Audio Interfaces and Soundcards?!?!?!?

[dark_void86]

Hey hey,

I have been "acquiring" software for recording left right and center. So far I have guitar rig 3, drum kit from hell 2 and the latest edition of sonar cakewalk. I feel that all i now need is an interface for my guitars to go through? I know that with the mobile interfaces fire wire is much better than USB. However apparently you can get more for your money buy just buying an awesome sound card for your computer? Anyways i read everything i know (very little) on recording with computers in a limited magazine article. However they don't really go much into the interface/sound card thing. My budget is around a $1000 which i think is a decent amount since i feel this is something to invest in rather than to skimp on and i am sure regret later.

If people could be really awesome and give their best opinions and advice on these matters i would be hugely grateful. I really want to get something before i start my music degree at the beginning of October so i can get lots of ideas down and things. I hate having to transcribe everything into Sibelius and can't wait to create a library of all my ideas.

[Ad_Astra]

Everything depends on everything. I would've first bought a souncard and then go for all the software.

Anyway, how many inputs do you need? If you won't record drums then you don't need many inputs. I'm using a M-Audio Delta 44 with 4 ins/outs and it's enough for me. I'd say, you should go with a cheaper/simpler product and when you've learned to do stuff, you can always upgrade to more professional stuff.

The songs you record won't get any better, no matter if you've spent $100000000 on equipment. If you now what you do, you get good quality with an analog 4-track recorder.

[dark_void86]

As i said i "acquired" the software, i did not necessarily spend money on it

As far as drum plugins and guitar effects go its not supposed to get any better than guitar rig 3 and drum kit from hell 2. Steve Vai is famous for using pro tools as well as many others, the institute i went to loves logic, whereas my head teacher was a big advocate of cubase and the magazine i had a feature on this stuff loved ableton and sonar 7. Anyways if sonar 7 isn't for me then i will "acquire" something else people might suggest?

The music technician at the institute said that when plugging directly into a computer the interface makes all the difference on quality. However Ive moved back home since finishing my course and am not in the position to ask him anymore questions. I take it the more inputs you have, the more instruments you can record together at any one time? Well its only for my personal use at the moment and i will just add track after track one at a time. However with me saying this is to be an investment, (i hate ever having to sell something because i compromised early on because of money and that its no longer good enough), maybe getting a card with 4 inputs would be the best way to go?

But still as for cards and interfaces i still have no idea of good brands and models etc.................

[Ad_Astra]

One likes, Pro Tools, one likes Cubase, one likes Audacity..

Really, if you're quite newbie with computer based recording (am I correct?), then I'd suggest you start with a simple software and learn how it all works. You can get some really decent stuff done with Audacity, Reaper, Kristal (VERY inexpensive) and freeware plugins. I guess the all have quite good midi support, as well.

I use Sonar 5. It's my cup of tea (or rather my pint of beer ).

Yepp, usually the more inputs you have, the more inputs are available. In case you don't use an external mixer. Then it comes up with the computer. The more powerful computer you have, the better. Low end computer isin't good for multitrack recording.

As I said, I've 4 ins/outs. I usually use only two ins, because I record in stereo (Boss GT-8 L/R). But when needed, we can record the whole band at the same time. Drums come from a midi keyboard/electric drum set, 2 inputs for 2 guitars, one for bass guitar and one for vocals. Simple, eh?

This is what my audiocard looks like:


And here can you hear the stuff I've managed to get done with my setup:
http://ameba.lpt.fi/~vilkmati/Sontaa/ (Those mp3's)

M-Audios are good, Creamware is very good, EMU is OK,... You can even use a newer Soundblaster. Just make sure you get ASIO4ALL to kill the latency.

Hope this helps even a bit. I'm not even near to be the best person to tell you about these things, but just tell you what I think

[dark_void86]

Ive got Audacity, had it for ages, i use it to rip songs i want to learn instantly and to slow them down to work them out by ear, lovely free ware program! <3

I just finished a course where one of our modules was all about using logic, garage band, gearbox etc so I'm pretty competent. Of coarse Ive never had the stuff at home so I'm "probably" no where near as good as someone who gets to play around with this lovely stuff all the time. But i do know how to use the software confidently.

I looked up that M Audio Delta 44 and its very cheap! I really like the guitar sounds you managed to record with your setup. Did you just go Guitar > GT8 > Interface or is there some miking up involved to get your recorded tones?

