Switching from ADAT to PC ???

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rustang
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Rustang

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I have been recording my bands first CD in my home studio using a Mackie VLZ32-4, 4 ADATs w/BRC, several effect units, compressors, Eq's and such. We have been getting excellent recordings with this method and when played from the ADATS through my Mackie and then to the monitors it sounds great. I then pump all the tracks into my Mackie and use it's line out and plug that into my PC's sound card and then use Sound Forge to record the songs to MP3, WAV or whatever.

The problem is once I get it to the PC and create an MP3 or whatever it sounds like crap. Level seams super low like I had recorded it with a mic at about 50 feet away. I know my sound card is crap and this is most likely where the quality is being killed at. I currently do my mixing on the adats. The final mix I have from them is what I would like to get on CD.

My question is (in your opinion) would you stick to this method and just get a better sound card or scrap the ADAT route and get a good sound card with multiple inputs and record straight to the pc? I not worried about redoing the tracks we have recorded already.

I like the method I have now having 32 channels of seperate tracks I just can't seem to get it to a CD media without it degrading what I actually have recorded on the ADATS. Then again I feel I may be missing something by not going the PC route to start with.

Money is not realy a problem but I would like to keep it in the area of $500 to $700. If anyone knows a decent method of getting my recorded media from my adats to the PC or can suggest a better approch please post a reply and fill me in with the details.

Thanks!
 
If you're satisfied with the workflow of your ADAT setup, I wouldn't recommend changing it. The first thing I'd try is to get a better sound card. What are you using now? I have very good results with the M-Audio Audiophile 2496, and there are several other products that would be well within your budget.

If you already have a reasonably good soundcard (though I see that you say it's "crap"), you may have a problem with gain staging between the mixer and the soundcard. The Mackie board puts out a pretty hot signal (0dBm) compared to what most consumer soundcards expect (-10dBv or so); do you have the soundcard input turned way down to compensate? If so, try lowering the main fader on the Mackie and turning up the soundcard input.
 
You say you're going from the line outs to the line input? Is that the same as the MASTER OUTS? Or TAPE OUTS? Might just be the output you're using....

Regardless if you're using a crappy soundcard then get a better sound card.

Check your levels in soundforge.... I think mixing down at around -4 is what's recommended. I could be wong.....
 
It looks like there's two issues, volume and quality. If you're goining to stay with an analog mix feeding the pc, a good A/D is first up, as that will be the last deciding factor in the chain. At that point, with a digi feed, the s/c wouldn't mater much.
The volume/limiter issues can be done pre-A/D, or later in the pc.
I went the hardware L2 route, a bit of a bitter pill cost wise, but a good multi-solution; A/D, D/A, Waves limiting as needed after conversion, ect.
Yea?:)
Wayne
 
My sound card is a bottom of the line ESS card.

I have the Alesis ADAT Edit card already but it's never worked correctly for me. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes it blue screens my PC. I gave up on that a while back. I even tried the MOTU 2408 MKII & PCI 324 Core system and could never get it to work in Windows. I don't own a MAC and don't really plan to which is what the Motu is geared for anyway.


Is there any other computer device or AD converter capable of pulling the data from the ADATS that’s reliable in Windows?
I have used the main, monitor, line outs and sub outs on my Mackie and still get the same crap when connecting to my computer. I have tried al sorts of level configurations with little change. I'm pretty sure it's the sound card causing the loss of quality. If I had a better card I think the sound would be better in the end. I just wanted to get opinions on what others further along in the home recording process and much more knowledgeable than me thought I should do.

Anyone have any recommendations for a good sound card ir input device?
 
"Is there any other computer device or AD converter capable of pulling the data from the ADATS that’s reliable in Windows?"

There's plenty of good stable cards with and w/o converters. I have the Dakota (light pipe/spdif only) that I used when the adats were the converters, then added a pair of RME ADI-8's to get rid of the tape factor. The dakota has been rock solid in two diferent pc's. Do you want the option to stay with the analog mix or mix in-the-box? Or do you just want to get the 2-mix into the pc? If you like what you're getting with the ADAT/analog mix, seems like you might just need a good set of stand alone A/D-D/A's.
Wayne
 
Yes, I am pretty happy with my current ADAT/analog method its just getting it from the ADATS to the PC and then to CD thats the problem.

If I can get a good sound card that I can input the signal to and create the file in Soundforge like I have been doing just with better results that would be great. If the better route would be an AD converter, that is where I will go.

I was thinking of a Delta 1010 just because of the good feedback I have heard and the number of inputs. I could run my main mix out from the Mackie and into the 1010 and then into Soundforge or Sonar to get what I have now onto CD. My hope is that this will work and will also give me the opertunity to start working on getting away from the analog method and to a PC method.

Comments?
 
Rustang said:
I have the Alesis ADAT Edit card already but it's never worked correctly for me. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes it blue screens my PC. I gave up on that a while back.
Click to expand...


Exactly. Anybody else want to buy one?;)
 
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