Thought I was set, now im confused

[idioteque]

Thought I was confused, now im just CONFUSED#@!

Hi all, I would really like some thoughts on my plans as im a total Newbie. After visiting a shop today im kinda confused.
Firstly, im not trying to make "serious" music, but I DO want to do
some "serious" mucking around, create basic little diddies at this stage
for fun & for some short films I have, so heres the plan...

this this is the setup im getting in a few weeks: Pentium IV 2.8 OR
3Gigz, 512 mb Ram with a 60 or 80gb HD.

After scanning this board over the last few weeks, this is what I had
worked out for my needs.

(all prices in $AUST...just take 1/3 off for $US)
Keyboard: adopted little thing with Midi "in" & "out"
A soundcard : Audiophile 2496 - $400
Recording software: Tracktion or similar priced -$140-200
Misc Composing software: eg acid, fruityloops etc -$150-200
Total = Around $800

I figured the above was what I needed for now, but wanted to add a Mic
& guitar later - will I be able to use line out from a guitar amp and
straight into the soundcard? Or will I need a preamp into the card?

How does all the above sound for my needs?? Please advise any cost cutting ideas.

Now today I went into a store and a salesman told me that all I
really needed was an Mbox !! This threw me into a spin. It will do all the above but with the better software (pro?) that I don't really need. BUT it has the inbuilt preamps so can plug guitar straight in. This is all for $800...

What setup should I choose so I can start making music.....

Oh..one more question..i have a spare 10g HD but I think its 5200rpm,
should I use it as proprietary HD for recording?
sorry for rambling,
Any advise appreciated. peace.

 

[mshilarious]

You can plug the line in from the amp into the soundcard, it will work OK. The mic, on the other hand, will require a preamp. The MBox works for that, but doesn't have a MIDI interface. Plus it's vastly more expensive than the Audiophile. I'd get the Audiophile + an external preamp.

Regarding your 10g hard drive, my inclination would be to use that as your program drive and use the larger, faster HD for music/video. Or just buy another HD for your program drive. What is a 30g HD these days? Pretty cheap.

 

[NYMorningstar]

You can plug the line in from the amp into the soundcard, it will work OK.

I'm sure it's not what you meant but to minimize the confusion you would go from the line-out of the amp to the line-in of the soundcard.

 

[mshilarious]

I'm sure it's not what you meant but to minimize the confusion you would go from the line-out of the amp to the line-in of the soundcard.

Yep I meant out not in. Thanks!

 

[idioteque]

Thanks for your help. I think I will go the soundcard and just use my midi keboard for the moment, see how it goes then look at preamps later. Just a thought, can you use a regular home stereo amp to plug a guitar/mic into? Then line out with RCA cable to the soundacard, or am I really pushing it with my corner cutting ?

 

[idioteque]

Oh, hope im not getting annoying, I also been doing some more reading on software, and im probably going to go with Ntrack, its cheap and im reading some good reviews.
Just wanted to confirm, this is recording software also known as sequencing software?
Whats a good programme to then arrange the recorded sounds, as well as create drum loops & other synth loops? Or will I need 2 packages for this?
Again, im looking at the cheaper entry level end of the spectrum.
All advise appreciated(please advise if I got the software info all confused & messed up). Peace.

 

[bennychico11]

N-Track has a nice MIDI sequencing window for your needs. As far as a loop based program, I think you'll find Acid Pro one of the better programs out there. It's bad for recording audio (in my opinion) but it works with loops very well. You could do all your drums/loops in there, export it into N-track and add everything else from there.

 

[idioteque]

Hi again,
So summing up, I can get a basic setup going with..
-Soundcard Audiophile 2496
-Ntrack (to record my midi k/b)
-loop software (Acid,fruity loops etc-im still working out which one is good for a cheap ass like me )
-and if i wanna record guitar & mic input i can use something like this.. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=23785&item=3733283811&rd=1 ??

All this would result in me being able to record midi,vocals/live instruments into Ntrack, create loops in the other software, then arrange it all in Ntrack?

Just let me know if im still confused. peace.

 

[idioteque]

Hi again,
So summing up, I can get a basic setup going with..
-Soundcard Audiophile 2496
-Ntrack (to record my midi k/b)
-loop software (Acid,fruity loops etc-im still working out which one is good for a cheap ass like me )
-and if i wanna record guitar & mic input i can use something like this.. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=23785&item=3733283811&rd=1 or http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=23785&item=3729644538&tc=photo

All this would result in me being able to record midi,vocals/live instruments into Ntrack, create loops in the other software, then arrange it all in Ntrack?

Just let me know if im still confused. peace.