Help Please

Behringer makes good equipment at reasonable prices. The question is: do you need a preamp? What soundcard are you using? Many soundcards have built-in preamps. Perhaps you just need a better soundcard. How many instruments are you planning to record simultaneously? 

Welcome, VV. Jump right in, man. After the initial shock the water's fine!

With a few specific exceptions, most Behringer products are widely considered to be crap garbage substandard less than optimal. I'd recommend something from ART as a similarly-priced alternative to Behringer stuff.

3rd Marine Div. Dong Ha/ Quang Tri 68-69

The name is, High Definition Audio Device by Microsoft.  The new computer is a Dell Inspiron 570.

Viet Vet 6869


The name is, High Definition Audio Device by Microsoft.  The new computer is a Dell Inspiron 570.
 

That's your weak link at the moment. Before you invest in preamps, I would get a suitable sound card/interface.
While the built in sound card is fine for basic playback, it is woefully inadequate for the demands of recording.
You can get a respectable unit for around $200, depending on your needs.
As to your back ground, glad you made it home.
I lost my dad in Japan in '60 and my uncle in Cambodia in '68.

This is what Dell Tech reps say is the very best sound card they sell.  Since I don't know squat, what do you think? It is the  Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme PCI Express Audio Sound Card from Creative Labs
 
Tech Specs
General Device Type
Sound card
Form Factor
Internal
Interface Type
PCI Express x1
Localization
English, French
Processor / Memory Signal Processor
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity
Audio Output Sound Output Mode
7.1 channel surround
DAC Resolution
24-bit
Sample Rate
96 kHz (max)
Compliant Standards
EAX 4.0, OpenAL
Audio Modes
Playback : 24-bit 96 kHz 7.1 ¦ Record : 24-bit 96 kHz
Expansion / Connectivity Interfaces
1 x audio line-in/microphone - mini-phone 3.5 mm ¦ 1 x audio line-out/headphones - mini-phone 3.5 mm ¦ 1 x speakers (side surround) - mini-phone 3.5 mm ¦ 1 x speakers (center/subwoofer) - mini-phone 3.5 mm ¦ 1 x speakers (rear) - mini-phone 3.5 mm ¦ 1 x SPDIF output ¦ 1 x SPDIF input
Miscellaneous Compatible with Windows 7
Compatible with Windows 7
Package Type
Retail
Software / System Requirements Software
Drivers & Utilities
OS Required
Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition, Microsoft Windows XP SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista
Peripheral / Interface Devices
CD-ROM
System Requirements Details
Pentium 4 - 1.6 GHz - RAM 256 MB - HD 600 MB

"Stay away from any SoundBlaster models" I concur....I would choose/research some of the other time tested manufacturers. I'm a bit out of the loop other than MAudio and Echo audio but there are others to be recommended from forumites here. Good luck.

There are many different USB audio interfaces (soundcards) out there. Many of them have preamps for the inputs. Here is an example of a reasonably priced one with good basic features. I haven't used it but I've seen posts from people who do and they seem very happy with it.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/focusrite-saffire-6-usb-audio-interface


You can plug your bass/guitar/keyboard/mic right into an interface like this or use an external preamp with it.

im going to make this as simple as possible.
What you want is a soundcard that's a breakaway box.
You plug the unit into your computer with a USB cable.
You also want something thats already been tested and works with windows 7 and sonar x1.

the focusrite saphire 6 usb is a good choice.
It has the preamp basically built right in.
It comes with XLR quarter-inch jacks and also supports MIDI.
Not to mention the combination jacks have the award-winning pres.

SToons


At the risk of being unpopular...
 
Few years back I worked at the Guitar Centre in Hollywood in the Pro Audio department. Step one was "qualifying" a customer. What do they need? How much do they want to spend? What do they expect as an end result?
 
I'm not gonna suggest what to do. What I will say is that it's common to see a knee-'jerk reaction around here as to what people -think- you need. If you have the money and want to blow it by all means do. However, a few alternate points. Creative makes good product for the money and some of the most solid drivers around. They are not a joke as some would suggest, that's an elitist perspective often coming from techies and not musicians, folks who spend far more time talking tech than making music.
 
