"calm down calm down lol."
No.

"presets on cool edit"
Sniff, sniff... Presets are meant as a base, not a final point.

Tip 1:
Get legit software ;)
Tip 2:
Get rid of the Behringer mixer.

PS: step 1 doesn't have to cost money.
Kristal, Audacity and Mulab's trial version are all free.
Reaper is cheap.
You'll probably get "xxxx LE" with your soundcard when you buy one anyway.

Meanwhile, I'll continue to use my onboard sound and moan loudly about them, thus getting other people into a better state of affairs.

Spam.
Something gets up my snout here. I don't believe the story and I'm waiting to see who chimes in with a "buy this" or something like that.
Firstly, GTFO of Pro Recording Forum, this isn't pro, I'm not being an elitist, this is shit for hacks.
Secondly, you ask no questions.

Most of the questions posted in the Pro Recording Forum aren't professional questions. Or am I the only one who has noticed that?

Mc_rampage,
Read this post first, there is a wealth of good info here:

{old-link-removed}

Edit: -my rude atitude.

Your questions are that of an entry-level beginner. Nothing wrong with that. Cool Edit was a cool shareware program that could be used in a limited way without registration. Although I personally opted to pay though $100 fee in 1996 for that program.

Sure, you can make some relatively decent sounding recordings with that Beringer into a line input of a Sound Blaster. If you know what you're doing, your recordings can be quite acceptable. It's not necessarily what we would call professional equipment however. But it's not necessarily what you've got but what you do with it. Your inquiry into other low-cost entry-level equipment is not a move up. It's a lateral move. You would make this choice out of convenience not out of superior performance as it ain't. So until you spend some serious dollars, you'll always be limited as to your capabilities. No way around it except for a more serious investment. So beginner audio toys are better than no toys. But generally, you get what you pay for. Isn't it always that way? Not always. Most of the time it is. There are those few pieces of inexpensive equipment that can be considered 100% professional. One of those pieces is the venerable Shure SM 56/57/58's. The $100 microphone that competes with the $2500 microphone and that's why we love them. I sure love them over any cheap Chinese condenser microphones. And it's amazing how much better they sound when plugged into a $500 microphone preamp. But adequate results can be had with a five dollar microphone preamp and that microphone. Your B2 microphone might just B2 cheap sounding in comparison?

But specifications these days when looking at equipment really doesn't mean much anymore. It meant more 20 years ago. But with the proliferation of everything digital, even inexpensive digital is on par with general acceptance, generally speaking.

Nothing wrong with unmodified presets. Not every preset needs to be modified or tweaked. Although most of us do, in one way or another. I find most presets too over-the-top & over exaggerated most of the time. So just remember, Less Is More. Cool Edit was not a multitrack program. Cool Edit Pro is/was & cost 100 to $400 depending upon whether you were upgrading or purchasing new. Adobe now owns the program & is now known as Addition. It not only passed the audition, it's worth every penny you pay for it. It's not ProTools but then ProTools isn't as Cool.

So if you want to be more professional, you might want to consider one of the Digi design M-Box products? For as little as $250 US, you get a professional audio interface with a professional microphone input with one of the industry standard pieces of software ProTools. You can use that hardware in conjunction with Cool Edit as well. So don't get rid of that Beringer. Just get even. It's still 100% adequate for your purposes, no discernible limitations for you. I just wouldn't brag about that equipment if I were using it for orchestral recording. Pop, rock, hip-hop, rap will sound perfectly listenable if you set your levels correctly.

It's better to learn with the cheap stuff than finding yourself to be a lousy engineer after investing a sizable chunk of cash on high-end equipment.

You didn't want to keep the old computer anyhow
Ms. Remy Ann David

Cheers for the replys to all that answered with helpfull comments. think i will stick with what i got for now then and betta myself with them, maybe start saving for sum better gear. Soz for posting in Pro section. i aint no pro as a few of u enjoyed pointing out. As i say in the subject i am a new member and honestly spent the who day reading through the one Pro recording forum (thinking it was the only one, didnt know there was a section for us noobs) hense why i posted there.

cheers RemyRAD and codemonkey for ur advice

Greener - there are questions mate
jammster - sounds to me like your not serious or polite. Good luck in your search for some other forum who cater to clowns like you - WAS THERE REALLY ANY NEED FOR THAT, AS MENTIONED HAVE SPENT ALL DAY READING NOT ONCE DID I CUM ACROSS SOMEONE WITH EXACTLY SAME SETUP AND ISSUES AS ME, HENCE WHY I ASKED, U SOUND LIKE THE CLOWN MATE, NOW I DONT LOOSE MY RAG OFTEN BUT TO SAY I AM NOT POLITE HAS WOUND ME UP, WHERE IN MY POST AM I NOT BEING POLITE, U WANNA TAKE A LOOK AT URSELF MATE

just read through ya post agen RemyRaid, really helpfull mate thanks, have changed my mind now think i will look at the mbox and a mic which of the SM's would u recommend. My and my friends record over reggae, hip hop and a few faster style beats.

yeah defo a begginner mate, have had to learn on my own messing around with things, started making beats on fruity loops years ago and a while back decided to try and record on them, learning more everyday from this forum.

cheers

SM57 plus a foam windscreen (for vocals). W/O the screen mic everything from guitar cabs, to drums, to acoustic instruments, add the foam horns, vocals, etc. One of the most versatile inexpensive mics on the market and practically indestructible, I have one that is about twenty years old and can't tell it apart in recordings from the ones I bought two years ago.

cheers jp will be getting one asap. Been reading the link jammster left earlier - so basically is it that both mics are the same its just the 57 is modded to be used with instruments.

Also off topic notice that some brands are not being typed fully and disquised and sum not, whats that about, as u can see i think i was being told off for that earlier lol

I am not certain what exactly you mean, some of this is just shorthand, experienced people know that a SM = Shure Mic., etc. Sometimes people are not really pushing any particular manufacturer, Codemonkey's xxxxLE was just saying that depending on which interface you buy it might come with Protools LE or Cubase LE, etc.

SM57 no wire screen, SM58 wire screen (vocal) little or no difference between the "guts" (depending on who you ask.)

Hey MC_Rampage - welcome to the boards.

A few things - first a quick answer to one of your questions. The reason that people don't type all of certain brands (such as the maker of your mic and mixer) is that we feel that the company is overall - a stinker. They are world-wide known for their reputation of stealing designs and patents. Since Recording.org is the largest and most frequented BBS on recording, we try to avoid having words such as Behr**ger come up on Google and be associated with our posts.

Also, another couple quick ettiquette notes - stuff that you may or may not have picked up on during your reading. Generally, the people on this board respond more favorably to those who possess a basic understanding of the language for which they're typing or at least disclaim in advance that it's not their first tongue. You appear to possess a pretty basic understanding of the fundamentals of the English language, but many of us here are not of the "Text" type generation. When we see the word "Sum" - we take it as the action that combines multiple inputs into a single output where you mean it as the word "Some." Where you use the word "Cum" we think of a rather crude term for an excretion meant for procreation. You mean "come."

The other word of caution is when people say they're using "Cool Edit" it's usually a dead give away that you're using cracked/pirated/illegal software. The reasoning being that Cool Edit was an oft cracked piece of software that essentially went away when Adobe turned it into "Audition." Adobe offered free upgrades to anyone who was using a legit copy of Cool Edit Pro 2. IIRC, this was back in 2001 or 2002 - maybe even earlier. It's unlikely that very many people are still running programs that old. And trust me, you don't want to end up in a piracy battle on this forum. (I promise. I've had at least 2 people investigated by the FBI in the past 6 months for this.)

Your best bet, without a doubt, is to take a step up, not a step sideways. A step up would be something like a high-quality interface with nice preamps built in. TC, Presonus and many others offer such devices. This plus some of the free software packages that come included or an inexpensive variant would be a giant step in the right direction.

As for the mic (B-2) - if you're happy with it, keep using it. Adding an SM57 in the near future would be a very nice upgrade.

Keep learning, keep working and keep honest. If you do these three things, we'll see your name in lights someday.

Cheers-
Jeremy

cheers guys will bare that in mind next time i post, sorry its natural for me to type in short so it will take some getting used to, English is my only language. With regards to cool edit it was given to me off my dads mate years ago, i think its legit but any way will be purchasing some thing better shortly - any recommendations.
As for a pre amp, able to pay around £120ish would that be enough for one of the few you mentioned, if so, which ?
A lot has been mentioned about the mbox, would be willing to splash out a bit more if it were to improve my productions.

thanks for you welcome and help

oh one last thing - monitor speakers, any suggestions that aint gonna cost a bomb, im basically gonna have to buy it all bit by bit every month, whilst still practising and learning on what i currently have.

Cheers Kieran

It depends on the kind of tracking you want to do.
A 5 piece band, 3 guitars a drummer and a singer at the same time?
Do you want real feel or do you want to try and create most of it digitally?
A 2 port pre can be used for most things, allowing you to capture a good stereo image. But a few more pres will help if you want good live drums.
Something like an 8 input interface can really go a long way if bands are what you're about...

