32 posts
Alright. So my computer died and I do not want to use my old break out box any more. I'm looking for a USB way to connect to my computer. What are you favorite selections.
I'm on the fence between going with a Protools set up and either going with an M-box or the M-Audio route.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
Pro Tools 9 and later works with anything that supports ASIO...
As far as drivers go, RME makes the best stuff, and it costs it. I am more than happy with my M-Audio 2626...
Reminds me, I was going to send you something, and never did... Gotta get to it!
What CPU and OS will you have?
If i7 (or better) and Win7 (x64), give the Roland Quad Capture a try. I run mine at 48 samples (ASIO) and the damn thing is phenomenally rock solid. I use Sonar X1 of course, but I would think ASIO is ASIO. I did try it on XP and the best performance I could get repeatable stable performance was 256 samples. But on Win7 it is a whole new ballgame.
If you are going to use a laptop I would be more wary of a bus powered device, but on a tower with good components you should be fine.
Funnily enough I'm just going through the same sort of transition to usb recording and have just ordered one of these
http://www.thomann.de/gb/alesis_multimix_8_usb_20_fx.htm
I'm using Windows 7 (64 bit) on a HP Pavilion HPE. I've got plenty of RAM and all that jazz. Just need something to attach mics to!
I'll look those suggestions up. Thanks and keep them coming.
If you think it will help, Howie has generously offered to give you a signed copy of his book...
:)
CraigBert — May 03, 2012If you think it will help, Howie has generously offered to give you a signed copy of his book...
:)
I think you must be following what that book preaches Craig as I remember hearing something from you years ago but nothing since ;D
Well, you can't record when almost all of your gear is stuck in storage... :(
That said, I have recorded several voice-overs for company stuff including adding backing music so I've managed to get something recorded! :)
BTW - I just shipped my best custom guitar off yesterday so I'm hoping to start looking for a new place to live this weekend. I also have an interview on Tuesday so maybe things are turning around? Unfortunately I'm now down to ONE guitar (of course, that one guitar is a custom with Variax guts so I still have SOME flexibility ;) ).
Ahhhh, life... ::)
Surely you can get self employed consultancy work rather than getting a full-time job ?
Craig, you'll be back on the upswing before long.
Jon — May 03, 2012Surely you can get self employed consultancy work rather than getting a full-time job ?
It's tough when you were an expert in something that no longer exists! That said, all I've been doing lately is knocking the rust off of my programming skills trying to get somewhat up-to-date, however everything now has a certificate attached to it (none of which I'll be getting until I can afford to waste money on the tests) and there are now dozens of areas/protocols/languages/etc. to choose from. So I'm working on learning certain ones for now AND I've got an interview on Tuesday for a job that allows me to work from home (wherever "home" ends up being!).
I figure start with the fairly easy (and correspondingly low paying) job while I continue to watch training videos, get an unaccredited BSCIS degree accredited, read and work on a Windows/WPF/.Net/C# program I've been writing. Fortunately I don't need a lot of income and not having to drive is a HUGE bonus.
So, yeah, things are looking up. :)
Oh, and my guitar finally sold, to a guy in one of the other forums (very cool!) so I'll be able to move out soon. I'm just glad that my ex-business partner was able to delay the foreclosure for an extra four weeks - that gave me the time I needed to get 'er sold. ;)
Your guitar was going to get foreclosed on???? That's terrible!!!
Given all your trials over the last few years, I'm surprised you haven't gone the "Find a sugar mamma" route. Mark, however, is less surprise. :)
Hey bitches.....hijack threads much? :-?
If you pay Craig the $1600 he took in the pants on his guitar, he'll give you your thread back! :o
Fenderbender — May 04, 2012Hey bitches.....hijack threads much? :-?
You are quite right, we shouldn't do that really (ps, I think craig started it :) )
Here are the suggestions so far
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/ProFire2626.html
http://www.rolandus.com/products/productdetails.php?ProductId=1166
http://www.thomann.de/gb/alesis_multimix_8_usb_20_fx.htm
I just realised that I already have one of these, just found it in a drawer ;D
http://www.roland.com/products/en/UA-25/
I bought it years ago and for some reason hardly ever used it. I just installed the 64 bit driver on windows 7 and it works really well.