Take a listen to "Cafe", recorded on a Pentium90 with a SoundBlaster16 ($25 ten years ago)
http://soundcloud.com/stoons-1
Not a shining example of production but ask yourself what you need, what you expect...
Would this level of quality satisfy you? If not then perhaps you need to spend more but don't just take that as an assumption. Learn to use what you have and the path to what you need will become a little more obvious.

How many soft synths and audio plugins were you running at one time while recording that? The thing is when you have a pro-audio interface you can do things you can't do with something made to play back Window sounds, mp3 files and video game audio.

Viet Vet.  Stay away from Lexicon Alphas.  Guitar Center pushes those as the cheapest way to set up a beginner studio.  $80 bucks wasted. 

I've had good results with Fast Track Ultra by M-audio.  That will give you 4 microphone preamps that are decent. $400 range.  Although, I think GC is now bundling those with ProTools LE and trying to get $600 out of the bundle. 

Avoid the bundle if you can.  If you order online, other options open up.  Daveny5 and bitflipper gave you the more common online sites.

Cool...I checked it out and read some reviews....consensus seems to like this one too. I'm still using the Delta 44 which is fine for my purposes. Have fun...carry on.

Quazelar


Cool...I checked it out and read some reviews....consensus seems to like this one too. I'm still using the Delta 44 which is fine for my purposes. Have fun...carry on.

I really appreciate your input.  I hope folks don't get tired of me asking dumb axx question.
 
Have a good'un.
Semper Fi

SToons


At the risk of being unpopular...
 
Few years back I worked at the Guitar Centre in Hollywood in the Pro Audio department. Step one was "qualifying" a customer. What do they need? How much do they want to spend? What do they expect as an end result?
 
I'm not gonna suggest what to do. What I will say is that it's common to see a knee-'jerk reaction around here as to what people -think- you need. If you have the money and want to blow it by all means do. However, a few alternate points. Creative makes good product for the money and some of the most solid drivers around. They are not a joke as some would suggest, that's an elitist perspective often coming from techies and not musicians, folks who spend far more time talking tech than making music.
 
Take a listen to "Cafe", recorded on a Pentium90 with a SoundBlaster16 ($25 ten years ago)
http://soundcloud.com/stoons-1
Not a shining example of production but ask yourself what you need, what you expect...
Would this level of quality satisfy you? If not then perhaps you need to spend more but don't just take that as an assumption. Learn to use what you have and the path to what you need will become a little more obvious.

Hey Stoons, have you seen this thread:


 http://www.gearslutz.com/board/moan-zone/112000-stupid-things-youve-been-told-guitar-center.html

Viet Vet 6869

chuckebaby


im going to make this as simple as possible.
What you want is a soundcard that's a breakaway box.
You plug the unit into your computer with a USB cable.
You also want something thats already been tested and works with windows 7 and sonar x1.

the focusrite saphire 6 usb is a good choice.
It has the preamp basically built right in.
It comes with XLR quarter-inch jacks and also supports MIDI.
Not to mention the combination jacks have the award-winning pres.

I took your advice and I just bought the Focusrite saffire 6 USB.
 
Thanks for helping a fng.

The important thing with using a good audio interface is getting the installation right and configuration in Sonar right. Once the settings are tweaked you will be able to run lots of FX and soft synths at the same time, depending on how fast your system is and how much ram you have, of course. Read any manuals that come with the device, and become familiar with the Sonar tutorials and help files. The more you know, the more you can do. And if you have any problems, post something before you get frustrated and start pulling your hair out.

This page is for setting up an M-Audio device but the process is the same for what you have. Just think Focusrite where you see M-Audio.

http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/hwsetup.aspx?dm=asio&man=M-Audio


Cakewalk has a YouTube page with plenty of helpful videos on it. Here is one that shows an overview of the software you're using.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETKi3kWhIhs&feature=plcp


The core of your new recording system will be the X-1 audio options. That is where you can tweak the settings to optimize the audio interface's ability to work with Sonar. Your Sonar should have information on how to setup and configure the audio options for best performance in the help files, manual, and tutorials. Your X-1 manual may be on the installation disk in PDF form if you didn't get a hard copy. If it is, copy it onto your hard drive for easy access.