Message Forums
Home > Community > Recording Forum > Getting Sound In__Which Route Would You Take? - Recording Forum
Recording Message Forum
nervx Member Since: Feb 07, 2010  |
 |
Feb 07, 2010 11:50 pm Hi! -- So, I've come up with what I think are my options, for getting sound into my computer, and would like to hear your feedback, regarding which option you think woud be best, and any suggestions for products within each option: My system: Pc running Win XP (sp3), athlon 2200, 1 gig RAM, USB (no firewire), crappy old useless soundcard. Need to record 2 tracks at one time, want to create demos and maybe podcasts. Instruments: elec guitars, elec drums, vocals, midi keys (m-audio keyrig49). Will use Reaper. Budget: Hopefully keep it to $200 used? option A: install firewire card, and purchase firewire audio interface option B: purchase USB audio interface (1.1 or 2.0? see my other post) option C: purchase PCI soundcard, and add mic preamp with phantom power (being as it seems many soundcards don't have this?) Thoughts? I'm crackin' the noggin on this one! Thanks so much! |
||||
| Fragile Jar-Jar Czar  Member Since: Sep 30, 2009 |
|
Feb 08, 2010 12:27 am I use a line 6 UX2, that the folks on this forum turned me on to. I love it to bits. Comes with great guitar/bass amp modeling software as well, and many of the effects are useful for vocal processing as well. $199 brand new. 2 ins. Great low latency drivers. Honestly, for the price, i consider it a holy grail for anyone doing this as a hobby. Welcome to the HRC! |
||||
| pjk Prince CZAR-ming  Member Since: Apr 08, 2004 |
|
Feb 08, 2010 12:54 am I would agree. Seems the UX2 (or newer version of it) is quite a hit. It does not have a midi port though, so keep that in mind. If you have a joystick port on your soundcard, you can use that for a midi input. I don't think I've ever set one up like this, but I'd bet it's not too terribly difficult to get running. Or, Maudio makes a Uno midi -> USB device, I think, for pretty cheap. |
||||
dB Masters HRC Czar  Administrator Since: Apr 03, 2002 |
|
Feb 08, 2010 06:38 am +1 for the UX2 |
||||
| nervx Member Since: Feb 07, 2010 |
|
Feb 08, 2010 01:38 pm Hey Everyone! -- Thank you kindly for your input. Seems like the UX2 has a lot of fans. I've had others mention it to me as well. I will give it some serious consideration! I do love that it comes with the modeling software. Very cool! One thing: It looks like this device sends info at USB 1.1 speed, being as I did not see any mention of it being an actual 2.0 device.....although I understand that it "supports" 2.0 connectivity/is compatible with 2.0. Is the 1.1 speed a problem? Everyone is always talking about going with 2.0 speed, but at the same time, it seems the 1.1 units are mentioned most. It seems there is actually a lot of confusion in general, regarding the USB speed of audio interfaces. The manufacturers are vague with identifying the speed on USB 1.1 devices....saying instead, "fully supports 2.0" or "compatible with 1.1 or 2.0".....but the device is actually a 1.1 device. It will hook up to 2.0 no problem, but only send at 1.1 speed. I was almost going to buy a Lexicon Lambda, but thought the wording was odd regarding USB speed "fully supports 2.0"....so I called Lexicon and asked them about this. They gave me the same line....but I pushed the guy further, and I said, "so does this mean it actually sends at 1.1 speed?" His answer, after a pause.....YES. So, any thoughts regarding recording with 1.1 VS 2.0? And why are so many audio interfaces 1.1 speed? I don't get it. Also, are there any compatibility issues in hooking up an m-audio keyrig49 usb controller to my system? Will the software see this? I heard there migt be an issue. Thanks so much. This is all very confusing! |
||||
| CptTripps Czar of Turd Polish  Member Since: Jun 20, 2006 |
 |
Feb 08, 2010 01:45 pm I am pretty sure Line6 is USB 2.0 all the way. If not.. modeling while recording two tracks and playing back 20 is darn impressive for USB 1.1 ;) Once again I'm pretty sure it is 2.0 but even if not, it will do the job admirably. |
||||
| nervx Member Since: Feb 07, 2010 |
|
Feb 08, 2010 02:29 pm Hey CptTripps -- thanks for the response. I did some perusing on the Line6 forums earlier today, and found a few posts regarding the USB thing. I've posted links below, to two threads on this subject. There are others as well. Seems like it may be 1.1 device....but hey, if it works nicely, then I guess that's all that's important. :-) line6.com/community/message/39842#39842 line6.com/community/message/16971#16971 Again, I think there may be a lot of misleading "jargon" out there, used by manufacturers. "compatible with 2.0" and "fully supports 2.0" etc, apparrantly does not mean the device "IS" 2.0 and actually sends at that speed.....as evidenced by my phone conversation with the Lexicon tech support guy (see prior post). I think the terms above simply mean that you can hook it up to USB 2.0 port on your computer, and it will work....but it will default to the actual speed of the device being hooked up, which I suspect in this case, is 1.1. Maybe I've unearthed a conspiracy? ;-) But hey, I might be wrong. And if so, please link me to info that says that the unit is actually a 2.0 device. I think I'd buy it for sure then! Note: It should show up in your software as being connected at 2.0 speed, if it's a 2.0 device. Has anyone checked? Thanks! |
