dan DA]

You're most welcome.

As far as using the analog and digital together, just take the outputs of your mixer and run them into the line in of the soundcard. With the Audigy2 you have only a stereo input, so you will take two outputs of your mixer and, through an appropriate cable or adapter, plug into the line in.
You could then record directly to your hard drive. To record the signal, make sure your Windows mixer has the correct input selected. Double Click the speaker icon on your taskbar. This should open the mixer Window. Make sure you double click, as a single click will only give you the master volume. Go to Options>Properties>Recording and select either Analog Mix, Line In, or What U Hear. Then try and record something. If you are working in Cubasis, you will need to configure the track settings to accept the input.

The digital samples that you will trigger will be generated from sounds within the computer (stored on your hard drive), most likely as Soundfonts. Do you have a midi keyboard, or will you be triggering them from a software sequencer?
If you have a midi keyboard, plug it into the midi input of the soundcard.

If you get the card and need more help, just ask.

 

[Dan DA]

Here's a review of the Audigy Ex by Ethan Winer. It has a lot of information about how Soundfonts work.

http://www.soundblaster.com/resources/read.asp?articleid=48&cat=2