Lillehamring Posted 21 July 2009 Posted 21 July 2009 ok... i have just started recording some vocals on my laptop and for some reason the recording through the mic input (as well as the built in mic) is awash with hiss - the finest minds (keith) at the HP help desk have run out of ideas, so.... i am thinking of comitting to an exteranal audio interface, now, what i'd like to know is: 1. does this still go theough the laptops's sound card. 2. do you record as mic or the 'wave out mix' (which records fine) 3. which is better USb or firewire 4. are there any better brands for this sort of thing than m-audio thanks in advance.
Edmund Posted 21 July 2009 Posted 21 July 2009 ok...i have just started recording some vocals on my laptop and for some reason the recording through the mic input (as well as the built in mic) is awash with hiss - the finest minds (keith) at the HP help desk have run out of ideas, so.... i am thinking of comitting to an exteranal audio interface, now, what i'd like to know is: 1. does this still go theough the laptops's sound card. 2. do you record as mic or the 'wave out mix' (which records fine) 3. which is better USb or firewire 4. are there any better brands for this sort of thing than m-audio thanks in advance. (1) Funnily enough this actually is a grey area for me which ive been looking into myself. My understanding is the external interface does all the processing and the internal soundcard becomes surplus. I was always led to believe that the internal soundcard did all the processing bar recordings. But after a little researcch its seems its not the ccase. (2) Im not to sure what that software is you mentioned but your best recording directly onto a Daw such as cubase. That way you can monitor it properly. (3) I was told by a guy at turnkey firewire all the way but I wasn't convinced but I went down that route myself as from past experiences with external hadrives firewire shits all over usb especially if its firewire 800. Im sure the majority of audio interfaces coming out now are firewire as it seems to be the more accepted conncetion in the music industry so best off going down that route. (4) Yes plenty. M-audio do make some nice externals though. Other companies worth looking at are edirol, apogee. I currently have http://www.dv247.com/invt/25936/ and it does the job nicely. I want to get one of these babys. They sound lush. http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/flypage/product_id/3823
Lillehamring Posted 21 July 2009 Author Posted 21 July 2009 (1) Funnily enough this actually is a grey area for me which ive been looking into myself. My understanding is the external interface does all the processing and the internal soundcard becomes surplus. I was always led to believe that the internal soundcard did all the processing bar recordings. But after a little researcch its seems its not the ccase.(2) Im not to sure what that software is you mentioned but your best recording directly onto a Daw such as cubase. That way you can monitor it properly. (3) I was told by a guy at turnkey firewire all the way but I wasn't convinced but I went down that route myself as from past experiences with external hadrives firewire shits all over usb especially if its firewire 800. Im sure the majority of audio interfaces coming out now are firewire as it seems to be the more accepted conncetion in the music industry so best off going down that route. (4) Yes plenty. M-audio do make some nice externals though. Other companies worth looking at are edirol, apogee. I currently have http://www.dv247.com/invt/25936/ and it does the job nicely. I want to get one of these babys. They sound lush. http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/flypage/product_id/3823 cheers for that, i'll check out the links later... re: 2) i don't think i phrased that so well... i was refering to the recording source - ie 'mic' or 'wave out' (or what ever they choose to call it, essentially the old 'what you can hear')
Edmund Posted 21 July 2009 Posted 21 July 2009 re: 2) i don't think i phrased that so well... i was refering to the recording source - ie 'mic' or 'wave out' (or what ever they choose to call it, essentially the old 'what you can hear') Ahh I think I know what you mean. Im on a mac so its a bit different but yeah you should still be able to record straight into the audio recorder on your laptop. I record vocals from dvds with no problems. Is that what you meant Or do you mean the source in telling your computer where the recording is coming from? If so you will also have to change input source to your designated audio interface. Soz if im confusing you. Its just a mac is slightly different but put it this way I just plugged in my interface and it worked straight away. No installitions or nothing. Also one more tip get an interface with a xlr/jack input all in one socket so it gives you the best of both worlds. Im also guessing you have monitors/amp/speakers or do you use the laptop speakers?
Guest Posted 21 July 2009 Posted 21 July 2009 Firewire has a greater data transfer rate (400/800Mb), but for the purposes of recording vocals alone a USB2.0 interface shoudl do you fine. I've got a Yamaha 01X at home but generally I use that for recording and replaying multichannel audio via the desk, hence the reason the firewire works well in this instance. No idea where the hiss is being created in your system though. M-audio's fine but obviously, as with all things music gear related, you can get better if you're willing to shell out for it
Edmund Posted 21 July 2009 Posted 21 July 2009 Firewire has a greater data transfer rate (400/800Mb), but for the purposes of recording vocals alone a USB2.0 interface shoudl do you fine.I've got a Yamaha 01X at home but generally I use that for recording and replaying multichannel audio via the desk, hence the reason the firewire works well in this instance. No idea where the hiss is being created in your system though. M-audio's fine but obviously, as with all things music gear related, you can get better if you're willing to shell out for it I think the hiss is caused by something in the chain not being earthed properly Just a wild guess but a decent interface should sort that out. Just out of interest Valengra what connection are using to connect your mic to your laptop because Ive never seen a laptop with a quarter inch jack input.
Guest Posted 21 July 2009 Posted 21 July 2009 I think the hiss is caused by something in the chain not being earthed properly Just a wild guess but a decent interface should sort that out. Just out of interest Valengra what connection are using to connect your mic to your laptop because Ive never seen a laptop with a quarter inch jack input. That'd be more likely to create a low frequency hum than anything EDIT: Sorry, I'm getting a bit pedantic now
Edmund Posted 21 July 2009 Posted 21 July 2009 That'd be more likely to create a low frequency hum than anything Yeah your probably right im no expert on the recording side of things its just I use to have some behringer truth monitors a couple years back and they use to hiss constantly. Basically after months of research I found out there was an earth loop in my system. I determined this by removing the earths from the mains and it would disappear. Obviously this was not a clever idea as if it went faulty and I touched any part which was metal like the grill then I would truly be fooked. Got rid of them in the end. Could be a number of things. The only other thing which springs to mind is that he is recording at to high a level with the internal pre amp pushed to the max causing distortion. EDIT: Sorry, I'm getting a bit pedantic now
Lillehamring Posted 22 July 2009 Author Posted 22 July 2009 I think the hiss is caused by something in the chain not being earthed properly Just a wild guess but a decent interface should sort that out. Just out of interest Valengra what connection are using to connect your mic to your laptop because Ive never seen a laptop with a quarter inch jack input. i'm pretty sure it's something internal that is causing the hiss, as it doesn't seem to be affected by changes to recording settings. even changing the recording level doesn't change the amount of hiss... i'm hopiong that getting an interface will leapfrog the faulty components - which is why i don't want to have to still use 'mic' as the input source. another reason for wanting to use one is because i'm just using the normal mic in jack through an adaptor to get meet the 1/4 in cable, it's crap and i've managed with it for years, but now i think i deserve something a bit better the HP help desk suggested that i use noise reduction software, and sent me a link to audacity.com idiots.
Lillehamring Posted 22 July 2009 Author Posted 22 July 2009 Firewire has a greater data transfer rate (400/800Mb), but for the purposes of recording vocals alone a USB2.0 interface shoudl do you fine.I've got a Yamaha 01X at home but generally I use that for recording and replaying multichannel audio via the desk, hence the reason the firewire works well in this instance. No idea where the hiss is being created in your system though. M-audio's fine but obviously, as with all things music gear related, you can get better if you're willing to shell out for it
Lillehamring Posted 22 July 2009 Author Posted 22 July 2009 i kinda like this one - but it would cost me 70 quid to deliver... might have to see if i can find it locally...
Edmund Posted 22 July 2009 Posted 22 July 2009 i kinda like this one - but it would cost me 70 quid to deliver... might have to see if i can find it locally... I see nothing
Lillehamring Posted 22 July 2009 Author Posted 22 July 2009 I see nothing http://www.dv247.com/invt/55252/
Edmund Posted 22 July 2009 Posted 22 July 2009 http://www.dv247.com/invt/55252/ Pricey but looks very good. Comes with more than your average interface like effects and that which im guessing for your recording will be handy. I know Motu is a very good company though so you know your getting quality. Do you know http://www.thomann.de/ they might be cheaper to ship from as they will be nearer.
Lillehamring Posted 22 July 2009 Author Posted 22 July 2009 Pricey but looks very good. Comes with more than your average interface like effects and that which im guessing for your recording will be handy. I know Motu is a very good company though so you know your getting quality.Do you know http://www.thomann.de/ they might be cheaper to ship from as they will be nearer. to be honest the effects aren't massively interesting to me as i have waves renaissance in my nuendo and some other stuff which i'm very pleased with... but it looks quite versatile, figured i could go abit more pricey if i can use it to do some live stuff too... will look at that website in the mornimg.
Edmund Posted 22 July 2009 Posted 22 July 2009 to be honest the effects aren't massively interesting to me as i have waves renaissance in my nuendo and some other stuff which i'm very pleased with... Im guessing you obtained these through a special way if you get my drift. I really want to get the waves package especially for the L2 but lets put it this way you need the ilok for mac and they charge ridiculous amounts.
Lillehamring Posted 24 July 2009 Author Posted 24 July 2009 Im guessing you obtained these through a special way if you get my drift.I really want to get the waves package especially for the L2 but lets put it this way you need the ilok for mac and they charge ridiculous amounts. yes, through a special way. this is what has led me to stick with a PC over a mac, would be nice but i have a fair bit of software that i would need to reacquire...through the special way.
Edmund Posted 24 July 2009 Posted 24 July 2009 yes, through a special way.this is what has led me to stick with a PC over a mac, would be nice but i have a fair bit of software that i would need to reacquire...through the special way. To be fair you can get pretty much all the software that you can on the pc for a mac through the special way its just waves as you need the ilok key which is a usb dongle for it to work on a mac. I can live without it to be fair, there are plenty of great mastering tools out there.
