Sound Card

[JohnA]

I read in the digital recording section that I need to get a high-quality digital sound card made for recording such as Aardvark AARK 20/20+, Echo Darla, Gina, Layla cards, Gadgetlabs Wave/4 and new Wave 8/24, Digital Audio Labs CardD Plus.

I really just want to play my keyboard in using midi (which already works fine) and then record my voice with it. I'm not looking for professional quality. I already know I need to get a decent mic and preamp, however am I still going to have to get an expensive sound just to keep it from sounding like crap?

I don't have the documentation on my sound card, but looking in device manager it looks like sound card is ESS AudioDrive. Specs on that say it is full duplex and Soundblaster compatible. Will this work? If not, what is the least expensive sound card I could buy to replace it?

Thanks.

 

[Eddie N]

if your computer is a compaq , chances are that the ess audio chip is built in to your motherboard..if this is the case like mine , that thing is crap.. there is no way to replace it or disable it per se , but you can install another pci soundcard that will yield good results.. head out to comp usa and pick up a 20 dollar pci soundcard , and install it.. i guarentee it will give you the results your hoping for..

if your only going to be recording one or 2 tracks of your voice , i wouldnt worry about your computers specs either , as long as its above a pentium 200... i would recomend at least a 300 with 64 megs of ram though to be worry free..

- eddie -

 

[pglewis]

My PC has a built-in ESS as well. I used it for a while, and it's "okay", but nowhere near the quality of a "real" card. I'm glad I used that cheapy for a while, though. I learned a lot about PC recording and what I needed before spending more money.

I have my ESS disabled through the BIOS, there should be a setting for this on your machine as well... but I'm not positive.

 

[JohnA]

Thanks. My PC is Compaq Presario 7470. It is 533 Mhz with 64 MB Ram, 20 GB Hard Drive.

I think I will go ahead and get a mic and preamp and see just how bad it is. Sounds like I will want to get another one at some point.

As far as mics, everything I'm reading here seems to indicate Shure 58 (about $100) is the lowest anyone would go even for casual voice recording. Agree?

Also, someone recommended ART Tube Microphone Preamp (about $100). Someone else was recommending getting a low end mixer which would include preamp and would cost about the same. Any thoughts?

I'm really just looking for casual use, but I also don't want Radio Shack quality (that's an oxymoron).

 

[Eddie N]

the SM58 is a good live mic (it takes alot of abuse) and a decent studio mic..but for an extra $100 ($200) you can step up to the Rode NT1 which is 10 times better and is a studio mic..

the art tube mp is a safe bet.. if you get a mixer for that price the preamps are going to be as noisey as brads mom mid climax..

- eddie -