Newbie incredibly frustrated...please help!

Posted: Sun Apr 18, 2004 8:16 pm

This is probably a really simple problem ..but I dont know for sure what the answer is, I assume its a soundcard problem but I dont want to lay down the $$$ before I know for sure what is wrong....

I am a musician who dables in home recording, mainly thru need to record demos for my band .... Anyways, so I was half way thru a project when my old machine finally decided it'd had enough and without warning died ...the HD and project files were luckily still ok so I was able to put it into my new machine which I built from scratch (last one was a dodgy HP)....everything seemed ok until I went to record when I discovered to my horror that instead of just recording the mic input the machine also recorded any other audio running at that time ....so when in my recording app it records the new track and the playback at the same time...which obviously isnt acceptable..and I cant just switch off the other tracks....I have double and triple checked all the volume settings prefrences and cant get it to just record the mic input when other audio is running.....I am only using the sounddrivers that are inbuilt into my motherboard/chipset and I am hoping it is a simple case of just having to buy a decent soundcard ????..is just weird in that the HP didnt have any added sound gear and I never encountered this problem....

so my question is...do I just need to buy a soundcard ?...and if so can anyone recommend one to me ?....nothing too fancy (read: expensive) ...I dont know a hell of alot about soundcards...and most I come across seem to be geared towards gamers.....I would consider anything up to $250-300 US ...just has to get the job done..(soundblaster audigy pro 2 ?)...I am mainly recording vocals onto prerecorded instrument tracks on this machine, then mixing everything.... Any help would be extremely appreciated as I really need to sort this out asap cause I'm working to a deadline

technical details as follows.

Windows 2000
Cool Edit Pro II
Gigabyte GA-9IG1000MK Motherboard which has INTEL 865G
Chipset and uses Realtek AC'97 Audio Driver

Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 7:49 am

Short answer: Yes

Longer version: You'll probably want to invest in a soundcard, because, while you can do what you want successfully using just the built in audio, you'll get better sound quality and greater ease of use using an external soundcard.

There are a million possible soundcards within your price range, depending on what exactly your needs are. M-Audio, Echo, and a bunch of others make stuff in your price range. I have a M-Audio OMNI Studio PCI. I think they're $319 new now.

Just remember, do your homework before you buy. You don't want to be stuck with something that you outgrow in a year, or that doesn't quite meet your needs.

Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2004 4:35 pm

I think the Tascam US-122 will be good to look at. I recommended one for a friend in the PC world (I'm a Mac/Digital Performer/2408 guy) and he loves it. $199 at audiomidi.com.

Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 5:27 pm

It sounds like you haven't set up CoolEdit correctly. In multitrack view, make sure that the "R" isn't highlighted on all tracks, only the track that you want to record.

But if you're using the onboard sound, you may want to consider getting a soundcard designed for recording for best results. Some pointers to look for when selecting what soundcard you want to buy...

How many tracks do you need to record at once? This is the primary consideration when looking at soundcards. If you are only doing a small project, then one or two ins should be sufficient. Remember, one in is one mono in, so if you're doing a stereo recording, that will require two ins.

It's well known in the audio world that SoundBlaster (SoundDisaster) cards are designed for gaming, playback, and home theater, NOT for recording. I don't care if it's Audigy, Extigy, or Craptigy, all the cards are based around the same chipset and converters, and you will inevitably wind up with clipping, latency, and frustration after about ten tracks or so.

I'd only choose a USB or a FireWire interface if you really need to have a portable system that you can, for example, take to jam sessions and record on your laptop with.

I'd stick with a PCI soundcard and see what companies like M-Audio, Echo, MOTU, Aardvark, Egosys, etc., have to offer. Look to comapnies that specialize in recording cards.

Stay away from cards like the SoundBlaster series that advertise gaming or playback functionality. What you want is to record, right?

Stay away from cards that offer surround sound. This isn't useful in audio at all yet, and any soundcard that can actually record in surround sound properly costs thousands of dollars and requires DVD-A and lots of expensive software and a steep learning curve. SPDIF, however, can be quite useful. MIDI support is something that you may not think you want or need, but you may wind up using it after all, as VSTi's are so absolutely cool.

Since recording cards are a niche market anyway, even the companies listed above are starting or offer some consumer cards that have surround sound. Avoid them.

As far as specific recommendations, I really like my M-Audio Delta 44 for what it does. I paid $180 new on eBay last year and couldn't be happier for that price. I've also head great things about the Echo and MOTU cards.

When my budget is larger, I'll probably get the LynxStudio One. The Lynx cards are the best converters for the money by far.

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