# Sound Card for Semi-Professional Recording



## Stildawn

Hello. I just brought a new computer (see below)

Im really into Music and have my own band etc. Im looking at getting a sound card that is designed to plug instruments into the computer and getting a semi-professional result. Im not after super high end studio quality just something that works and possibly comes with software etc (ive heard that garage band on mac is good, but I use PC) 

My old computer has a soundblaster audigoly (or something like that) I tried a few recording with reasonable results but wasnt really what im after.

Any ideas.


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## massahwahl

Check out http://sweetwater.com they have a TON of solutions for what your looking to do. Give them a look and if you need help their customer service is fantastic. Ive ordered a lot of equipment from them.


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## PC eye

Sound cards in general are not really made for plugging guitars or keyboards into directly. You would first have to plug them into a mixer and then patch into a card by way of 1/8" mini jack, RCA phono plug, or digital audio input. 

The highest end Creative X-Fi Fatality models see the panel for input/output installed into one of the 5 1/4" drive bays for easy access. The other option is an 8 in -8 out digital recording setup you install in a pci slot. The price tag then climbs a bit.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829121010

A more flexible mic, line in, and instrument type using fireware is seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829999003

Those are the high price item while there are some for half that amount like Presonus fireware recording setup seen for $299- at  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829999005

That isn't much more then the Creative model seeing an analog to digital converter found at  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102015


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## massahwahl

PC eye said:


> Sound cards in general are not really made for plugging guitars or keyboards into directly. You would first have to plug them into a mixer and then patch into a card by way of 1/8" mini jack, RCA phono plug, or digital audio input.



Thats not really true, there are a lot of companies making cards with 1/4 inch plugins built in and even have pre-amp technology as well. There is also a whole host of devices that use USB to allow connections to your computer, sort of as a external sound card. Patching from a mixer to a 1/8 inch jack would cause considerable quality loss and not to mention the issue with recording latency.


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## massahwahl

PC eye said:


> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829121010
> 
> A more flexible mic, line in, and instrument type using fireware is seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829999003
> 
> Those are the high price item while there are some for half that amount like Presonus fireware recording setup seen for $299- at  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829999005
> 
> That isn't much more then the Creative model seeing an analog to digital converter found at  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102015



These devices are terribly overpriced interfaces for all the more he wants to do. Cheaper options that can do twice as much are available.


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## Stildawn

Haha well I just basically sent them the above post. But I live in New Zealand.

Anyone know about the actual cards themselves?


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## massahwahl

A device like this: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US122LTNT/ it similar to what I use and the quality is unbelievable! It also comes with software to handle latency and patches it to Cool Edit or Pro Tools depending on what you use.

This is another good choice if you want mutiple inputs: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Omega/

And finally the Line6 toneport is hailed as one of the best affordable USB recording setups ever: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TonePortUX2/

Best part, all of these are under $200! If your gonna order recording parts, order from a dealer that specifies in that area. They can help you get it set up and offer software updates and lifetime assistance for everything you buy. Newegg is for computer parts, let them stick to that.


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## massahwahl

Stildawn said:


> Haha well I just basically sent them the above post. But I live in New Zealand.
> 
> Anyone know about the actual cards themselves?



what exactly do you want to know about them?

If you specifically want a PCI-e card, these are good options but the software is limited:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/0404/

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Delta1010LT/

honostly, the USB devices are much cheaper and easier than the cards are.


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## Stildawn

Sorta like a pci card. I can get the instrument into normal sound jacks etc. I have a mixer etc. Just after a card that will be able to handle and record the sound that ill be pumping into it with keeping the quality that my amps guitars etc produces.

Like what sorta setup does the MAC Garage Band use to get their quality?


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## massahwahl

Stildawn said:


> Sorta like a pci card. I can get the instrument into normal sound jacks etc. I have a mixer etc. Just after a card that will be able to handle and record the sound that ill be pumping into it with keeping the quality that my amps guitars etc produces.
> 
> Like what sorta setup does the MAC Garage Band use to get their quality?



What type of output are you using from your board?


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## Stildawn

Well with my old computer the audilogy only had the normal input jack (like head phones) cant remember the size lol but you know what I mean. So i converted to that from normal guitar lead size lol.


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## massahwahl

Stildawn said:


> Well with my old computer the audilogy only had the normal input jack (like head phones) cant remember the size lol but you know what I mean. So i converted to that from normal guitar lead size lol.



So you want to go analog 1/4 inch to 1/4 on the board? Does your board have any digital outs or SPDF?


