Is this setup going to meet my expectations?

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parhelic

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Hi guys,

I'm a total newb to recording, but I'd like to get my feet wet and start monkeying around and adding some vocal tracks in to FL Studio on top of my electronic diddies. One day I'll save up enough for a nice Korg synth :(

So what I have so far, is a Shure SM57 and M-Audio DMP3 preamp, and a Planet Waves XLR cable going between the mic and preamp. Now just waiting on the 1/4" cable and 1/8" adapter to arrive so I can plug the preamp into my laptop stereo 1/8" line-in.

My question is, I don't have a decent soundcard in this thing, it's an "IDT High Definition Audio CODEC" - I know it isn't an ideal A/D interface for recording but is there going to be a problem as far as quality goes, like static in the audio track or what not? Is it going to be the bottleneck in terms of having a nice clear sound on my recordings?

Thanks for any tips or explanations you guys can provide!
 
Unless you have particularly low expectations... probably not.

Why don't you try it and then report back with specific issues that people may be able to help you with...
 
Unless you have particularly low expectations... probably not.

Why don't you try it and then report back with specific issues that people may be able to help you with...

What the...? Not helpful. I don't have the adapter yet to test it out, I'm simply unclear on what kind of quality of sound I can expect with the gear that I have running to a laptop without a decent soundcard. I've got decent gear I'm just wanting an explanation on what a better soundcard or interface would do in terms of the sound of the recording, and whether it would have been a better idea to go with something like a Hercules 16/12 instead of a preamp directly to the laptop.
 
a better soundcard or interface is going to have higher quality analog components and probably better analog to digital conversion, and may provide a better sampling rate and bit depth, which could mean more dynamic range, better frequency coverage with less degradation, and less noise. But it's sort of speculation for me to say this, because there are lot of specifics in play - it's probably true that you could buy a low quality sound card or interface and not improve your situation very much or at all. I'm not familiar with the CODEC you mentioned, but maybe somebody will be.

But I agree, it's free and easy to try it out, and maybe you'll like it -- why not try it? If you can identify what you don't like, it'll be extremely helpful if/when you go to upgrade.

Or you can be like me and bunch of other folks around here and just go nuts and get a bunch of stuff -- chances are you'll like some of it :)
 
What the...? Not helpful.

Not trying to be unhelpful... it's just that it's a difficult question to answer - you're using a dynamic mic "normally" used for recording amplified guitars, snare drums etc. as a vocal mic, into a low-end (from memory) preamp into a laptop with a soundcard that you know isn't very good.

Like I said, unless you have particularly low expectations, I wouldn't be expecting jaw-dropping quality out of that set up.

And like I said, why don't you try to record something with it, then report back with some specific questions/issues and maybe some of the smarter people here (and I'm not one of them) will be able to offer you some specific advice as to how to improve your quality.

But maybe, just maybe, it'll do exactly what you want it to, because I have no idea what that is really, as you haven't given much information about style of music etc. In that case you'll be happy.

You're worrying about things that haven't happened yet. Do some recording with your set up and that will give you plenty of real recording things to worry about and seek advice on.

Good luck... see you in a few days.
 
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The DMP3 is a low-end preamp in terms of cost, but it can yield some fine recordings. I use one regularly. The SM-57 is often used by a surprising list of people as a vocal mic. And it will do a passable job on anything else that you want to point it at. So, if anything is lacking, the onboard soundcard will probably be your weakest link. When you get the stuff try it. Maybe it will be a pleasant surprise. But if not, look into a firewire or usb interface from a company with a good track record in pro audio. Good luck.
 
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