I'm getting a free computer when i start my degree, i shall post the specs it comes with on my bursary. Anyone who wishes to advise me on component upgrades would be very much welcome as well if the computer seems a little naf?

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz CPU, ATX socket 775 DDR2 mainboard,
1 GB DDR2 memory,
250 GB S-ATA2 hard disk drive,
16x speed DVD-ROM drive,
DVD-/+RW dual layer drive (incl. mastering software),
nVidia GeForce 8400GS 256 MB PCI-E graphics adapter,
on-board sound adapter,
Stereo 2.1 desktop speakers,
ATX midi tower case,
10/100 Mb network adapter

I know the RAM will need to go up to at least 2 gig. A for processing power i don't know if this is good enough but apparently it can be easily upgraded to quad-core.

[Ad_Astra]

Originally Posted by dark_void86

I looked up that M Audio Delta 44 and its very cheap! I really like the guitar sounds you managed to record with your setup. Did you just go Guitar > GT8 > Interface or is there some miking up involved to get your recorded tones?

Yes, only guitar to GT-8 to soundcard. I really dig the Delta 44. Won't change it 'til it breaks

Originally Posted by dark_void86

Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz CPU, ATX socket 775 DDR2 mainboard,
1 GB DDR2 memory,
250 GB S-ATA2 hard disk drive,
16x speed DVD-ROM drive,
DVD-/+RW dual layer drive (incl. mastering software),
nVidia GeForce 8400GS 256 MB PCI-E graphics adapter,
on-board sound adapter,
Stereo 2.1 desktop speakers,
ATX midi tower case,
10/100 Mb network adapter

I know the RAM will need to go up to at least 2 gig. A for processing power i don't know if this is good enough but apparently it can be easily upgraded to quad-core.

- Get more DDR2. At least 2gb. I you're running a bit 32bit Win XP, it will recognize max 3,25gb of memory. A 64bit OS like Vista will recognize all the RAM you can install.
- More hard drive space. Hard disks are so cheap nowadays. 500gb or something.
- 2.1 desktop speakers? So, you're talking about getting high quality soundcard, but getting some normal speakers? If you've that $1000 to spend, use $200 of it to an audio interface and $800 for the speakers.
- Why do you need two DVD drives?

A Core2Duo 2,4ghz is quite good but 12 months from now, it's pure crap . I've an E4300 (1,8ghz) but I've overclocked it to 3,15ghz (no problems 24/7).

[dark_void86]

The computer specs listed i am getting given free without me paying anything extra for fancy bits and pieces. I was preferring the idea of editing and doing things not with speakers but with high end headphones so as to hear every nuance.

Ive got a 1TB external hard drive all ready to go.

I have two drives to copy things........... (and they are giving it to me for free this is all stock so far, so i can't complain)

The processor will be upgraded when i have to and over clocking always seems to be a good way to get the most out of your money. However i don't have the confidence, too scared i would fry everything!

anyways your top recommendation seems to be creamware so i shall definitely look into that, and what a lovely name to boot for a company?

[rty13ibz98]

dude, if you have around $1000 to spend, don't cheap out on the budget stuff. the quality of your converters is extremely important, as is the quality of your preamps. i use a presonus firestudio which i love, but has known problems with sonar...which i also use. nothing too big, but still annoying. the focusrite saffire pro is awesome as well and can grow with you with its i/o options. the pres in that thing are supposed to be stellar for that price point. granted i don't see you trying to scoop up and apogee or rme any time soon, but try and spend alot on getting the front end source tracks to sound their best because you will find that great source tracks mean less time trying to get tracks to fix it in the mix in post and will free up your computer resources because you won't be processing them as much.

you want both headphones and a good pair of studio reference monitors. the mixing side will be done over monitors and the editing of tracks will more than likely done on cans. spend good money on them, especially the monitors. rule of thumb is, take a look at your budget for a pair of monitors, spend at least a $100 more if not double. this will put you in a better league and will leave you with less regret once your ears get better and more accustomed to that much listening. also, you will want to spend time/money making your listening/mixing area as acoustically flat as possible. controlling sound is the MOST IMPORTANT part of make recordings, from the laying down of tracks to the mixing/mastering stage.

rich

[dark_void86]

Right okey doke. lots of information there!

