Audio Recording Issues > Advice Please

[qpoint]

Dear All,

Firstly let me apologise for the uneducated and probably misguided information below. I don’t pretend to know much on this topic but have tried to do as much research on the internet as possible, my head is about to explode so I need some assistance. I have been djing for 2 years, saves up for my collection of hardware and now can’t even record a demo CD – Pathetic!

OK, I have tried on 3 different laptops to record my drum and bass sets straight out from my xone92 mixer. I had reasonable success using my old work IBM laptop (which has since been replaced with an HP one), though the sound quality was pants in comparison to any other sets I hear online or from a friends demo CD. I was recording straight in to the microphone port on the laptop which I believe was originally designed for speech only. I have since tried using my new HP to record with NO success at all. I have tried all the different combinations of mic, line in, edited my recording devices, levels, EVERYTHING. I can get it to record through the built in speakers only, which are far too sensitive, it peeks straight away and if you move or cough the levels go right up. I then researched my built in soundcard on the internet (Soundmax HD) and have found thousands of other people through google that have the same problem. It turns out that the company are being sued by Dell, HP and Toshiba for disabling the record functionality on the cards that were released with the laptop.

I have tried using Nero, Audacity, Wavepad etc.

I then looked at purchasing an external sound card which connects via USB. I was just about to purchase a Creative Sound Blaster, then googled it to read some reviews which basically said that yes this card Is very good for sound coming out of your laptop, but makes no real difference when recording in. Is this true? If it is I am a bit reluctant to invest £60 in something that only gives me the ‘standard’ mic quality that my laptop should have had anyway. I don’t need a soundcard for sound coming out of my computer as I haven’t got in to producing or anything like that.

My thoughts are now that if you want to do something seriously, don’t use the aweful onboard sounds on a laptop, or even through an expansion slot. Use a desktop or a mac. I’ve finally lost my patience with this and I think I’m just going to build my own desktop and stick a VERY good sound card in it. Using a standard desktop one of my friends can record in what sounds like much better quality than my attempts using the IBM.

Does anyone know any other way around this? I don’t want to buy a billion GB MP3 player and record using 320KBPS, I want to record as a large WAV file.

In addition to this, if I upgrade the leads, build a decent spec desktop with a good sound card, am I totally deluded in thinking I could get anywhere close to a semi-pro sound?

Many Thanks for your patience, any advice gratefully received,

Chris

[toolsong]

Hi Chris, you don't need a new desktop PC!

Your problems are because you have a huge difference between the mixer's output level and the input sensitivity of the laptop mic input. Your first order of business is to match the levels.

You started off on the right track thinking about the external Sound Blaster but what you're looking for is a proper external interface designed for musicians. One of these will make a huge difference.

I see your mixer has balanced XLR main outputs but also normal RCAs on the "record" output
http://www.allen-heath.com/ahimages/...conn_panel.jpg

There are plenty of interfaces here starting at £26, you might want to spend a bit more for the Edirol UA-1EX which supports ASIO.
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/b...&price_filter=

With the right interface you'll be recording at CD quality and it should sound identical when played back

[qpoint]

Hi Toolsong,

Firstly thank you very much for your assistance and advice. Sometimes it's quite daunting surveying my best options. I also use Serato from my laptop at the moment. I have invested in MK5's Technics, Xone92, decent amp and Shure whitelabels, all to try and give me the best possible sound. Please forgive me, but what is ASIO?

I quite liked the idea of specing up a good desktop as I could also use this to run Serato on, give it lots of RAM and processing power, a big harddrive and run it through a nice LCD TV which I have which isnt being used, so it will look quite nice and be very simply / easy to use. Will the Edirol adapter give me better sound quality versus an M-Audio sound card that costs around £100.00.

I have been waiting patiently for a few months to do a demo CD. I jut want it to sound as good as possible, and with a balanced sound thats pleasing on the ear.

Thanks again for your advice and support,

Many Thanks,

Chris

[toolsong]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Stream_Input/Output

As to which interface/soundcard you get, there are literally hundreds to choose from. You only need a single stereo input and any of them will have that. If you are looking for better SQ, select one with a better signal to noise ratio.

If you're thinking of mixing in Serato, why not go for their kit with this? http://www.serato.com/scratchlive/scratchlive-sl1

[qpoint]

Hi Toolsong,

I purchased the Edirol on your recommendation and recorded very well with it yesterday, so firstly thank you for your advice. Even using the standard driver the quality is very good, I just need to work out the best way to record from here on it.

I already have Serato scratch live. It works very well and hasn't really let me down in the past 18 months of ownership.

I have also just bought lots of Van Damme cables for Serato, recording and to the amp, again from a recommendation, so fingers crossed for those when they arrive,


Thanks again,

Chris

[qpoint]

Hi,

Having purchased the Edirol UA-1EX sound intrface, I tried recording a one hour demo last night. As first glance, the recording sounds very good with nice clean bass etc, but the recording seems to skip and mis a beat or so, every 30-45 seconds. Is this because presumably my work laptop will have a slow hard drive inside?

If so, once again, would I just be better off buying/building a good spec Desktop and recording on to that?

Many Thanks,

Chris

[toolsong]

Glad to hear you're getting better results

A modern laptop should be able to cope with recording. There are a few tweaks you can do to the OS to optimise it for recording and I hope you've already shut down any unneccessary apps.

Here's a few links but there are many more if you search
http://www.pcmus.com/TweakXP.htm
http://www.scribd.com/doc/439639/Mus...y-The-PC-Guide
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar0...sician0302.asp

As they will all say, the first thing to do is:

The most important is to set the processor scheduling to adjust for best performance of "Background Services." Find and chance this setting here:
START>CONTROL PANEL>SYSTEM>ADVANCED>PERFORMANCE OPTIONS>ADVANCED