take a look at rme stuff that work with a pci card!

if you have usb 1 forget about usb!

OK, I'll look into it.

I have "VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller" listed in Device Manager, so from what I've read, it seems I'm running USB 2.0 (please correct me if I'm wrong).

So how do these PCI interfaces work? I looked at the Aardvark Q10 with 8 XLR inputs, but I don't know if I can connect that to my laptop. I'm having a little trouble with terms like PCI, PCMCIA, CardBus, Firewire, etc. According to the literature on my laptop, there is 1 available Cardbus Type I/II expansion slot. (It's a Presario 2596US, 2.6G Celeron) Can I hook up a Q10 or something similar? Can I hook up an RME Hammerfall HDSP and if I do, will I need another piece of equipment to provide the inputs/preamps? I apologize for my obvious and extreme ignorance on the subject. Any and all help is appreciated.

Bfunk wrote: PCMCIA

aadvark nop!
but you can the hammerfall
Hammerfall DSP PCMCIA Cardbus Card

If I understand correctly, the Hammerfall provides me with a Firewire interface, but what do I use to provide the inputs/preamps like I would have with the Q10. And what would I need to hook the Q10 up to my desktop computer?

forget the q10!

you can check the octamic from rme, the motu 828mkII etc...

depends on your budget and needs!

How about something like an Echo Mona with a PCMCIA card adapter? That'll give me 4 balanced XLR inputs, plus the ability to expand to 12 with a Behringer ADA-8000 or similar.

forget behringer! they are cheap cause they sound cheap!

OK, what about the Echo?

You can't use a PCI card in a laptop you need a desktop with an available PCI slot.

IMO Echo makes nice gear, I've had a Layla 24 for a couple years and just bought another. I love them. But the Mona has been discontinued. You might be able to pick one up used.

As far as mixers you should be able to get a Mackie CR1604 (not VLZ) or a 1402 or 1202 VLZ off Ebay for under $300. The CR is not as quiet as the VLZ's (.002 compared to .0007 THD) but the DAC's in this price range are .002 or worse so you won't be hurting your audio by using a CR Mackie. The CR also has 8 direct outs (labeled as Channel Access). That's the only mixers I'd recomend in that price range. Better quality than a Behringer.

A CR-1604 and a Layla 24 will fullfill your needs as far as 8 tracks at once for around $800. Motu has the 2408mk3 which has 8 pres built in for $950 but someone else could tell you more about it. If you want to put a firewire card in your laptop (FMI USB 2.0 Firewire combo type II $59.99 Comp USA) you could use Tascam's FW1884 it's a DAW controller and has 8 pre's built in for $1300 or Digidesign's Digi 002R for $1200. If you put a firewire card in your desktop as well you could use the Tascam or Digi on either machine. If both of your machines have network cards just transfer your files that way with a crossover cable.

If we knew what your budget is we could suggest some other gear that might fit your needs.

Big_D, thanks for the advice. Lots of good info. I think my mid(long) term solution is the FW-1884, but for now I want to go with something simpler. I was looking at the emagic a62m as a cheap, easy short term solution that's better than what I have. I can also use it in conjunction with my FD-4 to get the preamps I need and it will connect to both the laptop and the desktop via USB.

Sorry about the ambiguity with the budget. Originally I was hoping to spend $400-$500, but it seems like I need to spend closer to $1200-$1500 to get what I really want. Since I can't spend that right now, I'll probably go with something under $200 (like a used a62m) until I have enough $$ to take the next step.

I forgot to mention that Mackie has a new line of mixers out that you may want to consider when your budget allows. The Mackie Onyx 1620 is a 16 channel mixer with 8 XLR ins for $779 and the 1640 is a 16 channel with 16 XLR ins for $1299. The cool thing about them is that they have a firewire out as well as analog outs. The jury is still out on whether the Onyx pre's are better than VLZ pre's but watch the posts as their should be a some info soon. Just another option to explore. Good Luck!

One more question while I'm at it. Before I step up to 8 or 16 tracks, what kind of processing power/memory do I need to run them? Laptop is 2.6 GHz Celeron processor with 768 MB RAM, Desktop is badly in need of upgrading.

One more question while I'm at it. Before I step up to 8 or 16 tracks, what kind of processing power/memory do I need to run them?

It all depends on what you're planning to do. It's not the recording that eats up memory and cpu cycles, Its the mixing, effects and other things like virtual insturments that require power. The DAC's in whatever system you choose do the work before sending it into your PC by converting the analog signal to digital, so really your just streaming data to your hard drive at this point. But once you start mixing, adding effects and whatever else you choose to add to your music your CPU, memory and hard drive bear all the burden. You could record far more tracks at once onto a PC than you could ever mix etc. on that same PC. It really comes down to how many tracks you want to mix, how many effects you want to use and if you'd like to add other things to your music. If you just record a few tracks add a little reverb and compression you can get away with far less PC than a guy who runs 24 tracks with multiple effects on every track, compression, gating and a bunch of virtual instruments. It's really comes down to your needs. You should be okay with your laptop, just don't try to do too much. You have plenty of RAM and the processor is fast enough although it is a Celeron so don't expect P4 performance. The real downside to laptops is their hard drives. They spin at much slower rates than desktop HDD's so in effect that's the real bottleneck in the system. It's fine for recording in the field and mixing for now but I think in the long run you should look at upgrading your desktop to a 2.0 GHz. or better P4 or Athlon processor, 512 MB to 1 GB of RAM and a 7200 RPM EIDE or SATA Hard Drive. This would give you good performance for a 16 track studio and a little wiggle room in case you want to add some things later. You can probably do it for a little under $500 if you use your existing video card. If your current case isn't an ATX form factor (most are now) you would have to buy a case $75 to $100 for a decent one. By building your own PC you'd get far better components than some store bought peice of crap at the same price and far better perfromance too. I don't have my site up anymore (for building and tuning Gaming PC's) but I could point you to some good ones if you need them. Also check out this site, it's where I get my parts. It's like a candy store for PC parts. Good Luck and if you have anymore questions just ask.

http://www.aberdeeninc.com/

Outstanding info, Big_D. You've been extremely helpful.

