What does this do?

[JesseVetrone]

hello everyone here at homerecording! lol as you can see this is my first post however I'm a longtime lurker.. trying to get my own projects underway.

I recently received this-> http://www.zdnet.co.uk/reviews/acce...nd-blaster-audigy-2-zs-platinum-pro-39149396/ from my old guitar teacher. (and here is what the external hub looks like http://www.pacificgeek.com/product.asp?c=219&s=1113&ID=46034&P=F)

of course being that its a pretty good soundcard i get great audio quality listening to music however...

i have read the manual and, ive yet to figure out what, if anything the tabletop unit can be used for?? when I plug my guitar into it it just makes the sound come out of my speakers.. really dry tone.. basically turning my speakers into a crappy amp.

Ive tried using audacity to record the audio but no dice getting it to recognize the input. but i wouldn't want to record with the dry guitar->computer tone anyway.


what is this thing good for/ what purpose does it serve? what can I do to record guitar/bass? are there any cost effective ways that can I apply studio quality effects? anything else should know about this unit?

THANK YOU everyone!

 

[TetraFish]

You need to use the ASIO driver for recording. If you look in the list of devices in the playback and recording device section of audacity you should see a specific driver for your card that says ASIO. Then on each track you want to record you'll have to select which of the various inputs you want to record.

Like you say it's just a dry signal so you'll want to hook up some sort of FX unit between your guitar and the unit, Or just mic your amp or there are probably some built in FX inserts you can use (not sure about the inserts I've never used Audacity).

This may help if you don't know how to set up devices in audacity.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorial_basics_3.html

Edit: This is all assuming you've installed the proper drivers for the card.

 

[JesseVetrone]

I see now.. pretty basic mistake thank you TetraFish!

are there any programs you can download that will apply effects? im guessing you can only get that kind of stuff if you get logic pro or something similar with lots of features...? I'm just not sure

ive tried using some boss pedals in the chain which provides so-so results. ive got a lexicon rack mount unit my pops gave me id like to try using but unfortunately its not working... not sure whats wrong but that's a whole other topic..

id love to mic my guitar amp however there is no mic input on the hub. does this mean i need a preamp, mixer or something similar?

sorry for all the probably silly questions... i cant wait to be the guy who can do the helping instead of the asking lol

 

[TetraFish]

I think it does have a 1/4" mic input with a gain control. You just need the XLR to 1/4" cable.

I had a Audigy 4 with the identical box (or it looked the same) and I had no problems running a mic into it.

Don't sweat the questions, We all went through the same thing. My first day went a lot like yours. Came home with my new gear all jazzed up to do some recording and then spent the day trying to fiqure out how to make it work.

So you got the ASIO drivers set up no problem?

 

[TetraFish]

Oh yeah, I wish i could help on audacity more, I know reaper (another semi-free DAW) has a better reputation but I've never used that either. As far as I know most DAW's have plugins that will allow you to add FX. Dig around a bit I wouldn't be supprised if you allready have some.

I think with reaper you have to put up with a nag screen.

 

[moresound]

Oh yeah, I wish i could help on audacity more, I know reaper (another semi-free DAW) has a better reputation but I've never used that either. As far as I know most DAW's have plugins that will allow you to add FX. Dig around a bit I wouldn't be supprised if you allready have some.

I think with reaper you have to put up with a nag screen.

But the nag only last 5 seconds will power up.

 

[JesseVetrone]

yes i did thank you. and wow you are right there is a whole area of audacity that lets you add plugins and such for fx

I will def be getting a xlr to 1/4 I didn't realize that was possible i always thought mic cables and inst cables had diff innards and weren't compatible for some reason lol silly me... its prob one of those things EVERYONE has

iwill check out reaper for sure, I can handle a nag for better quality haha.

thanks again you've done a lot to clear the air for me lol.

one last thing. is it possible to use the fruity loops demo to add rhythm tracks to your audacity recording?

 

[TetraFish]

yes i did thank you. and wow you are right there is a whole area of audacity that lets you add plugins and such for fx

I will def be getting a xlr to 1/4 I didn't realize that was possible i always thought mic cables and inst cables had diff innards and weren't compatible for some reason lol silly me... its prob one of those things EVERYONE has

iwill check out reaper for sure, I can handle a nag for better quality haha.

thanks again you've done a lot to clear the air for me lol.

one last thing. is it possible to use the fruity loops demo to add rhythm tracks to your audacity recording?

Sorry can't help on the Frooty Loops thing. Check what format you can export too in frooty loops and see if audacity can import that format. (that's asuming audacity has an import function and FL has an export, I really have no idea)