Boss BR-532, Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro and Soundcards

[thebuns]

Hi, guys. Please forgive my very basic questions here.

Here's my current setup:

* standalone Boss BR-532 for recording audio

* Smart Card reader for importing Boss tracks into

* my HP Pavilion 7955 Windows XP computer, 1.5 GHz Pentium IV, with 1 GB RAM

* the computer doesn't have a sound card per se (I think), but rather has something called an AC 97 codec

* running Guitar Tracks Pro as my audio and MIDI recording software



Questions:

1. Do I need to install a true sound card -- or is the AC 97 thing enough? I had been getting dropouts when trying to use more than, say, 8 tracks on GT Pro, but since I increased my RAM to 1 GB, the problems seems to have abated somewhat?


a. I'll point out that when I listen to my recorded CDs on an actual stereo, they do have a thick, mid-rangy sound. But that may be more of a function of my poor mixing abilities than my sound card.


2. If I do need to install a sound card, what one should I get? (I don't want to pay more than $200 for it, and I'd prefer to pay around $100.)

3. In lieu of installing a sound card, could I just get a USB audio interface? Would that improve sound quality?


Thanks in advance for your help.

- b

 

[Jim Y]

Well, what are you listening to your mixes on? The best soundcard, pre-amps and so on won't help much unless you can hear what your mixes truly sound like. But you still have to try mixes over different (and typical of what you expect them to be heard on) systems and maybe have to go back and tweak a bit. Use up a lot of CD-rs but they're cheap nowadays. After a few songs you'll learn what to watch for beforehand.

Bad things to mix on are headphones and pc "multimedia" speakers. It's useful to listen on these sort of things, but they alter the balance of tone more than you might realise. So you probably need some monitors first, then you might hear what's wrong with your current AC97 chip. A half decent hi-fi with an aux line in would do for now until you get proper monitors.

A good soundcard would be wasted if your speakers don't have a truthful response.

When you notice excessive background noise in your mixes, find it tricky to hear how an instrument is panned in the stereo, or need more inputs and outputs, its time to get a good soundcard.

 

[tdukex]

You should be recording on your computer, through a good sound card like the M-Audio Audiophile, not the BOSS.

Why did you buy the BOSS when you have a computer? I would return it and get a decent preamp.

 

[Sotonfan]

You should be recording on your computer, through a good sound card like the M-Audio Audiophile, not the BOSS.

This reply really interests me, since I'm just in the process of stepping up from a Boss BR532 to an AP 2496.

Is the recording quality of the BOSS noticeably lower than what you get with the Audiophile? If so, can someone help me understand why?

Cheers,
Drew.

 

[distortedrumble]

not sure really

my computer has a fit anytime i try to record at 24...i do it at 16/48 and it comes out pretty well i think thats cause i use onboard audio though....a 24/96 sound card should do wonders.