Help me choose a soundcard...pleeeeaaaase!

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5c0tt

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OK, following a previous posting, I've decided to look into buying a *decent* soundcard.
I'd probably have a real hard time choosing on my own as I'm not too PC savvy so if any of you good people can help out, that would be great.

I record on my Korg D16 and would be using the soundcard mainly to transfer the odd track to PC for editing/FX and then back to my Korg. I also run my midi stuff from PC.

I'll try to give as much info as possible here.....

What I need:
S/PDIF optical (on TOSLink connections) in & out.
MIDI in & out.
Stereo analogue in & out.

Other info:
The Korg accepts up to 48KHz but converts it to 44.1KHz. I'm assuming the Korg will output at 44.1 too.
PC is PIII 450MHz, 64RAM running Windows 98 (I hope to upgrade my PC next year).

I think that's all....oh, I'd like to spend as little as possible on it!!:)

Thanks in advance guys
 
The biggest factor will be how many tracks you want to record at once. It it's just 4, you can get away with a delta 66 card or something similar, omni studio if you need some pres with it. The card has served me well for awhile. If you need more inputs, names like delta 1010, motu, echo, aardvark will come into mind.

How much are you looking to spend?

Brandon
 
Thanks Brandon. I don't need any pre's for it & I'll only need to record 2 tracks at a time.
My main need is to transfer stereo digital into the PC from my Korg, process it & then transfer back to the Korg (or maybe just playback a few tracks on the PC in sync with the Korg)
Must also have midi I/O so I can sync the tracks to the Korg & run my midi gear from the PC sequencer.

Scott
 
frist44 said:
The biggest factor will be how many tracks you want to record at once. It it's just 4, you can get away with a delta 66 card or something similar, omni studio if you need some pres with it. The card has served me well for awhile. If you need more inputs, names like delta 1010, motu, echo, aardvark will come into mind.

How much are you looking to spend?

Brandon
Click to expand...

either of those cards have optical SPDIF.......
 
you can get a Delta Dio for about $89 and it has optical in....theres no analog inputs, but there is a stereo analog out....it doesnt have midi but you could possible do midi with your existing card....what will u use the stereo inputs for (analog)?
 
sounds like you don't really need the soundcard to do that much. I would think about possibly ditching the korg sometime down the road. The possibilities of sounds and upgrades are endless when the computer is your recording medium. It will also cut out having to go back and forth. just an idea...there are several cheap yet effective multi-track programs that would do everything the korg will. All the delta products seem to be great for the money, especially for what you're doing.

Brandon
 
Sorry guys, meant to mention the budget ...duh...kinda important eh.
Approx £200-£250 ($300-$375).

The analogue inputs? Hmmm, you're right, I don't suppose I will need those...anything to go into the PC will go preamp>korg>digi into PC. I guess I'm just used to having them!

I did actually see the Dio on a web site but the lack of midi I/O put me off. I wasn't sure if I could use 2 cards at once (my existing card for midi & the new one for audio)
The card I have at the moment is a joystick output to a midi interface and I'm not sure if this is a very good set up? Anyone?

I guess I would just feel safer with an 'all in one' card. I'm also a bit worried about conflicts with the 2 cards etc

I'll check some of the Delta cards out...they seem to be very popular though I'm concerned about the PC system requirements for some of them. A lot of them are 96KHz....I presume that if I'm only ever running at 44.1 then it won't place as much demand on my PC??

The Dio would save me some cash...so I could spend it something else:) Do you guys reckon it would be OK to use both cards at the same time?
Thanks
Scott
 
many people do it, conflicts arise when you have a soundblaster, but i've used my original card with success.

Brandon
 
Brandon, I must have been posting the same time as you.
I go 'out and about' with my Korg so I need to retain that portability.
That said, I will probably use the computer for recording more & more in the future after I get a better PC but I like the Korg....rock solid OS.
I dunno, the whole PC thang just doesn't seem right to me....but I'm probably missing out big time!!
Thanks again
S
 
Thanks Gidge. The Dio & USB midi set up is beginning to look ideal for me. Nice price too.

Sorry to keep asking more questions but....
My current midi set up consists of the Korg, a (crappy) keyboard & a drum machine.
They are 'daisy chained' as my midi interface is 1 in 1 out.
At some point (when I've got the cash!) I'll probably invest in a midi sound module.
I think I'm answering my own question here but do you think it would be better for me to get say, a 2 in 4 out USB interface?
I sometimes use the Korg as the time master & sometimes the PC. I'd read that the daisy chain thing isn't too good an idea for keeping everything locked in time.
Again, sorry for asking what is probably very basic stuff but I just wanna make sure I get it right.
S
 
Yip, I think I'l go for this set up. The Dio + 4x4 USB midi interface.

Thanks a lot for helping me out.

Once I get this lot bought & set up I can get back to the music.... it sometimes feels like we all spend more time sorting out our techie stuff eh!

Scott
 
Heh, will do....I've got a couple of, uh, early recordings done which I'm building up the courage & technology to post on the MP3 board.

They're pretty bad but I guess that's the whole point of the MP3 board eh.

What the heck, I'm not gonna learn how to improve them if I don't post.....I'll put them up soon.
S
 
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