Please help with some noob Audio Interface questions

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Davidson

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I'm getting back into recording as a hobby after many years away. Needless to say, many things have changed in that time. I am looking to take the plunge into computer recording but I need to do so cheaply. I don't want to spend much money now because I would like to spend the next year or so learning and relearning the fundamentals before I invest any really significant amount of money

I have some entry level hardware and a pretty good mic from a few years back but I need to purchase an Audio Interface, software, and perhaps a few other items.

Preamp: Aphex 107
Compressor: Drawmer MX30
Microphones: Nueman TLM103, Shure SM58

The music will primarily vocal with synth backups and perhaps if I get motivated I will try to record my piano at some point. In any case, I don't need an interface with preamps.

I have read a few articles but I am still confused about a couple of points. Please forgive the noobness.

1) I am thinking the Firebox or M-Audio410 would be a good starting choice. The features on the 410 look better for me (two headphone outs, more outputs). Does anyone know if there is a difference in sound quality in the convertors between the two? Since I don't need the preamps, is there another model that I should be looking at?

2) I'm looking at adding a second hard drive. Any feedback on the Glyph drives?

3) Ok here is the complete noob question. Since I would like to get into using some soft synths but will be recording through the audio interface, do I need to get a good sound card for the synths to sound good? My comp has a gaming/generic card. I am confused about how the sound is generated by the soft synths. I'm not sure that my question is making sense. I guess I am asking do I need an interface + sound card or just an interface.

4) Is there anything else on the computer front that I need to record music? I know a little bit about monitors, external mixers, processing, etc. I'm really just totally clueless about the computer part of it.

I know a lot of these questions get asked here and I appreciate the time the more experienced folks take to respond.
 
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You have a great start to your equipment!

1) I have a Firepod (the big brother of the Firebox), and I love it. It's reliable and sounds great. My friend uses M-Audio stuff, and has had great success with that, too. They're both great and about the same quality.

3) For software synthesizers, the quality of your recordings won't be affected by the quality of your sound card. Everything happens in the computer. You just need a midi interface to your controller, a host program as many soft synths operate a plugin to your main sequencer/audio program (such as Sonar or Cubase).

4) For computer recording, you only need a proper audio interface (such as the presonus or M-Audio) and compatible software. Cakewalk or Steinberg software will definitely get you going as they do both audio and midi very well.
 
Davidson said:
I'm looking at adding a second hard drive. Any feedback on the Glyph drives?

I've used one (the 80mb GT050 if I remember correctly) for several years and it works like a charm. They have a good repuation and they specialize in drives for audio:

http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/glyph/

The big downside tends to be price. Most economy-mined folks around here seem to prefer other brands. I would do a quick search for some possibilities, especially if you are on a limited budget.
 
Davidson said:
Is there anything else on the computer front that I need to record music? I know a little bit about monitors, external mixers, processing, etc. I'm really just totally clueless about the computer part of it.

A large computer monitor is helpful. Most multitrack recording applications have multple windows and space runs out very quickly. I have a 17 inch and I wish I had something bigger--perhaps two. You can click to shuffle windows but that's a lot of work if you are trying to record yourself--especially if you have an instrument in your lap!

Also, I wouldn't worry about getting a mixer at this stage, unless you need hands-on faders, a large number of preamps (perhaps for a drum kit), or you are planning to record with several other players. Most if not all decent recording applications will have a softwaremixer window that looks and functions like a standard mixer.
 
Thanks for the help! The computer monitor is a great piece of advice and I'm sure I could dig up a second monitor a lot cheaper than a big one.

I didn't mention that I have an old Mackie 1604 analog mixer because I assume there won't be any reason to use it for the digital recording. I'm only going to be having some fun recording myself for now.

Thanks again for the advice!
 
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Hiya!
The only weak spot in your list is the generic soundcard, Davidson.

Get yourself a dedicated fairly pro quality A/D converter unit (M-Audio, Echo, MOTU, something other than soundblaster) and you'll be on your way!

The mackie mixer can come in handy if you use hardware synths. Use the subgroup/buss outs to send audio to the ins on the soundcard (or if no subgroups, you can use the aux sends to do the same thing). Will save you having to be constantly plugging in and pulling out cables. And if composing in MIDI to start with, having all the synths and the PC connected to the mixer will enable you to hear all your synths playing together in conjunction with whatever audio is coming out of your computer.

Welcome back to the world of audio recording! :)
Dags
 
Thanks for the continuing tips. You guys rock!

What is the deal with the midi interface on the Firebox?

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/closeup/FireBox--img_backHR.jpg

I'm not familiar with that connection. Do I need to get a different conversion box of some kind to connect my hardware synths to this midi connection? Is there a different cable that can do the trick?

The M-Audio Firewire 410 has the standard Midi In/Out that I am used to.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/closeup/Firewire410--img_rear.jpg

Any other comments about the differences in quality of these two boxes? I am really leaning towards the Presonus Firebox since it comes with the Cubase LE software and seems to get pretty good feedback.
 
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