new to this - want a basic setup

[tvguy]

been doing some reading, searching this message forum a bit but decided it's best to post what equipment i have and what i would like to do.

my wife would like to record herself singing. we have a karaoke system which we used in local bars in the past.

stuff we have:

peavey xr600f 7 channel mixer
2 peavey sp5g speakers
jvc 3 tray cd+g player
mic's and cables

our PC
AMD 2600+ 512 ram, 80gig hd, onboard sound

we connected the mixer's tape out jacks to the PC's mic input jack. ran a few different demo recording software's and managed to get a recording.

but, the sound level is really low! we need to have the mic level on the PC cranked almost to max and also get kind of a hissss sound.

what are we doing wrong and what sugestions can you give us?

we are not looking into doing this for a living, just would like to record ourself's singing now and then.

 

[stevey j]

first of all, connect the mixer to your soundcard's "line in" not the "mic input"....next try raising the gain/volume on input of the mixer so the signal is loud enough before it's actually recorded to your computer.

 

[tvguy]

helped!

yep. you can tell i dont know much bout this stuff!

that certainly helped. now when i record i can actually hear it.

only question i have is should i upgrade my soundcard?

thanks for the advice

 

[mr.rich]

well if your just recording your voice for the fun of it id say you need no upgrades. the system you have will let you do just that, make a recording of a voice. if you want to have a crystal clear, well mixed representation of the voice, then you may need to do a bit of upgrading. a decent a/d converter first, then some decent tracking progs, then some mics, then some speakers, then you might want to remodel the garage into a vocal booth, then youll need a loan to buy a few of those shiny pres you heard steely dan used on their stuff.

id say have fun with what you got till you learn what it all does, then youll see exactly what you need.

 

[michaeljames_20]

hey there.i've been in your same boat there for about a month.

first like steve says don't connect to mic input,secondly the concensus i have from everyone i've talked to,say even the top line regular sound cards like the audigys are not good enough to produce good quality recordable sound.
i was told and from what i read that i should upgrade to an external interface for the sound.there is a ton of them out there.i went with an m-audio firewire audio.i like it because i can just plug it in and didn't have to open my case.i paid $99 dollars for it on ebay.
problem is i haven't really figured out how to get it all hooked up.
i have a couple posts here on my set up.i've gotten a little help but never a direct answer as to what plugs where.I am going to go buy a book and try and figure it out abit more.i don't want to be a pro and i don't want to spend a ton of cash either.it does look like an interesting hobby that i could enjoy and i do want my recordings to sound as best they can.
sorry to be so vague,i know i wasn't able to answer your question but if i knew more i'd certainly share.
good luck on your setup!

 

[tvguy]

thanks guy's

michaeljames_20, i'll check into ebay and see what info i can dig up on about that m-audio device you spoke of.

i don't believe my PC's board has firewire inputs though