Yeah some interesting things have gone through my head in reading the suggestions thrown out there thus far. I have thought for years that I was going to eventually get to a protools set up......BUT.....Paul's suggest of course gets me looking at cakewalk again. I'm actually a bit used to that. I think it was Dean that sent me a Guitar Tracks thing from Cakewalk years ago and I really liked it then. For the type of things that I do and when I get the chance to do them....this Cakewalk stuff has me leaning toward it at the moment.
Eventually we will build a house that will have a seperate studio....and then I can invest a bit of stupid money into a studio. But all I am mostly doing currently when I get to record is other peoples vocals or guitar based stuff. So I don't need any more than 2 mics set up at the moment.
What I do need to do is get my hands on a few mics. But that's not the priority right now. I have a dynamic mic but I am really interested in futzing with condenser mics and ribbon mics and then blending those mics to see what I can get out of it.
I appreciate everything thus far. It has given me lots of great things to think about.
I only use Reaper these days. The latest version(s) of it are very good and it is just so simple and quick to use plus you can also put it onto a usb stick, plug it into someone else's pc and you can start using it without installation.
+1 with Reaper ! Cheap and solid. I've never had a problem with it since version 1.8 ! Great software!
...just my 0.02 ;)
Here"s a link to an M-audio interface
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/ProToolsMPFastTrackPro.html
They have these things on Ebay for cheap.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=M-Audio+Fast+Track+Pro&_sacat=0&_odkw=fulltone&_osacat=0
If I were upgrading to a Windows 7 system, This would be a cheap way to get my foot in. It has the Pro Tools Option if you decide to go that route, or use it with Reaper, or any other DAW. Some of them come with Pro Tools. Make sure you get the newer version MP9. A lot of the units sold on Ebay come with older PT versions so watch for that. M- Audio has been awesome for keeping their drivers updated as the computer world changes. So even if you buy a unit with older software because the price is right, you can upgrade and it's supported by M-Audio.
FWIW
Fenderbender — May 05, 2012Yeah some interesting things have gone through my head in reading the suggestions thrown out there thus far. I have thought for years that I was going to eventually get to a protools set up......BUT.....Paul's suggest of course gets me looking at cakewalk again. I'm actually a bit used to that. I think it was Dean that sent me a Guitar Tracks thing from Cakewalk years ago and I really liked it then. For the type of things that I do and when I get the chance to do them....this Cakewalk stuff has me leaning toward it at the moment.
Eventually we will build a house that will have a seperate studio....and then I can invest a bit of stupid money into a studio. But all I am mostly doing currently when I get to record is other peoples vocals or guitar based stuff. So I don't need any more than 2 mics set up at the moment.
What I do need to do is get my hands on a few mics. But that's not the priority right now. I have a dynamic mic but I am really interested in futzing with condenser mics and ribbon mics and then blending those mics to see what I can get out of it.
I appreciate everything thus far. It has given me lots of great things to think about.
Well, the Quad Capture has you covered on the inputs, and it also comes with Sonar X1 LE bundled in. so you can see if you like it or not. X1 is quite a bit different from Sonar (pre X1) they redid the workflow quite a bit and it took a while to work out the kinks. But once learned I think it is a nice improvement. It's not a perfect DAW, but it does a lot of stuff really well.
I was really on the fence about trying the quad capture. I did not believe that a USB device could have latency low enough to fit my workflow - guitar amp fx out -> Quad Capture -> Sonar track with live monitoring on, with Recab 3 and any number of fx in the fx bin -> routed thru sonar's PDC feature to the main out while recording. There is virtually no latency, but it takes an i7 or so with Win7 to achieve this. But I can dial in any sound I want this way and track with an edge style dotted 8th note delay or whatever with no noticable latency. it's the perfect setup for me. Now you are talking about miking so you don't even need what I am talking about. but it's really nice to have it if you do.