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## Stildawn

Not too sure, Ill have a look when home.


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## PC eye

ukulele_ninja said:


> Thats not really true, there are a lot of companies making cards with 1/4 inch plugins built in and even have pre-amp technology as well. There is also a whole host of devices that use USB to allow connections to your computer, sort of as a external sound card. Patching from a mixer to a 1/8 inch jack would cause considerable quality loss and not to mention the issue with recording latency.


 
The current card being an Audigy model would be seeing 1/8' mini jacks in use. The devices seen there are simply to show the type of options available that offer an improved sound quality.



ukulele_ninja said:


> These devices are terribly overpriced interfaces for all the more he wants to do. Cheaper options that can do twice as much are available.


 
Overpriced? Not actually when considering the types of equipment used by semi pros as well as professionals. Once you start getting into high end digital recording expect even higher price tags.


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## massahwahl

PC eye said:


> The current card being an Audigy model would be seeing 1/8' mini jacks in use. The devices seen there are simply to show the type of options available that offer an improved sound quality.
> 
> 
> 
> Overpriced? Not actually when considering the types of equipment used by semi pros as well as professionals. Once you start getting into high end digital recording expect even higher price tags.



He's not looking for a pricey interface though, he just needs a capture device really. I dont think you got that. He's already mixing on a separate device.


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## PC eye

The Creative model shown earlier rolls all that up into one bundle for the price seen there that being their top model card. Any X-Fi card will see the 1/8" flexi jack for mic or line-in while the higher models seen the 5 1/3" front panel added. 

If price is the main concern then the model seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829130001 also sees line-in, line-out, and mic in jacks there. But you can imagine the quality of anything being recorded.


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## Stildawn

Hah this sounds all confusing.

Basically I dont need/want multitracking ability (multiple sounds signals into computer at once) as me and my band always record with the separate track process (usually playing along to metronome etc) and not the live type (all instruments at once)

So just one line into the computer is required, mainly after the capture thing (as above) so that what is coming in is recorded as good as possible. The input mode isnt really a hassle as Im sure I can figure out how to get it into any line (1/4, 1/8 etc)

Lol I hope this narrows it down some. My friends of my friends father runs a radio studio, and they have sound desk (basically a big mixer) going into a sound card (pci type) on the back of their computer. Something like that.


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## massahwahl

Lol, I work in a radio station in Ohio and we have the same setup with the board running into the PCI-e card. Those cards have multiple inputs though and are going to run you in the thousands! I work in radio and I do recording on my home computer so Im not gonna steer you wrong here. This guy here: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1212Mv2/ Is really going to be your best option for the price and quality of your what your going. Its a dual card setup, meaning you have one card that controls inputs and one that controls outputs. If you dont want to run anything back to the inputs on your board, go with this: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/0404.

These cards are designed for people that are doing recording on computers that are not dedicated audio machines.


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## Stildawn

Haha ok. So whats this "run anything back to the imputs on your board" mean??

Also whats the beneifts of the a board controling outputs etc?


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## massahwahl

Stildawn said:


> Haha ok. So whats this "run anything back to the imputs on your board" mean??
> 
> Also whats the beneifts of the a board controling outputs etc?



For starters I should have asked, what program are you using to record with? Like, Audition, Cool Edit, Pro Tools, Cakewalk, Steinberg, etc...

The returns from the card would be used if you want to use your speakers as monitors or your board to monitor. Also, I dont know how much equipment you use, but you would also use the outputs as effects sends if you use any equipment to do a final mixdown or tape machine.


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## Stildawn

Um Ive only got a basic little mixer, I dont really need to use that even, I can go straight from amp to computer for guitars, I only use the mixer for drums etc if Im using multiple mikes (but if I want to do a big effort on drums I use my mates mates huge mixer board plus amp set up with his expensive mikes) 

At the moment on my old computer I use Audition 2 I think, however this doesnt work on vista haha (useless lol) so If I get this card Im thinking about making my old machine a dedicated sound machine (as it should run quite well if I only have mimimal os and sound software thats it) 

Otherwise if you guys reckon my old computer cant handle it, Im thinking of getting another software for vista, what would you reckonment??? Is Protools the best?? Thats what they used when my band went to the proper studio lol. But isnt Pro Tools for MAC??.

As for the final mixdown, Ive always just done the editing effect in Audition (using the softwares effects etc) and saved to MP3 or WAV.


