??? on recording with my soundblaster soundcard

[gtr1963]

Just wanted to ask and see what other's opinions were. I have a 2 ghz dell running 1 mb of ram. I have a standard soundblaster soundcard. I'm running my boss gt6 guitar effects into my soundcard and recording with cakewalk music creator. While I can record, the levels coming through the pc speakers suck and I just can't seem to adjust everything to get a decent sound. I have used this setup to record solo's for guest appearances on albums. Back on topic, do I need another soundcard to record an album? I am having everything mastered by a professional but wanted to know if my standard soundblaster soundcard would be adequate for recording. I know I'm going to need active studio monitors (and chunk the cheap comp. speakers)


Thanks,

Andy

 

[TimOBrien]

Soundblasters = cheap gaming cards with dodgy drivers.

They are also fixed at 48k sample rate - if you are recording at 44.1k or any other sample rate, everything will be resampled with possible artifacts.

Do yourself a BIG favor and get a better card - you will notice the difference immediately:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm

 

[Massive Master]

Dump it like it was on fire.

Unless you're just doing pre-production / demo'ing for bandmates or what not... But if you're actually "expecting results" then get rid of it.

 

[solo2racr]

Soundblasters = cheap gaming cards with dodgy drivers.

They are also fixed at 48k sample rate - if you are recording at 44.1k or any other sample rate, everything will be resampled with possible artifacts.

Do yourself a BIG favor and get a better card - you will notice the difference immediately:

I think your info on the Soundblaster cards is out of date. I have an Xtreme Audio X-Fi Soundblaster card and it will go to 192Khz in full duplex mode at 32 bits. The newer X-Fi cards are alot better than the old ones. The old ones ARE crap

 

[danny.guitar]

I'm pretty sure all SoundBlaster cards have an actual sampling rate of 48KHz. You can record at other sample rates, but it's not actually recording at that rate, it's up/down-sampling on the fly. This can cause drift and sync issues among other things. Maybe it is just the old ones I don't know.

With that said, recording through a SoundBlaster's line in won't completely destroy your recordings like a lot of people say it will (mostly people who just say that because they read it here ). A better card will make a difference though.

You should be running a line level out from your GT6 into the line in jack on the SoundBlaster. Most newer SoundBlasters use the same jack for both mic and line-in, so you need to set it up via the Windows Volume Mixer, in the recording options.

 

[AMTA]

Not to hi jack the thread, but I'm trying to figure out where I should start with the upgrades now that I've got a better handle on mixing. Like the OP, I am recording with a Sound Blaster. I am also mixing on headphones/computer speaks (big no-no...I know). I record in an untreated room using sub-par mics with a Yamaha MG16/4 mixer.

As far as I understand it, the mixer isn't too bad. I've read good things about it and such, and it has served me well. The rest of the stuff is a problem obviously, but I'm not sure where to start upgrading first. First I thought monitors, then I thought "Well they won't do me much good in an untreated room, on top of using this Sound Blaster in the first place." Then I thought about getting a new sound card, and now the dilemma is "Will it even make that much of a difference if I'm still mixing on headphones and computer speakers?"

Someone want to throw me some bones here to give me an idea on what I should go for?

 

[danny.guitar]

Not to hi jack the thread, but I'm trying to figure out where I should start with the upgrades now that I've got a better handle on mixing. Like the OP, I am recording with a Sound Blaster. I am also mixing on headphones/computer speaks (big no-no...I know). I record in an untreated room using sub-par mics with a Yamaha MG16/4 mixer.

As far as I understand it, the mixer isn't too bad. I've read good things about it and such, and it has served me well. The rest of the stuff is a problem obviously, but I'm not sure where to start upgrading first. First I thought monitors, then I thought "Well they won't do me much good in an untreated room, on top of using this Sound Blaster in the first place." Then I thought about getting a new sound card, and now the dilemma is "Will it even make that much of a difference if I'm still mixing on headphones and computer speakers?"

