What do I need for recording music on my PC?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Beatmaster B
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Beatmaster B

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Hello

I'm the drummer of a non-prof. band and want to "home record" demo's of our music. I have already a Mackie mixing table (analog), but for the recording I would like to use my PIII 1GHz personal computer. I already record some demo's on that PC with a normal Soundblaster AWE64 soundcard, but the results are offcourse not great! Can someone tell me what's the cheapest way to upgrade my PC so I can record a bit more professionel?

PS i'm thinking of a Aardvark, Yamaha DS2416 or MOTU soundcard...


Any help is welcome

Thanks

Beatmaster B
 
How many I/O

That i'm wondering also?

Till now I made only 'live' recordings. I mean that I put al the musicians (4) in my mixer and than use the stereo line out of my mixer to go to a recorder (tape, MD, ...)
(I record first on MD and than copy it on my PC to burn CD's from it)
My biggest problem now is that the record on MD have much better sound quality than the result on my CD. Can you solve this problem with a better sound card (with digital in/out)?

In the future I wanne be able to record each 'musician' on a different track. So I guess the answer on your I/O question is:
I need minimum 4 in's, but what about the out's? (i don't have a clou)


Beatmaster B
 
You should definitely get more inputs if you want to record more musicans at the time. This will allow you to mix afterwards, instead of the trial and error method; recording a song - play it - adjust settings - record again...

If you will be mixing on a computer, you'll get by with just 2 outputs. More outputs are nice if you want to mix on an analog board, insert processors in your signal flow... If you're going to mix on your computer, using plug-ins to handle your eff, you don't need the outputs.

Also, if you will be recording live drums, you'll need more than 4 inputs. The minimum for drums is, for me, stereo submix (or overheads) and snare and kick seperately. Which is 4 channels for drums alone.
 
Number I/O

I'm aware of that

but at the moment I am just looking for a cheap solution to record on my PC with good sound quality

I wanna expand it later with more channels
 
Beatmaster B .......... is that non-profit? I thought all bands were non-profit :D

Are you recording the band "live", without overdubs? If so you'll probably find 4 inputs limiting - you'll have difficulty isolating instruments and vocals. If you can record 1 player at a time, then you get by with 2 inputs (although 4 would be better for drums). As for outputs, if you mix in you software, 2 outputs are fine - if you want to mix with an external mixer, you'll need 8.

Roel - you beat me to the post. I type slow when I'm at work.
 
Roel

gewoon een testje, spreek jij nederlands (ik zie dat jij ook van België bent). Het is voor mij anders veel gemakkelijker om te communiceren in het nederlands
 
Thanks for the advice Ola

PS can i find it in Belgium?
 
Test 1 2. Yep. Nederlands geen probleem. Engels ook niet. Frans een beetske. hehe. :D
 
Bon, Nederlands dus!

Roel, kan jij mij tips geven over hoe een keuze maken uit het grote aanbod van soundkaarten dat er tegenwoordig is.
Mijn budget is zeer beperkt, het zou de bedoeling zijn in eerste instantie een kaart te hebben waarop ik met een goede geluidskwaliteit, rechtstreeks zou kunnen opnemen. Live dus, of met andere woorden zoals ik soms opneem op MD maar dan liever rechtstreeks op PC (ik heb namelijk geen Minidisc)
Of desnoods met een minidisk als tussenstap, maar dan zonder kwaliteitsverlies bij het overnemen op PC.

Later zou ik het systeem dan kunnen uitbreiden om meer kanalen tegelijk op te nemen (als er terug geld in het laadje zit)

Wel systeem gebruik jij om op PC op te nemen?
 
I bet it's a lot cheaper at Thomann and the shipping should be cheap as well. Finding it locally is of course better but for me, it is half the price at Thomann compared to my local dealer. Including shipping.
 
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