i want a new soundcard... some questions

  • Thread starter Thread starter .:Wyze Loc:.
  • Start date Start date
ez_willis said:
I have a 10k rpm 36g hard drive. I back my files up to a cd when I'm done tracking a song. Always plenty of room.

I also have 512mb of RAM, never have any trouble freezing up or anything else.
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ok, cool, so right now im gonna save a few bucks (about $400) for these upgrades:

new and bigger hard drive ( possibly 100gb )
2 sticks of 512 ram
and the M-audio Audiophile 2496.

is that all i need to make "good music" ?
 
Are you sure about that? I know that the memory has to be compatible with your motherboard, and I'm pretty sure that if one stick is ECC, the other has to be ECC (and vice-versa with non-ECC).

How else do people get 768MB of RAM?

Oh wait - Here's what Crucial says about it -
Do I have to buy the same size upgrade as the memory module currently installed in my computer or can I mix different sizes?
In newer systems using SDRAM or DDR SDRAM memory, you can use modules of different densities with no problem. For example, if your computer came with a 128MB memory module, you can add a 256MB module for a total of 384MB of RAM. However, if you have a "dual-channel" system and want to take advantage of that technology, you will need to ensure that the modules in each memory slot are the same density.
Click to expand...


Regardless, the best way to upgrade your memory is to point your browser to http://www.crucial.com and go the Memory Advisor tool.

To the original poster - You'll be fine with 256MB for now. You'll know when you have to upgrade. I started out with a PIII 450mhz/256MB or RAM and my Delta 44 worked fine for me.

warrengtype said:
If you go to add another memory card it'll have to be the same size as the one that's in there. Since you have a 256 then you have to add another 256. If you had a 512 you'd have to add another 512, and so on.

You can upgrade to the 512 if you want. But if you do that you have to pull out the 256 that's already in there. You can't mix different sizes. You could buy two 512's which would then give you a total of 1024mb of ram.

Here's the 512 you'd need:

http://stores.channeladvisor.com/4-All-Memory/Items/42119-03?
Click to expand...
 
ok..now i was just told dat i might need a pre amp for the mic...is dat neccesary?
 
.:Wyze Loc:. said:
ok..now i was just told dat i might need a pre amp for the mic...is dat neccesary?
Click to expand...

Lets take it back a step. What are you trying to accomplish with your recordings? Are you recording your band, acoustic drums, the whole bit, or are you just recording yourself, one or two tracks at a time?

What instruments will you be recording?

What kind of gear do you already have? Including mics.
 
You do not need to buy memory in the same size you already have. Buy a 512 unit or a 1 gig unit and you will be sitting pretty.

As far as the Audiophile 2496 goes, it is great. I use one on my PC and it records perfectly. Be aware of a few things however. The 2496 will only allow 2 mono channels to record simultaneously, or one stereo. It also has no built-in pre-amps which means you will need to run your mic or instrument through some kind of pre-amp or mixer in order to make it work.

If you are OK with these limitations, then the 2496 is a great deal and I highly recommend it.

If you want something a bit simpler or more self contained, I would look into one of M-Audio's USB or firewire solutions. They generally have decent built-in pre-amps so you wouldn't need an external mixer.
 
gordone said:
Are you sure about that? I know that the memory has to be compatible with your motherboard, and I'm pretty sure that if one stick is ECC, the other has to be ECC (and vice-versa with non-ECC).

How else do people get 768MB of RAM?

Oh wait - Here's what Crucial says about it -
Click to expand...

Well I'll be. I didn't know that stuff. Mea culpa.
 
ez_willis said:
Lets take it back a step. What are you trying to accomplish with your recordings? Are you recording your band, acoustic drums, the whole bit, or are you just recording yourself, one or two tracks at a time?

What instruments will you be recording?

What kind of gear do you already have? Including mics.
Click to expand...
im just recording my vocals
 
sonnylarsen said:
You do not need to buy memory in the same size you already have. Buy a 512 unit or a 1 gig unit and you will be sitting pretty.

As far as the Audiophile 2496 goes, it is great. I use one on my PC and it records perfectly. Be aware of a few things however. The 2496 will only allow 2 mono channels to record simultaneously, or one stereo. It also has no built-in pre-amps which means you will need to run your mic or instrument through some kind of pre-amp or mixer in order to make it work.

If you are OK with these limitations, then the 2496 is a great deal and I highly recommend it.

If you want something a bit simpler or more self contained, I would look into one of M-Audio's USB or firewire solutions. They generally have decent built-in pre-amps so you wouldn't need an external mixer.
Click to expand...


ok, so if i get a USB solution will i still need to upgrade my soundcard?
 
.:Wyze Loc:. said:
ok, so if i get a USB solution will i still need to upgrade my soundcard?
Click to expand...

No, the USB solution is the soundcard.
 
Carter said:
No, the USB solution is the soundcard.
Click to expand...


alright, i made up my mind now, im goin with the usb interface

which one is good?

Tascam US-122 or the M-Audio MobilePre

im doing vocal recordings off my computer (not labtop)
 
.:Wyze Loc:. said:
alright, i made up my mind now, im goin with the usb interface

which one is good?

Tascam US-122 or the M-Audio MobilePre

im doing vocal recordings off my computer (not labtop)
Click to expand...

Well they are both about the same but the tascam has Cubase LE bundled with it, hence the $50.00 difference, its all on you if you dont need the software then go with the Moble-pre.
 
