need help with soundcard preamp and hard drive questions....detailed diagram within..

[avedic123]

i should have posted this in here all along...........

ok, for the longest time i've been recording demos in the cheapest manner possible. i've just been recording everything straight into an sm57 which is plugged right into the soundcard that came with my computer...a computer that i bought in 1999. i then assemble everything in cool edit 2000. that's right, not cool edit pro.....but cool edit 2000. monitoring is done through $10 radio shack headphones. given these incredibly restrictive conditions, i've managed some ok recordings, 4 of which you can hear on my myspace page below.

http://www.myspace.com/seancannon1983

do you wonder how i recorded multiple tracks for those songs with CE2000? i would actually paste waveform on top of waveform until i had the entire song built up. probably the most tedious thing on earth. lol

anyway...i'm quite ready to take things to the next level. i'm almost there, but there are a few key components that i lack. i'm including a diagram of my studio set-up as it is now...including those items that i have yet to aquire.

also...a note...i'm not looking for critical judgements of the equipment i DO have. if you don't like the nt2a, that's fine...but don't tell me. i like it. i'm looking for input about what i -don't- have.

i'm going to list the components that i don't have, as well as any questions i have about them.....



1) PC and Harddrive
i need a new computer. i have brand new HP w2007 monitor, but i need a PC that i can dedicate purely to recording. i'm not a mac person. i respect those who are, but i'm much more interested in working on a pc. don't try to convince me otherwise.

Questions: how much space do i need? how fast should it be? what OS should i use? etc...

2) Soundcard
i assume any stock soundcard that comes with a computer isn't going to cut it. i don't want my soundcard to bottleneck otherwise good sounding equipment.
also...i keep hearing about "firewire" or "firebox." i'm quite inept when it comes to hardware...so i'm confused. are these soundcards? i just need to know how to get the signal from my instrument/mic....through a preamp....and into adobe audition with the option to record up to TWO tracks at once, no more.

Questions: what soundcard would be best? do i need multiple inputs? can i record multiple inputs(2 microphones for instance) onto 2 seperate tracks in adobe auditions? if i already have a preamp...wouldn't a preamp in the soundcard be a negative thing?

3) 19" rack mountable pre amp
i prefer a rack mountable version. i've heard great things about the M-AUDIO DMP3, however the dimensions of it are all wierd and it doesn't fit in a rack...which is somewhat of an issue for me. are there any other options?

Questions: do i need a preamp that will accept inputs from both instruments(keyboard) AND mics(Rode NT2A)?

4) Headphones
i don't need headphones to monitor with...just to track. something to playback as i'm singing for instance. i don't need/want $1000 phones....just something that does the job well for a low price.

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and that's about it. as you can see from what i have(the rode nt2a for instance) i want quality but i don't have a huge budget. i've created recordings in the past that sound much better than the equipment i own would suggest....so i know how to make my gear work for me...not the other way around. so....i'm not interested in spending thousands on one soundcard.

i know that was alot to take in, but any help i recieve would be VERY appreciated. thanks!!

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

"1) PC and Harddrive
Questions: how much space do i need? how fast should it be? what OS should i use? etc...

I’d stick with XP for now (pro won’t give you any benefits for recording over home edition). Vista is very unpopular at the moment. The jury is out on whether it’s just a crap OS or if it’s just immature and will become OK with future updates. I haven’t used it myself but I would avoid it for now. If you want to pay handsomely to do Microsoft’s beta testing for them and potentially endure the headaches that come with that, then go for Vista.

HDD space depends on how much you’ll need to store (obviously ). Lots of guys like two HDDs, one for system and OS (which can be relatively small) and one for storing data (your projects), this can be as big as you want it to be but most modern systems seem to come with a 200-400GB HDD. This should be fine bearing in mind you can always get USB HDD’s for data back up or even additional drives which you can install in your computer.

I’d go with one of the new dual core processors and at least 1 gig of RAM. If you really want it to be future proof then 2GB of RAM wouldn’t be a bad idea. It really depends how many tracks your projects will have and to what extent you’ll be using virtual instruments and plug ins. But yeah, a modern dual core CPU and a couple of gigs of RAM could cope with a heck of a lot and should last for many years, especially considering it will be a dedicated audio recording comp (ie. Not going on-line).

I find that Dell machines provide a good quality to value ratio. Some people really don’t like them, I think largely because of customer service but I’ve had a Dell machine for recording for 4-5 years and it’s been pretty solid. Check out their new Vostro range, incredible value.

2) Soundcard

Questions: what soundcard would be best? do i need multiple inputs? can i record multiple inputs(2 microphones for instance) onto 2 seperate tracks in adobe auditions? if i already have a preamp...wouldn't a preamp in the soundcard be a negative thing?

You assume right, stock soundcards are generally poor sound quality and they’ll possibly give you problems with latency and glitches. If you already have a mic pre that you’re happy with then yes, I’d avoid an interface (soundcard) with mic pres built in. Sending an already amplified mic signal through another mic pre is usually a pretty bad idea. Seeing as you don’t yet have a mic pre you might consider an interface with a breakout box that does all of your A-D/D-A conversion and contains mic preamps? You need as many inputs as tracks you’ll be recording simultaneously and you’ll be able to record as many separate tracks into audition at once as your soundcard has inputs. So if your interface has 8 ins you’ll be able to record 8 separate sources at a time giving you 8 separate tracks of audio in audition.

There are simply loads of recording interfaces available these days (many of them rack mountable). How many ins do you actually need? It’s also useful to state a budget.

3) 19" rack mountable pre amp
Questions: do i need a preamp that will accept inputs from both instruments(keyboard) AND mics(Rode NT2A)?

Pretty much all soundcards have line inputs so assuming the keyboard puts out a line level signal then it could probably bypass the preamp and go straight into the soundcard. If it does need beefing up then yes you’ll need a preamp with instrument/DI inputs.

4) Headphones
i don't need headphones to monitor with...just to track. something to playback as i'm singing for instance. i don't need/want $1000 phones....just something that does the job well for a low price.

Sounds like Mr Gerst’s “More Mes” are just what you need!

http://www.itrstudio.com/moreme.html