Yet another newbie

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Sabu

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I'm extremely new to this PC recording thing. So far I've plugged my bass directly into the line-in on my PC's onboard sound and played along with some MIDI files in Cakewalk:



The onboard sound seems pretty limited, so I plan to get the Audiophile 2496 soon. I also noticed plugging the bass into the line-in worked but was very quiet. I'm trying going through my amp's line-out to the PC's line-in today; maybe that'll boost the signal a bit. But I will probably buy a mixer soon as well.

Basically what I want to do with this whole home recording thing is record my original music, using either MIDI drums or audio drum loops, and perform the rest of the instruments live, one track at a time (maybe MIDI keyboards). I have an AMD Duron 1200+ XP, 384MB SDRAM, Windows XP. I thought I could do what I want with the onboard sound, plugging directly in the line-in, but for what I want to do I think I'll need at least the new soundcard and a mixer. Does this sound about right? I want to make recordings that could be listened to and not immediately be known as a cheap home PC recording. Sorry if this is vague, and yes I understand I won't be making a modern masterpiece next week with my complete home recording newbie status ;) I plan to keep at this and gain experience so I can someday make some recordings I can be really happy with.

A local store has some Phonic mixers that are in my price range (under $140 Canadian), but from what I've read, they are harsh-sounding sub-Behringer quality; is this the general consensus?

Also, although I will most likely be getting the Audioplhile 2496, I've read that the E-MU 0404 might be something to consider as well. Any thoughts on this one?

I should also mention that I'm a poor university student, so I'm trying to keep my purchases simple and inexpensive :D

Any help is appreciated; thanks!
 
Not sure which the best one to get will be but instead of a mixer I'd get as much RAM as you can afford, the audophile and a guitar DI (direct in) box.

The sound card will take any line-level inputs you have but if you are recording guitars you will need something to bring that up to line level since it is too low at the moment (which is why it sounds quiet).
 
Good choice on the soundcard, I use the 2496's bigger brother (1010LT) and I'm very happy with it.

If you're just recording keys and bass then I agree that a DI would probably be sufficient but if you want a couple of mic pres as well then a small mixer could be a good choice. I use the Tapco 6306 just for monitoring and routing stuff and I'd recommend it. A couple of mic preamps and a couple of hi z DI inputs for not too much money. I've called on the mic pres a couple of times when I've needed extra channels and they've done a respectable job.

And of course a small mixer would give you a zero latency monitoring option as well.

Edit: The 6306 is £70 over here which works out around $145 Canadian, we generally pay more for stuff over here so you may well get it cheaper. It's always worth hitting ebay.
 
Thanks for the replies!

I'm still deciding; luckily I am pretty much broke for another 2 weeks, forcing me to do a little research into what I want/need for this home recording hobby :D

It looks like I'll be getting the Audiophile 2496. What I haven't figured out is the mixer/preamp part of the equation. I have the option of getting a like-new Behringer UB1204 Pro Eurorack. After reading several posts here, it seems that, for the most part, Behringer is a "why-would-you-buy-that?" sort of purchase. The problem is, I am also reading through Tweak's guide (http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm), and he specifically refers to this mixer as "A great solution for computer multi-tracking with a soundcard, one or 2 tracks at a time. Has an alt 3-4 bus. (That's 2 sub outs). Note this is the non-FX version, which I think is better and cheaper." and also calls it "Tweak's bang for the buck pick". Maybe you can see my dilemma here - the Behringer appears to be what I need for what I want to do with my home recording, I can get a practically new one for less than new retail cost, and Tweak seems to really recommend the thing. The opposing argument is that Behringer is sub-standard gear that I will kick myself for purchasing and will not last me more than a few years, either from me getting sick of its cheapness or it breaking down. So any opinions on this situation are welcome!

I also noticed some "audio interfaces" at the music stores I visited. One that caught my eye is the M-Audio Fast Track USB - it looks like it basically combines a preamp and soundcard in one. The problem is the USB; I'm pretty sure my 6-year-old Cakewalk doesn't support it. Other audio interfaces use Firewire, which my older computer doesn't have. Are there such things as PCI-card audio interfaces? Like basically a soundcard with preamps?

Kevin, I'm going to look into the Tapco mixers. I like the idea of a a respected brand like Mackie making affordable mixers - hopefully affordable doesn't mean low-quality. Unfortunately the local shops don't carry them, but I might be able to check Toronto soon and see what's available (online shopping is not really an option for me; gotta do the brick-and-mortar thing).
 
