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Nate15
New member
Do you need a really really good sound card to get a good decent nice sound or can u get a nice sound using the stock soundcard?
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TimOBrien
New member
Stock soundcards are made with 25cents worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming.
#1 Rule of Recording: You will need to install a better soundcard.
#1 Rule of Recording: You will need to install a better soundcard.
scrubs
Not of sound mind
Nate15 said:
I'd say it depends on your experience, other equipment, and ultimate goals. I've heard decent recordings made with soundblasters and other "non-recording" cards and I've heard crappy recordings made with RME, Lynx, and Apogee cards. What you're really concerned about are the quality of the analog-to-digital converters (which are going to turn your sounds into 1's and 0's) and whether or not the card is full-duplex (which will allow you to record tracks while monitoring already-recorded tracks). Other things like sample rates (44.1k, 48k, 96k), bit-depth (16 or 24, usu), and latency can also be of concern.
Other things to consider are:
What is the quality of the rest of your signal chain? If you are recording in an acoustically poor space with cheap mics and preamps, then the quality of your soundcard is probably not your primary concern. Focus on getting a good sound at the source (instruments, voices, room acoustics) first; then think about your monitoring chain (how will you be listening to/mixing your recordings?); then upgrade microphones and preamps; then, only after all of the above are in order, should you worry about the soundcard.
What are you trying to accomplish? If you're just recording yourself in your bedroom for fun, you (& your listeners) might not care so much about the recording quality. If you are recording other bands for money and/or trying to secure a recording contract, etc., quality may matter more.
A decent 2-channel prosumer recording card is the M-Audio Audiophile 2496, which is only $99.
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Nate15
New member
heyey thanx for the advice mana im goin to check into thaT THERE M AUDIO thing and im recording my band and maybe if i can eventually have a great sound record others for money haha