Lillehamring Posted 28 September 2009 Author Posted 28 September 2009 anyone had any dealings with TCelectronics... as i'm now looking at this one http://www.tcelectronic.com/konnekt8.asp
Edmund Posted 28 September 2009 Posted 28 September 2009 anyone had any dealings with TCelectronics...as i'm now looking at this one http://www.tcelectronic.com/konnekt8.asp Never physically bought or tested any of there products but from what I know in terms of a brand they are quality. Just be wary it looks like they are launching a newer model as it says at dv247 they are discontinued. http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/tc-...nterface--32963 Not that it matters it just means there could be an improved model coming out wether its in the same price bracket will remain a mystery. Ive been toying with the idea of buying a TC powercore for the last year or so. They do make some good products and im sure they use to make a lot of studio standard engineer hardware. If your looking around that price mark though why don't you buy the same one ive got. http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/edi...nterface--25936 In terms of output and inputs it seems almost identical. I can also give you first hand experience and tell you that it does the job nicely as I have used mine for over two years. The recording quality is very good from the rare occasions when ive had the mic hooked up Sound output is spot on and the overall durability is good. Wont be changing mine anytime soon. Yes im a little biased but ive used it with no issues. Edirol (Roland) are also a top brand and no what there doing
Edmund Posted 28 September 2009 Posted 28 September 2009 1. does this still go theough the laptops's sound card. (1) Funnily enough this actually is a grey area for me which ive been looking into myself. My understanding is the external interface does all the processing and the internal soundcard becomes surplus. I was always led to believe that the internal soundcard did all the processing bar recordings. But after a little researcch its seems its not the ccase. I can now confirm that what I said is definitely correct.
Lillehamring Posted 29 September 2009 Author Posted 29 September 2009 I can now confirm that what I said is definitely correct. that's good - i assume that my sequencer will recognise it as an input source, alongwith the computers mic input... will have a look at the edirol, too... evrything is way more pricey over here, almaost tempted to come back to england to buy something... re: the 'discontinued' status, it seems odd, cause it is still showing on the TC webpage and seems available here - they have a 24D version, which is the same but with DSP facilities (which i don't need), so maybe they are just sticking with that model? thanks for the input, mate....
Edmund Posted 29 September 2009 Posted 29 September 2009 that's good - i assume that my sequencer will recognise it as an input source, alongwith the computers mic input... Yep thats right. With my mac it was plug and play and off you go. I had to select the interface as my input and output the first time in logic and it remembered from there on. will have a look at the edirol, too... evrything is way more pricey over here, almaost tempted to come back to england to buy something... Not sure how much difference in price we are talking but do you know anyone in England? Why don't you just get someone to purchase it here and then buy a cheap european courier off ebay through dhl and bobs your uncle Did you try Thomann out? http://www.thomann.de/ might be cheaper for you. Also worth looking on ebay. If you speak to a few shops on there they usually can do you a good price as they are straight out of a warehouse and no overheads. Just bought a pair of speakers through this route and saved nearly £100 I can sympathise with you because at the moment the cost of electronics has never been so high. Its down to the dollar and the yen being so strong to the pound at present. All electronics have gone up in silly amounts over the last year. re: the 'discontinued' status, it seems odd, cause it is still showing on the TC webpage and seems available here - they have a 24D version, which is the same but with DSP facilities (which i don't need), so maybe they are just sticking with that model? Probably not to sure. Even if it's old don't be put off the circuitry in these things are the same principle. In fact the old gear always seems to be more reliable and not just churned off a factory line. thanks for the input, mate.... No probs and happy birthday.
Lillehamring Posted 29 September 2009 Author Posted 29 September 2009 Yep thats right. With my mac it was plug and play and off you go. I had to select the interface as my input and output the first time in logic and it remembered from there on.excellent Not sure how much difference in price we are talking but do you know anyone in England? Why don't you just get someone to purchase it here and then buy a cheap european courier off ebay through dhl and bobs your uncle yeah, i do, the problem is you get taxed beyond belief for 'importing' stuff... insanely, the prices are so different, i reckon i can fly to england and pick something up for the same price and maybe even catch a city game Did you try Thomann out? http://www.thomann.de/ might be cheaper for you. yeah, i did, but worked out about the same as british mail order - less postage, but higher prices Also worth looking on ebay. If you speak to a few shops on there they usually can do you a good price as they are straight out of a warehouse and no overheads. Just bought a pair of speakers through this route and saved nearly £100 I can sympathise with you because at the moment the cost of electronics has never been so high. Its down to the dollar and the yen being so strong to the pound at present. All electronics have gone up in silly amounts over the last year. Probably not to sure. Even if it's old don't be put off the circuitry in these things are the same principle. In fact the old gear always seems to be more reliable and not just churned off a factory line. i couldn't find your edirol one at the norwegian site i found No probs and happy birthday. cheers!
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