||||
|
||||||
| Tadpui I am not a crook's head  Member Since: Mar 14, 2003 |
|
Feb 08, 2010 02:30 pm It seems that most (if not all) of the pro audio interfaces that use USB are relegated to sending only a stereo sum of their buses/channels to the computer. It seems that the FireWire devices are winning the throughput war since most of them are capable of sending each individual track to the computer. Of course I haven't really kept up on the newest interfaces and mixers with USB or FireWire connectivity. So maybe that's begun to change. I thought that the actual bandwidth was pretty close between USB 2.0 and FireWire. But when it comes to actual functional-level performance, it seems that FireWire has the edge currently. |
||||
| CptTripps Czar of Turd Polish Member Since: Jun 20, 2006 |
 |
Feb 08, 2010 03:26 pm USB2 is higher than firewire theoretically (480mbps vs 400mbps). I believe most of the cheaper 2x2 interfaces use it as it's... cheaper to implement. There are several higher end USB options nowadays though after checking around. I tend to find that firewire is far more finicky (probably driver based issues). When it works it's fantastic but I have seen\used my fare share of interfaces and other than the manufacturer/performance/driver support there is nothing else that would sway me one way or the other. On that note, I currently use an 8 channel interface that is USB, it sends all 8 channels at once and performs fantastic. And no, I don't think you have unearthed anything. I go by results and not specs, if my line6 is running at USB 1.1 then so be it, it works perfectly and let's me do tons of routing, track all day long and plays back 20-30 (with fx) tracks without a hiccup before I have to start turning up buffers. The ux8 may be usb2, no idea. But I have used my buddies UX2 to run my projects on his machine with no problems. I personally think your older athlon and 1GB will cause far more problems than a slow USB connection. |
||||
| Fragile Jar-Jar Czar Member Since: Sep 30, 2009 |
|
Feb 08, 2010 04:48 pm While a lot of the USB 1.1 vs 2.0 stuff is going over my head, my knowledge goes about as far as ones older, ones newer and faster. I don't really know much about it. But what it really comes down to when recording music is just, does it do its job? And the UX2 does its job fantastically. Really low latency for monitoring with the processing too. And like cpt Tripps said, your machine will be causing more problems than a slow USB connection would potentially cause. Also, correct me if i'm wrong. But in the past few months since i've been on this forum, haven't we had dozens of problems from people with lexicon products? maybe it was a particular model though. |
||||
| nervx Member Since: Feb 07, 2010 |
|
Feb 08, 2010 09:39 pm My main concern is that the unit does it's job well, and is not known for latency issues or compatibility problems with my set-up............so if all is good with that, then I'm very interested in checking this unit out! As for Lexicon, oh yeah...lots of complaints about those units. I decided against buying one of their products after reading about all the issues. Yikes! I do plan on adding more RAM (and the type I need is readily available), and likely also getting a new board. Have to wait until I can afford it though. I'm on less than a shoe string budget here! Thanks again for the input! :-) |
||||
| pjk Prince CZAR-ming Member Since: Apr 08, 2004 |
|
Feb 09, 2010 11:36 pm Last tick point on this page: line6.com/podstudioux2/ - USB 1.1 and 2.0 compatible Seems it's 2.0 to me. If you're going to be working 10 - 20 tracks, you shouldn't have much trouble with 2200 w/ 1g ram. Reaper is very good about ramping up well, being able to use the computer even when running at 98% cpu. I have a 3500 and don't see much problem with light to medium projects. Also, I (usually) never come close to maxing out my ram (1g), unless I'm running large VSTi plugs. To be fair, I'm now filling my ram when using my PC as a drum module, but I've got 1 instance of Addictive drums, and 2 instances of DrumCore loaded, but reaper and my PC still work without a problem (after the samples all get loaded, around 30 seconds). But, i too feel the GAS attack coming on, having played with this PC for around 3 years now . . . what with DIY quads available for < 500$. ugh. I concur on the < shoestring bit. 3 teenagers seem to know how to kill any extra $$$. |
||||
| CptTripps Czar of Turd Polish Member Since: Jun 20, 2006 |
|
Feb 10, 2010 12:57 pm Just to clarify, I don't think his PC specs will cause any grief. I was just saying it would cause grief before the USB port would. |
||||
Rules and Etiquette
Note to spammers: - all links embedded within our forum are marked with a "nofollow" directive to crawlers from search engines, so any links you leave behind to your sites for Ugg boots, body part enlargement supplements, get rich quick sites or other such things will not gain you any improvements in search engine rankings.
