new to Cakewalk....

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strungout

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I'm looking to record a band of mine. a drummer, 2 guitarists, bass, and a vocalists. We want to keep the recording equipment as basic as it can without spending a ton. We play 80s and modern metal if that matters. I'm new to this so bare with me.... I have access to Cakewalk Sonar4 studio edition and Cakewalk Home Studio 2 XL. Which would best suited for us? (the computer we're gonna be using is top of the line)

I have all the mic's we are going to be using for recording. What other stuff would we need? I myself have only a rough idea, maybe a set of monitors and headphones, a mixer(?), and an interface (delta 44?). Do I really need a mixer? Does an interface count as a sound card?

while I'm at it, could anyone explain the recording setup in general, explaining what everything does, etc.?

thanks
lets not bash the n00b now :D :rolleyes:
 
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strungout said:
I have access to Cakewalk Sonar4 studio edition and Cakewalk Home Studio 2 XL.
Click to expand...
We certainly won't bash the newbie, just as soon as you explain to us what "access to" means.
 
Welcome...newbs are always well recieved here but be warned, people that hack or crack recording software arent. No accusations...just a heads up.

The SONAR and HS applications you have access to come with some very good books and tutorials. Have you reviewed any of this material yet? SONAR can get heavy pretty fast for the completely inexperienced. To better understand the differences between the two applications, I would suggest you surf on over to the Cakewalk website. This first link http://www.cakewalk.com/homemusicians.asp takes you to the "Home Musicians" area where they break down the beginner and intermediate studio applications...this link takes you to the "Pro Studio Products" http://www.cakewalk.com/professionals.asp. They also have a pretty decent forum as well.

The basics for hardware won't require a mixer...you can mix in the PC (that's what SONAR and HS are for). However, if your mics need 48volts and/or pre-amps, an inexpensive outboard mixer might be the way to go Otherwise, you'll be buying seperate mic pre's. $ca-ching$ The sound card (AKA audio interface) is the only special thing you'll need for the PC. The Delta line is good stuff in my book. Just be sure that it will have enough inputs for you. The 1010LT is the 44's bigger brother and has midi and a couple useable mic pres built in.

If you end up getting a mixer, some of the inputs on the sound card can be conserved by say running all your drum mics to the mixer then mixing them down to a single output thereby only using one input of your sound card for drums. This could get a little messy for a beginner...the easiest thing to do is to have an input available on the sound card for every mic. (It's getting busy now isn't it?...gets better). What ever mixer you get, make sure that it has channel insert jacks. Most do. I strongly recommend you read this article http://www.ethanwiner.com/mixer2daw.html. Ethan has some great stuff all over his web site...cruize it.

Were you planning to direct record the guitars and bass (like through a POD or other amp simulator) or, were you going to mic the amps? Were you going to mic the entire group in a single sitting or were you planning to do one track at a time? Recording seperate tracks and using DI/amp modellers could also cut down on the amount of hardware needed.

There's more than one way to skin this cat...there are other ways to configure equipment. Keep cruising the net...check the resources I've listed and keep poking around here in our forums.
 
punkin said:
Welcome...newbs are always well recieved here but be warned, people that hack or crack recording software arent. No accusations...just a heads up.

The SONAR and HS applications you have access to come with some very good books and tutorials. Have you reviewed any of this material yet? SONAR can get heavy pretty fast for the completely inexperienced. To better understand the differences between the two applications, I would suggest you surf on over to the Cakewalk website. This first link http://www.cakewalk.com/homemusicians.asp takes you to the "Home Musicians" area where they break down the beginner and intermediate studio applications...this link takes you to the "Pro Studio Products" http://www.cakewalk.com/professionals.asp. They also have a pretty decent forum as well.

The basics for hardware won't require a mixer...you can mix in the PC (that's what SONAR and HS are for). However, if your mics need 48volts and/or pre-amps, an inexpensive outboard mixer might be the way to go Otherwise, you'll be buying seperate mic pre's. $ca-ching$ The sound card (AKA audio interface) is the only special thing you'll need for the PC. The Delta line is good stuff in my book. Just be sure that it will have enough inputs for you. The 1010LT is the 44's bigger brother and has midi and a couple useable mic pres built in.

