M-AUDIO Fasttrack USB

[georgebel]

Has anyone tried M-AUDIO Fasttrack USB?

I have read about problems of usb devices but it is an easy way to record.
I want to record one track at a time, acoustic guitar through mic.
I' m interesting mainly in sound quality and not in setup problems.
george

 

[joergb]

I got the M-Audio Audiophile, and to get it running with my Laptop was a nightmare, maybe you already found the related thread: https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=135938

Good news it that the M-Audio hotline replied quickly and competent, and it finally worked, I can now record with good sound quality (using a cheap Behringer UB 1002 Eurorack as mic pre-amp/mixer) and Adobe Audition as recording software.

The Fasttrack USB obviously has already a pre-amp included, and they claim you don't have to install a driver for Mac or Win XP (... wonder how that works).

Anyway, if you consider recording an acoustic guiter with good sound quality, you might wish to use a condensor mic instead of a (cheaper) dynamic mic, and the condensors need a 48V power supply which is not provided by the Fasttrack.

The Fasttrack looks like a pretty cheap (and maybe o.k.) starting kit, but hard to extend if you wish to upgrade your equipment later... anyway, playing myself around at the cheap end of home-recording (and happy with the results), I'd say, why not give it a try?

By any means, before buying any USB related hardware, make sure you can bring it back to the dealer without trouble if you can't get it working!!

Good luck!
joerg

 

[georgebel]

I got the M-Audio Audiophile, and to get it running with my Laptop was a nightmare, maybe you already found the related thread: https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=135938

Good news it that the M-Audio hotline replied quickly and competent, and it finally worked, I can now record with good sound quality (using a cheap Behringer UB 1002 Eurorack as mic pre-amp/mixer) and Adobe Audition as recording software.

The Fasttrack USB obviously has already a pre-amp included, and they claim you don't have to install a driver for Mac or Win XP (... wonder how that works).

Anyway, if you consider recording an acoustic guiter with good sound quality, you might wish to use a condensor mic instead of a (cheaper) dynamic mic, and the condensors need a 48V power supply which is not provided by the Fasttrack.

The Fasttrack looks like a pretty cheap (and maybe o.k.) starting kit, but hard to extend if you wish to upgrade your equipment later... anyway, playing myself around at the cheap end of home-recording (and happy with the results), I'd say, why not give it a try?

By any means, before buying any USB related hardware, make sure you can bring it back to the dealer without trouble if you can't get it working!!

Good luck!
joerg

Hi joerg, thanks for reply
I have read about your adventures with Audiofile USB...At least finally worked!!
You have no more noise in your recordings anymore ? (as you, I made some tests with a cheap dynamic mic and Soundblaster Extigy and results were not satisfying-too much noise). So, I thought Fasttrack as a cheap alternative with better sound quality, although is hard to extend (I dont want to spend much money in the beginning)
I know Fasttrack has not Phantom Power, I thought a dynamic mic would be ok.
By the way are you satisfied with Behringer UB 1002?
For the alternative of buying an Audiofile PCI (I have not a laptop) and a preamp, for what I want I think and UB 802 also would be ok.
George

 

[joergb]

Hi George,

no noise any more (that is, when I measure with the Frequency Analysis tool in Audition, below -100 db for the whole spectrum, which is really good, I think).

The Behringer is really nice, I'm happy I bought it ... I'm not an expert and maybe my expectations are pretty low. But I'm really satisfied and I like (and use) the various ways of routing it offers. Even with my cheap soundblaster card I got quite good results after plugging the mic in the pre-amp and the Behringer's output to the card ... plugging in the mic directly in a cheap soundcard's mic/line in is really no option... of course, there are also dedicated pre-amps available, without all the mixing/rack, I have no idea if that is maybe the better option.

I suppose, if you buy a cheap Behringer (or any other mic pre-amp) and route it to your existing soundcard, you also might get some not too bad results. But reserve some extra money for cables, and particularly for the microphone you *absolutely need* a symmetric XLR, otherwise your mic/cable records lots of electronic noise/distortion which gest ampliefied with the signal by the pre-amp. I first played around with a chinch to XLR converter jack, and always recorded some ugly hiss until I finally connected an XLR cable.

