Hello SynthZone friends,

I posted this at the MOTIForum but thought I'd post here too since this is really just a recording question, and this happens to be a recording forum, so here goes:

Right now, if I want to share my music, I have (what I'm sure you will agree is) a sloppy way of doing it; I got a SoundBlaster card to resolve some MIDI latency issues with my PC -- the soundblaster came with "Creative Recorder", so I use my PHONES out from my Motif6 into my SoundBlaster (setting the Motif6 volume at about 60% seems good but I'm still experimenting) to record a .WAV file, which I then convert to MP3 with a freeware utility I got off the net.

So on to my point... what can I do to make better recordings? Guessing at levels, and such doesnt work so well... I see there are software compressors on the net too, which might help even out the levels. Is there anything else free or low-rent I can do to improve my recordings?

Also (and this is a very important part of my qestion), what is the "next level" from here? A solid-state mixing board? I was drooling on some of the gear that's out these days (I used to be into sound/light for recording/stage what seems like ages ago, now) and so I'm impressed with where the gear has come, but the price tags have me choking... Is there a happy medium between where I'm at and another mortgage?

Thanks!!!

-Shaz

Hi Shaz. Great recording starts with great amounts of money!! Free programs won't cut it. (except maybe protools free) Yes a mixer comes in handy if you have more than one instrument. If all you have is one instrument, spend some money on a good audio recording/midi sequencing program.

Sounds to me like another soundcard would help a lot. Don't replace your soundblaster, get another card just for recording/playback and let your soundblaster handle all the windows stuff (which is what it was meant to do.)

Get something with at least 2 inputs so you can record off your main outs instead of your headphone jack. You should be able to find something for less than $200. I use an Emagic Audiowerk2 card, but that was made to be used with Emagic's Logic Audio sequencers, so I don't think I'd really recommend it for you.

Thanks for the advice. I though I found the ultimate answer at CompUSA - the Creative "Audigy Platinum EX"; this baby has it all, including an optical input and digital out which is compatible with my keyboard and speakers, but I can't get the dang thing working -- it locks up Windows when I boot. I've tried a million things, and after several hours I'm goving up on this card.

Maybe I'll need to go to an external mixer after all...

-Shaz

I agree with Kaboombahchuck and Cloakboy. Creative Labs makes some really good cards for games and general windows use. But for quality recordings I recommend getting something a little more professional. There are quite a few relatively cheap cards (some mentioned above) available these days made just for what you want. Sound-blasters do not give a flat response. They are very "tinny" (I tried several over the years and all have that same tinny sound)(whats up with that Creative labs?). The only good thing about soundblaster is its ability to use sound-fonts(cheap(if not free) and there are tons of them). Software: You get what you pay for. There are no decent FREE audio editors, plugins, or sequencers(except possibly the free Protools, and even then its limited). The sound is only of the quality of the equipment and software used. Better equipment will give you better results (and in my opinion just about anything will give you better quality than a soundblaster).

Good Luck,
DudeManCentral

The Mix:
Behringer - Eurorack MX1604A 12-channel Mixing Board

Mixer Inputs:
Yamaha - Motif 6 Synthesizer, connected via 2x 12’ Monster cables (unbalanced)
Audix - OM-5 Vocal Microphone, connected via 15’ generic XLR cable

Mixer Outputs:
Sony - 2x250W Home Stereo (reference monitor), connected via 2x 12’ Monster RCA cables
Echo - Mia 2496 Soundcard (recording device), connected via 2x 12’ Monster XLR to TRS cables (balanced)

Recording / Mastering:
The Echo Mia card is a 24-bit soundcard that can sample up to 96kHz and supports balanced input. The Mia card came with Cool Edit Pro and my Vaio came with Soundforge XP and Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4 so the recording and burning steps I'm currently taking are:

Record a 32-bit, 48kHz WAVE with Cool Edit Pro then downsample to 16-bit, 44,100Hz WAVE (I'm using the default dithering settings since I don't really know what I'm doing with downsampling yet) because Cool Edit Pro seems to be the only program I have that will read the 32-bit WAVEs. From here I can burn the WAVEs direct to redbook, but I like to use Soundforge to normalize the WAVEs for a consistent volume level on CD-audio.

The Results:
Some of the tracks that I compare between the old setup (headphone jack into SoundBlaster) and the new setup described above are plainly superior recordings with the new equipment, however I also have to admit that with other tracks I can't really tell a difference. I'm going to assume that this is from two primary factors:

1. I'm still learning to get the most out of the new equipment, and there is certainly room for me to improve my recordings yet further.

2. I'm also giving myself the benefit of a doubt and assuming that my reference system (a 500 watt home stereo system) isn't bringing out every detail of the audio-CDs. (Time for me to start saving up for some reference monitors I guess!)

Thanks again for the input!

-Shaz

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Shaz:

but I like to use Soundforge to normalize the WAVEs for a consistent volume level on CD-audio.

-----------

???????????

Shaz,
Normalizing and far beyond(like compressors/limiters etc..) is built in, in Cooledit Pro!

What on earth do you need a crippled version of soundforge for? (xp is very very limited!)

Just load a wave file in cooledit pro and start look around in it!
You will be amazed!
It's still the best wave editor / multitrack recording software there is!
(Note; without loading a file these submenu's don't show up!)

Freddy, Thanks for the info!

I apologize -- my rookieness is showing again. I guess I should have mentioned that my version of Cool Edit Pro is the "Special Edition" which based on your post I now know means "cripled"; as I say, this is the software that came with the Echo Mia card.

The upgrade cost on Cool Edit Pro SE to the full version is double what I paid for my 24/96 soundcard! Yikes! I'm going to try Cool Edit 2000 and see if that works for me.... If I can use compressor/expander/normalizer filters on my 32-bit files that's all I think I need, and the $70 price tag is much more to my liking. Wish me luck!