If you end up getting a mixer, some of the inputs on the sound card can be conserved by say running all your drum mics to the mixer then mixing them down to a single output thereby only using one input of your sound card for drums. This could get a little messy for a beginner...the easiest thing to do is to have an input available on the sound card for every mic. (It's getting busy now isn't it?...gets better). What ever mixer you get, make sure that it has channel insert jacks. Most do. I strongly recommend you read this article http://www.ethanwiner.com/mixer2daw.html. Ethan has some great stuff all over his web site...cruize it.

Were you planning to direct record the guitars and bass (like through a POD or other amp simulator) or, were you going to mic the amps? Were you going to mic the entire group in a single sitting or were you planning to do one track at a time? Recording seperate tracks and using DI/amp modellers could also cut down on the amount of hardware needed.

There's more than one way to skin this cat...there are other ways to configure equipment. Keep cruising the net...check the resources I've listed and keep poking around here in our forums.
Click to expand...

I plan to mic the amps, but record the bass direct. Record one track at a time. Let me get this straight....Since I'm recording one at a time, could I just buy an interface with 10 inputs (this or this) and "reuse" the inputs. For example, I record my drums in 10 tracks. But since the interface only has 10 channels, could I then unplug the inputs with drum mics and replace them with guitar mics without losing the drum track data?
btw- I have 2 buddies who are gonna help me out with this project that have cakewalk, neither has used the other version, thats why I'm asking if anyone has used both and could tell me which would work the best with my situation. sorry, If I made it seem like I was stealing software or something. :(
thanks
 
Like I said 'bout the software thing...it's all good. Some of us here are just a little sensitive to the whole cracked or hacked software rage these days.

Back to the good stuff...if you're planning to record the drums...then do a seperate take for the bass then another for the guitars that will work. That way you don't need a perfect take from the whole band at once...you can take the time to get each part done exactly the way you want it one band member at a time. This will require a playback and monitor capability. Meaning, once the drummer gets his track down, the bassist will want to play along to the recording. You'll need headphones...you could playback out the pc audio card (the delta's don't have head phone outputs). Ideally you would have a headphone distribution amp but you could get by without it. Once you get the drummer and bass down, hand the headphones over to the guitar player and do it again.

Remember, most audio interfaces won't have phantom power or mic pre's built in. Some mics don't need phantom power but the mics will need pre-amps. Some of the delta cards (like the 1010LT) will have one or two pre's but not enough for all ten inputs. Time for more homework to find out what will work best for you. As I mentioned before, if you're budget minded like most of us here, to get you rolling, an outboard mixer with channel inserts will take care of that. Take a look at Ethan's site (I posted the link earlier), it has pictures -n- diagrams which will help make sense of it.

You might do a little looking around, it may be possible to rent the gear you don't have yet. That way you get to try before you buy. I like having a mixer because of some of the flexibility it offers, but, in the end I much prefer my dedicated mic pre's but you did mention you wanted to keep it basic right.

Again, welcome aboard!
 
strungout said:
For example, I record my drums in 10 tracks. But since the interface only has 10 channels, could I then unplug the inputs with drum mics and replace them with guitar mics without losing the drum track data?
Click to expand...
Of course! That's the beauty of digital recording. You can record all of your guitars through the same input one track at a time. For each track you make you can select the input from your recording hardware that you want to use.

You don't need 16 inputs to record 16 tracks. :)

If you're recording drums and don't want to deal with external mixers, having hardware with a lot of inputs is great, but since I'm using Drumkit From Hell Superior (drum machine program), I don't need to record more than two inputs at a time.
 
Glad to be here! :) :rolleyes:

While I ingest all this info, I plan to get a mixer w/ about 12 tracks. Whats a noice cheap one, I was looking at behringer.

And whats anybodys take on which Cakewalk to record with. Is there a sound difference? Which is easier to use?
 
The Behringers are "cost effective" but look around. If you search these forums, you find that they're not well liked. Take a look at the yamaha's and the mackie's. The reason for this is the quality of the mic pre-amps. They're reported to be of inferior quality and noisey by a lot of the members here.

