good sound card?

[nepalnt21]

ok so im looking for a good sound card to record on my gateway pc. i really have no idea what to look for, but all i need is good sound quality, thats it. no fancy bells and whistles, no effects, no etc. i'm willing to spend up to 300 usd, but realistically i would like to spend between 50 and 150 usd.

thank you for any help.

 

[innerdreamrecords.co]

Re: good sound card?

M-Audio or Echo.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/navigation?q=echo+sound+card&src=3WWRWXO1&ZYXSEM=0

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: good sound card?

actually, i do have a firewire port on my computer, would getting one of those interfaces be more beneficial than a new soundcard?

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: good sound card?

$50-$150 range? I'd recommend ECHO MIA MIDI card. I've used it as a little workhorse for years and I still use in a little editing workstation built around it. It's one of my most reliable and solid stuff ever. You must spend 20 times more to get a noticable improvement of sound.

You'll need some decent preamp to record stuff as well. Don't expect vintage sound this or hi-end that but an M-Audio DMP3 makes the job pretty well.

Also, you'll need some durable, cheap and decent monitors. I'd recommend them powered M-Audio AV40 boxes. Again, they are not the most linear and stellar sounding stuff in the world, but AV40 is vastly more useful for audio projects than any hi-fi conusmer speakers.

BANG you're having your own little project studio You'll need only a couple of mics (I'd recommend super-versatile super-cheepo Shure SM57 as a start) and cables, and your musical ideas.

Good luck, bro'!

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: good sound card?

actually, i do have a firewire port on my computer, would getting one of those interfaces be more beneficial than a new soundcard?

FW interfaces usually have some preamps built in. IMO the best bang-for-the-buck is a Focusrite Saffire Pro 10 I/O FW interface with 8 decent mic preamps and pretty decent converters, around $400. With MAC it's pretty solid, with PC you should find a good FW card (e.g. D-Link FW500) then sit back and record 8 channels (10 with SPDIF) simultaneously. Most of the time, it's enough to record a drumset with clever mic placement.

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: good sound card?

well i was originally going to go with a new soundcard and a mackie onyx 1220, but would it be worth it to get the 1220 with the firewire card that comes optional?

such as this one

in stores its about 550 bucks new, and the optional fw card is an extra 400 bucks! so this is a great deal.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: good sound card?

With one word:

YES

Go for it, man. Mackie makes awesome stuff.

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: good sound card?

im pretty excited, i just bought my first ebay item.

thanks for the help, guys

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: good sound card?

You're welcome.

Good luck and have great project and much fun, bro'!

:beerchug: