Probelm with recording (sound card)?

Samelot · #1 10-30-2005, 08:38 PM

hi, i have tried recording on my bass about 6 months ago, but i was unsuccesful. THe closest i got was to plug my bass amp (and from bass) into my audio in on the back of my computer. This unfortuantly did not work. All i got was either a crappy sounding bass, that was kinda chopped up and everything or nothing. I think my probelm is not having a sound card, but having a motherboard with onboard sound. DOes this hypothesis seem correctt?

Dugz Ink · #2 10-30-2005, 10:31 PM

You are correct. That little monster is known as the AC97. Putting that on a nice motherboard and calling it "digital audio" is like selling a new car with an AM radio and calling it "high fidelity sound."

If you're going to upgrade, do yourself a favor and stay away from the Sound Blaster stuff. They have a card called the Audigy Pro; it is NOT a "pro" level card; it is good for playing video games and impressing 12 year olds.

You need a card the is low latency or an interface that offers "no latency" monitoring. Latency basically means delay. If you are monitoring through a sound crad that has high latency, then you'll hear your guitar after you play a note... not when you play a note.

I use the Audiophile PCI card. As far as sound cards go, it is THE best deal on the market. However, there are a ton of Firewire interfaces that are flooding the market that allow you to plug in your mic and/or guitar directly. And they have their own outputs for headphones and monitors, with no latency when you listen to what you're recording.

If you have a ton of analog gear (DI, pre-amp, etc.) then you don't have to buy one of the fancy interface units; you can get by with something like the Audiophile. But the new Firewire interfaces are easy to hook up, easy to use, and there are quite a few that sell for less than $200.

JimmyM · #3 10-30-2005, 10:49 PM

I paid $179 for my Audiophile 2496 card 5 years ago. M-Audio owes me $79!

KeithBMI · #4 10-30-2005, 11:01 PM

Connect bass -> amp

Then from the amp

Find a plug that goes from the headphone in (on the amp) to the mic in on your computer.

That's all I did and I don't have a good card.

Samelot · #5 10-31-2005, 07:58 PM

yea, i did that too (bass amp to computer audio in), but it sounded too terrible to record, or didnt sound at all. SO i guess im looking for a sound card with low latency. If i look on new egg, will they list the latency. If so, what should i be looking for?

Dugz Ink · #6 11-01-2005, 09:07 AM

Zzounds will post all of the info and pics that the manufacturer makes available, so it's usually a pretty good site for reading specs and making comparisons.

Once you narrow down your options, go to the manufacturer's web site(s). They usually have a few more details listed on the site. Most of them will have some sort of User's Manual on-line that can be downloaded for free. That can be extremely helpful in clarifying what a card/interface will or won't do.

Before you buy, do a Google and see who has the best deal.

I bought my Audiophile through newegg for $130, back when they were $180. (Don't mean to rub it in, Jimmy.) Lately, their prices seem to stay closer to Zzounds, Musician's Friend, etc.

WalterBush · #7 11-01-2005, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samelot

yea, i did that too (bass amp to computer audio in), but it sounded too terrible to record, or didnt sound at all. SO i guess im looking for a sound card with low latency. If i look on new egg, will they list the latency. If so, what should i be looking for?

Anything above 10ms is very audible, and will make recording very difficult, if not impossible for some people. Latency depends on more than your soundcard, however, and most audio recording interfaces will be capable of 5ms or less by themselves. Your computer will most likely add some, depending on your software and settings. There are workarounds to avoid latency, though, so I wouldn't stress over it too much.