Newbie Needs Advice On What Hardware To Buy

  • Thread starter Thread starter jdawg0528
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jdawg0528

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Hi. I'm a singer/songwriter/guitarist looking to start doing some recording with my pc. I wanted to get some advice as to what hardware I should buy. Basically all I want to do is record vocals and acoustic guitar into my pc. So, all I need is two channels (in case I want to record both vocal and guitar at the same time). Should I go with the m-audio audiophile 2496 and a pre-amp or what? I talked to a guy at a local shop and he said to stay away from pci cards as you'll get interference because the conversion is happening inside the pc. He recommended an external box that connects via usb/firewire. I'm on a limited budget (I don't want to spend more than $300). However, I don't want to buy crap. Can I get quality in that price range or do I need to save more money? If anyone can specifically recommend anything I would really appreciate it. I'm going to hit Guitar Center this weekend so if I can pick stuff up there that would be excellent. Or if there is anything a little more expensive (retail) that I could pick up on ebay in my price range.

Thanks a lot,
j
 
jdawg0528 said:
...talked to a guy at a local shop and he said to stay away from pci cards as you'll get interference because the conversion is happening inside the pc. He recommended an external box that connects via usb/firewire.
Click to expand...
What a load of shite.

Generally, USB is a little bit too slow, and Firewire has been known to have some compatibility issues from time to time. Nothing major, but something to keep in the back of your head if your motherboard does not support firewire on the board or if you are going to be using multiple firewire devices. PCI is the most trouble free interface on the market.

Which is not to say it's perfect.
 
ssscientist said:
Guitar Center and Musician's Fiend are allied in some sneaky way, so here's two possibilities from the MF site:

If you're not going to use midi at all, there's this:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_pid/703606/

But if you want to go upmarket just a tad and include midi and a good DI for a guitar, this is what I use:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=rec/search/detail/base_id/105150
Click to expand...

That's because Guitar center owns Musician's Friend, and has also purchased American Musical Supply
 
jdawg0528 said:
I talked to a guy at a local shop and he said to stay away from pci cards as you'll get interference because the conversion is happening inside the pc. He recommended an external box that connects via usb/firewire.
Click to expand...

He's on crack. PCI is fine. USB is dandy. Firewire is fast. Choose your poison.

jdawg0528 said:
I'm on a limited budget (I don't want to spend more than $300). However, I don't want to buy crap. Can I get quality in that price range or do I need to save more money?
Click to expand...

Short answer: No. You want a good mic pre? Save up at least 800 if you want something that is actually decent. Anything else would be crap. You're better off just using whatever kind of pre's come in whatever kind of soundcard/usb box you're planning to get until you have enough $ to save up to buy a REAL mic pre.

Anyways, that's my 2 cents.
 
I spent $500 on my vocal set-up. I use the Shure KSM27 mic and the DBX 286a mic-pre. Check the sound click link to get an idea of how vocals come out with them.

P.S. Its all plugged into the Echo Gina/24 sound card.

Peace~
 
Thanks for all the advice. Just ordered the m-audio 2496. I think I'll order the m-audio dmp3 that whattaguy recommended.

j
 
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