Sound Card Improvement.

[Element77]

Yo.

This is a stupid question, and I'm sure I'll get hammered for even asking, but... I finally took the splurge and bbought Reavalver III, replacing my old PODxt. Well, the issue is, the sound card I have is a EMU-0404, I don't have a pre-amp, or M-box, or anything like that, so I plug directly into the card, and I am assuming, not getting all the power I need for Revalver. (It sounds like shit).

So, I was looking into a new card, mabye something like a E-MU 1820, or something comparable, that has a pre included. Is this the route I want to go? Am I missing something? Will this make a big difference?

Thanks!

 

[Ermz]

Well, the 3 most important things for your tone when DIing are the DI, Mic Preamp and AD Converter. I would say that the DI is most important, with the mic preamp following very closely after and the AD converter following a little way behind.

All 3 are important to get the full fidelity from your instrument. As you may imagine, to get top-class quality in each area is quite expensive. The best compromise would be to run an external DI into an external preamp, which then runs into your EMU (or whatever interface you decide to get.... they don't really start getting decent until you hit RME territory). Depending on your price range, I would look at the Countryman Type 85, then something like a Real Nice Pre.

 

[Element77]

What would be the point of the DI in front of the RNP? If you could plug directly into the RNP, and get enough power going into your card, wouldn't this be an un-needed step? I only ask because I'm an idiot, and don't know.

 

[Ermz]

A DI is an impedance matching device. The RNP expects to see a mic-level signal going into it, which is of lower impedance than the guitar signal. If you plug directly into a mic-level input, you will instantly lose high-end and clarity from the tone.

Though at the same time, the RNP provides a DI input, which may or may not be a good quality one. It's hard to say, as I've never used it. But if you want an economical option, you can just get a decent preamp like the RNP, plug into the on-board DI and pray for the best.