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## massahwahl

I run Audition 2.0 on Vista with no problems??? I dont know why it wouldnt work on yours. If you would rather bypass the mixer and go straight to the comp you will need an interface: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US144 I literally just ordered that one today and they have free next day shipping! I have the older model and it sounds awesome! 

Protools is the industry standard as far as professional recording goes, and yes it can be run on windows very well with the right setup. 

Even if you use your old computer, it should be able to handle doing this. What are the specs?

By any chance are you using the real version of Audition or a pirated copy? That could be why its not working on Vista. I would contact Adobe though and ask because I had no problem at all getting it to install.


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## Stildawn

Real version, you got yours working, Ive looked around Forums everywhere and no one has got it working. They say that it just isnt compadable with Vista. lol Odd. (mine installs fine, but comes up with sound device not supported or something like that)

Interface? Ive used direct into my audilogy before from my guitar amp? Isnt the interface thing just needed for the amp? My guitar amp has well in truely enough power to power anything (ive even used it for vocals)

Um the specs are in my sig.. Basically an Old Athlon 32bit 2000+ runs at 1.6ghz. 512 DDR ram, Geforce 4 MX 440. Etc. Nothing spectacular (although was great when i got it haha)


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## massahwahl

Stildawn said:


> Real version, you got yours working, Ive looked around Forums everywhere and no one has got it working. They say that it just isnt compadable with Vista. lol Odd.
> 
> Interface? Ive used direct into my audilogy before from my guitar amp? Isnt the interface thing just needed for the amp? My guitar amp has well in truely enough power to power anything (ive even used it for vocals)
> 
> Um the specs are in my sig.. Basically an Old Athlon 32bit 2000+ runs at 1.6ghz. 512 DDR ram, Geforce 4 MX 440. Etc. Nothing spectacular (although was great when i got it haha)



I would bump up the ram up to a gig to be on the safe side, but besides that you should be fine assuming you have enough HDD space to handle large audio files.

I have Adobe Audition Pro 2 and I literally just opened it right up and it has always worked fine. I would try giving them a call and see what they say. They be able to get you a copy of cool edit which is the same thing as audition only adobe changed the name when they bought it out. 

An interface is more of a controller for your instruments than a pre-amp or amp. It basically talks to your recording program for you instead of doing it through the inputs on a sound card. I dont know how better to explain it, lol. If you want to stick to using the inputs, then get a PCI-e card like the ones I mentioned. I just prefer using an interface.


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## Stildawn

The above Interface you reckonmended, is that all you need or that combined with the card??

Would the interface thing be why Ive never had that good of quality in my own recordings? Using straight into the audilogy?


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## massahwahl

Stildawn said:


> The above Interface you reckonmended, is that all you need or that combined with the card??
> 
> Would the interface thing be why Ive never had that good of quality in my own recordings? Using straight into the audilogy?



The interface is all you need yes. You will get much better quality using the interface yes. As mentioned, I use it with Audition and it works really really well. I use some VST effects too and really the sky is the limit. 

In your case, use your amp if you want as a pre-amp into the interface and go from there. The interface will control the volume a lot better the amp alone and also handle your latency.


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## Stildawn

> The interface is all you need yes. You will get much better quality using the interface yes. As mentioned, I use it with Audition and it works really really well. I use some VST effects too and really the sky is the limit.



Yeah i just noticed that it uses USB lol. Also does Audition reckonize this Interface (like in the setting etc)

Cool well I might get that, haha now I just have to find out where I can buy it in New Zealand.


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## massahwahl

Stildawn said:


> Yeah i just noticed that it uses USB lol. Also does Audition reckonize this Interface (like in the setting etc)
> 
> Cool well I might get that, haha now I just have to find out where I can buy it in New Zealand.



Yes audtition will recognize it as an input device. You will have to do a few setting adjustments if you have never used one, but overall its very easy.


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## Stildawn

Mean, however it costs a fourtune in NZ I might see if that sweet place can deliver it here.


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## massahwahl

sweetwater has amazing customer support but I dont know about international shipping. Give em a call is all you can do! lol. Let me know what you find out.


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## Stildawn

Yeah I just flicked them an email.

Haha it only cost 187 buck NZ from Sweetwater. Well over 400 here in NZ.


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## sthompson

look at the audiophile 192 it works amazing add a sound board and compresser and it's professional


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## nemix

I falied to read the whole post (my phone loads super slow) but if you're still looking the emu 0404 and delta 44/66 would give you good results probably.  

not sure if you're international but musiciansfriend.com, audiolines.com, guitarcenter.com, are all good to check out.


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