As for the SONAR vs. Home Studio, for tracking purposes, there won't be difference in the audio but, what you can do with the tracks (mixing, editing and such), the SONAR product wins out. Track with either...it won't matter...save the files...if later you get more comfortable with SONAR, simply move the files to the computer with SONAR. Think of these applications as editing tools. The heart of getting a good sounding recording will be during the tracking or recording. Getting a good sounding place to work, getting the instruments properly working and tuned, setting up the mics, using decent quality mic pres and capturing a good performance. Later, you can mix and edit in either application.
 
strungout said:
-=¤willhaven¤=- said:
Of course! That's the beauty of digital recording.
You don't need 16 inputs to record 16 tracks. :)
Why's that?
Click to expand...
You need as many inputs as you want to record at once. If you need 8 mics for live drums, you need 8 inputs... but that doesn't limit you to 8 total tracks for your song.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I think I have a handle on what I need to do now. But, I'm not entirely sure. Tell me if this signal chain is adequate:


(btw- I have decided to try recording the bass acoustically.)
Guitars-
amp>mic(s)>interface>computer w/ cakewalk

Bass-
mic>interface>computer w/ cakewalk

Vocals-
mic>interface (with phantom power)>computer w/ cakewalk

Drums-
mics>mixer>interface>computer w/ cakewalk


Do these signals seem like they would work? correct me if I'm wrong.
And for vocals, I dont really want to buy a mic preamp, so would an interface with phantom power work as an alternative?

I have a few more questions, Do the monitors plug into the interface or the computer? I know headphones plug into the interfaces. Would I need a mixer with or without a power amp for the drums? Do most interfaces come with the phantom power feature? Anyone have any suggestions for an interface w/ phantom power and a headphone jack and maybe 2-4 inputs?

thanks everybody so far! you've been a big so far. :)
 
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A power amp is for powering speakers............you can figure out the rest. You will need some closed back headphones with good isolation (sound leakage) for the drummer to use while recording drums. The monitors, after being powered, typically plug into the outputs of the sound card. They can also be routed to the outs of a mixer.

Ok. When you say interface, I don't think you really understand exactly what an interface is. Or, maybe you do and I just feel like spouting. One of those all in one boxes, like the ones that you left links for in your earlier post, is really like having a preamp, sound card, and D/A converter all in one. Here is a simplified breakdown of a signal chain:

source (such as a guitar amp or voice) >
room>
microphone >
preamp (such as a mic preamp/direct box or a mixer) >
analog to digital converter (stand alone adc or part of a sound card or all in one interface>
digital info processed by the sound card or all in one interface>
software >
digital info processed by the soundcard or all in one interface>
digital to analog converter (stand alone dac or part of a sound card or all in one interface>
power amplifier for speakers>
monitor speakers>
room>

or a more simplified list of the pieces of the signal chain are:

source
room
microphone
preamp
adc
sound card
software
dac
power amp
speakers
room

All of these factors are important in getting the best sound for your money (or so I hear :) ). There are units that contain the preamp, converters, and dsp processing like the ones you listed. You can also get a sound card that includes the converters and dsp processing and then get seperate outboard preamps. Or, you could get seperate preamps, converters, and sound card (big bucks). For condensor mics, which you already know, you need phantom power. Phantom power can be included on an all in one interface, a mixer, a mic preamp, or a seperate unit. Headphone outs usually are'nt included on the interface. What is included are outputs that can be sent to a headphone amp or mixer.

I think the best bang for your buck is gonna be to get a soundcard with alot of inputs/outputs, and a decent mixer. A mixer will give you preamps, signal routing options, a headphone output, and phantom power. I have a Yamaha MG 12/4 mixer and I hear that it's good for the price, which it probably is. I can tell you that it certainly does'nt sound wonderful but I also hear that the Behringer mixers sound worse. I have'nt tried a Behringer mixer so take that for what it's worth.

What kind of sound quality are you trying to achieve and what is your budget? I don't want to discourage you but an interface and software are only a small piece of the puzzle in getting a good quality sound. You have to have realistic expectations of what you will be able to do within your budget. You also have to factor all the other major and minor pieces into your budget: good quiet recording space, room treatment, microphones, monitor speakers, headphones, computer upgrades, outboard gear, cables, stands, etc. You also have to try and balance the quality of all your gear to get the best bang for your buck. It makes no sense to put a really high quality piece of gear in an other wise shitty signal chain. It's just a waste of money. But, buying a bunch of cheap ass gear and expecting studio quality is also a waste.

After you get all the gear needed, you will need skills in mic placement, mixing, eqing, compressing, effects processing, etc. All of these things are every bit as important as the gear that you purchase. I have heard songs on this board that were recorded with minimal cheap gear that made me say "wow!, you recorded that song with that gear?" I have then used better or equal gear and not been able to touch that kind of quality recording. On the other hand, I have heard studio recordings that made me cringe.