I just found and bought an Echo Mona on Ebay for $265 shipped. Unfortunately, it only has the PCI card, so now I either need to get a PCMCIA card for it, or upgrade my desktop (or both). I appreciate all your recommendations.

Sounds like you made out well. I think you'll like the Mona, Echo makes a quality product. Glad I could help. Good Luck!

Hey Big_D (or anyone else who wants to answer)

I'm thinking about buying a custom built computer with the following specs:

AMD XP 2600+
ASUS KT-400 SE motherboard
768 MB DDR 3200 Memory
80G 7200 RPM Hard Drive
Aspire X-Dreamer case w/3 cooling fans and temp display
350W PS

I can get it for under $400, is this as good a deal as it seems?

I did a search on the Mobo and couldn't find anything (could be something missing from the P/N) but the Processor and Mobo together will cost a little under $200. The Memory will cost around $150 and the HDD would cost a little under $100. With a case and PS I think it sounds like a good deal. I'd see if the HDD is a name brand (Maxtor,Seagate,WD) and if it has an 8 MB buffer or not. The PS would need upgrading if you add more drives but for what you want to use it for, it sounds ok.

HD is Western Digital, I also have a Maxtor 80G, 7200RPM, 8MB buffer drive that I can add to this computer.

It also comes with a CDRW and a DVD-ROM drive (I'll probably remove and sell the DVD drive).

How cheap/easy/necessary is a PS upgrade?

Thanks!

Sounds like your set. I would use 1 HDD for your programs and the other for storing your music. It's very easy to replace a power supply, make sure it is unplugged, disconnect the cables form the drives and MOBO and take out the four screws holding it in and your set. I wouldn't change it right away, see how it runs. The biggest load on your system is during power up because the drives are spinning up at the same time as everything is comming up. If it acts strange or doesn't boot consistently then I would replace it. Sounds like your getting a great deal. Good Luck!

Bfunk wrote: Big_D, thanks for the advice. Lots of good info. I think my mid(long) term solution is the FW-1884, but for now I want to go with something simpler. I was looking at the emagic a62m as a cheap, easy short term solution that's better than what I have. I can also use it in conjunction with my FD-4 to get the preamps I need and it will connect to both the laptop and the desktop via USB.

Sorry about the ambiguity with the budget. Originally I was hoping to spend $400-$500, but it seems like I need to spend closer to $1200-$1500 to get what I really want. Since I can't spend that right now, I'll probably go with something under $200 (like a used a62m) until I have enough $$ to take the next step.

The Aardvark Q10 is worth looking at and you might be able to get one for $600 used. It does just what you are looking to do, works well with Sonar and does not require that you add a mixing board to your set up.

I am rather new to recording, but I was looking to do what is sounds like you want to do and so far, the Q10 seems to have been the right choice for me.

You can hear the first project that I did (as a favor for a friend, I am only doing this as hobby)

http://www.danwhitaker.com/yourfinal.html

Mastering was handled by a pro chosen by the artist, and the results are good. Bear in mind, we were trying to get a 1940'2 - 1950's type older country sound.

This is a response for Bfunk. You can use what's called a Cardbus interface made by Echo. It's made specifically for your laptop. The name of this product I believe is "Endigo" and it comes in 3 variations. Here's the link:http://

OK, I have the Echo Mona. I have the DAW. Now I'm trying to decide the best method for expansion. I'm thinking about either
adding another Mona or getting something like an Alesis AI3 to use with my Mona's ADAT input.

I'm leaning towards the AI3 (or similar) because it would let me record 12 individual tracks (instead of 8 with two Monas), but I'm wondering if there's any downside to using the ADAT input (in sound quality or otherwise)? If I go that route, is there anything better than the AI3 (in a similar price range) that I should consider?

Also, I know Behringer is not the best quality, but the ADA-8000 provides 8 XLR/line inputs and ADAT output. What else anywhere near that price does that? If I primarily use the line inputs, and the mic pres only in a pinch, does that make a difference?
It sure would be nice to have a total of 12 inputs, and be able to attach either a mic or a line to each of them, especially for just $200.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

I have heard good things about the AI3 and I considered it before buying a second Layla. I stuck with the Layla because I wanted to keep all of my DAC's 24 bit (the AI3 is 20 bit). But I don't think it would be a problem combining the bit rates, your software should dither it. I know nothing about the ADA-8000 so I can't comment.

Hmm, I didn't realize the AI3 was only 20-bit. I'll keep looking. A nice option might be the new Layla 3G to use alongside the Mona, which would give me two more mic preamps. A bit more pricey, though.

Anyone else know anything about the ADA-8000?

Thanks!

My friend brought an ADA8000 to the studio. we connected it via adat to the motu 828 mkii and the sound was surprisingly decent. for someone who needs an extra 8 inputs this is great- especially since is only 200 bucs... Get it, use it and when you get something better down the line sell it-

Hey maintiger, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear.

Thanks!

i'm too considering the ada8000 for adat connection on the motu 828mkii

for my porposes i think it will be a good tool for the money... why spend 3 times more for the m-audio octane when the difference in sound is probably minimum?