By registering for membership to HRC you agree to act in a manner that is respectful of the fellow members and law abiding. This prohibits, but is not limited to the following:
- Thou shalt not discuss or promote software, music or movie piracy, or any sort of illegal activity.
- Thou shalt not flame, insult, ridicule or otherwise be disrespectful of other members of the community or the community itself.
- Thou shalt not use vulgar or abusive language
- Thou shalt not spam the forum with MLM scams, weight loss programs, how to increase the size of private body parts, how you can make us rich quick with your proven plan, or otherwise wasteful, stupid or unrelated topics.
- Thou shalt not use the forum as a blatant advertising tool, any and all advertisement that do not relate to the subject being discussed will be removed from our forum, or, left up to mock and ridicule.
- Thou shalt not use any provided web space to share illegal files or content.
Failure to abide by these rules can lead to removal of your content and possible banning of your profile. Common sense prevails, just respect your fellow forum members and we will all have fun and learn a lot.
Registering for membership lists you under the typical member status. The following membership levels currently exist:
- Member - Allows access to personal profiles of other members, posting in the forum, adding of links to the links directory, posting classifieds and posting links to your music in our Members' Music Directory.
- Contributor - Adds to the above by allowing the contributor to submit articles for posting on the website with full credit being given to the contributor. if you wish to contribute, register for membership, and then contact us to request being upgraded
- Moderator - All of the above plus the ability to edit and delete forum posting and threads. This level is achieved by personal invitation of the site administrators.
- Administrator - Has full control over website content and user administration.
- Banned - People that have this title have broken the above mentioned rules.
Privacy Policy
The information given in registration is the sole property of HRC and will never be sold, traded or otherwise given to anyone. We have no interest in promoting spamming or any form of annoying online marketing. Your information is kept private except for what you allow to be seen in your personal profile.
The Home Recording Connection web site does use cookies on the visitors machine to authenticate users logged in status and track which user they are, as well as the use of cookies by HRC's third party advertising systems and to support visitor analytics systems. These cookies are not dangerous and not intended to exploit any theft of information in any way, they are simply a tiny text file storing a string of characters that are used strictly for tracking user visit and geolocation information to show the users more relevant advertisements and give us a more accurate view of who uses this web site so that information can help us make it more useful for those using it.
The cookies used by the Google ad serving system uses the DART cookie which enables it to serve ads the visitor based on their visit to this site and other sites on the Internet. HRC visitors may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.
For more information about HTTP Cookies, read Wikipedia's post on the subject.
Home > Community > Recording Forum > Getting Sound In__Which Route Would You Take? - Recording Forum
If you would like to participate in the forum discussions, feel free to register for your free membership.
[ Home ] [ Search HRC ] [ Help Support HRC ] [ RSS/Feedburner ] [ Contact Us ] [ Advertise on HRC ] [ Privacy Policy ]
Home Recording Connection is hosted on HostPC servers, the best web hosting available.
Reproduction of original content within this site without permission is prohibited. All content copyright ©2010 Home Recording Connection.
Home Recording Connection is owned and operated by dB Masters Multimedia. All rights reserved.
