Home recording

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Kres7787

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Hi,

We're trying to figure out a way we could do some barely modest recordings from home and have came around this card:

CREATIVE LABS SB X-Fi Elite Pro

It allows direct plugging in for microphones, guitars. Which is what we need.

There is also another matter that I am trying to nullify with such purchase and that is the delay between recording and playing when recording on multiple channels in Adobe Audition.

I would really appreciate if we could be helped by any suggestions on how we could accomplish this.

So basically to be able to plug in guitar jacks and to have actual real time recording results when recording with other open channels on computer.

Some specs of the card I mentioned:

Grab the highest quality, most feature-rich sound card in its class
Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro delivers the highest fidelity of all Sound Blaster X-Fi products with pristine 116dB SNR audio playback at up to 24-bit/192kHz.

Record your latest track
This smart sound card gives you a dedicated audio creation mode that lets you record at up to 96kHz or digitally matched to the frequency you chose. Plus the X-Fi I/O Console offers digital and analog connections for all of your audio gear.

Thank you,
 
Assuming that you haven't bought the card yet.......DON'T. Unlike many here that will bash SB based on experience with older cards, I have had an X-Fi card and I know first hand. There are good cards for consumer playback as the software has alot of decent features and some garbage too. You can even record 2 tracks that don't sound all that bad compared to onboard sound or older SB cards. Just don't plan to add to those 2 original tracks. The latency will kill ya. And theres no good fix. ASIO4ALL will help (IF your daw software can recognize it) but, For the $$$ an M-Audio 24/96 will serve you WAYYYYY better.
 
solo2racr said:
Assuming that you haven't bought the card yet.......DON'T. Unlike many here that will bash SB based on experience with older cards, I have had an X-Fi card and I know first hand. There are good cards for consumer playback as the software has alot of decent features and some garbage too. You can even record 2 tracks that don't sound all that bad compared to onboard sound or older SB cards. Just don't plan to add to those 2 original tracks. The latency will kill ya. And theres no good fix. ASIO4ALL will help (IF your daw software can recognize it) but, For the $$$ an M-Audio 24/96 will serve you WAYYYYY better.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Or as we're so fond of saying, "Repeat after me: Creative = Gamer". Trying to turn their cards into recording-quality audio hardware is like pimping out a Ford Pinto.
 
dgatwood said:
Agreed. Or as we're so fond of saying, "Repeat after me: Creative = Gamer". Trying to turn their cards into recording-quality audio hardware is like pimping out a Ford Pinto.
Click to expand...

the xfi-elite has the same converter as some of the top Emu stuff (same company), it does suppor AISO drivers. I think it only has 3 line in, and one of them is a mic in (buit in amp = no good). So I think if anything he's looking at 2 track recording... which isn't that bad...
 
Just get a USB or Firewire interface with pres. I just picked up a MOTU 8 Pre used, I'll let you know how it works out. The EMU 0404 has direct monitoring, which eliminates the latency you're complaining about. They're cheapish, but you'd still need to get preamps, or feed it off a mixer.
 
As far as cards for recording go, you could get something much better for much cheaper. I'm not going to get into what I think of the Audigys/Soundbalsters. As a gamer I have one but certainly I don't use it for recording. Regardless of whether it's any good for it or not, the fact is you can get something with more inputs/better latency/better features for less money.
 
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The problem with SB stuff for recording, is usually recording requires microphones. Good microphones require preamplifiers. SB stuff does not have preamps. Also, it is common practice, when using good microphones, to connect the mics to other devices using XLR jacks and plugs. SB stuff does not have XLR connections. Now, of course, these things are not absolutely required for recording, but having them improves quality and ease of use. The SB stuff does have decent A/D converters, which makes them pretty good for getting sound *OUT* of a computer. But, the lack of preamps and XLR connectors make then rather inconvenient for getting sound *INTO* the computer. Want to do "real" computer recording? Get a "real" audio interface.
 
Nick98338 said:
The problem with SB stuff for recording, is usually recording requires microphones. Good microphones require preamplifiers. SB stuff does not have preamps. Also, it is common practice, when using good microphones, to connect the mics to other devices using XLR jacks and plugs. SB stuff does not have XLR connections. Now, of course, these things are not absolutely required for recording, but having them improves quality and ease of use. The SB stuff does have decent A/D converters, which makes them pretty good for getting sound *OUT* of a computer. But, the lack of preamps and XLR connectors make then rather inconvenient for getting sound *INTO* the computer. Want to do "real" computer recording? Get a "real" audio interface.
Click to expand...


yep, forgot to say they got no XLR, it's unbalance TS in, which is ok because most preamp does have TSR/TS out... no problem for me most of the time, but do check the distance of the cable because it's unbalanced.
 
warlock110 said:
the xfi-elite has the same converter as some of the top Emu stuff (same company), it does suppor AISO drivers. I think it only has 3 line in, and one of them is a mic in (buit in amp = no good). So I think if anything he's looking at 2 track recording... which isn't that bad...
Click to expand...

