Greetings
I'm new to this whole deal. I'm interested in buying Mixcraft, but I want to know what else I'll need to get to make it all work.
I have a reasonably new laptop with Vista installed. I have no idea what kind of sound software is inside, if any.
Do I need to buy a soundcard to make it all work? If yes, what kind do people recommend? Or will the computer come with something installed that will do the job?
Also, do I need to buy some kind of device to plug guitars etc into to convert to USB to plug into the computer? What do people recommend? Or can I just plug my guitar into a preamp (I have an old Sans-amp) and into the mic input on the laptop?
Not much to ask, I realise... but any advice would be most appreciated.
Cheers
Graeme in New Zealand
Soundcards and other gadgets: what do I need to get started?
Moderators: Acoustica Greg, Acoustica Eric, Acoustica Dan, rsaintjohn
If your PC has mic and line inputs and a line/headphone output, that means you have built-in sound on your PC, so you've got all you need to get you started. It won't be brilliant, but it should be good enough for basic demos and stuff.
If you're using a preamp, you need to plug the preamp output into the PC's *line* input. The mic input won't work. A basic PC line-in is usually not fantastic quality - it'll sample at 16-bit 44kHz which is OK, but the audio hardware is often noisy. If you can afford a jack-to-USB widget, you'll definitely get better quality recordings. Having said that, if you're not planning on selling your recordings and just want them to hear what you sound like or for demos, you don't really need ultimate quality.
Mostly what you need for good results is good playback - you need to know that what you're hearing when you do your mix and FX tweaking is what everyone else will hear. So consider getting a nice set of headphones and some reasonable speakers.
Graham.
If you're using a preamp, you need to plug the preamp output into the PC's *line* input. The mic input won't work. A basic PC line-in is usually not fantastic quality - it'll sample at 16-bit 44kHz which is OK, but the audio hardware is often noisy. If you can afford a jack-to-USB widget, you'll definitely get better quality recordings. Having said that, if you're not planning on selling your recordings and just want them to hear what you sound like or for demos, you don't really need ultimate quality.
Mostly what you need for good results is good playback - you need to know that what you're hearing when you do your mix and FX tweaking is what everyone else will hear. So consider getting a nice set of headphones and some reasonable speakers.
Graham.
USB to Jack Widgets
Hi again
thanks for the tips and advice above.
Have you guys thrashed around the issue of what USB to Jack widgets are any good? Any words of wisdom?
Someone showed me the most basic Tascam USB to jack widget the other day, but when I googled it, it got trashed in the reviews. Seemed to crash in Vista and no support were the main problems...
Any thoughts?
Graeme
thanks for the tips and advice above.
Have you guys thrashed around the issue of what USB to Jack widgets are any good? Any words of wisdom?
Someone showed me the most basic Tascam USB to jack widget the other day, but when I googled it, it got trashed in the reviews. Seemed to crash in Vista and no support were the main problems...
Any thoughts?
Graeme