setup question

  • Thread starter Thread starter keller61550
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keller61550

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I plan on recording to my hard drive and i am wondering what kind of imput to use. i have an 8-track mixer i plan on hooking all the instruments into. I would like to record up to 8 instruments at once and keep them all on seperate tracks. I am using cakewalk pro audio 9, but i also have sonar 1.0. Can anyone tell me the best tipe of sound card to get? Do i need 8 inputs and 8 outs? should i go pci or get a usb interface? I want to be able to mix in real-time using my mixer but add effects to individual tracks afterwards. I also have acid pro 3 and sound forge 5 with many active-x plugins that i want to take advantage of. Thanks in advance.
 
Well, if you want to record 8 instruments at once you'll need a card that has at least 8 inputs. That means USB is not an option for you. MOTU has some nice firewire stuff that gives you 8 ins, but I would only recommend that if you need to use it on different computers or have a laptop. I'd go with a PCI card. LOTS of options, depending on your budget.

Since I DO have a laptop, I haven't looked into PCI cards for a while. The only thing I can say is that USB won't meet your needs.

I don't see why you would need 8 outs either. The only thing I can think of is that you want to use your outboard mixer and hardware to mix, but since Cakewalk and Sonar offer so many more track, effects, automation, etc. that doesn't sound reasonable. Besides, the way to kill the quality of a digital reocrding is to convert it to analog and back a few times... not good.

Take care,
Chris
 
Chris Shaeffer said:

I don't see why you would need 8 outs either.
Click to expand...

I have 16 outs in my system. Lets me set up as many different stereo cue mixes as I need on a given session. Musicians love having their own cue mix. Makes for happy clients and better performances.
 
littledog said:


I have 16 outs in my system. Lets me set up as many different stereo cue mixes as I need on a given session. Musicians love having their own cue mix. Makes for happy clients and better performances.
Click to expand...

Hey littledog,

Can you explain to us what a cue mix is?

Thanks
 
Sure. It's just another term for the mixes that the musicians are hearing - usually through headphones in recording situations. The bass player may need to hear more drums and less vocals (did you ever hear a bass player ask for MORE vocals? No fair if it's a singing bass player...), the vocalist may want more vocals and less guitar, etc. If you can create a different mix for everyone, they're happy, and hopefully play/sing better.
 
Thanks guys. I am looking at some pci cards with at least 8 analog (rca) inputs. I found a few that are under $400. Does anyone know what a good brand is to buy?
 
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