Audio Cards

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NathanSoulfracture

myspace.com/soulfracture
Aug 26, 2004
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www.soulfracture.co.uk
i was wondering if someone could recommend me an audio card for my PC with atleast 6 inputs, i want to be able to mic a kit up say with 6 microphones then record in Cubase SX with each of the microphones on seperate tracks, so snare on one, kick on the other etc. i know this is possible but im new to this kinda thing and i dont wanna spend money on something that isnt going to give me what i want. i dont wanna spend hundreds of pounds either cos im skint student :tickled:
 
ive just looked at the m-audio delta 66 i know this is only 4 I/O's but on their site on the connectivity diagram it shows it linked upto a mixer, but if it only has 4 I/O's does this mean i could only use a mixer which had 4 tracks?
 
If you can get one, a MOTU 828 mk2 is a great interface. It costs a lot on a student budget, but would be well worth the investment.

Another good interface is the Edirol FA-101, 10-in 10-out. But I'm having a few problems with mine.

The absolute best thing you can do for your recordings, though, is to use a different sequencer than Cubase. After 4 years with it, it has caused me way more problems than tracks I have created!! Often (recently) losing me whole mixes/projects.
 
hmm the edirol seems cheap enough, the reason im using Cubase SX is cos im used to it and it hasnt given me any problems yet. If i was to buy the Edirol would this allow me to record upto 10 things on seperate tracks within Cubase at the same time? or would i have to buy software which would allow me to interface it with?
 
but would the delta cards let me record a few seperate tracks at the same time? sorry for all the questions but i just wanna know how it works. would i have to assign each track in cubase to an input on the audio card or would it automatically assign itself to seperate tracks if it detected a signal coming through it?
 
NathanSoulfracture said:
but would the delta cards let me record a few seperate tracks at the same time? sorry for all the questions but i just wanna know how it works. would i have to assign each track in cubase to an input on the audio card or would it automatically assign itself to seperate tracks if it detected a signal coming through it?
Click to expand...

Delta 1010, 1010LT and 410 are all really good. Simple to use unless you have an Athlon based machine (changed for intel a while ago and no probs since). I use a 1010 & a 1010LT in the same PC. No problem recording multiple inputs at the same time and then bussing out to an external desk if you want to. I use SONAR and it is dumb in as much as you have to tell it where the signal is coming from and where you want it to go... (I imagine that cubase is the same...).

M-Audio & Deltas all the way for me. The control panel lets you monitor directly as well (independant of the sequencer) so that's useful too.
 
I just set up a new rig with a presonus firepod and it had been working great. 8 on board mic preamps and kind of a built in line mixer ( zero latencey monitoring) make it great for the price ( $599) comes with Cubase and works here with Nuendo very well.
 
I've used a Delta 1010 for years with Cubase VST (ugh) and SX on various Athlon based machines and have never experienced any problems with that combination.

I would definitely recommend it as long as you have a decent mixer (at least 8, preferably 10 channels) to support it, as the 1010 doesn't have XLR ins.

It's a little deceptive in that it is a 10 channel unit, but two of those inputs/outputs are digital, so it's basically an 8 channel unit if you don't have an additional 2 channel digital source to plug into it.

I'm happy enough with the 1010 that I haven't even thought about upgrading in that area, since I think I'd be hard pressed to find something significantly better that I could afford.

It sounds like there are some other great options mentioned in this thread, so do your homework, eh?
 
I use a motu 896 along with cubase sx and it´s a real good soundcard,great converters and same preamps (execpt there are 8 of them) as the 828, it sounds awsome and has great metering. But if you are going to record a prober metaldrumkit you will need two, but you can start of with just one
 
NathanSoulfracture said:
the firepod seems nice, so its either the Edirol FA101 or the PreSonus Firepod, im leaning more towards the Edirol though cos its just a bit cheaper and has 2 more In's.
Click to expand...

The presonus has better preamps than the FA-101, so you might want to take that into consideration. You really need to try both of the cards out before actually make the purchase. If I get something finished soon (after my trouble with cubase I'm working with Sonar 4 and it's taking me a little while to get re-aquanted to the interface) I'll post a track done withe FA-101.

Hopkins-WitchfinderGeneral said:
Never had problems with cubase either. Are you feeding it heroin Razorjack? :)
Click to expand...

Just wait 'til the problems start, they will all come at once and it'll be in that system critical situation.

Roll on the G4 and Digital Performer!! I cant stand this stupid laptop, I'm way over kidding myself that a PC is anywhere near as stable or powerful as a mac, I just need the money to get the dual 1.4ghz G4 (£800 if anyone wants to buy it for me ;) )
 
NathanSoulfracture said:
well that sucks cos ive got an Athlon processor lol, what problems did you run into with the athlon?
Click to expand...

A couple of years ago the VIA chipsets on some PCs caused 'crackling' on recorded audio - It was well documented on forums etc at the time, but if you have a newer Athlon/Mobo chipset then it seems to do the trick. Worth a quick check around the forums...

Agree that the 1010 only works at line-level, so external mixer is needed, but the 410 (I think) has XLR ins, but no breakout box. Bit of a tradeoff, but different products suit different needs I guess!
 
NathanSoulfracture said:
the firepod seems nice, so its either the Edirol FA101 or the PreSonus Firepod, im leaning more towards the Edirol though cos its just a bit cheaper and has 2 more In's.
Click to expand...

i would go with the firepod. i just got a presonus digimax and the preamps sound really good. im sure the preamps in the firepod are similar if not exact. im also pretty sure the edirol stuff isnt as good. also if you want to go m-audio the way to go would be the octane 8 channel preamp which is also 599.00usd and has adat out i believe so you could get up to 16 track eventually. i believe the firepod comes with cubase as well so there ya go. the guys at sweetwater say the presonus preamps are a little nicer than the m-audio preamps. not sayin i believe them, but thats their opinion(two different guys there). anyway i wouldnt go with "a bit cheaper" youll regret it shortly after you get it. at least i almost always do. good luck
 
Razorjack said:
The absolute best thing you can do for your recordings,though, is to use a different sequencer than Cubase. After 4 years with it, it has caused me way more problems than tracks I have created!! Often (recently) losing me whole mixes/projects.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem,but maybe it was my fault for sharing the same folder for all the projects.The audio pool got messed a bit,I believe the manual says that you can use the same folder for everything though.Strange... o_O
 
Razorjack said:
The presonus has better preamps than the FA-101, so you might want to take that into consideration. You really need to try both of the cards out before actually make the purchase. If I get something finished soon (after my trouble with cubase I'm working with Sonar 4 and it's taking me a little while to get re-aquanted to the interface) I'll post a track done withe FA-101.



Just wait 'til the problems start, they will all come at once and it'll be in that system critical situation.

Roll on the G4 and Digital Performer!! I cant stand this stupid laptop, I'm way over kidding myself that a PC is anywhere near as stable or powerful as a mac, I just need the money to get the dual 1.4ghz G4 (£800 if anyone wants to buy it for me ;) )
Click to expand...

Actually it did fuck up once, but i Just reinstalled it and it's been fine since. :D
 
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