Before spending some money, I suggest to read some of the primers, maybe the https://homerecording.com/sound_card_basics.html and some others ... I could have saved some money paying more attention to "reading before buying".

Oh yes, and since you do not plan to use the card with a laptop, I'd strongly advise against USB! I read some really nice reviews about M-Audio PCI cards (below $100) ... if I were you, I'd first buy a pre-amp and see if the result is o.k. with your existing card ... if still not, I'd buy a PCI soundcard.

Best,
joerg

 

[manning1]

george...a cheap solution to try for acoustic guitar.
mic (cad gxl) >>>>mic input (yamaha mg small mixer)>>>>soundcard line input(maudio audiophile PCI sound card). note - the cad mic needs 48 v phantom power. DONT USE A DYNAMIC MIC ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR.
total cost for the above is around 250 bucks or a little more.
make sure your pci slots arenot filled with lots of junk that could inhibit the smooth working of your sound card.
if you list your pc confign i can make further suggestions if you wish.
peace. the above assumes your using a tower and not a laptop.
peace.

 

[joergb]

DONT USE A DYNAMIC MIC ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR.

I've read lots of discussions related to dynamic vs condensor mics ... is it really such a quality gap, I mean, talking of low priced (< $100) condensors costing the same as mid-expensive dynamic mics?
I've also read you need much more expertise to get good results with condensors, and the investment only pays off if you know very well how to handle them and the rest of your equipment (talking of tube pre-amps and such ...) is also high-end ...

I found out with the few acoustic instruments I'm playing that the mic's position is most important. For my Shakuhachi for example I need 2 mics to get the best results, one from the top and one directed towards the fingerholes ... i'm courious if I could improve the (already good) quality with a condensor (although the bottleneck of my equipment is, as you know, the laptop ;-)

Cheers,
joerg

 

[georgebel]

a cheap solution to try for acoustic guitar.
mic (cad gxl) >>>>mic input (yamaha mg small mixer)>>>>soundcard line input(maudio audiophile PCI sound card).

Can you tell me why you propose a mixer instead of a simple preamp?
For the same amount of money, a simple preamp woudn't have better quality?

DONT USE A DYNAMIC MIC ON ACOUSTIC GUITAR.

I've also read you need much more expertise to get good results with condensors, and the investment only pays off if you know very well how to handle them and the rest of your equipment is also high-end ...

Is that true?
what to you think about BEHRINGER ecm8000 or C1?

if I were you, I'd first buy a pre-amp and see if the result is o.k. with your existing card ... if still not, I'd buy a PCI soundcard.

I think it is a good method..

Thanks

 

[manning1]

george and joer.
the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
try a dynamic on acoustic then a condenser.
tell me which one souds best. i know which i prefer. the condenser.
i propose a mixer because at these insanely low price points if you loose the preamp your out of commission.
if one channel goes bad on a mixer - you have backup.
also a decent pre will cost a bit.
the best thing is to demo for yourself various solutions and see which makes you happy.
i would take an mg over a behr however.

 

[joergb]

the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Right. But that kind of pudding is so expensive...

try a dynamic on acoustic then a condenser.
tell me which one souds best. i know which i prefer. the condenser.

george, you might want to read http://www.hr-faq.org/
I never owned a condensor, so I can't tell from my own experience ... but I'm scared having a perfect condensor would require the perfect room for recording as a next step.

i propose a mixer because at these insanely low price points if you loose the preamp your out of commission.
if one channel goes bad on a mixer - you have backup.

I'd prefer a mixer to a preamp because you are more flexible extending your equipment, e.g. adding a second mic and/or routing your I/O.
I can quickly switch between headphones, main out, controll out and easily record track B while listening to track A without plugging in and out cables...

i would take an mg over a behr however.

No idea, I never tried a different one. I bought the Behringer because I read a couple of pretty good reviews, saying the pre-amp unit is very good for that cheap price. In case of any doubt I'd follow the expert's advise (which is not me ;-)

Maybe start with a mixer, then upgrade to a better soundcard and mic if still necessary.

