please help me get started

  • Thread starter Thread starter sethbdellinger
  • Start date Start date
S

sethbdellinger

New member
Hi,

I have a Gateway Turion 64 lap top with - I think - a Sigma Tel Audio sound card. In any case, it's got something since I'm already happily burning and listening to music through my Windows Media Player program. I want to get started by recording mainly just my voice, solo recordings and multi-tracked. I have a very modest budget. So far from what I've seen on this site, I'm thinking about downloading the free pro-tools software and buying an Audix OM5 Dynamic Hhypercardioid microphone. I tried to do the test outlined on this site to find out what kind of quality and quantity of recording this computer can do but when I go to control panels/audio/sound recording, the "advanced" button is greyed out.

Does the above game plan sound like a good one? Do I need to buy a new sound card? How do I search my computer to verify what sound card I currently have? Any other tips?

Thanks,
sEtH
 
one more question

I do a lot of singing in my car, at work . . . and various other places. I'm wondering if there is any type of hand-held recorder that can make half-way decent "field recordings" that I will later be able to input into my computer for mixing and messing around with...
 
sethbdellinger said:
Hi,

I have a Gateway Turion 64 lap top with - I think - a Sigma Tel Audio sound card. In any case, it's got something since I'm already happily burning and listening to music through my Windows Media Player program. I want to get started by recording mainly just my voice, solo recordings and multi-tracked. I have a very modest budget. So far from what I've seen on this site, I'm thinking about downloading the free pro-tools software and buying an Audix OM5 Dynamic Hhypercardioid microphone. I tried to do the test outlined on this site to find out what kind of quality and quantity of recording this computer can do but when I go to control panels/audio/sound recording, the "advanced" button is greyed out.

Does the above game plan sound like a good one? Do I need to buy a new sound card? How do I search my computer to verify what sound card I currently have? Any other tips?

Thanks,
sEtH
Click to expand...
Seth,

Your computer and soundcard will work fine for starters, but there are a couple of problems with your plan.

First off, modern ProTools will only work with Digidesign or M-Audio hardware. The free ProTools - if it's still even available - is an old version that works with Win98 only.

Second, while you *could* plug your mic directly into the mic in on your soundcard, I'd recommend that only if you were absolutely broke. The mic preamps on stock PC soundcards (even a Sigma) are really designed for use with things like headset mics, webcam mics and so forth. They have different needs and specs from recording-quality microphones like the Audix, as such the quality you'd get by pluggingthe Audix into that card would be marginal, at best.

What I'd recommend would be a small external interface that includes a mic preamp designed for an Audix-class mic. These interfaces come with quality multitrack recording and mixing software, and hook up to you laptop via USB port. If you really want ProTools, look at something like the M-Audio MobilePre, which will work fine with you microphone and comes with a copy of ProTools LE.

G.
 
What Southside Glen said

Of course I personally would also add, that you can get started right now messing around in REAPER, perhaps with the included demo song, at least learning DAW stuff in general. When you get a decent card, youll already be up and running, technically with no out of pocket for your education up to that point.

http://reaper.fm/download.php
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top