13 Dec
2002
13 Dec
'02
8:08 p.m.
Chris,
I just went through the same thing. I wrote it all up -
http://myweb.cableone.net/eviltwin69/ALSA_JACK_ARDOUR.html - with a
justification of the gear I bought in the introduction. Also some good
HW links.
On Fri, 2002-12-13 at 16:57, Chris wrote:
Vexing questions:
1) How important is a da-ad converter, and how much must one spend on this?
External is better just from a noise point of view.
2) What does one look for in a soundcard. Is it
necessary to invest $600
in one -- I mean, where is all that money really going? What makes a card
like the hammerfall so great? How much on these cards is "fluff" and how
much is really practical for just recording.
Check the web page above.
3) Do people actually use fiber for their lines? Or
is this super-duper
high end stuff?
Got me. I don't but then I don't have a digital mixer either.
4) I have spent some time on some sites of card
manufacturers... and I
can't quite piece together how multiple inputs work on the cards... is it a
one for one deal (one input = one channel), or is their some software or
hardware that allows for more than one channel per input?
Generally 1 input = 1 channel however some cards have two different
types of inputs for a pair of channels. The DSP 2000 has two XLR
ins/outs OR two 1/4 inch ins/outs for channels 1 and 2.
5) how good is open-source software for effects
processing... I saw
something on the ardour site saying that it does not support "plugins"...
(due to lack of a standard)... does that mean no effects?
LADSPA plugin effects, Steve Harris' are the best. There are quite a
few.
6) What do you guys do for a drum machine solution, is
software adequate or
do you really recommend getting a drum machine?
I'm cheating, I'm using my el cheapo RP100 to dump a drum track as a
"click track" and then I get my drummer to record something "real"
when
I get finished recording my bit.
7) Does everybody go direct on this, or do they mic
their amps (I am
primarily a guitar player). How do you keep the sound quality up if you
are direct?
I do both depending on the sound I'm looking for. I always mic the amp
for my harp but I'll use direct on guitar sometimes.
8) I want to build a **QUIET** machine... Any
suggestions on computer
hardware? (I have bought from quietpc, and found that some of the stuff
was no quieter than normal --even louder some times).
Don't know for sure. I don't even know how you'd find out from a
vendor. My system is not exactly quiet but it's not bad. More fans =
more noise.
I have a marshall jmp-1 preamp with a valvestate 8008, a RockTron
intellifex, proq and guitar silencer (all rackmount) on top of a marshall
jcm-900 lead-1960. I would be sad to see some of it go, but since I am not
performing, I would be willing sell some off if there is better stuff for
home recording. I would only need about 4 simultaneous inputs.
The midiman Delta 44 or 66 might be your best bet for a 4 (analog)
input card 24/96 although the converters are onboard.
Excluding the pc I must build, I would like to try to
keep the price around
$1000 (including the sound card). Is this realistic? I might spend more
if I wind up selling some of my current equipment.
I gutted my previous system for the hard drives and CDRW. Then I
bought a new case, AZZA MB, AMD Athlon XP 1700+, 256MB memory, and A
DSP2000 for a total of about $700.
Jan Depner