You need to decide what you're intentions are, how you want to work then figure out the essential features you need... Then people can suggest products.

The 57 will be worth it no matter what you do. :)

Bit stupid there really wasnt i, your good but you aint mind readers after all. Actually all i will be needing it for is just vocals on to music i have already produced.

So the simpler the better really with out losing quality. Dont work with a band, its just me and a few friends who all do vocals of some sort

Now we're getting places.

Is that £GBP I see somewhere?
Instantly, expect to pay a hair more purely because the stuff gets shipped from America, despite half of the stuff being made in Ireland, like Sennheiser and Mackie...

SM57 will do you well. If it's only for vocals you could just as easily go with the SM58 and so long as you don't get up so close you can smell it, you'll be unable to tell the difference.

I apologize for my previous post, I have been a bit on edge lately.

I said you Mc_rampage were not polite and a clown is simply wrong. You were right, took a look at myself and felt the shame.
:oops:
Congratulations, hang with us and you'll be better for it. :wink: I wish good lessons in your learning and welcome to the forum.

jammster wrote: I apologize for my previous post, I have been a bit on edge lately.

I said you Mc_rampage were not polite and a clown is simply wrong. You were right, took a look at myself and felt the shame.
:oops:
Congratulations, hang with us and you'll be better for it. :wink: I wish good lessons in your learning and welcome to the forum.

At least now I dont have to kick some serious ass around here.

Play nice or face the wrath of DaDogg.

......Ahhhhhhhh....Sometimes its so refreshing to be so mean. :wink:

You know guys, I've noticed a lot of hostility to younger/newer members lately. I think if I see that kind of stuff in the forums that I moderate, I'm going to wipe it.

Everyone has to start somewhere.

Now, if he had come out of the box with "Hey man, pirating is fine - no one is hurt by it" or had been argumentative after we gave him advice, then I'd say toast his butt.

Let's remember, this is a public, open forum. We want to welcome new members, not piss them off and scare them away.

Cheers-
J

PS -
I'm guilty of this from time to time to. But you can always edit or go back and apologize.

ok so now that where all friends again, basically then im taking in all what you guys are saying and understand what i have to do. will be getting mic asap but first will get the preamp as i think this will benefit the mic i have currently for now, now i know most of you guys live in the U.S.A and have noticed a big differance in price if you live here (UK). Will be looking to spend around £130.00 on a preamp, as mentioned for vocals only, do you have any suggestions for me.

Heared a few good reviews on this
http://www.bizrate.co.uk/mixers_multitrackrecorders/oid344091802__sfsk--6.html
but that was on a forum which to be honest didnt sound to convincing, basically i was reading a lot of opporsite opinions from what ive read here, from what ive read you lot seem a lot more knowledgable. Any suggestions guys and reasons why would be appreciated

thanks in advance

This may be exactly what would suit?

http://www.proaudiosystems.co.uk/index.php?page=product&id=2593&cat=4&section=shop

If you have firewire (ieee1394) on your computer and are willing to spend a bit more I would say this is the better interface:

http://www.proaudiosystems.co.uk/index.php?page=product&id=2590&cat=4&section=shop

I hope that helps, and again I apologize for my post earlier, I really do want to help. By the way, I use a PreSonus FireStudio and can vouch for its quality.
Bret

no worries mate, forgotten about, cheers for the reply, the first one you've mentioned has some bad reviews around in regards to quality is this true, im looking to get the best quality for the price i can afford. i am willing to put a bit more away and wait a month and spend that bit more if it were to dramatically improve quality, also heared a lot about "the brick" would this be a good option mate.

in reality if it means saving for a bit then so be it, so am willing to wait untill i have around £200 or so.

Yes, I believe the USB interface overall is a bit slower, and I did not see any mention of the sample rate and conversion. I can see how problems arrive from the usb bus.

The Brick is a great choice, however it does not have any a/d interface conversion, its a ballanced line output. I suppose you could save for one farther down the line? Or get one and borrow your friends interface??

See, you need to take the Brick's analog out and convert to digital. I suppose you could find a decent converter cheaper somewhere, I have so many old beasts with converters I have never taken the time to look for any.

The second interface I listed, the inspire, is the same conversion as in the FireStudio, and a lot of people use it, love it. That includes me too. Also, as an added bonus you can daisy chain up to 4 of them together, making them expandable with your needs.
Cheers,
Bret

Cheers mate think thats the road im going down then, if its good enough for you its good enough for me,

cheers again