shopping advice - soundcard

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Canis

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Apr 1, 2003
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Well, that's it... I've recently got a very cool new rig (athlon 64 3000, 1024MB ddr ram, asus a8n-sli...blahblah). Reasonably impressive numbers (well kind of), but my enthusiasm was soon marred by the discovery that the onboard sound system (realtek alc850) is, frankly, shit. Ok, i guess it does it's job for gaming, but that's not where it lies for me. I think this is also the ideal point to pimp the nVidia Soundstorm (which decorated my previous mobo) as the MOTHER of all onboard soundchips... Alas, I didn't know what I had until I'd lost it. Hell, it even had great asio, yes, ASIO, support. None of that on the crap Realtek I have now. Oh well... time to go shopping.

I've heard some good things about M-Audio Audiophile soundcards, at least in my targeted price segment (100 - 150$). So what do you think about them? Likewise, I'd be grateful if you'd perhaps reveal some other options I might have...

P.S. hmm, not to start a new topic... Does anyone know of any comprehensive online equalization guides? I'm very dissatisfied with my lead tone, and I'd like to believe there's some way of improving it without having to buy additional expensive condenser mics and whatnot. Though rhythm could use some improvement as well. That being said, do you think good (near-professional) sound can be achieved at all with a single mic like the 57?

well, thanks.
 
Hmm, I think I also ought to describe some problems I've been having lately and which I've chosen to conveniently blame on the soundchip :D

Yesterday I was recording some stuff, more complex than what I used to do previously, but still not anything outrageous - 7 tracks of guitar (4 rhythm, 3, lead), two MIDI tracks (bass and percussion) with the TTS-1 synth as the output (which requires additional 2 audio tracks). That's 11 tracks in total. The length is somewhere around 4 minutes. Anyway, sometimes (actually, make that very fucking often) I'd try to record a take and somewhere along the line - usually just as i thought to myself "hey, that's the best take yet!" - the audio would start to stutter and crackle, well, you probably know what i mean, and suffice it to say that mere words can't capture the fury that went on in my head at those moments. I'm somehow inclined to believe it has something to do with the soundchip, because my rig far surpasses the recommended requirements of sonar, and i've also heard people were recording downright megalomaniac stuff on much lesser rigs than mine.

So, what do you think?
 
Not really what you asked for, but try the free Asio4All drivers from http://www.asio4all.com/ and see if that helps. It won't make a crappy soundcard better but at least you'll have an asio driver to work with. Read the short manual that comes with it on how to set the parameters in the driver control panel.
Also, w.r.t. the 11 track recording project, just mute all the tracks that aren't needed during recording of another track or take. You'll probably be able to record a solo just as well with only 1 instead of 4 rythm tracks pumping through the speakers.
 
Thanks for the link, gotta check it out, although I'm quite skeptical regarding the actual performance of those drivers, I mean, as you said, they can't make crappy soundcard better.

And yeah, you've got the point there, but I DID mute most, if not all, tracks I didn't need. When recording solos, I'd only leave the bass and drum tracks playing. Then it would happen a bit less frequently, but nonetheless...
 
Here's a rookie question for everyone. We actually have mixing board with plenty of mic inputs (upper end Yamaha I believe - not the best, but it's what we have to work with) and computer in our practice spot with a few programs like Sonar and Cool Edit on it. What type of sound card or external devices would we need (other than enough mics, which we have at the spot anyway) to be able to record the drums all at once on seperate tracks? Snare on one, each tom on one, etc. We do it at the studio all the tim, but I never pay attention to the technical side of it. I just play...:p It would be nice to start recording our practice sessions soon.
 
If you're just going to record practice sessions, I'd mix them all down to two tracks for simplicity's sake.

Otherwise, you can use your aux pre's to send out additional tracks other than the two main outputs, that would give you a decent preamp signal I think. If you do it this way, or if you run it straight to your sound card, you're gonna need a card that has what, eight or so inputs otherwise you're gonna have to go the first route. HTH.
 
to Hammer Bart: hey man, I tried out the asio4all drivers, and I must say I'm IMPRESSED. Many, many thanks for that link, I'm now firm in my decision to buy new soundcard, but that stuff will serve me well until I get it. Who'd have known you can get such excellent software for free?

So, from what I gather, it's EMU against M-Audio... I've been looking at Audiophile 2496 for a while now, what about EMU, which models do you recommend?

Genius Gone Insane: Did you get that 0404 used or new? 70 dollars sound like a total steal for a new card, and from the specs you mentioned it seems just about on par with the 2496, which goes, AFAIK, for around 130 dollars. Up to 150 I'm willing to spend on a soundcard, not more... I don't need any fancy external racks and neither do I need a gazllion inputs/outputs because I don't record any drums. What I would like is 24/96 recording ability (sick of clipping), the least noise possible and robust drivers. The 2496 promises all that, at least on paper.

Also I'd still like to know whether I can achieve good enough guitar sound with single 57 mic. Whatever I do, I don't get the sound I want... It's too.. hmmm, difficult to illustrate... too bad I haven't got any webspace to post clips. Know any decent providers?
 
Canis said:
Genius Gone Insane: Did you get that 0404 used or new? 70 dollars sound like a total steal for a new card, and from the specs you mentioned it seems just about on par with the 2496, which goes, AFAIK, for around 130 dollars.
Click to expand...

$70 New...That's why I don't say anything when y'all make fun of the sales people at Guitar Center! There's not much better than a good connection at a music shop! :Spin:
 
silverwulf said:
Here's a rookie question for everyone. We actually have mixing board with plenty of mic inputs (upper end Yamaha I believe - not the best, but it's what we have to work with) and computer in our practice spot with a few programs like Sonar and Cool Edit on it. What type of sound card or external devices would we need (other than enough mics, which we have at the spot anyway) to be able to record the drums all at once on seperate tracks? Snare on one, each tom on one, etc. We do it at the studio all the tim, but I never pay attention to the technical side of it. I just play...:p It would be nice to start recording our practice sessions soon.
Click to expand...
hey man, thats how i got going. if you have a mac i would get a motu 828, you can record 10 analog channels at once stock right out of the box. it comes with audiodesk2 software which is like dp4 lite and will work good for your needs. if you have a pc check the compatability of the 828 with sonar. call motu or sonar and figure it out. the 828 works as a digital mixer so it should get the tracks into sonar some how. or the digi 002 will do the same thing and come with pro tools but costs almost $400.00 more. but may be the better option with a pc. both these interfaces are pretty much the best out right now that cost around a thousand or less with that many inputs. also the presonus fireface i think it called is worth checkin out $600.00 pretty cheap for 8 firewire presonus preamps and it come with software as well. good luck man. im really happy with the motu 828 for what its worth.
 
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