recording with sblive! platinum .. please help

  • Thread starter Thread starter kid moses
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kid moses

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I just got this card and can't seem to record with the LiveDrive's Mic In 2 -port. I plug the mic in, and I can see the volume levels rising, but when I hit record I just get a flat line. When I plug the mic into the Mic 1 port (at the back of the computer) it works fine.
I can't change the "recording device" in any programs (cool edit for example), there's just 'automatic' or 'line in'. Yet the first mic in plug works normally.
Can anybody help me here?
 
does this have something to do with preamps?
because the mic in 2 port is for a 1/4" (i think) mic.
And i'm simply trying with a computer mic + the 1/4" headpiece that came with it.
But if that's the case then why do I hear stuff from the speakers but can't record it?
 
Does the control panel see the card? If so, you may have to do some sblive properties tweakin', if not re-install drivers.
 
yeah the card works fine.
i tried the front panel's headphone plug and it works so it's not that.
 
mmmm. . . with your mouse go - start, settings, control panel then click on the multimedia icon and see what drivers are loaded.
 
Yes it was.. thanks.
I can record with Mic 2 but I have to set the volume to max or else I won't hear a thing.. Which seems kind of weird. I don't mean the volume switch on the soundcard's mixer but on the front panel.
 
kid moses, if you are really interested in digital audio, I'd take the Live Platinum card back and get one of these:

http://www.midiman.com/m-audio/product.htm

The quality of the A/D D/A converters is much higher, and it's a 24 bit card. The digital audio quality of Soundblasters is not high. The digital audio quality of M-Audio products is very high. Ask anybody. Then go buy yourself a cheap mic pre like the Art Tube MP ($100), and the sounds you'll get will be like night and day compared to the Soundblaster. How do I know? Because I have them both (actually I have the Dman 2044 and the Live Value).

What the Soundblaster does excell at is soundfonts. It has a built in EMU sampler and is capable of being the heart of your MIDI setup if you also lean in that direction. But if you do, buy the Value card--it is exactly the same without the breakout box--and save $150 because the Value is only $50. Take the $150 you save and get the M-Audio card. You will not be sorry.

I'm not trying to bash your card. I actually love the Live Value for what it does well--soundfonts and sampling--but there are much better choices you can afford for digital audio.
 
Thanks.
Right now I'm not gonna buy a new soundcard, i'm just getting a new guitar and thinking about that mic pre-amp. But i'll keep that in mind. And yeah, I wanted the platinum because of the frontpanel, it's much more convenient in my opinion.. and also bought it cos i want to start learning midi one day.

The recording sounded nice enough for me, I just want it to be louder. So could you give me the absolute cheapest, yet not total crap mic pre-amps? And what is the difference with using a pre and just normalizing my quiet recording?
Does the pre-amp eliminate the background hiss and noise?
 
Cheap preamps can be had for $100-$200. Do a search on this BBS, and you'll find more info than you can digest. Lots of people like the Art Tube MP I mentioned above (Ed Rei, for one), lots don't. I've never used it, but I think it would be a good start for you. I'm not an expert on normalizing, but I doubt it's a viable solution for your case.

The background noise you hear can be caused by a lot of things--like the quality of your soundcard's AD/DA converts and the fact that you have the gain turned up all the way. My experience is that normalizing will only make the noise worse.
 
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