Cheapest Sound Card

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nucmed

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I am a beginner at home recording. I have an electric guitar, a Fostex x-12 4 track, and was interested in recording my guitar and maybe some vocals into my computer.

I have a 3 year old HP Pavilion computer with a standard Sound Card, so i guess in order to record my guitar to my computer, I need to upgrade.

I am looking for the cheapest PCI sound card for what I need to do. This is just my hobby, and funds are very tight for me. Any suggestions? I went to ebay and most sound cards i've heard about, like Gina and aardvark are very expensive. please help!

ERIC
 
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I don't want to spend more than a hundred dollars. I was on ebay and say a guillemot with breakout box (what is this anyway?) for 99.00 plus shipping. also i saw an sb audigy. would this work? can i plug my guitar and mic into these?
 
A standard Soundblaster will record and may or may not have the quality you would be satisfied with.
You will be hard pressed to find a card worthy of good recordings for less than $100. You can pick up an audiophile new for $150 or find one on ebay for $100-$125. Its a great entry level card that you would be happy with. It also depends on the number of ins & outs you need. The audiophile has 2 analog in and 2 out. spdif in & out and a midi connect so you would be limited to 2 ins & outs. If you are going to record 1 track at a time then this would work well for you...or if you have a mixer you can defeat the limit.
Otherwise you will need a card with multiple ins & outs which will certainly cost more.

Your PC specs will also play a role in recording.
You will need minimum 500mhz CPU, 256 Ram, and a relatively fast hard drive.
If your 1gig or better with 256 ram or better your in good shape.
 
thanks stealthtech.

yeah funds are tight. new child and all.

What about the audigy? someone at work said it would work. Or is that just similar to the guillemot? And what is a breakout box?
i will research the audiophile.

Another question... if I were to record my tracks separately into my 4 track, can I hook my 4 track into my computer as it is? or do I still need an upgraded sound card? i own the fostex x-12. very simple recorder.

and am i able to record drum loops from my computer to the 4 track? or do I need to put them on cd then record from cd player to 4track. as you can see I am completely new at this.
 
nucmed said:
thanks stealthtech.

yeah funds are tight. new child and all.

What about the audigy? someone at work said it would work. Or is that just similar to the guillemot? And what is a breakout box?
i will research the audiophile.

Another question... if I were to record my tracks separately into my 4 track, can I hook my 4 track into my computer as it is? or do I still need an upgraded sound card? i own the fostex x-12. very simple recorder.

and am i able to record drum loops from my computer to the 4 track? or do I need to put them on cd then record from cd player to 4track. as you can see I am completely new at this.
Click to expand...
The audigy is the top of the line soundblaster. It will record just fine but it is really designed as a gaming and multimedia device. If your going to spend that kinda money it would be better to invest in an audiophile, delta 44, or 66.
A breakout box is designed as a tabletop or rackmount unit interface to plug in your instruments. Instead of using your fostex which is 16bit you can simply plug your instruments straight to the breakout box.
Basically, if you have a card with a breakout box you wont even need the fostex....in fact, sell it to earn some money for your new gear {card-software} That is if your going to track one at a time or you get a card with a breakout box. You will also need a mic preamp as well unless the breakout box with the card you get has built in pre's.
Check out these cards and interfaces

www.m-audio.com
 
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