There are alot of things to think about and research and this is a very good place to start doing that. I would start talking to alot of people around here and ask alot of questions. Go to the MP3 mixing thread and listen to some recordings that others have done and start asking what their recording setups consist of and what kind of experience they have in recording. I don't know what your experience is but there are alot of learning curves to get thru.

Also, you will need to find out which people here are genuinely helpful, which ones are bullshitters, which ones are company reps, and which ones are gear snobs. There are also some people around here that are very helpful but are also a bit rude to newbs so get used to that and don't let it bother you. Put some thought into your questions before asking, be specific, and be polite. Most of your questions can be answered by using the search function of this bbs so get familiar with it. One more piece of advice: the microphone thread can get real shitty at times; stay out of that scene unless you really need an answer to a question. One more and I'm outa here. Don't get GLS = gear lust syndrome. You will never be happy and you won't get shit done.

Good luck and welcome to the board. :D
 
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TravisinFlorida said:
A power amp is for powering speakers............you can figure out the rest. You will need some closed back headphones with good isolation (sound leakage) for the drummer to use while recording drums. The monitors, after being powered, typically plug into the outputs of the sound card. They can also be routed to the outs of a mixer.

Ok. When you say interface, I don't think you really understand exactly what an interface is. Or, maybe you do and I just feel like spouting. One of those all in one boxes, like the ones that you left links for in your earlier post, is really like having a preamp, sound card, and D/A converter all in one. Here is a simplified breakdown of a signal chain:

source (such as a guitar amp or voice) >
room>
microphone >
preamp (such as a mic preamp/direct box or a mixer) >
analog to digital converter (stand alone adc or part of a sound card or all in one interface>
digital info processed by the sound card or all in one interface>
software >
digital info processed by the soundcard or all in one interface>
digital to analog converter (stand alone dac or part of a sound card or all in one interface>
power amplifier for speakers>
monitor speakers>
room>

or a more simplified list of the pieces of the signal chain are:

source
room
microphone
preamp
adc
sound card
software
dac
power amp
speakers
room

All of these factors are important in getting the best sound for your money (or so I hear :) ). There are units that contain the preamp, converters, and dsp processing like the ones you listed. You can also get a sound card that includes the converters and dsp processing and then get seperate outboard preamps. Or, you could get seperate preamps, converters, and sound card (big bucks). For condensor mics, which you already know, you need phantom power. Phantom power can be included on an all in one interface, a mixer, a mic preamp, or a seperate unit. Headphone outs usually are'nt included on the interface. What is included are outputs that can be sent to a headphone amp or mixer.

I think the best bang for your buck is gonna be to get a soundcard with alot of inputs/outputs, and a decent mixer. A mixer will give you preamps, signal routing options, a headphone output, and phantom power. I have a Yamaha MG 12/4 mixer and I hear that it's good for the price, which it probably is. I can tell you that it certainly does'nt sound wonderful but I also hear that the Behringer mixers sound worse. I have'nt tried a Behringer mixer so take that for what it's worth.

What kind of sound quality are you trying to achieve and what is your budget? I don't want to discourage you but an interface and software are only a small piece of the puzzle in getting a good quality sound. You have to have realistic expectations of what you will be able to do within your budget. You also have to factor all the other major and minor pieces into your budget: good quiet recording space, room treatment, microphones, monitor speakers, headphones, computer upgrades, outboard gear, cables, stands, etc. You also have to try and balance the quality of all your gear to get the best bang for your buck. It makes no sense to put a really high quality piece of gear in an other wise shitty signal chain. It's just a waste of money. But, buying a bunch of cheap ass gear and expecting studio quality is also a waste.

After you get all the gear needed, you will need skills in mic placement, mixing, eqing, compressing, effects processing, etc. All of these things are every bit as important as the gear that you purchase. I have heard songs on this board that were recorded with minimal cheap gear that made me say "wow!, you recorded that song with that gear?" I have then used better or equal gear and not been able to touch that kind of quality recording. On the other hand, I have heard studio recordings that made me cringe.

There are alot of things to think about and research and this is a very good place to start doing that. I would start talking to alot of people around here and ask alot of questions. Go to the MP3 mixing thread and listen to some recordings that others have done and start asking what their recording setups consist of and what kind of experience they have in recording. I don't know what your experience is but there are alot of learning curves to get thru.

