Need help on setup for a band

[zervun]

I'm currently in a alternative band and we are embarking on our first recording album and are doing all the recording ourselves and I need some advice on the recording setup. Here is the computer I am using for the setup. I've spent about 3 months saving and building this bad boy. I went for ultimate silence and achieved it so this can be our main recorder siting right in the room with everything. It's absolutely silent.

Epox 4bda Motherboard
p4 1.6a Costa Rica@2.4ghz/1.7v
512mb Samsung pc2700@2.9v
1x seagate barracuda IV 80gig 7200rpm ATA100
1x Maxtor Liquid Bearing 20gig 7200rpm ATA133
TDK 32x10x40x CDRW
Acer 50x CD
Watercooling, Dangerden Maze3, eheim 1250
Camry Heatercore w/ tygon R-3603 1/2" chemical tubing
4x L1A Panaflo hydrosleeve w/fanbus
2x Sanyo 120mm low noise ball bearing fans w/fanbus
Geforce TI4400@315/660
Chieftech antec 1030b clone case w/420watt PS
Pax Mate sound reduction mat & accoustical Foam
21" Conerstone monitor
win XP pro

Now that I've got the fat machine, I'm having problems understanding what I need to record our setup. Currently we have.

1 Guitarist w/ effects pedal & Marshal amp
1 Basist w/ Crate amp
PA and 3 mics connected (we all sing)
Drum kit with everything miced (about 8 mics)

I was considering getting an M-Audio audiophile 24/96 or a Echo Mia and then running through a mixing board but I'm not sure that that would be the best setup. The M-Audio and Mia only have a few inputs on them I believe, so things would have to go through the mixing board I'm assuming. (I'm new to recording audio). I will be using Cubase VST. What I would really like to do is possibly run the bass, guitar, and all 3 mics to the sound card on a different channel each and then posibly mic all the drums through a mixing board and then send that to the soundcard. This way we could either record all at once, or each seperately without changing anything.

Now as I said I'm kinda new to recording computer music, and am wondering if this would be a good setup and possible equipment that would allow me to do this. From what I understand, because the audiophile or Mia only have 2 inputs or whatnot, if I wanted to record the whole band at once, then I'd have to go through a mixing board and everyone would be recorded together. I'd like to have every instrament and vocals on a different channel so that we could record all of us together at once and then lets say if my singing sounded like crap but everyone was perfect, I could just rerecord my channel. Are there any resonably priced 6 input soundcards? and what type of inputs would I be looking for on these? I saw that the delta 44 w/ omni or the 66 without would have enough connections. I was also eyeing the luna II by creamware with their I/O box. Does anyone have any opinion on these?

Any advice would be extremely appreciated.

 

[Tom Hicks]

Hi zervun
There are a lot of multichannel sound cards available now.Big range of prices too.I have one of the less expensive cards,the Hoontech Audio DSP24,or STAudio C-Port as it is known.
It was just over $400 for the 24 bit card,8X breakout box,daughtercard with stereo S/PDIF,connecting cables and software.This gives me 10X10 full duplex capability at up to 24/96 sample rates.
The breakout box has 8 unbalanced 1/4" inputs,1 and 2 of which are ganged with a pair of XLR inputs with mic pres.The onboard pres for these two inputs are noisy,however so I don't use them much (I have some outboard pres I like better).
I play in a classic rock band and have used this gear to record us.Here is a clip from a recent demo recorded in the drummer's garage.
There are a lot of other good choices out there now,as it seems that the sound card market has exploded lately.Maybe some of the other guys will chime in with some alternate possibilities for you.
Good luck choosing your gear.Be sure to post some clips after you get some recording done.

 

[zervun]

well just surfed through alot of the newbie forums didn't even notice them there.

Thanks for the advice got a couple more questions.

I'm kinda looking at the delta 1010-LT or the 1010. It looks like the delta 1010-LT only has 2 xlr mic inputs. Does that mean that the preamp only runs on those 2 inputs? Or can I run a third mic to another input and set it preamped also. If that is true the 1010 regular looks like a better setup because all 8 inputs are balanced or unbalanced. It doesn't look though like the 1010 has a preamp but the LT does. What do you use for a preamp? Also how can your 2 xlr's that are pair up with your unbalanced 1/4" be there? Aren't xlr's balanced by default hense the r in their name?

 

[Tom Hicks]

On my card,the two XLR inputs at 1 and 2 are balanced of course.The 1/4" inputs are unbalanced.They share a signal path,sorta.When you use the 1/4" inputs at 1 and 2,it bypasses the xlr inputs.
The advantage of balanced is the rejection of induced noise over long cable runs.You can use an xlr cord hundreds of feet long if you want to.This is mainly an advantage in live sound applications where you have to use longer cables (mic cords,snake,etc.)But in my home studio,the cords are kept short.Some of my patch cords are less then a foot!So there isn't that great a sound difference between balanced and unbalanced in that situation.Pro studios use patchbays.Ever see an xlr patchbay?As long as the runs are short,its not that big a deal.
I have an 8 channel board with phantom and decent pres and I got an audiobuddy recently as well.Nothing fancy.Just decent sounding buget gear.
I'm not familiar with the Delta gear so I can't make any comparisons.I'm sure any of the name brand manufacturers will do the trick,sound quality-wise.Its just a question of matching up the features you need with the best price you can find.

 

[kennedy connor]

the key i think is having a adequate mixer with all the inputs and there various and sundry preamps etc done before you get to the sound card/breakout box. I simply use direct outs and submixes to create the various tracks on the computer.
Eight inputs allows for eight tracks and when you start looking for 16 channels/tracks live the sound card break out box can get very expensive.
Digi design 001 is probably the cheapest and most for the money out there. I use soundscape mixtreme and the delta cards are extremely popular.

 

[blinddogblues]

The Aardvark Q10 has 10 inputs, 8 of which have preamps, it is about $700. Only problem I see with it is that only the first four inputs have phantom power, I don't know why they did that. I myself run three Aardvark Direct Pro 24/96 cards together. Each has 4 inputs, all with mic pres and phantom power. I would set up like this: Mic the drums through your mixer and do a 2 channel stereo submix. Then mic the guitar, bass, and 3 vocals, all on their own track. This wll require 7 inputs, so you would need a card with 8 inputs or 2 cards with 4 each. Keep this in mind: The more separation you have, the more flexibility you will have during your mix and the better chance you will have for getting a good recording. If you have an extra input, put the snare on a track of its own. One other thing, if you record live, you will not be able to simply redo a bad vocal take, there will be too much bleed to the other tracks during your original recording, you will have to live with it or do the whole thing over.