is my stock soundcard enough?

[delah]

i'm trying to break into computer recording from the dredges of the cheapest tascam four track that you can still buy... ...and i want to get around buying a new sound card for the moment. see if this makes sense to you and would work....

....i'll buy and m-audio audio buddy for the preamp, which i hear is a pretty good preamp for the money to start out with, and has phamtom power for any future condenser mics i buy....
...this will hopefully work with my computer's crappy stock soundcard..(its not even a gamer souncard, let alone a musician recording card), but at least it will work for the time being while i save up for a decent card like the e-mu 0404 or audiophile 2496......

..will this even work at all. i use my current stock soundcard to convert my tapes to .wav, from my current four track recordings, and then burn cds. they dont sound that great but whatever. im more into songwriting and playing guitar then actual recording...not to disrespect the amazing art and skill that goes to soundrecording. the thing is, i only have time for demo recording....but i do want to improve from my tascam...

...any input would be great. im ready to spend the money, but any advice would be well worth it since i dont know anything about computer recording...







.....let your freak flag fly.....

 

[seryozha]

I would say try it, do some test recordings and see if it sounds good to YOU.


If it doesnt, buy a better sound card.


What kind of mics are you going to use?

 

[notbradsohner]

yes, that will work for now, and you will get an ok recording, but that new soundcard will make a huge difference. You should definatly try it out with the crappy soundcard first, because then it makes it more fun when you finally get to play with your new one!

 

[beezelbubba]

I've been using onboard sound for years!I can record stuff that sound ok to me.I want to go 24 bit,but everytimeI get a little extra cash I end up upgrading something else!
Maybe next Christmas!

 

[delah]

the mic i have now is a samson R11, which costs about $70 for a pack of three! abviously my sound is starting off bad to begin with which is why im not too worried about the sound of my card just yet.

the idea though is to get the audiobuddy which will help me now, and in the future when i can buy i nicer sounding mic...and a nice sounding card.

i tried recording using my mic with no preamp and it obviously didnt work, but there was some sound, it was very quiet but it was there. this makes me think that with a preamp i can at least play around with recording and have something.

and yes, notbradsohner, it will be a delight when i finally do have all the pieces...

 

[Rokket]

the mic i have now is a samson R11, which costs about $70 for a pack of three! abviously my sound is starting off bad to begin with which is why im not too worried about the sound of my card just yet.

the idea though is to get the audiobuddy which will help me now, and in the future when i can buy i nicer sounding mic...and a nice sounding card.

i tried recording using my mic with no preamp and it obviously didnt work, but there was some sound, it was very quiet but it was there. this makes me think that with a preamp i can at least play around with recording and have something.

and yes, notbradsohner, it will be a delight when i finally do have all the pieces...

If you are getting sound, but it's quiet, just open your volume settings and make sure all your levels are up. If they are, you are right about the pre amp. Audio buddy is a good place to start. Good luck and welcome to the board!

 

[delah]

thanks for the advice everyone and im sure ill be getting many more questions as time goes on!

 

[Dani Pace]

Download Audacity (its a free recording/mixing program) to learn the basics and use what you have. Once you get the hang of pc recording you will have figured out which software you really need and how good of a soundcard you want. Most of us started off with the bare minimum too and most of us are still learning. whenever you hit a snag don't hesitate to post a question, surely someone here has been through the same thing. Welcome and have fun.