few questions for audio recordings

[teddyastuffed]

hello everyone (-im new-). ive been reading up on this forum for quite some time and just recently decided to register, mainly to post this right now . well lets begin...

i just recently got interested in recording music onto my computer and what not (after seeing what a friend did on his computer, it inspired me). so i decided to get into the groove. i sold some things, did a few side jobs for people, and scrounged up some money and picked me up a few things which my friend and various producer forums told me would be essential. i got a Line 6 POD xt for my guitar (found it ridiculously cheap on ebay -_-), a Behringer ub1202 mixer, cubase se (the $100 one), and a m-audio audiophile 2496 soundcard. i also previously owned a guitar amp, bass amp, a ypp-55 yamaha keyboard, and a korg microkorg (which i borrowed from a friend). so then i plugged in the things and tried to get started with audio recordings. im into recording acoustic vocals/guitars and also songs with distorted guitar and bass. this is where my questions start:

1. im still semi-confused on cables. trs is balanced and ts is unbalanced, but how do u know which one is used where? for example would i use trs cables to go from line 6 pod->mixer->computer and then a regular ts cable to go from my guitar to the pod?

2. when recording an audio track, lets say guitar, onto my computer, is there a preferred method of doing this? ex: do i click record and record a 5 minute song all the way through, or should i just record certain parts and then copy/paste them where they need to be? what's recommended in an overall efficiency to sound ratio?

3. referring to mixer connections (ill try to keep this as general as possible, because i know all mixers are different), i connect my MAIN OUT to my soundcard's input. then to get sound back to the mixer to connect monitors or headphones, i would connect the soundcard's output to the mixer's TAPE IN. is this correct? if this is the case, what does TAPE OUT on the mixer do? btw: if your wondering y i dont just read the manual, i tried, but they use the most technical terms that i have no idea what in the world they are talking about.

4. now, referring to my mixer specifically, the ub1202 has built in preamps for the first 4 channels. ive read that these are atrocious preamps, but im wondering if its that much worse than a separate preamp?

5. and last, kind of a oppinionated question, but is my hardware good enough to make simple demo cds?

thats about it for the time being. sorry for the long post and thanks in advance to any advice anyone can give me.

have a nice day!

 

[NYMorningstar]

1. Use the trs when going from stereo to stereo or for situations where you need a balanced cable e.g. when your mic cable is longer than 25 feet. You would also use a trs on a y cable when inserting into a channel for outboard effects.
2. There is no set rule on how to track but usually you do a click track, drums bass, guitar and vocals.
3. Your setup is ok. Unfortunately the 2496 restricts the number of channels you can record to simultaneously. The record out is used when you use the mixer to mixdown channels to an external recorder. With the card you have you wouldn't need to be doing that.
4 & 5. For a demo cd your setup is ok for a demo. What you need to improve on the most at this point is your recording skills. That will improve your recordings the most. When improving your soundchain in the future go from the source to the speakers e.g from room>instruments>mic>preamps>mixer>monitors etc.

 

[Sampler]

The TAPE OUT on you mixer is used to send the incoming sound to an audio playback device (commonly a monitor or speaker system) that can accept RCA (audio cables) inputs. For example, let's say you wanted to monitor through a stereo system. The sound flow would be as follows:

sound card-->mixer-->input on stereo via RCA cabel--> speakers

 

[jeap]

did you mention microphones?

you can get them cheaply now and it seems like a good idea to have something like a shure sm57 and a vocal condenser - check the mic forum

other than that i think youre ok to start

you might plan on a mic preamp for your next purchase - m audio dmp3 seems like a good choice

i have always tracked through the entire tune playing the instruments. if you make a lot of mistakes like me you can consider it practice time too

lately ive been doing more sequencing and considering making smaller parts and pasting them - seems complicated but it could pay off

tip-ring-sleeve 1/4" is often used for stereo connections. if im using mono connections i use a regular cable - and i pretty much just do mono

"balanced" means sending 2 signals through the same cable *out of phase* with each other to cancel noise on long cable runs - pickup of radio frequencies and suchlike - something to worry about in a big studio but not for us so much

at least thats what i think its all about

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

"balanced" means ...
...something to worry about in a big studio but not for us so much

Funny - induced noise doesn't care whether the signal is in a "big studio" or not - certainly not as much as YOU seem to make a point of it.

As a matter of fact, induced noise is more likely to occur in the less-than-ideal home environment that wasn't designed from the ground up for audio production applications.

Smarten-the-fuck-up with your bullshit "big studio" vs. "Home rec" comments, jeap - it's just plain stupid and really makes you sound like a complete fool....

 

[teddyastuffed]

thanks for the replies guys! its amazing how much u can learn through forums -_-. anyways as for the replies ive pretty much had my questions answered, and thanks for the addons. just 1 follow up question... someone mentioned the m-audio dmp3 to me for a mic preamp (which i desperately need, because the built in IMP's for the behringer mixer are not getting the job done). is that highly recommended for its price range? i noticed its only about $150, which is definately in my price range, being a student and all. what r the pros and cons on this preamp and how does it compare to the internal preamps in the behringer ub1202 (which i currently own)?