-joerg

 

[georgebel]

I'd prefer a mixer to a preamp because you are more flexible extending your equipment, e.g. adding a second mic and/or routing your I/O.
I I bought the Behringer because I read a couple of pretty good reviews, saying the pre-amp unit is very good for that cheap price.
Maybe start with a mixer, then upgrade to a better soundcard and mic if still necessary.

thanks both of you
I think Behringer is a good place to start. Maybe Yamaha MG10 is better, but here in Greece BEHRINGER UB-1002 costs less than half the price of Yamaha MG10.
dynamic vs condenser: I think I need to try both and choose...
George

 

[georgebel]

I'd prefer a mixer to a preamp because you are more flexible extending your equipment, e.g. adding a second mic and/or routing your I/O.
I can quickly switch between headphones, main out, controll out and easily record track B while listening to track A without plugging in and out cables...

...something I forget to ask:
with BEHRINGER UB-1002 (and of course having a sound card that supports it like Audiofile 2496)
can you record in stereo (two mics) ? I mean two different tracks not mixed.

I see that UB-1002 has stereo outs (main out LR, Tape out LR i dont know which one to use) but I dont understand if the two inputs are mixed or not (or is an option what to do)
Thanks

 

[joergb]

...something I forget to ask:
with BEHRINGER UB-1002 (and of course having a sound card that supports it like Audiofile 2496)
can you record in stereo (two mics) ? I mean two different tracks not mixed.

I see that UB-1002 has stereo outs (main out LR, Tape out LR i dont know which one to use) but I dont understand if the two inputs are mixed or not (or is an option what to do)
Thanks

I connected my soundcard to tape in / tape out ... before doing that, I spent some time studying the details on the circuit diagram which was shipped with the Behringer. If I remeber correctly, main out and tape out is the same, just different connectors... but you can easily identify everything on the circuit diagram.

Conerning your stereo question: for each input channel you have a pan mixer, where you can route the input signal from only left via balanced to only right. So you can easily route mic input 1 exclusively to the left channel and mic input 2 to the right channel. Given your recording software can split the l/r stero signal into two mono channels, you can record two non-overlapping tracks at a time ... errr ... am I right? O.k. ... I'll give it a try tonight and tell you if it worked, but I think so.

joerg

 

[joergb]

...something I forget to ask:
with BEHRINGER UB-1002 (and of course having a sound card that supports it like Audiofile 2496)
Thanks

p.s/ I forgot to mention: it is not a soundcard question to "support" your mixer. The mixer produces a stereo signal you can connect to the line in of any soundcard, even the cheap built in of your PC. all you need is the correct selection of cables.

Things become only complicated when you consider recording more than 2 channels at a time (I never did) ...

I really can't tell if Behringer or Yamaha is better, no experience ... but I suggest you just buy one of them and try with the soundcard and mic you have. It's a lot learning by doing, and you might later realise (like me) that you spent some money on the wrong side of your equipment optimisation scheme...

joerg

 

[georgebel]

I'll give it a try tonight and tell you if it worked, but I think so.

thanks, george

 

[joergb]

Conerning your stereo question: for each input channel you have a pan mixer, where you can route the input signal from only left via balanced to only right. So you can easily route mic input 1 exclusively to the left channel and mic input 2 to the right channel. Given your recording software can split the l/r stero signal into two mono channels, you can record two non-overlapping tracks at a time ... errr ... am I right? O.k. ... I'll give it a try tonight and tell you if it worked, but I think so.

I tried this, and it worked exactly as I described above ... "of course", I'd say now, because this is why you use a mixer ;-)

Concerning mics ... I was courious about guitar recording with my dynamic mic (Peavy HD-40) and set up a little experiment:
I have no guitar, but I picked one cord of my piano and tried recording this guitar-approximation.
The bad news is: even when rising the pre-amp level to the maximum acceptable position (+50 dB) for not getting too much hiss from the pre-amp, the recording amplitude is still very low. So it might really be true you need a more sensitive condensor for recording your guitar... my other instruments are "loud enough" so I've never met this problem before.

You can download my recording sample at http://www.ccrl-nece.de/~joerg/piano.wav if you like, it is about 1MB WAV.

Best,
joerg

 

[georgebel]

thanks joerg
at the moment I cant download your sample, I will download it later.
george