ryanformato
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Need soundcard advice
Hello everyone, A few months ago my EMU 1820m died, and my friend has been lending me a regular 1820 so I could just get by. Well, its now time for me to upgrade my soundcard. As far as requirements go, I don't need that much because I am mainly in the box. I basically do mostly instrumental guitar rock and use the axe-fx to go direct into the soundcard. I need 2 outputs to go to my adam A7 monitors. I would like it to have 2 preamps if I did want to record classical guitar/vocals on occassion. I would like something that is superior in drivers/sound to the EMU because the drivers caused BSOD on occassion with my Windows 7 64 Ultimate /Sonar 8.5 set up. Any suggestions would be really helpful. I would like to keep the budget well under the $1000 mark. Also, I use a decent amount of softsynths like Drumkit from hell superior / hardcore bass / other east/west synths. Also, anything with a simplified digital mixer would be great because the EMU was a hassle to get my head around. Anything under $1000. I would like it to be in the $500 range if possible. I do want the quality to be better than the EMU 1820m, but also want the drivers not to cause BSOD in windows 7 with Sonar. Thanks. I do not have a fireware card, so if you do recommend a firewire soundcard, please let me know what pci card I should get to accompany it. There are so many options out there but right now I am leaning toward the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40. Thanks in advance. Ryan
www.ryanformato.com Shred Guitarist & Musician Quad 9450, 8 gigs of Ram, Vista Ultimate, EMU 1820M, Windows XP SP2, Studio Projects T3, C4 (matched pair) AKG Drum Mics, Adam A7 Monitors, Great River Preamp, Behringer ADA800, SONAR 8 Producer
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spacealf
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/02/17 13:58:32
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http://www.sweetwater.com...udio/audio_interfaces/ --------- http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Babyface/ ---------- what I have --------- but you have to look around and decide which drivers actually work ----------- and the Babyface TotalMixFX software is behind the inputs (automatic) and not usable before recording except with EQ and whatever. --------- http://www.rme-audio.de/en_index.php --------- and you can look at the forum there also if necessary. I make no recommendation based on that is the only unit I use. There are other places like GearSlutz (spelling ?) that have reviews also but not always agreeing with those. Hard to say what to buy because drivers are one thing, and having your own programmed fireware chip like RME may make the difference than a manufacturer using a stock pre-programmed chip in their unit. The results are the results with all of that also. (apology for using firefox on this forum).
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bapu
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/02/17 14:00:08
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Guitarhacker
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/02/17 14:38:51
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If you want firewire..... be aware of the chip compatibility issues with non TI chipsets.
Most people are using USB since it has caught up to FW in speed. With a sweet budget like that, you can get some nice possibilities on your short list.
I'd visit the local music shop with a recording room.
My website & music: www.herbhartley.com MC4/5/6/X1e.c, on a Custom DAW Focusrite Firewire Saffire Interface BMI/NSAI "Just as the blade chooses the warrior, so too, the song chooses the writer "
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Beagle
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/02/17 16:12:08
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Lanceindastudio
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/02/17 16:32:35
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+1 Lance bapu
RME Babyface.
Asus P8Z77-V LE PLUS Motherboard i7 3770k CPU 32 gigs RAM Presonus AudioBox iTwo Windows 10 64 bit, SONAR PLATINUM 64 bit Lots of plugins and softsynths and one shot samples, loops Gauge ECM-87, MCA SP-1, Alesis AM51 Presonus Eureka Mackie HR824's and matching subwoofer
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siordanescu
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/02/17 16:38:55
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HP EliteBook 8460p Intel core i7-2620M, 2,7 ghz, 8G RAM, Win 10 x64, CAKEWALK by BANDLAB, SONAR PLATINUM, M-AUDIO PROJECTMIX, ALESIS IO 26, TASCAM US 16x08, TC ELECTRONIC KONNEKT 24 D, ROLAND V SYNTH, ROLAND XP 50, M AUDIO PROKEYS 88.
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bapu
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/02/17 16:57:34
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Lanceindastudio
+1
Lance
bapu
RME Babyface.
Considering his budget. If he wanted to double his budget, RME UCX or UFX (which I just got and is killer-diller).
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Gaffpro
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/02/17 17:58:47
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Beagle: How do I get that yellow thing (what is that, some kind of banana hat, lol?) aka yoropal?
I think we all should have it and Cakewalk should use it as a new logo
Dell Studio XPS intel i7860, 8 gigs dual ram, Sonar X2 (x64), Windows 7 RME UCX Yamaha NS10, Equator D5, JBL LSR 2325 monitors Vintech X73i, Great River ME-1NV, Joe Meek VC3Q preamps RNC 1773, DBX 163x, Joe Meek VC3Q compressors DBX 263x deesser Neumann U87, TLM 103, AKG 214, CAD E100s Peluso 2247SE AT4050 and 4051 Shure KSM27, SM7, SM57, and UnidyneIII (from the 60's) Other assorted mikes
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blogs
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/03/02 01:23:50
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I'd visit the local music shop with a recording room. 
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Beagle
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/03/02 22:48:23
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Gaffpro
Beagle: How do I get that yellow thing (what is that, some kind of banana hat, lol?) aka yoropal?
I think we all should have it and Cakewalk should use it as a new logo
we copied yorolpal's picture and photoshopped our own pics in them. 
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AT
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/03/03 00:45:25
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For the best sound quality RME (and great drivers) or TC Konnect. The RME is going to be + $500, I think, while the TCK Twin is $400 for a just what you wanted - 2 preamps, 2 more inputs. The other thing to look at is the new Stienberg/Yama USB mixers, which should be great if they are like the FW one. Or the Cake/Roland USB interfaces.
Better than the 1820? That is supposed to one of the better spec'ed units out there. One of the SOS writers uses it as his baseline interface. The only lower-priced unit w/ better subjective sound for him was the TC K 6. And our own forum picked the TCK 48 as their favorite sounding unit in Rhythminmind's shootout this week.
@
https://soundcloud.com/a-pleasure-dome
http://www.bnoir-film.com/ there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
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Beagle
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/03/03 07:43:14
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last I looked those Steinberg/Yamaha mixers were only 16bit and no devoted drivers - they use the USB AUDIO CODEC. has that changed?
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Tony S
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Re:