I don't use Behringer so I don't feel I'm in a position to bash it. That said the reason I don't use behringer is because of the reputation. So there you go, I don't really feel I can say 'don't buy that mixer', but I don't mind telling you that I wouldn't buy it myself. :)

Besides quality/durability there is also the ethical issue to consider (they allegedly do a lot of reverse engineering and copy a lot of other people's designs).

Soundcraft also do a compact mixer similar in price and features to the tapco, it's called the compact 4 (there's also a compact 10 which probably has more channels than you need). Not a reccommendation as such because I haven't used it but it might be another one to look into.

You definitely seem to be going at things the right way by researching thoroughly and not having the cash to hand is definitely a blessing in disguise. :D There are a lot of options out there and some very respectable gear can be had for not much money but of course there's also a lot of substandard stuff often for as much (if not more) money.

The ideal is to be able to try before you buy but that's not always possible and in siuch circumstances I've found this place to be invaluable in helping me out with good buying decisions.

All the best with it.
 
Thanks again Kevin!

I think I'm going go for the Audiophile 24/96 and the DMP3. For what I want to do and my budget, it seems like a good way to go, and the equipment will serve me in the future as well since it isn't bottom-feeder stuff (at least I hope not :D )

another week-and-a-half of waiting, regardless...

P.S. here's my second home recording attempt:

Alright
 
:D

Yo Sabu:

Can you really talk to that big snake? The wolves? et al?

Great name.

Green Hornet :eek: :D ;) :p
 
Haha!

Hey Green Hornet!

You're the first person in years who knows where my nickname really comes from- most people thing of the wrestler (maybe he got it from the same guy?)

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Cinema/2892/sabu.html

My friends in highschool gave me the name because I moved like a "jungle boy" on stage (still do most of the time, although I try to concentrate on playing a little more now :) )

Well, I couldn't wait so I sold off a bunch of DVDs and got myself a mixer and the Audiophile 2496. The mixer shall remain nameless for now :D

I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out the 2496; it's not as simple as line-in/stereo out (or so it seems). I'll hit up the manual a bit more, although it is out of date (doesn't mention XP at all from what I can tell). The in-box drivers didn't give me the Delta control panel so I downloaded the lastest ones and I've got it now. This is my set up:

Mixer main outs (1/4" L & R)

to

2496 RCA ins L & R

and

2496 RCA outs L & R

to

speakers

The options in windows sound control give me:

(for playback)

M-Audio Delta AP Multi
M-Audio Delta AP 1/2
M-Audio Delta AP S/PDIF

(for recording)

M-Audio Delta AP Multi
M-Audio Delta AP 1/2
M-Audio Delta AP S/PDIF
M-Audio Delta AP Mon. Mixer

This is where my confusion starts. What's the difference between Multi and 1/2? Why does selecting certain settings remove volume controls for certain options (e.g. choosing 1/2 for playback only keeps Wave, SW Synth and CD Player volume sliders; there's no line-in or master volume control etc)?

Basically I want to do what I did with my onboard card, which is: plug an instrument into the computer, be able to hear it through my PC speakers as I play it, be able to play along with previously recorded tracks and record it in a recording program, and hear what I've recorded through the PC speakers again. My problem right now is that I can only do certain things with certain settings, for example, Multi, 1/2 etc don't give me any recording sliders in my windows sound settings. I'm assuming there's something that overrides all this in the Delta panel but that's kind of confusing at the moment too (e.g. I had to set one of the H/W Out columns to H/W In to be able to hear an instrument from the mixer, not quite sure how this makes sense at the moment :D )

Is there a 2496 tutorial somewhere?

Any help is appreciated!
 
K I think of figured out the 2496's patchbay/router, at least enough for my current needs. My problem now is recording bass; both my basses are active and I'm having trouble getting a clean signal. Various combinations of levels on the bass, mixer and soundcard are not yet successful :(
 
K I'm still having troubles with a clean signal. It's not that I can't get one; I can, but I have to keep stuff pretty low to do it. Maybe I should use a passive bass to test my theory that my active bass is the main culprit, but I don't have ready access to one at the moment. I've seen mixers with what I think is called a 50hz cutoff; would something like this help? My current mixer does not have this option. Right now I'm going bass - active DI - mixer - Audiophile 2496. I thought the DI would help but no such luck...
 
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