newbie getting a PC in the New Year

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jimmychan

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Hi, this is probably goint ot be quite long and you've heard it all before, but...

Recently I started messing round on a friend's PC, with Cakewalk and Cubase that I'd borrowed off someone. Just plugged a little rubbish lapel mic that i got for my Minidisc, stuck it (literally, with blu-tack) to my acoustic guitar, and put stuff in. Messed around on Soundforge putting tons of flanger and wah on the guitar to make it sound like a keyboard, taught myself the Cakwalk drum editing, all out of the back of the cheapo Sounblaster that came with the PC. Just telling you this so you understand the kind of bedroom lo-fi noodling I'm going for...

So I decided to get myself a PC so I can do this in my own space but I'm waiting till I know exactly what to get (and till I get the cash, I'm a poor student). But here are a few questions...

I've read all the stuff on the site (homerecording.com) about needing a decent mic and a pre-amp etc., so take that as given. Whatever PC I get I'm basically just going to get as much memory and FAST hard drive as I can possibly manage (two separate hard-drives is the recommendation).

My main question is about soundcard. I live in England. Over here you can get the Soundblaster Audigy Platinum EX for about £210 (I don't know what that is in dollars). Creative's site makes it sound all nice and flash (obviously), but what is the verdict around here? I've seen people on this site recommend a Midiman Delta 1010lt or something but I checked there website, and it appears to be close to $500, which sounds like quite a lot in pounds :-).

Seeing as it's only me doing this (no band), and the way I work really is to cut and paste and stick bits in and play around and mix it all up, the most inputs I'd really need are two (guitar, singing, or something). The Soundblaster Audigy seems reasonably cheap (for an investment so to speak), and easy to get hold of (at the same place I'd get the PC).

I've seen comments on the boards about only being able to record 16bit, 48 KHz, which is below it's playback rate, but really I'm not that professional to notice those things (see the blu-tack thing). Plus you apparently get Cubase with it (or so the website leads me to believe). So what is the experts' opinions on the Auidigy Platinum as a student-sitting-in-his-bedroom solution?

Also, is there any basic problems with Windows XP on the whole audio front, as that's what I'll be getting. I.e., are there any problems with compatability and Cakewalk or Cubase? Or have they all relaesed drivers or something by now?

Really sorry this post has been so long and rambling,. but any help would be greatly appreciated, as even though I'm a novice messing around, I am thinking of spending (investing?) a lot of money (for me anyway). Thanks a lot.

Jim
 
Since you're not planning on recording more than two tracks at a time, Delta 1010 is overkill.

If you're willing to spend 210 GBP (about 300 USD), get a Delta Audiophile (24 bit, about 160 USD, don't know if prices are comparable in the UK though). They're specifically made for music, unlike most Soundblasters. Or cheaper for the quality of sound you seem to be looking for, get a regular Soundblaster Live (16 bit, about 30 USD) and get your friend's software until you can afford to pay for it.

Regarding XP, check the related websites before buying, to see if they have drivers for it. But even if they do, they're not always perfect. XP is brand new. At the moment, IMHO, Win 2000 seems to be the logical choice for audio but I'm sure a lot of people will disagree.

BTW, I'm no expert. I'm closer to a student-sitting-in-his-bedroom like you.
 
running two cards

thanks for the info.

Just wondering though - if I ran two soundcards (one midi, one audio), would this massively drain system resources - i.e. presumably if you have a load of digital audio tracks running simultaneously, this would be quite a load on the system, would having to run two cards really affect this as well? (assuming I get a good fast processor and loads of Ram and HD - [dirt cheap anyway])?

Thanks

Jim
 
plus...

I presume you mean Midiman Delta Audiophile 2496 (just checked their website) - they say about 230 USD, but as it's straight from them they're probably the most expensive :-)
 
Hi

I'm using Echo Mia card, pretty much same than the Audiophile except Mia doesn't have Midi. For midi I have a cheap Soundblaster.

Check out www.echoaudio.com
 
jimychan,

I gots the audiophile and believe me it's definitely worth it. I got mine online for around 180(US) but I've seen it on eBay for less than 150(US). You really need to invest some money on a good soundcard or else you'll be regrettin it later.



Laj
 
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