Someone want to throw me some bones here to give me an idea on what I should go for?

What kind of music are you recording?

I am in a (mostly) untreated room, and record acoustic so the room and mics are important. The rest is not really that important for me.

Good monitors are important. I've been using these computer speakers for so long though, that I personally don't have any problems with getting stuff to translate.

If you're not completely satisfied with how your instruments sound then definitely start there. A better guitar will make a much bigger difference than a thousand dollar mic, preamp, etc.

If your instruments, amps, whatever are good, then you're going to want room treatment and a good mic(s) to record them.

If you're serious about recording, you will need some room treatment, and monitors eventually. Where you start is really up to you and depends what you're recording, and what you think could be improved the most in your songs.

 

[AMTA]

What kind of music are you recording?

I am in a (mostly) untreated room, and record acoustic so the room and mics are important. The rest is not really that important for me.

Good monitors are important. I've been using these computer speakers for so long though, that I personally don't have any problems with getting stuff to translate.

If you're not completely satisfied with how your instruments sound then definitely start there. A better guitar will make a much bigger difference than a thousand dollar mic, preamp, etc.

If your instruments, amps, whatever are good, then you're going to want room treatment and a good mic(s) to record them.

If you're serious about recording, you will need some room treatment, and monitors eventually. Where you start is really up to you and depends what you're recording, and what you think could be improved the most in your songs.

I record vocals and electric guitar. Sometimes I do bass plugged right into the mixer, but most of the time it's fake bass. The drums are fake as well. I haven't had any real noticeable problems relating to the room as far as an extreme effect on the recorded sound. Honestly if I had the money I would just do everything at once, but even this sound card/interface thing is a little down the road.

My instruments are good...amp could be a lot better. I've been playing the damn thing for three years now (Peavey Transtube combo)...all the while being tempted by the amazing tube amps that I've tried. Either way it works.

Overall the chain is pretty clean sounding as far as I can tell. The only thing that's really bugging me is that lo-fi sound (due to numerous factors, not just the sound card...I know ). Regardless, I still think the best place to start would probably be a good set of monitors, but I figured I'd ask here because I've become pretty trustworthy of this place in the few years I've been lurking.

Mix translation is probably my biggest issue, as well as obvious in-experience being that I've only been recording seriously for a few months or so. A/Bing stuff is not very fun. I've grown fond of posting the mixes in the MP3 clinic to get a good feel for how well things sound across a broad spectrum of speakers based on what they say. I have yet to get a "Oh man this is horrible" so that's a good thing, but I also have yet to get a "Oh man this is amazing!"

So to end this rambling....are monitors still worth it in an untreated room?

 

[danny.guitar]

Treat your room before you get monitors. You will eventually want both, but my personal opinion is that room treatment is more important because it also helps when tracking.

Good monitors aren't going to do anything to help if the actual recorded tracks don't sound up-to-par. Get to the point where you're satisfied with the recordings before worrying about those. Unless your PC speakers are absolute crap. I use creative speakers and while I doubt they are anywhere near "flat", they don't lack low-end when I use the sub and I am able to hear all the frequencies clearly, low/mid/highs...

So if your amp sucks, get a new amp first.
When you get that, make sure you have a good mic for it.
Then treat your room/get monitors.

 

[Massive Master]

I think your info on the Soundblaster cards is out of date. I have an Xtreme Audio X-Fi Soundblaster card and it will go to 192Khz in full duplex mode at 32 bits. The newer X-Fi cards are alot better than the old ones. The old ones ARE crap

I'm not trying to argue - But the sample rate and the bit depth (it actually records a 24-bit signal) have absolutely positively *nothing* to do with the sound quality. Zip, zero, nada.

 

[solo2racr]

I'm not trying to argue - But the sample rate and the bit depth (it actually records a 24-bit signal) have absolutely positively *nothing* to do with the sound quality. Zip, zero, nada.

I never mentioned sound quality once. Just that the newer X-Fi cards SPEC better than the older ones. They still have crappy AD/DA converters.