Carter said:
Well they are both about the same but the tascam has Cubase LE bundled with it, hence the $50.00 difference, its all on you if you dont need the software then go with the Moble-pre.
Click to expand...


alright, thanx

imma try the tascam cuz its 24bit
 
Hi Guys

It's my first time on this forum and I hope I can help this situation a little. I use an M-audio 2496 and it's one of the best investments in my home recording studio. The minimum requirements, as stated on the box for a PC is as follows; Win 98SE, ME, 2000(SP4), XP (SP1), DirectX 9.0b or higher. For 48 khz operation; Pentium II 450 Mhz w/ 64MB RAM - For 96kHz operation; Pentium III 500 Mhz w/128 MB Ram. For proper recording though I suggest a minimum of 512 MB. Remember these are minimum Requirements.

Now to record something, depending on what you are doing, instruments, vocals, MIDI Keyboard etc. you will need the proper hook ups. If you get a Condenser Mic, highly recommended, then you will need Phantom Power. I use a Behringer UB-802 Eurorack Mixer for this. It works good except with the M-Audio you don't have a monitoring plug and that has to be worked out in other ways so you may want to go to a more expensive Mixer with Effects and proper Recording Monitor, as well. The UB-802 has a monitor but not while listening to the previous sound track during recording. You will need software to record to. I use Cakewalk 2002 which works well although I think the New Sonar would be better.

Depending on your reasons for recording I would be sure and get a decent Mic, above the $150.00 USD range. I bought both my M-Audio and Eurorack on eBay but I reccomend purchasing a Mic locally unless you know a specific one you want and you find a good deal on the net.

You will also need connecting hardware, cables that is, to connect your mixer, mic etc. to the computer. Your mixer will take RCA connections the same as the M-Audio. One important thing, if you are going to have many instruments plugging in at the same time you may need to get the next step up in Sound Cards from M-Audio to allow you more inputs. The 2496 only has 2, left and right, RCA inputs and 2 S/PDIF in/outs as well as a MIDI input and output.

The thing I like about the 2496 is that it gives you a very Clean Input Sound which makes for great recordings.

Hope this helps.
 
Writer of Songs said:
Hi Guys

It's my first time on this forum and I hope I can help this situation a little. I use an M-audio 2496 and it's one of the best investments in my home recording studio. The minimum requirements, as stated on the box for a PC is as follows; Win 98SE, ME, 2000(SP4), XP (SP1), DirectX 9.0b or higher. For 48 khz operation; Pentium II 450 Mhz w/ 64MB RAM - For 96kHz operation; Pentium III 500 Mhz w/128 MB Ram. For proper recording though I suggest a minimum of 512 MB. Remember these are minimum Requirements.

Now to record something, depending on what you are doing, instruments, vocals, MIDI Keyboard etc. you will need the proper hook ups. If you get a Condenser Mic, highly recommended, then you will need Phantom Power. I use a Behringer UB-802 Eurorack Mixer for this. It works good except with the M-Audio you don't have a monitoring plug and that has to be worked out in other ways so you may want to go to a more expensive Mixer with Effects and proper Recording Monitor, as well. The UB-802 has a monitor but not while listening to the previous sound track during recording. You will need software to record to. I use Cakewalk 2002 which works well although I think the New Sonar would be better.

Depending on your reasons for recording I would be sure and get a decent Mic, above the $150.00 USD range. I bought both my M-Audio and Eurorack on eBay but I reccomend purchasing a Mic locally unless you know a specific one you want and you find a good deal on the net.

You will also need connecting hardware, cables that is, to connect your mixer, mic etc. to the computer. Your mixer will take RCA connections the same as the M-Audio. One important thing, if you are going to have many instruments plugging in at the same time you may need to get the next step up in Sound Cards from M-Audio to allow you more inputs. The 2496 only has 2, left and right, RCA inputs and 2 S/PDIF in/outs as well as a MIDI input and output.

The thing I like about the 2496 is that it gives you a very Clean Input Sound which makes for great recordings.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the board.
 
Writer of Songs said:
Hi Guys

It's my first time on this forum and I hope I can help this situation a little. I use an M-audio 2496 and it's one of the best investments in my home recording studio. The minimum requirements, as stated on the box for a PC is as follows; Win 98SE, ME, 2000(SP4), XP (SP1), DirectX 9.0b or higher. For 48 khz operation; Pentium II 450 Mhz w/ 64MB RAM - For 96kHz operation; Pentium III 500 Mhz w/128 MB Ram. For proper recording though I suggest a minimum of 512 MB. Remember these are minimum Requirements.

Now to record something, depending on what you are doing, instruments, vocals, MIDI Keyboard etc. you will need the proper hook ups. If you get a Condenser Mic, highly recommended, then you will need Phantom Power. I use a Behringer UB-802 Eurorack Mixer for this. It works good except with the M-Audio you don't have a monitoring plug and that has to be worked out in other ways so you may want to go to a more expensive Mixer with Effects and proper Recording Monitor, as well. The UB-802 has a monitor but not while listening to the previous sound track during recording. You will need software to record to. I use Cakewalk 2002 which works well although I think the New Sonar would be better.

Depending on your reasons for recording I would be sure and get a decent Mic, above the $150.00 USD range. I bought both my M-Audio and Eurorack on eBay but I reccomend purchasing a Mic locally unless you know a specific one you want and you find a good deal on the net.

You will also need connecting hardware, cables that is, to connect your mixer, mic etc. to the computer. Your mixer will take RCA connections the same as the M-Audio. One important thing, if you are going to have many instruments plugging in at the same time you may need to get the next step up in Sound Cards from M-Audio to allow you more inputs. The 2496 only has 2, left and right, RCA inputs and 2 S/PDIF in/outs as well as a MIDI input and output.

The thing I like about the 2496 is that it gives you a very Clean Input Sound which makes for great recordings.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
wow dats a lot of info, thanx
but all im going to be doing is recording my vocals.
so im going along with the tascam because it comes with phantom power.
 
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