soundcard for recording

[Peg Dizzler]

I'm not exactly sure what I want when it comes to this. I can build a computer but I'm not yet good at recording. :p
Basically, I'd like a soundcard that's preferably under $200, maybe up to $250...
I'll be mic'ing guitar amps, doing vocals, and possible mic'ing drums in the future. Just need a versatile card that can handle alot, with great quality sound.

So, if you could... enlighten me on what I should be looking for in a soundcard. What's good, and what's bad, etc. And recommend me some cards. ;)

[10571z]

are you going to want to live record or do it by tracks

[Peg Dizzler]

Do it by tracks. There's a slight chance I might do a "live" recording and run a mixer into it, like for drums or just a jam session, but that's irrelevent. I mainly just want to be able to get near-studio quality (or as close as possible!) recordings..

[10571z]

if your doin it by tracks.. you could get away with the sounds card that comes with the computer. Depends if you wanna mess with the drums afterwards

[Peg Dizzler]

My current soundcard has horrible quality (especially with line in), can't handle too many tracks at a time, and it doesn't work well with my drum machine program, when I make a fairly complex beat it comes out all distorted, like it can't play them all at the same time. So I always have to save the mp3, then listen to it.

[Peg Dizzler]

bumpage yes?

[shayne_122]

I myself run a Soundblaster Live! 24-bit USB external card.. does the line-in job well enough, plus is 5.1 surround sound compatible if you ever get into 5.1 mastering, or just get bored and want to watch a movie.

Although, Tascam has some relatively cheap interfaces, try their US series. I've heard good things.

[Peg Dizzler]

Those external ones look pretty cool. Would that be better than an internal soundcard?
Also, how much does the bitrate (I think that's what it's called?) affect the sound quality? I see some cheaper ones that are 16 or 24 bit with 48khz, and some nicer ones are like 92khz. Is there going to be a huge sound difference? The main problem with my current no-name soundcard is mostly the quality, there's just alot of background fuzz. If I could fix that and record with good clarity, I'd be happy.

[fuzzyhair]

Those external ones look pretty cool. Would that be better than an internal soundcard?
Also, how much does the bitrate (I think that's what it's called?) affect the sound quality? I see some cheaper ones that are 16 or 24 bit with 48khz, and some nicer ones are like 92khz. Is there going to be a huge sound difference? The main problem with my current no-name soundcard is mostly the quality, there's just alot of background fuzz. If I could fix that and record with good clarity, I'd be happy.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/630166/ maybe you might want to look into something like that. It sends the sound through usb with little or no latency. If you dont have one, you may want a usb 2.0.

[Peg Dizzler]

^ Awesome, thank you so much!!

I looked at that, and it looks great. So I guess it's like a soundcard and mixer in one? (I'm mostly clueless about recording equipment..)

I just might get that though.. looks like a great buy. Thanks :)

[fuzzyhair]

^ Awesome, thank you so much!!

I looked at that, and it looks great. So I guess it's like a soundcard and mixer in one? (I'm mostly clueless about recording equipment..)

I just might get that though.. looks like a great buy. Thanks :)
no problem. Im planning on getting it soon. It allows a whole lot more than a line in does and has effects. You can also hook your monitors up to in and run a line out of your computer into it and use it as a soundcard.

[Peg Dizzler]

So about the clarity.. will that make a huge difference in my recordings? Compared to the $10 no-name soundcard I'm using now, anyway.

I mean, are my recordings going to sound near-professional? As far as actual quality, not the songwriting or mixing or anything. :thumb:

[fuzzyhair]

So about the clarity.. will that make a huge difference in my recordings? Compared to the $10 no-name soundcard I'm using now, anyway.

I mean, are my recordings going to sound near-professional? As far as actual quality, not the songwriting or mixing or anything. :thumb:
depends on your mics and cables. If you are using usb it should sound very clear. But it all depends on your mics. If you are using good mics , cables, and proper technique to record you should have very good results.

[airborne50caliber]

The interface you use will not determine how pro your records sound. But bust out on a usb or firewire interface and at least you'll know it will not be what's stopping from getting a great sound.

[Peg Dizzler]

Yep, exactly. Although I do need better mics and cables, I feel that my soundcard isn't helping either because alot of things come out fuzzy-ish, like even drum tracks.

[airborne50caliber]

Precisely. get a decent interface

[Peg Dizzler]

I assume you know alot about recording?

I know next to nothing. So if anyone would like to teach me a whole lot about recording, like over AIM or something, or send me to a website, or recommend a book...

[airborne50caliber]

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

this one is very good for starters.

[Peg Dizzler]

Nice, very nice! It looks very detailed... :) Thanks!

*proceeds to get comfortable and read a whole lot..* :p

[Peg Dizzler]

Okay bump. :)

'Nother question. I'm thinking about getting an audio interface.. like a USB one. Just as long as the quality is good and it's fairy easy to use, I'm happy.

Now, when I program drum beats in Fruity Loops, I have to export the file as a wav and listen to it. If I try to play the beat in Fruity Loops, it just skips and doesn't play right and it's all out of sync. It does that with another drum program, drumfile or something like that.
Is that because of my soundcard? Or is my computer too slow? (450mhz P3, 384 or something of RAM, etc).
If I had an audio interface, would it fix that? Or would I need an internal soundcard?

[Peg Dizzler]

Bump... =/

[Peg Dizzler]

meh.. anyone?

[ljump12]

you NEED a new computer if yoru serious about this... No soundcard is ognna fix that...

Look in the ads and you can get something decent im sure for about 4-5
look for abover 2.5Ghz; More ram the better; load up if you can... Video card wont really matter to you; and dont worrya bout the soundcard too mcuh.

The problem lies in your comptuer though; a 450Mhz computer is compleeeete crap.

[10571z]

you NEED a new computer if yoru serious about this... No soundcard is ognna fix that...

Look in the ads and you can get something decent im sure for about 4-5
look for abover 2.5Ghz; More ram the better; load up if you can... Video card wont really matter to you; and dont worrya bout the soundcard too mcuh.

The problem lies in your comptuer though; a 450Mhz computer is compleeeete crap.

Yeh might wanna get a nice anything built in the last 4 years should be ok....to record my computer is quite old but runs recording programs fine... mostly look at ram 512mb ram will have you set very well..

[Peg Dizzler]

Ahh. So it's the computer?

Well.. how come my computer doesn't skip or act funny unless I'm using a drum machine program?
It really isn't that bad of a machine either; I have it customized to hell so it runs alot faster than most 900mhz machines.

[ljump12]

its deffinatlly the computer; those drum machine programs hoooog up the processor; it has to process so many sounds at once.