JPF Home Page Forums Musician Gear and Techniques Recording Studio and Gear Forum Which soundcard/ a/d box are you using?

Hi Guys,

Im in the process of upgrading my home recording equipment, and with a new computer set up for music with firewire, I have traded my ole usb powered Edirol UA-25 for this firewire baby with DSP effects built in from TC Electronics: http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/TC-Helicon-Konnekt-Live?sku=180116

I decided not to go with the internal Universal Audio DSP cards, as it was too much of an investment stretch, but the TC still is an upgrade for me. Maybe the UA next time, if some royalties ever show up..

I hope I'll get better sound quality for recording vox/accoustic/electric guitars with condensers, and hope the preamp in the unit is sufficient as I've decided to go without a hardware unit (less units = less noise sources).

Here's some Q's for you:

What soundcard/ A/D converter are you using?
Do you have a good external soundcard, or an even better internal one? Planning on upgrading?
Do you use DSP power for your plug-ins?
Do you still use a hardware channelstip/preamp, or only going through soundcard/ digital plug-ins?

Hi Magne,

I recently upgraded to an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 internal sound card. It fits in my desktop w/ Windows XP. (I gave using my laptop with Vista).

I use a Behringer UB1202 mixer as a pre-amp.

I recently added an outboard compressor - a Presonus Bluemax.

To use the compressor, I go through an ART Tube MP Studio first, then the compressor, then the mixer, then the sound card. Before I got the compressor, I just went straight into the mixer.

The mixer and the ART can both supply phantom power for the microphone.

You can hear the compressor on my latest post on the mp3 board.....Last Night Was The Last Night. Prior to that, I was just using a plug-in for compression.

This all works pretty well and is low budget.

Magne, I'm a dinosaur--and likely to stay that way until I beocme extinct.

"Alice" the 'puter has an ancient soundcard, one of those old Creative Labs SoundBlasters. It was a replacement for a soundcard I melted when I hooked a guitar amp up to it. (I now keep recording equipment away from the computer.) I believe it was free, and I'm sure it's worth every penny.

"Alice" is set up for graphic design work (used to be my business), not recording, and again, likely to stay that way. I do all my recording on a little Tascam DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), including the mixing, and squirt the finished product to "Alice" via a USB cable.

Down the road, I might upgrade the DAW (I've had my eye on a nice one at the music store, and have been watching the price go down), but I'm probably not going to change what I do (or don't do) with the computer.

Joe

Colin,

It's low budget, but many has used the stuff you have chosen, and kept the smile on their faces.

I have considered the Studio Projects VTB1 preamp as well as the Focusrite Platinum series (the Trackmaster and the Voicemaster). I could get both the Focusrites for 200$ together, but I decided not to go that route. I can always get one of these if the TC Electronics can't deliver.

But I expect to upgrade once more in two or three years (when the new processor power of Intel V7's has become the standard and the drivers for music production has become upgraded - they tend to be 2 years behind with that, as the companies need a year to see how the new stuff turns out, and another year to develop the upgrades), and will then probably go for high end gear. So I chose to stay with the Konnekt Live interface, as it has reasonable built in preamps and dsp effects for an affordable price. I wanted to avoid spending too much time and money on midrange gear of questionable quality, and just save the pennies for higher end gear, meanwhile I upgrade some of my other stuff.

I often hear it's a good idea to have small amounts of compression in several layers, and I can understand why you would like an outboard compressor, as I think it can be hard to find good software compressors. So if the Bluemax is good and you are sure how to tweak it, I guess that'll work - but I fail to understand your signal chain, Colin?

You first boost the signal with the ART, then you make it quieter with the Bluemax compressor again (a compressor makes the signal quieter so it can be turned more up), and then you once more boost the signal with the Behringer preamps, before the M-Audio crack the signal into numbers. That seems like a lot of links?

Why do you want the Bluemax in between the ART and the mixer, and why use two preamps (The ART and the mixer) in the chain? Don't you get a lot of signal loss with this setup?

Im just courious..

