recording interface for computer (Page 1 of 2)

Thanks LUKEy! Looks like I've got about six months of reading to do!

The Tascam US-144 has been replaced with the US-144mkII - but I'm sure you'd still be able to get the Mk1 from eBay etc.

Oooh, shiny!

Think about any music hardware is that I'd like to try it out first and see if it meets my requirements. Esp if you're honking out a fair wad of cash on it.

[b]Its in the name![/b]

If you want to record drums and also jam sessions, you may find two inputs restricting. To mic up drums successfully you may nbeed to use a couple of mics. Also you can get some nice effects by using a DI for an accoustic guitar and also mic at the same time. This way you can blend the sounds to get some different tones and add some depth. If you are jamming with a friend then you would deffinately want more than two inputs. Probably 2 mics, and a couple of DI's for the instruments. Also you may want to plan for more expansive requirements in the near future. No need to buy equipment twice, thats a costly exersize.

For all of the above reasons I recommend more than two iputs with your device.

Another thing to consider is latency. The best way to combat this si to ensure that you have fast communication between your hardware and your pc. Especially when recording multiple streams and using plugins or VST i's.  The fastest is USB2 very closely followed by firewire, USB1 is outdated technology and should be avoided ( apologies to those who still use USB1 hardware   )

My personal set up is with an Alesis Multimix8 USB2.0 it provides me with 8 inputs ( 4 stereo and 4 mono), mic phantom power on 4 of the inpouts,  built in effects, eq on every channel, send and receive on all channels, main out, control room out, line out, headphones out.  It is flawless and acts as a good mixer as well as soundcard. I can take it and gig with it.

I am sure there are many such beasts out there that would be as good as this one, but I hope this gives you some idea of what to look for.

Seriousfun,

Further to this post, what would be the computer requirements for the Alesis Multimix?

thanks,
s

I have been looking for an interface for awhile and have tried several entry level ones and haven't been happy with any of them and I am not gonna bash any of them. I have found the one I will be getting and it is a step up but it can do so much more than the ones I have looked at.

This machine is also portable for your outdoor gigs or take it wherever and you don't need to bring your laptop along , it is a step up in price but I don't think it's one you will be replacing anytime soon either. This unit is in the $ 600 ball park , it is worth taking a look at.

Roland Cakewalk V-Studio 100

http://www.roland.com/products/en/SONAR_V-STUDIO_100/

I take your points regarding budgets. The multimix I purchased was NZ$550.00 and I guess that would equate to about US$300 but I am guessing.

Any buying decision must be made with budget in mind, but I would be reticient to pay close to this sort of figure for a product that you may well grow out of with 6 months.

As for computer requirements, I think any computer less than a few years old and with 2gb or more of RAM would be sufficient to run most recording software. Vista is a resource hungry beast, XP is better but I am hearing good things about Windows 7 though have no personal experience with it my self.

I have my studio wired for use on a semi permanent basis as it serves not only as my recording base but also as a practice room for my band. I have a couple of mics wired to the mixer full time, an accoustic, electric and bass plus drum machine so I never have to worry about pluging equipment in, just pick up and play. Convenience is a great factor to consider. And of course multiple use with the mixer serving its purpose at small to medium gigs as well. For me, It was money well spent but of course cost is all relative to what we have to spend.

Good luck with what ever you run with. Its all great fun and I am sure you will good good resukts and have loads of fun with whatever you get.

So, I've been doing a little research because I wanted to get "something" that would record a little better than my junky camera on video mode... or my computer microphone.  So here's what I found from my reading... it seems useless to bother getting a good mic and an audio interface if you have a cruddy sound card (which I do have a cruddy soundcard) as the soundcard will resample the audio at a slow rate.  Or is this information not entirely correct?  Is that slow rate that it resamples "sufficient" for someone just recording for their own personal use and youtube?  I glanced around a little, and you can actually buy soundcards that have xlr inputs and phantom power...

obviously you're going to get a better sound going in AND coming out than if you stick with the original soundcard and add a recording interface... but is it worth the $$ because I will then also HAVE to get better speakers -- I'm starting to think it is... but then, I'm also starting to wonder if I should take it that far since all I really want is something a "little" better than what I currently have!  LOL!

So all you guys with your recording setups... did you go with your basic factory supplied sound card or did you upgrade that before adding the recording interface?  If you didn't upgrade that and you have something from Creative or Soundblaster (common audio codecs that resample at slow bitrates)... did you notice a marked improvement with a good mic even tho the soundcard wasn't upgraded?  Is it actually still better than standard webcam type recording sound?  How much better?

In the end... I think this is possibly going to get a bit expensive... but could be quite fun... the hubby seems to be excited about me doing this... but I'm scared that I'm going to get too involved in yet ANOTHER computer upgrade and techie "fun" that I might not really NEED.

Yes, I'm thinking either upgrade the soundcard or go with the the Zoom H2, I looked at that as well.  I'm weighing in on the $$ part of it, but also considering the output sound that I'm going to hear on the computer.  I do already have audacity installed and have attempted recording with just the basic computer mic... too much hissing and background noise where I can take my camera into the bathroom (LOL)... so we shall see!  Just thought I'd get some opinions on computer hardware and ideas about recording interfaces vs. the H2 cuz I think down the road I'm going to wish I'd have upgraded the card to begin with.  Decisions, decisions!

That sounds good Wayne... I did some more digging into this and while getting an interface and a decent mic sounds good... being able to take the H2 into a different room (away from the fish tank and kids) sounds better.  I'll check them out next time I head into the music store!  Thanks!

Wayne is on the right track with his comment about background noise.  The better the mic, the ambient noise gets caught as well.
I really can't record anything in the same room as my PC.... it's a big Antec tower with no less than 7 fans screaming away.  I managed some nice little clips with my laptop with just one tiny cooler running.... not as good as in the studio, but passable.  Another thing not to be overlooked is the quality of your cables, good shielding is essential for a clean signal to whatever you use to capture it, and as few connectors as is manageable.

You can go overbudget really quick, so it is a good thing to have a good idea of where you want to get to, and research everything first. 

Good luck and good hunting;
Doug

Amy,

You can do it with one microphone and it would have to be a large condensor mic. If you do a search on acoustic guitar recording you will get a thousand different opinions. When I have used just one mic and finally get a mic placement right I make notes of how I did it. You have to have the mike a little higher and towards the neck of the guitar and keep cheating toward the headstock of the guitar until the vocals come through. Then when the vocals come through you start loosing the sweet acoustic sound you've been after.

Doug's said what I have been tiptoeing around about , it is very easy to go overbudget in a hurry.

One reason the little hand helds do such a great job they have two mikes and they are  X  Y  ed