Computer recording and M-AUDIO MobilePre USB?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Decay
  • Start date Start date
D

Decay

New member
Hello,

I want to start using my computer as a recording unit.
My desktop is a DELL 2.4Ghz, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB harddrive. It was delievered with a poor soundblaster card.

I will be recording bass, guitar, vocals and maybe drums.
I will mainly be recording one instrument at the time.
What I'm planning to do is to buy an M-AUDIO MobilePre USB and a Shure SM57.

The reason for wanting to purchase the MoblilePre is the fact that it has two integrated mic preamps and two integrated guitar inputs, and as I understand this negates the need for an external mixer/DI Box/Mic Preamp. Is this right, or am I missing something here?

Also, can the MobilePre be used instead of my old soundcard (as in playing back audio from my computer, like MP3s, WAvs, audio from games and so on)?
Could I completely remove my old soundcard?

So, what are your opinions? Does this seem like a reasonable solution? Any better options out there that isn't ridiculously expensive?
 
Sure, it's a reasonable solution and will do all you are looking for it to do. In my experience, it's fairly noisy, but not to a point of being unusable and a whole lot better than some inexpensive solutions...

go for it.

Cheers,
C
 
The setup would be noisy? That's not good... I was also considering an Audiophile 2496 card, as this would give me better soundquality, but the tradeoff would be having to buy an external mixer.
I've been looking at the Behringer UB series; are they any good?
 
my recommendation would be a yamaha mg nixer with a audiophile sound card.
stay away from from usb imho.
use the serach feature and input my name.
hundreds of posts that will help you.
 
I've decided to take you up on the advice and go for an Audiophile and yamaha mg 10/2 combo.

I was wondering, however, if it is possible to plug my guitar straight into the mixer and get good, noise free results without some sort of DI box between the two. I want a strong, clean guitar signal into my soundcard through the mixer.
Will this be possible or does everything i plug into the mixer have to be line level?
 
normally one should not plug a guitar into a mixer. you need an interface DI box. but by the time you think about the price of a di box,
you might want to add a bit of money and consider something withb some
built in guitar amp models. so you can get different sounds. or look for a used digitech box. i think they are pretty cheap. or you could consider finding a jstation a lot of folks like or a similar device. just an idea.
also on the sound card - cover yourself. make sure its compatible
with the chipset in your computer. or ensure you can return it.
you should be fine BUT its been known to happen even with computers of the same type. also fyi tracertek.com sell some interesting cheap 24
bit sound cards. but ive never bought from them.
just noticed the attractive prices.
whatever you look at , there is no perfect solution. its the nature of the beast. particularly when working with limited budgets.
if you had big bucks to spend i would probably suggest a nice midas mixer and a lynx sound solution or such like as an example.
or a ravk of great river preamps.
or you can do what i do. build up your electronics skills by taking an electronics course sometime and then build your own mic pres for 20 bucks.
eg....heres the difference between a big studio master console...
the song take my love at soundclick.com/bmanning
now compare with my cheap 20 buck diy mic pre's. hi tech man, i'm too old to rock and roll, limey rap for example.
not a whole lot of diff is there ?
 
Thank you for being so helpful; I really appreciate it.
But if the mixer has high-impedance inputs, then it would be okay to plug directly into the mixer? I think the Mackie TAPCO 6306 got high impedance inputs, is this right?
I will be using software amp modelling for economical and convinience related reasons.
 
decay. you have to look at the IMPEDENCE of of such an input.
if it specifically says on the mixer spec sheet that this input is for plugging in a guitar directly then you will be fine (look for an impedence of at least a megaohm 1mohm). otherwise i would check with the manufacturer. btw - i'm not a great devotee of software amp modelling.
i prefer to mic a guitar amp. just my preference.
modelling amps in software is a good concept imho but ive a feeling its going to take a few more years yet to mature to get it right.
also there is processor load to understand.
if you dont have a very powerfull computer , processor intensive products like modelling and plug ins can really impact performance.
one freebie you might try is simulanalog.org (a research project plug in).
theres no reason to even DI now that guitar amp prices are sooo cheap.
zzounds.com i think it is have a bunch of cheap guitar amps under 100 bucks. also my wife is always picking up at yard sales cheap used guitar amps for under 10 bucks. just make sure they are safe.
ive got an ancient traynor here she picked up for 5 bucks that with a couple of pedals sounds better than some more expensive amps i have on certain things.
 
This is copied directly from the spec sheet:

"Input Impedance:
Mic Input: 2.3 k ohms, balanced
Inst Input: 1 M ohms"

Will this do then? Seemingly the instrument input is a 1 megaohm input...

Unfortunately, my budget won't allow amp micing. I haven't tried out Guitarsuite yet, but I have experience with Amplitube, NI Guitar rig and Greenmachine, all of which excel at some areas, but is lacking in others.

Please excuse my ignorance on the subject, but I'm new to all this external gear business.
 
that should work for guitar but i would test it out before you buy the mixer.
 
manning1 said:
that should work for guitar but i would test it out before you buy the mixer.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks again for being so helpful. I just have to choose between the Yamaha MG and a DI or the TAPCO then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top