Joe,

Well, Im a product of the computer age. I had the first small personal computers back in the 80ies, and have studied CSCW (computer supported collaboative work) and HCI (human computer interaction) at the university in the 90ies. So I feel pretty much at home working with computers. Im pretty fresh working with computers for music production, though, and have used a full year of intense research to be able to find a suitable workaround. It's hard work as I consider myself to be a songwriter first, but I feel it's coming together nicely now.

Still I wish I could operate that analog gear you're using. I did want one of those Tascam portable recorders in the 90ies, but back then I was just studying music and practising to play in a band, and never went into serious songwriting and recording at all.

I think operating the analog gear, is a trade that's loosing terrain, but nothing can beat the feeling (and still not the sound) of analog gear. And I get the feeling you'll have more time to play and write, as the production gear for computers are getting soo research heavy and time consuming.

I will try to explain.

The normal way to set up a compressor is to use the effects loop in the mixer. You need to preamp the microphone signal first, then compress it (which lowers the volume of the peaks) and then send it back to the mixer's main amplifier before going to the A/D convertor.

My mixer effects loop is hard to use, so I use the ART as the first preamp instead.

The compressed microphone signal sounds very good to me. The background noise is loud when there is no singing, but as soon as you start singing, the background noise is gone. You just silence the quiet spots in Audacity afterwards. The compressor brings out the subtleties of the vocal and acoustic guitar (which is all I have tried so far).

The manual for the Bluemax is good reading on compression and includes settings for different applications.

Download it Here

You would not need the first preamp (ART) for a line level instrument like a keyboard.

Hope this helps

I have recorded on either Audigy, Turtle Beach, Esse, or the card that came with the computer.
I have a Tascam Portastudio that I used to mix on my latest recording through Audacity.
But I have gone computer to computer or from a playback device and occassionally used analog mixing equipment, like my Realistic Electronic Reverb unit that I used mostly for guitar and my Harmony tube amp.
I used and still use Creative Pro Studio from 7 years ago as well as wavepad, and even earlier recording software that came with Windows, such as Sound Recorder.

I believe in working with frugal means to get the point across and to use my hands with all the instruments, with only enough overdubs to get the point across and maybe a pinch of echo and reverb.
I am also trying to fuse influences together instead of just one rote style and want something more organic sounding.
Much using the ears so noise issues do not stick out on the quiet parts.

But I go to forums to better myself in what I am not good at, not display what I already am more familiar with.

I started out playing synths.
If a musician is going to like my songs I would like to be able to play that or show whatever can be done with sound by myself instead of relying on a certain device or box.

Well I was burgled on Sunday so no point in telling you what I used to have. So I will keep you all informed as to what state of the art stuff I purchase when I buy my new PCs.....assuming the insurance comes up with a reasonable payout for replacing the quantity of stuff stolen. Just to rub salt into my wounds they stole the backup hardrives as well.

Im sorry to hear that Big Jim! That's no fun at all.. Must be thieves without ethics, since they couldn't leave the backup drives for you. Grr... people take no pride in their craft anymore!

I'll be looking forward to hear about your opportunity to get new equipment, though.

OUCH! Sorry Big Jim!

And sorrier for the burglar if caught by you...

Oh, I have an outboard Yamaha GO46 interface...they're no longer being made, but it's firewire and similar to a Presonus Firebox. I have my eye on an ART MPA Gold preamp...they appear to be marvelous if you replace the stock tubes with old Mullards or Telefunkens.

Hi,

I'm using an EMU0404usb into Cubase on my laptop, suits me fine as it's all mostly guitar/vocal stuff with me. Got an m-Audio midi keyboard and some soft synths.

other gear

SE2200 condenser mic
Shure SM58

and the best little plug in the world Vintage Warmer.

Andy

Hello everyone - new guy here. I recently rebuilt my old PC with Win98 to run Cubase VST 5. Record to that using a Mackie VLZ1202 and a LDC. My aging outboard gear is set up to look pretty.

Pete
www.nporecords.com

i just started using reaper recently and i like it so far. i'm running it with a behringer xynex mixer straight into my laptop. so far so good.

ANY of the MOTU items are great.