Another Newbie Here

Ron Baldwin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 20

My chain is as follows:

Windows XP SP2
Sound forge 8.0
Marshall 990 mic
Behringer 802A
Sound Blaster Sound Card

Scott Pollak · Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2007, 19:24 (GMT) Post subject:

We use the same mixer, Ron. Which SB sound card are you using? I use the SB X-Fi running on Vista.

Ron Baldwin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 20

All I know is that is SB Live that came with my Dell 4600 and I can record 24 bit 192,000 sample rate.

Ron Baldwin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 20

I may be getting distortion because I have the cables plugged through the sound card wrong or the settings wrong on the mixer, I'm not sure, I use the audio restoration to clean up floor noise and that may be what tends to muddy up my recording, or I may need a better sound card.
I am in the process of adding two external hard drives to my PC.

Allison Scussel · **Voice Talent** Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 928

Hey Ron, FYI: I'm a Sam Elliot fan. Wink

Listen to the guys here. They know their junk.

~Ally~

Ed Gambill · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 585

Ron

This little deal with help us help you.

Stand in front of your microphone no closer than 10" and clap your hands together one time. Then do not talk or breathe loudly for 7 to 10 sec. After that moment of silence read a simple script.

Record it and do not process it at all, Nada processing, convert it to a MP 3 and post it. From that we can give you some feed back that will be useful

The SB card may be you down fall. A good quality I/O is essential. The card that Scott mentioned might be the way to go or another type. Many don’t like the UA25, that is what I use and also what Harland Hogan uses when he is on the road.

I likewise use Sound Forge for tracking, it’s as good a it gets for basic recording, and it is a great editor.

Ron Baldwin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 20

I will do that this weekend when I get back home, Thanks for the help.

Ron Baldwin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 20

Ed, I have discovered that my sound card is the big problem, after further research I have discovered that my sound card is a Sound Mapper, its only capable of recording 16 bit at 44,100 sample rate, I have been selecting the 24 bit in my SF which is diverting to 8 bit, when I select 16 bit in my SF the sound quality is much better,I am going to replace my sound Mapper with the Sound Blaster x-fi Elite Pro and I think that will fix my problem, What do you think ?

Ed Gambill · **Voice Talent** Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 585

This is a personal opinion and you know what opinions are like.

I would shy away from SB or any audio card that is deeply rooted in consumer audio. I favor the USB or Firewire I/O and among them I like the Edirol gear. I’ve been using the Edirol UA-25 for years, its still offered for sale. If you have Firewire then look at that type of interface.

If and when you get busy and you have the need for a portable system, then the external I/O. a laptop, mic and Hogan Box will give you the ability to take the show on the road.

BTW the external boxes are priced near to the SB card and most all have XLR connectors, not that XLR connectors are the gold standard it just indicates the market the product is aimed at.

Again that’s just a personal take on it. Good luck

Ron Baldwin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 20

I do have two systems, Desktop and Laptop, I will look into your setup as well, What all do you have in that chain, and how do you have it set up Ed ? I noticed Scott mentioned he uses the SB X-Fi SC, Dont know Which one though , What is your opinion Scott ?, If you dont mind.

I really appreciate you guys taking the time to help me out with this, and I do highly respect your opinions, your knowledge and experience are obvious here.

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007, 01:44 (GMT) Post subject:

It's funny, I tend to use all the stuff that the experts say isn't that good, such as SoundBlaster cards and the RE-20 mike, but doggonit if I don't keep getting compliments on how it all sounds. I'd say just don't skimp on the sound card. I'm not a technical guru on stuff like that, but I do know your card needs to be up to snuff to be able to handle the sampling rate you'll need to get broadcast quality sound. So spend $100 or so on a good card and it'll do the trick.

Ron Baldwin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 20

The elite pro is about $ 300.00 and the Edirol UA -25 USB is about the same, I just figured that was not much to spend to accomplish what I need to do, I have missed a couple of great paying jobs because someone else had a lot mo - betta "STUFF " to work with. I want to look into as many options as possible without just completely complicating all of it.

Scott, What do you use in your chain between the Mx802A and your Sound card ?

Jacob Ekstroem · **Voice Talent** Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 721

Scott Pollak · Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2007, 02:56 (GMT) Post subject:

Jacob's right: Nuthin'. Don't need it. I go directly out of my Behringer into the sound card.

Ron Baldwin · **Voice Talent** Joined: 13 Jan 2005 Posts: 20

I go directly from mine as well, just didnt know if I was missing anything, being kinda NOT digital savy and all, Thanks for all of the valuable info Jacob, Scott, Ed and everyone else involved.