Recording - with

[ger1]

Hey,

So I'm thinking about recording some stuff, and I'd like to ask for some advice on how to start.

So what do I have here? I have my laptop, (specs: Intel i3, 4 gigs of ram, Win 7 x64 ) my little amp and bass, Ableton/Cubase and that's it. I figured I need a USB sound card of some sort, but I have no idea which one to buy, I'm completely new to this stuff. I'm on a budget so MOTU soundcards and such are out of the question, lol.

Thanks in advance!

 

[nick98338]

There are several USB interfaces in the $150-$250 range. They all produce good sound and work with your PC and software. It's just a matter of what features you think you want. Some have midi ports, some don't. I get my midi connections through my midi keyboard/controller, so I've never needed midi to be in the audio interface. And, there's how many inputs you need to use simultaneously. Mine has 2. I've never needed more than that. You might. Having a no latency internal mixer is almost a must have. And, trust me, the more outputs, the better. I chose a Presonus firewire interface. I like the idea of firewire better than USB, and I didn't mind having to put the extra firewire card into my computer. Not a big deal.

 

[darius8]

A USB interface will do the job just fine if your on a tight budget but if you can get a firewire inteface that would be better. For a laptop, you'd have to get an express card with a firewire port, those are about $30-100.

But a lot guys here on TB will tell you that usb 2.0 can still get it done.

 

[natelockwood]

If you need to go USB I recommend A Focusrite Saffire Scarlett 2i2, good preamps, good A-D/D-A conversion $150 new, less used.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlett2i2

A little higher up the chain is the Saffire 6, still USB, slightly better pre's/conversion $200.

The rest of the Saffire series are firewire, but are great interfaces also.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=Focusrite+Saffire

If you're going to be recording just 1/2 tracks at a time USB 2.0 won't give you any problems, but you'll definitely want Firewire if you get into 4+ simultaneous tracks and/or high sample rates/bit depths.

 

[ger1]

Thank you guys

 

[loopmantra]

+1 on focusrite,i was actually aiming for scarlett,but couldn't find it at the time,so i wound up with presonus audiobox-which is also magnificant,but i somehow felt that scarlett had less 'issues' and better conversion...at least the people on the forums had less problems with 'scarlett' compared to any other soundcard,presonus included...but,hence they switched the bundle that goes with it(it was cubase LE,now it's studio one artist PLUS 4gb of samples),i think presonus is worth the consideration as well..i'm LOVING it !