Question about getting audio from mixing board to laptop
- Thread starter Jdnely
- Start date
CMolena
Active member
Well, the problem is that, your laptop isnt a proper recording device. Even if you connect in any port possible, you'll find yourself with unwanted noises, poor A/D converters (which will result in poor audio quality) and a whole bunch of other problems.
I recomend you to read the "Newbies" thread. There you will find a bunch of useful information on how to get started.
One thing I can say for now is...dont use your laptop as your primary recording medium. Buy a cheap single channel interface and you can do a lot more with that.
Good luck for you, dude.
I recomend you to read the "Newbies" thread. There you will find a bunch of useful information on how to get started.
One thing I can say for now is...dont use your laptop as your primary recording medium. Buy a cheap single channel interface and you can do a lot more with that.
Good luck for you, dude.
Hhmm?
Some laptops outperform a lot of desktops, especially older tower PCI card types. A good audio interface is really all you need. They'll plug into a USB port. PCI sound cards used to be the way to go, especially if you were multi-tracking. But today, USB or Firewire interfaces do much better. Best to have a good computer, preferably a 64 bit, dual core (or more). Make sure your DAW is compatible with a 64 bit puter if that's what you're using. There are plenty of these (DAW's) that work great for under $100. More times than not, you'll get a workable DAW when you buy an interface. They most often come with a LE (light edition) DAW. LE DAW's are great for beginners, simple to learn, and work just fine. If and when you decide to go with an interface, make sure you read the reviews on these. There's a lot of junk out there. There's also a lot of good stuff too, for not much money. There are also some mixing boards with built in USB interfaces. Some small, very inexpensive, to larger ones. Most will only support 2 channels out at a time. Some you can record 4 separate channels at once (for multi-tracking) that aren't expensive. Hope this'll help you. Good luck.
Some laptops outperform a lot of desktops, especially older tower PCI card types. A good audio interface is really all you need. They'll plug into a USB port. PCI sound cards used to be the way to go, especially if you were multi-tracking. But today, USB or Firewire interfaces do much better. Best to have a good computer, preferably a 64 bit, dual core (or more). Make sure your DAW is compatible with a 64 bit puter if that's what you're using. There are plenty of these (DAW's) that work great for under $100. More times than not, you'll get a workable DAW when you buy an interface. They most often come with a LE (light edition) DAW. LE DAW's are great for beginners, simple to learn, and work just fine. If and when you decide to go with an interface, make sure you read the reviews on these. There's a lot of junk out there. There's also a lot of good stuff too, for not much money. There are also some mixing boards with built in USB interfaces. Some small, very inexpensive, to larger ones. Most will only support 2 channels out at a time. Some you can record 4 separate channels at once (for multi-tracking) that aren't expensive. Hope this'll help you. Good luck.
If all you want to do is record 2 tracks from the mixer then the power of the laptop is totally unimportant, all you need to ensure is that there is enough hard drive space (I have used an 850 MHz 512ram XP lappy for this. The HDD was only 20G hence the caveat!)
But, for "location" recording and especially live you need total reliability from the AI/PC combination and I shall make NO apoligies for once again suggesting the Native Instruments KA6. The drivers and stability of this interface are fantastic plus you get 4 tracks (2 mic, 2 line) so you could record a submix or a DI/split guitar and/or a slate track.
Converter quality is also commented to be much better than its £160 price would indicate.
The AI is also totally USB bus powered.
Dave.
But, for "location" recording and especially live you need total reliability from the AI/PC combination and I shall make NO apoligies for once again suggesting the Native Instruments KA6. The drivers and stability of this interface are fantastic plus you get 4 tracks (2 mic, 2 line) so you could record a submix or a DI/split guitar and/or a slate track.
Converter quality is also commented to be much better than its £160 price would indicate.
The AI is also totally USB bus powered.
Dave.