Also, you will need to find out which people here are genuinely helpful, which ones are bullshitters, which ones are company reps, and which ones are gear snobs. There are also some people around here that are very helpful but are also a bit rude to newbs so get used to that and don't let it bother you. Put some thought into your questions before asking, be specific, and be polite. Most of your questions can be answered by using the search function of this bbs so get familiar with it. One more piece of advice: the microphone thread can get real shitty at times; stay out of that scene unless you really need an answer to a question. One more and I'm outa here. Don't get GLS = gear lust syndrome. You will never be happy and you won't get shit done.

Good luck and welcome to the board. :D
Click to expand...

I plan to get active monitors so I wont need to purchase a power amp. Same for mic preamps, I plan to buy an all-in-one interface with phantom power to bypass the need for mic pre's. Are these 2 ideas to much to ask for? If I go the mixer/soundcard route, I won't need mic pres, power amps right because it would be included on the mixer?

anyway. moving on to "the other major and minor pieces":
good quiet recording space- check
microphones- check, we have a few of each- sm57, 421s, sm58, e609, etc; some drum mics
monitor speakers- on my to-get list
headphones- also on my to-get list
computer upgrades- tell me more about these. is it for software or the actual computer itself?
outboard gear- I was hoping to lay off the outboard stuff for now, maybe add in some later on when I get the basics of recording down
cables- looking to get more
stands- looking to get more
 
I would say that usually a mixer you would be using for recording purposes would not have built in power amps. There's no need for them. Mic pre's and phantom power should be included in a mixer or one of those all in one boxes but stand alone mic pre's will be higher quality and higher priced too.

Computer upgrades - it's best to have a bunch of ram (like a gb or more), a fast processor, and a seperate hard drive dedicated to audio recording. This all depends on how many tracks you anticipate on being able to work with. I'm running an old box which is 1.4 ghz, 768 mb ram, 2 hd's, a 1010LT card, and can work with about 20 tracks maximum with a few plugins running, before my system starts flaking out on me. But, I keep my system pretty stripped down of unneeded software, uncluttered and defragged, and have made alot of system configuration changes for recording. Maybe that will give you an idea of where you are at.

What is your budget? What are your intentions for recording? Will this be a hobby? Will you be making a demo? A self released CD? If you're just gonna be messing around for fun, I would'nt drop a bunch of money into all this at first.
 
Lots of good words here. Let me try to summarize for ya

your interface doesn't have pres if youre not sure. They cost more, and usually aren't the best quality anyway. You're talking about buying an interface like a motu 828, or a firepod... but the pres are not the best, although I am happy with the motu's for ALMOST everything except maybe a nylon guitar or other quiet stuff. You will need pres though, one way or another, and pretty much are limited by how many lines you have and the number you can pre proportionate to the lines you need to boost (most)

don't worry about monitors too much until you are working on your final mix.
And then it's best to use many different speakers, so you can kinda cut that corner since there are more important things for you to buy first

drums: you can cheat and not pre them (they're loud...), and mixing them down to the interface is fine, but if you can, go back and record them seperatly into the interface using pres while the drummer listens on headphones. This is probably gonna be the hardest to get right....so too much to go into here, read about it

guitars: these need lots of preamping. Usually I would say get a D.I. box or 3, but you can just use your amp. Go right into the interface after boosting the signal a LOT, but don't peak it of course. Look into layering if you care about tone on the recording. I mean to have a clean track to bring out the clarity, as well as a track with distortion on it layered together- you'll be hard pressed to get as good a tone without the layers. It's best to use two lines per guitar to get a clean line, and a distorted one at the same time. Monitor with the distorted one, and then later mix it so you can't hear the clean one, but the tone will shine through and bring a lot of clarity. Nearly impossible to do the same with an EQ without layering.

Vocals: I would record the vocals later listening to headphones if you can. They need a lot of preamping too, a condensor mic is preferred if you can afford one that is more than a couple hundred bucks. A good cheap one is studio works c1 about 250 USD. Keep the noise low as you can so you can add reverb later ..whatever- youdon't want an echo on background noise

I like sonar myself. You just make the tracks you need, select the inputs and outputs, hit R to arm the tracks and then record. Most versitile program I have used, and I try to everything withit. Just try to get the levels right, no use trying to 'fix it in the mix' if the orig tracks are too low, or peaked. Good luck, engineering is it's own job. You may want to just hire someone like me that could bring a laptop and interface and do all the hard stuff to let you worry about the music. It's almost impossible to do both well, but if you really take charge, you could make it happen (with the right gear and a LOT of patience). ;)
 
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TravisinFlorida said:
What is your budget? What are your intentions for recording? Will this be a hobby? Will you be making a demo? A self released CD? If you're just gonna be messing around for fun, I would'nt drop a bunch of money into all this at first.
Click to expand...