Don't know. Maybe their drivers have improved, though it sort of sounds like they haven't from some of the comments I've read lately. :)

I would add that at least where sound quality is concerned, converters only are about 10% of the story, if that. The differences between one converter and another are absolutely dwarfed by the differences in other components (clock PLL circuit, op amps, capacitors in the audio path, power filtering, etc.). I tend not to expect much from most of that sort of audio card. Just my $0.02.
 
I haven't used a creative card in years, although my first recordings were done on one since it is what I had at the time. I have since bought a few different audio interfaces created specifically for recording and I wouldn't ever go back. Before you buy, take a look at what M-audio has available in the same price range. I am guessing that the Fast Track or Fast Track Pro USB interfaces would work well for what you want to do.
 
I did a shit load of recordings with my Audigy. When I got my Delta 44 I retracked everything. The difference is absolutely huge.
 
Don't buy the SB or any card you can find in Staples. These are gamer cards. They sound great for playback and can be pretty decent for monitoring - but they use low end design for recording - preamps are on a chip and so forth. That's why they're forty bucks. Don't even bother.

I would echo kudos for the Delta 44. I have a Delta 66 (same card but with digital I/O as well) and it is bulletproof. If you need preamps, get a real preamp. You can do well for $100 - 200 here. Just don't waste money on a consumer card, regardless of the specs it has. You don't hear the specs.
 
Yes, stay away from Creative.
Good soundcard guide and suggestions:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My obligatory standard reply that I keep in Wordpad:

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...ce&n=283155&n=507846&s=books&v=glance
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info:
http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books:
http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) not quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and suggestions:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com
Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $40 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($20) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they're giving away SamplitudeV9SE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)
 
Hi people,

I was waiting to get email notification for any reply that I opted for but it didn't seem to work. So was wondering why my fancy long message didn't got any replies and got here "manualy" to check and found all your replies. I would like to thank you a lot for taking your time to help me out. I am now on a path while I was completely lost before.

From what you people said, that X-Fi is off the list, and I was expecting to get such feedbacks. And Delta 66 is on the list. We got a 100$ mixer which acts pretty decently. Pretty sure it has a pre amp... well it does. So got that there then as well.

So Delta 66 has plug ins for mics, it wont have any notable latency? ASIO drivers are supported. Yes I even know of ASIO drivers as I tried to squeeze them into my current Audigy 2 card but it didn't do anything. Think it even worked with it. But without any changes. When I recall how much track micro movements I had to do on any new recorded channel, then well it justifies buying that Delta 66 for decent volume of cash, even though we will just use it for sporadic recording. Cause we can't really record drums due to lack of mics, and a good acustic basement.

While this recording will occur in my house room.

Thanks a lot again. Happy Easter for who's into it.

Regards,
 
And one thing more please.

Delta 66 has 4 inputs, so that means we can record 4 seperated channels? Eg, in Adobe Audition, the program I worked in the most. And for drums for instance.

Thanks!
 
Kres7787 said:
And one thing more please.

Delta 66 has 4 inputs, so that means we can record 4 seperated channels? Eg, in Adobe Audition, the program I worked in the most. And for drums for instance.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The Delta 66 has 6 inputs,4 analog and two digital.In order to use the digital inputyou need a device with a digital output and have to set your M-audio software to use external clock.
Some preamps and effects modelers have digital outs.
 
I just called the guy at the shop and he said that I can use Delta 66's 4 analog inputs to record each on a seperated channel (eg for drums) on the computer. Acidrock, did you mean that that isn't doable?

This is what the guy suggested to me:
Rode NT2-A Microphone
Delta 66
Behringer Tube Ultragain Mic200

So basicaly, as I understand this whole story, with the above I can get recording with acceptable unnoticable level of latency, ability to record vocals, thrumpets, el. guitars, piano at a great quality level (?). People, is this so? I know it is not the best solution to get advices in actual shops so if you can help I would appreciate it...

Secondly, I may want to get drum recorded as well. Course for having that done any good, I will need extra quality mics. So for now, without such drum mics, would purchase list above be ok for that as well or will I need to do some reshopping of same but better equipment prior to doing so?

Thank you for your time,
 
Kres7787 said:
I just called the guy at the shop and he said that I can use Delta 66's 4 analog inputs to record each on a seperated channel (eg for drums) on the computer. Acidrock, did you mean that that isn't doable?
Click to expand...
No,what Im saying is that a Delta66 has 6 inputs.You can use the four if you want,but you have a digital input as well.If you never plan on using the digital input you should get the Delta 44.IF you would like to use six inputs I would suggest a preamp with a digital output(spdif).
I have a Delta 66 BTW.

AFWIW,get advice from people on the boards before you take advice from a guy at a store.They're usually trying to sell you what they have in stock rather than what's best for you.
 
For digital input I'd need a digital output presumably. Don't have anything like that. So don't really need it.

After some reconsideration that took part in between, I will probably get something like Delta 66 but an external variant so I can just plug it on the laptop and not have to bring the whole PC down to basement. Got a good laptop so will be more then sufficent for the job.

Does anybody got a recommendation for such an external card/box?

Yes and as you can see acidrock, I'm here to catch some advices before confirming the order. Seems I'll be into ton of cash drain for this. Will prolly also get drum recording mics...
 
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