Jon — May 05, 2012I only use Reaper these days. The latest version(s) of it are very good and it is just so simple and quick to use plus you can also put it onto a usb stick, plug it into someone else's pc and you can start using it without installation.
Jon, I've used reaper for years now. I cannot complain. I just use the free version. Part of me is curious about other daws though.
Paul, I'm currently not into wave files and cab sims. I want record what I have. I think all those things are cool but for me I spend way to much time screwing around with set ups and what not. Thanks line 6 Berta for teaching me that lesson. I strive for simplicity now.
Based on mentioning the Vetta, I think you are misunderstanding what I am getting at - if you want to monitor what you are tracking with a nice delay or verb, you can do it without noticeable latency, and no need for external hardware. I am not printing with the fx though, just the original signal. I would think that might be useful for vocals. I know I love it for solos.
My use of Recab3 is simply for being able to track when everybody else is asleep or whatever. It may sound complex, but my setup is extremely simple.
it's been my experience that cab sims (via IR) consistently sound better than microphones set up by me. vastly more simple to use successfully in my case.
ymmv, to each his own, past performance not a guarantee of future results, etc etc.
ironsheep — May 07, 2012it's been my experience that cab sims (via IR) consistently sound better than microphones set up by me. vastly more simple to use successfully in my case.
ymmv, to each his own, past performance not a guarantee of future results, etc etc.
Yup +1 to both of those points for me as well.
The funny thing is, I found a bunch of miked up test recordings I had done a few years ago, and many were crap, but some are eerily close to what I have now using Recab3. That makes me very happy :)
I've had a few things that let you recab things. I have had poo for success at that stuff. I am a dinosaur in this stuff now. I never get those things to sound right. I've even tried re-amping and that sounds like poo also everytime I do it.
When I'm just recording me I keeps it really simple. Mic the amp and go. Like a bad boy I typical DO put the effects into that recording because I don't have a way to get the sound I like without my gear. I'm just that guy that has to hear the tone I want to hear. SOMETIMES if I am using someone else's amp and I can get the sound I want with it....I don't need a thing else and that's nice. But the amp I have is mucho limited in the "tone in my head" department so I have to use outside sources.
I've never had luck with adding say distortion via something in the DAW. Just don't doesn't right to me.
I've seen guys take a sound that is just total shit and by the time they get done putting into the mix it sounds right. My brain just doesn't process that way. I gotta have it at the source.
The problem just may be the VST's I have used.
I know at this point I am damn near sold on the Quad thingy Paul mentioned and I am damn near sold on Sonar. Little research to do on midi stuff and instruments for adding shit I don't have here like drums or bass. I don't know if protools or Sonar is better for that type of stuff.
ironsheep — May 07, 2012it's been my experience that cab sims (via IR) consistently sound better than microphones set up by me. vastly more simple to use successfully in my case.
ymmv, to each his own, past performance not a guarantee of future results, etc etc.
I find this strange because, as someone who's consumed your guitar tones for years now, I think you get pro-quality miced tones. I haven't noticed a drop-off in your tone going to the simulated cabinets, it's more just a different flavor. I think it's about 1000x easier to do it direct, though, especially at the volumes you use... but I doubt many of us would say your direct sounds are better... In fact, I often use a couple of your mic'd tracks as references in the studio when micing. But the recording process is far different for the producer than the consumer...
but keep in mind that only the better examples left the house.
the entire set of tones I've recorded with mics includes lots of really poor sounding stuff as well - those just never got posted anywhere.
I don't add distortion in the DAW. Recab simply replaces the cab and mic, nothing else.
And I agree with charger - sheep's miked tones are awesome.
I have been getting a horrible hum (ground loop) on my UA-25 which is why I suspect I never bothered using it a lot. However, I have just bought this little gizmo http://www.electronics-shop.dk/galvanic_isolator.htm?currency=EUR and it kills the hum completely. Now absolutely silent.