Boss GS-10 line out or usb?

[Ralph khoury]

hey folks, i've been having this debate with my cousin about his gs10, i am telling him that if he records from the line out of the unit to a decent soundcard it will sound warmer and better than recording on the gs10 and transfering the file to the harddisk of the PC.

what do u think guys? doesnt the sound bering recorded on the GS-10 internal card sound digital and cold?

[darren wilson]

The GS-10 doesn't record anything itself... it converts analog audio input into a digital signal that it sends out via S/PDIF or USB, or it converts that digital signal back into an analog audio signal for its analog outs.

To me, converting a digital signal back to analog and then re-digitizing it makes no sense if you're recording direct anyway. If you can keep things in the digital realm, you can always EQ or process some "warmth" into the sound while keeping the original signal as clean as possible.

Whether he uses the digital or analog outputs on the GS-10, there still won't be much analog "warmth" in the chain, unless he plans to run the analog signal through a tube mic preamp or compressor before taking it into the computer.

If your cousin follows your advice, he'd be sending his signal through two additional conversion processes (digital-to-analog on the GS-10 output and then analog-to-digital into the computer). Personally, i would try to minimize the number of analog/digital or digital/analog conversions in my signal chain when recording direct, and i'd go either the USB or S/PDIF route, rather than potentially losing information in the extra conversion steps.

[Ralph khoury]

Darren, i beleive (from what my cousin told me) the GS-10 has a built in sound card with an asio driver.
and i beleive that this sound card isnt that good compared to a high end one.

[darren wilson]

It's not a "sound card" per se... it does analog-to-digital conversion (which is essentially all an internal sound capture card or external audio interface box does anyway). Having a "built-in sound card" doesn't make it a recording device. It's an audio input box, and the ASIO driver is what makes it possible for recording software on his computer to see the audio stream that comes out of the GS-10's USB port. The GS-10 doesn't write any of that audio information to disk. The software on his computer does.

Regardless, the GS-10 is a digital device, so whether it's good quality or not, his guitar signal is going through those A/D convertors just to get processed by the unit. If you feel the GS-10's conversion isn't as good as you'd get on a high-end card (which it probably isn't), then forcing the signal through a second conversion back to analog so you can re-digitize it with a better quality device makes no sense... you're not really going to preserve any signal quality. All you're going to do is compound the weakness of the GS-10's conversion. A digital signal chain is only as good as its weakest link.

The question is, will the difference between the GS-10's convertors or a high-end audio card's make an appreciable difference in the final recording? I would suggest that without a pro studio rig outfitted with all the best gear possible, the difference will be negligible. I'd go for the convenience and affordability of having an all-in-one device and record the digital signal from the GS-10.

[Ralph khoury]

thanks for the valuable info Darren