I plan for this mostly to be a hobby and maybe once I get better at it, make a demo for my band. Now my budget, thats a tough one. I dont really wanna spend 1000 on one piece of gear. I'm willing to buy more expensive things used to keep costs down. I'm really just looking for the best bang for my buck right now, setup wise and gear wise. I mean I already have mics and the computer access as I said before. I'm just not sure what would work best in the middle of those. I know that I need to purchase monitors and headphones so I'm looking around for some good ones.

and about what you said before,
I think the best bang for your buck is gonna be to get a soundcard with alot of inputs/outputs, and a decent mixer.

Why would I need alot of i/o's if I'm going through a mixer? Or were you refering to using the multiple inputs for guitars?
 
strungout said:
Why would I need alot of i/o's if I'm going through a mixer? Or were you refering to using the multiple inputs for guitars?
Click to expand...
The number of inputs in the sound card will be the determining factor in how many individual tracks you can record simultaneously.

Certainly you can plug multiple instruments into a mixer, and run the stereo outs from the mixer to a sound card. However, all you will get is a stereo mix of the entire band. A little difficult to edit that way. If the kick drum is too loud, there is nothing you can do about it. If the vocal is off key, there is nothing you can do about it. If the lead guitar solo was great, except for two bars in the middle - sorry, you're stuck with it (or with recording the entire band again).

If you want *individual* tracks for each instrument/vocal, then you will need multiple inputs on your sound card.
 
dachay2tnr said:
The number of inputs in the sound card will be the determining factor in how many individual tracks you can record simultaneously.

Certainly you can plug multiple instruments into a mixer, and run the stereo outs from the mixer to a sound card. However, all you will get is a stereo mix of the entire band. A little difficult to edit that way. If the kick drum is too loud, there is nothing you can do about it. If the vocal is off key, there is nothing you can do about it. If the lead guitar solo was great, except for two bars in the middle - sorry, you're stuck with it (or with recording the entire band again).

If you want *individual* tracks for each instrument/vocal, then you will need multiple inputs on your sound card.
Click to expand...

Right. The only time I will need more than say 2 inputs in a soundcard is when I record drums which will have to go through the mixer to mix down to 2 inputs. Your right about editing problems with using a mixer if the kick is too loud, etc. Another problem for drums might be adding reverb to the snare only unless the mixer has built in effects, am I right? Another thing is that the drums are gonna need is at least 12 tracks (big kit), so I might have to go through a mixer with the drums. All the other instruments/vocals can go through 2 inputs without a problem (I hope :) ).

Thanks
 
strungout said:
Right. The only time I will need more than say 2 inputs in a soundcard is when I record drums which will have to go through the mixer to mix down to 2 inputs. Your right about editing problems with using a mixer if the kick is too loud, etc. Another problem for drums might be adding reverb to the snare only unless the mixer has built in effects, am I right? Another thing is that the drums are gonna need is at least 12 tracks (big kit), so I might have to go through a mixer with the drums. All the other instruments/vocals can go through 2 inputs without a problem (I hope :) ).

Thanks
Click to expand...
Essentially that is correct, so long as you are recording your instruments one at a time.

In other words, you can lay down drum trax first. Then go back and add guitar and bass, then go back and add vocals, etc.

You won't necessarily need 12 tracks to do drums. Generally you *could* do them with 4 inputs/mics. One on kick, one on snare, and a pair of mics overhead to catch toms, cymbals. Of course, more is better, since ultimately it will give you more control in mixing or correcting problems.
 
you can do the mixer thing, but then it's like a glorified 4/8 track whatever. You're just using a hard drive instead of tape. If you do that, you don't even need to get a new soundcard. You would want to spend your money on a quality mixer to keep the noise floor down, high qual cables, then you could just run the mixer into a direct box (or two, since two channels)then into your sound card. That would be the cheapest way that would give you decent results. You really can't overlook the D.I. box though. Without it the low end will get cut bad, the recordings will come out THIN, and the tone will be CRAP- the recordings will sound amateurish. It's been done, you should find out how it worked out for them, but then you're talking 200 bucks instead of 1000 :-)
 
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