sound card & multitrack software preferences

[smithkin]

okay. i'm new. i've never recorded anything using a full mixer setup in my life.

now that that's out of the way, i've just purchased a behringer eurorack ub2222fx-pro and a bunch of mics, cos this year, our band has decided to record ourselves. we figure it'll be more fun, and possibly even more cost-effective in the long run. i'm hoping to learn something about recording.

anyway, i'm looking for a sound card that'll take four quarter-inch inputs without flinching. i've heard mention of the m-audio delta 44, but i want to be sure of a couple things:

a) it can record from each of the 4 inputs simultaneously
b) my computer isn't going to be a big giant ugly bottleneck (be it on the pci bus, the memory, processor, etc, etc)

my second question is what software to go with. i already have soundforge, and i think it'll be able to handle the four inputs thing.. i just want to make sure that's the case. what i'm shooting for is that i'll be able to record four tracks simultaneously - and then have the ability to putz around with each of them separately in post-processing.

insofar as price range, the mixer really set me back.. so i don't want to pay more than $200 for the soundcard.

thanks,
-greg

pc specs:
- processor: amd 2500xp
- ram: 512 mb kingston (i think just factory standard.. i'll be getting some high grade stuff soon)
- mobo: abit an7

 

[Treeline]

All I can think of is an Aardvark LX-6; new at about $ 350 - 375. It's decent quality, pretty rugged and has four line level inputs in a breakout box that can sit on the desk beside the computer. It comes with some software that might be a good start. Try ebay maybe.

For other software, try n-track; it's cheap and powerful. You download the demo from www.fasoft.com , and online you can buy the registration code that wakes it up. Check the n-track forum.

Good luck!