From what i can see that focusrite saffire pro is a rack mounted thing. Are there any advantages of getting this over a soundcard built into your computer?

Now as far as money goes I'm actually from the UK and our pound is pretty much worth double of the dollar. This is a popular website that we like over here for buying things. When i talk about money I'm really saying £500, now all the suggestions so far seem cool from what "i can tell".

What confuses me is how this focusrite pro thing with its ten I/O is less expensive than a creamware card for your computer which believe has two I/O?

http://www.thomann.de/gb/focusrite_s..._pro_10_io.htm £325.44

http://www.thomann.de/gb/creamware_scope_home.htm £348.18

"granted i don't see you trying to scoop up and apogee or rme"

when it comes to this kinda lingo i have no ideas what your on about mate, your gunna have to treat me more as a noob!

is the term "cans" a industry name for monitors/speakers?

How much money are we actually talking about when it comes to speakers/monitors? I couldn't quite follow how much money you were talking about? Oh and what are some good makes/models to keep in mind?

How do i tell what a good converter/preamps in an interface are?

Anyways im sorry if this post is a little too rookie'ish.....

[rty13ibz98]

an apogee and rme are expensive analog-to-digital converters. like an expensive saffire. the term cans refers to headphones. you really want to put alot of your money into the preamps and converters so that the source tracks end up being as good as possible. it will save your ears and time. this i speak from experience. as for the ide soundcard versus the firewire/usb route. it's typically out of convenience. sound cards require digging into your machine. i used to have 3 m-audio delta 1010lt's and while great for the price point, can't touch the presonus gear i'm running now. if i had to do it again, i'd have spent the extra for the firestudio and the krk rp8 monitors i have now at the beginning and not wasted my money in the past on sub par gear. don't make that mistake, get good stuff at the beginning, dig into what is more or less industry standard gear. the resale and tones will be there.

rich

[dark_void86]

Righteo, awesome stuff so far, i really seem to be getting somewhere now! These are all the interfaces i found in my price range. For the sake of ease in being portable and applying it to any computer in the future i decided to go for an external fire wire interface.

Here is a list of all that i could find in my price range. However don't get me wrong if someone sees a model here and says "hey if you spend an extra £50-£100 on the model above, it literally reaches a technological threshold that makes it literally twice as good as the model below it!" then of course i will make adjustments to my budget for a truly solid investment. I understand its all about quality and i had heard of converters mentioned but not the pre-amps. However Rich, (or anyone else of coarse), if you could help me out in picking which one of these is the best for sound quality and saving me time in the mixing stage then i would be forever grateful.

Oh and btw is the reason why an interface would have 20+ inputs is so that you can mic up all the individual parts of a drum kit or something?

http://www.thomann.de/gb/motu_828_mk_iii.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/art_tubefire_8.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/digidesign_mbox_2_pro.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/motu_traveler.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/motu_828_mk_ii_retoure.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/presonus_firestudio.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/maudio_profire_2626.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/echo_audiofire_12.htm

http://www.thomann.de/gb/focusrite_s..._pro_26_io.htm

[_FR0D0]

if you can afford it I advise you to go with:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_fireface_400.htm

[dark_void86]

It looks like the most beautiful piece of technology for a nerd such as myself, but could you explain why this model is that much better?

[_FR0D0]

RME has of the best preamps and converters of the market, in a word if better cos the sound transparency, purity and clarity it provides

[dark_void86]

Okey doke!

I've done a ton of research into the RME fireface 400 and the reviews rave and it seems to have a load of features that aren't associated with this price bracket of interfaces but the higher echelons. So im very happy with this being the purchse I'm gunna make.

HOWEVER now i have more questions, i could put up other threads but since this is already dedicated to me and my needs i guess i shall confine it to all being here! (yay for me!)

So....... What is the difference between active and passive monitors. It looks like I'm definitely gunna need some eventually so i may as well ask now! Any opinions on good brands etc?

I want to get a hard drive of around 500 GB just for my mp3's and anything i do in reguards to using my music programs/interface. You can pickup hard drives of 500GB for quite little or you can get 300 GB ones which i presume are faster for three times as much. Will a cheap 500GB hard drive do or will i do myself alot of favours by shelling out for something alot faster? And of coarse the same question of good brands etc etc for this too.