What do kind of hardware do I need for my computer

[Corey113]

I have an old version of Nuendo (1.61) and Sound Forge 6 on my computer. I have mics., cables and a powered mixer (which probably isn't the best to use). I do not have any hardware on my computer other than the garbage sound card that came with it and I am fairly new to recording. What kind of hardware should I get for my computer, and is there anything else that I will need to record.
I am not looking to record professionally or anything, but would like a half decent recording that I can put in my car stereo and have it not sound like it was recorded in 1970.
Any suggestions?

Thanks for the Help!

 

[kojdogg]

you'll probably get more informed answers if you give more information about what you need-- including but not limited to: your budget for the interface, preferred method of interface (pci, pcm, usb or firewire), number of channels (parts or tracks) you want to record into the computer at once (and also to be able to send back out of the computer in case you want to mix through your mixer), other features you need such as preamps (including phantom power or not), etc.
it's a little daunting, but computer recording is pretty friggin awesome!

 

[Corey113]

More Info

My budget is somewhere around $150-$250 for an interface. I am not too sure which type is prefer, i do have USB ports, but was wondering if those are the best to use.
I guess I will probably want 6 channels so I can put each drum mic on a different channel. My power mixer has phantom power, however, I am not sure if I would run the mics though the mixer first or straight into the computer... what do you think?

 

[kojdogg]

At that budget, if you don't have firewire and want to record six channels at once, your choices are somewhat limited-- you'll probably have to go for something like the m-audio delta 1010lt, which has 8 analog ins and outs. Two of the channels are xlr (meaning you can plug a mic cable right in) and give phantom power. The ability to record 6 tracks at once will be limited by the number of outputs you have on your mixer too-- if you only have two outputs on your mixer and you want all of the mics to go through preamps, you'll be limited to 4 ins at once. If the mixer has four outputs (two stereo busses) you should be able to record 6 mics through 6 preamps (provided you have atleast four preamps on your mixer)-- two through the 1010lt's preamps, four through the mixer.
Confused yet?

 

[kojdogg]

My power mixer has phantom power, however, I am not sure if I would run the mics though the mixer first or straight into the computer... what do you think?

Phantom power is necessary for most condenser microphones (some run on batteries, most need 48v, some less).
You want to run your mics through the mixer (as long as they have preamps) to get the signal to the proper level (I'm not explaining impedence-- many other folks here could do a much better job).
What kind of mixer are you going to use?

 

[Corey113]

continued

Now you've got me nice and confused haha. My powered mixer is a 6 channel peavey, I don't know the model number and it's not here. It am pretty sure it doesn't have very many outputs. I do know it has 2 RCA outputs and at least 1 1/4 in lineout. Other than that i'm not sure.

So if I understand correctly (let me know if i'm wrong), I cannot run my mic cables directly into the interface, but must run them though a mixer first. Do I also need to get a pre-amp or does the interface have that?
Two of my mics are condenser and the rest are dynamic. The powered mixer does have phantom power.

Thanks for the help, as you can tell I don't know much about this stuff yet but I would love to learn. I play can drums, guitar and bass so it would be fun to be able to record.

 

[kojdogg]

yeah-- sorry this is confusing stuff.
unless the mixer has outputs for every input channel the number of busses is going to be important if you want to keep each drum separated (e.g. kick on track 1, snare on track 2, oh's on 3&4, etc). if your mixer has only one stereo bus (left and right outputs, no auxiliary outputs or something similar), then you will have to commit to the mics going into the mixer and then to your interface as a stereo mix of those mics (say 4 mics on two tracks-- the overheads and tom mics mixed to stereo on tracks 3&4, and kick and snare on tracks 1&2 (if you used something like the delta 1010lt).
keep in mind that the more mics you use on a drumkit, the more phasing problems you'll have, and that many awesome engineers with way more cred and experience with me have and will say that with the right room, properly tuned drums, a good drummer, and good mics, that you can get a great drum sound with 1-4 mics. a lot of this will depend on, ultimately, what kind of sound you're going for.

 

[kojdogg]

So if I understand correctly (let me know if i'm wrong), I cannot run my mic cables directly into the interface, but must run them though a mixer first. Do I also need to get a pre-amp or does the interface have that?
Two of my mics are condenser and the rest are dynamic. The powered mixer does have phantom power.

you can run them in directly to the interface, but it's almost always going to be more desirable to run them through preamps first to get them to line level. in other words, you can run them in directly, but you may have some signal loss-- in this case volume and frequency response-- particularly treble frequencies.
anyone who can explain this stuff better, please chime in!