Multiple Sound Cards Simultaneously?

[recordhead]

Hello, I tried to search through the previous topics and I couldn't find an answer to this question, so please forgive me if this has been answered already. I was wondering if it is possible to insert multiple soundcards(most likely PCI) into a computer and first of all get them to work simultaneously and then be able to record with them, basically making a cheap alternative to a aardvark input box, or some other multiple input device. What I would be using this for is to record my band, and it would be nice to have these extra inputs so I could record the drums into seperate channels and be able to post mix stuff, and also record the other various instruments and vocals. I dont know if this is possible, however if it is, it would sure be nice to save some money by using the extra sound cards I have lying around. Thanks...

 

[Sklathill]

Cheap sound cards don't sync together. The neither provide word clock or digital IO to sync over some cable, some sort of internal wiring (like Echo ewireused for their 24 line), or internal driver sync. Most professional cards do offer this, and the typical implementation is having one master card and one or multiple slave cards hooked up over some sort of digital IO or word clock IO. Even then, not all pro cards that have this offer support for multiple soundcards in one machine in the drivers. (The E-mu line is currently solo only, and Presonus multi-card drivers are currently in beta distribution). Be careful; it's simply not that simple. If you're looking to start small, there are plenty of soundcards in the 100+ range that will allow you to pair up two or more cards. M-audio Delta series, EWS Terratec, and ESI waveterminal come to mind.

 

[AGCurry]

Sklathill is right. Yes, you CAN run multiple soundcards simultaneously, but if there's no way to synchronize them, you're wasting your time.

 

[music4all]

I did not believe that EMU card's driver was bad. So, I ran out and bought one. After trying it, I found the driver is so horrible to work with.

 

[jeffrydada]

Depends too on your OS. I don't know what you are running but I just upgraded my Macs to OSX 10.4 Tiger. Now you can have multiple soundcards/interfaces and select Aggregate sound in Audio/Midi setup. This will allow you to select from each device plugged in to your Mac. I have a Tascam US-224 and a Tascam FW1804 hooked to my Powerbook and it works great.

 

[hueseph]

Depends too on your OS. I don't know what you are running but I just upgraded my Macs to OSX 10.4 Tiger. Now you can have multiple soundcards/interfaces and select Aggregate sound in Audio/Midi setup. This will allow you to select from each device plugged in to your Mac. I have a Tascam US-224 and a Tascam FW1804 hooked to my Powerbook and it works great.

The key there is that you are using two Tascam cards. If you want to usetwo cards, they need to be able to run on the same asio driver, otherwise it's a futile effort. So as mentioned previously two Terratec, Echo, Hammerhead or M-audio cards will work together but a combiniation of any of these won't.