Confused newbie

[Apie]

Hi,

Recently started with some home recording. I bought a soundcard (Guillemot Maxi Studio ISIS) with 8 ins and 4 outs.
Yesterday I wanted to record my guitar. I have a little Behringer amp with a D.I. out, specially bought for times like these. When I plug the Behringer direct into the soundcard, it doesn't work. Now apperantly a D.I. only works with a preamp after (so someone told me). When I look however in the manual, it there says that the D.I. delivers a full preamplified signal up to +22dB and can even be connected directly to a poweramp. Why the hell then does it work directly with my pc.
Can someone explain me the technical side.

 

[dafduc]

What software are you using to record? What operating system are you on? What software do you use for playback?

The signal chain is a little involved - not exactly plug-n-play, no matter what they TELL you.

Daf (not familiar with the Guillemot at all, but will try to help anyhow)

 

[Apie]

The silly thing is that the soundcard only works with Win98. So I use that, together with Cool Edit Pro 2.0 (to record and to play back). Some info on the card you can find at http://www.webdevelopersjournal.com/studio/guillemot_isis_maxi_studio.html .
I'm planning on recording some songs with my band. The bass amp also has a D.I. I also would be using mics. If someone could explain what other gear i need to by and whatfor, that would be very nice.

 

[invisiblemute]

Ack! Win98 is a nightmare. Check the manufacturer's website or send them e-mail. Unless the product is long discontinued or the company went out of business they will often continue to release drivers for product.

Not sure if you're just starting out or not but most good condenser mics require what's know as "phantom powering" from the mic-pre. Most mixers have phantom power but most digital audio interfaces don't. A condenser plugged into a board without phantom powering will produce no sound.

 

[dafduc]

I don't use CEP either, but I'll try to help.

Here are some general things to look for.

Did you remove your old sound card when you installed the Guillemot? Some software has trouble with co-existing soundcards. I had to disable my SB after I installed Delta, 'cos Giga got confused.

In you CEP confguration, is the Guillemot enabled as your input and output device?

Can you verify your Behringer is actually producing output - like by routing to your stereo, for example?

Is there software for the Guillemot itself, that would show you if you're receving input? Hint: look in your Windows Control Panel (that's where my Delta interface is). If so, make sure you haven't muted your inputs or outputs.

Do you have to select/enable an input in CEP's front end? Cubase 5.1 requires this, for example.

Daf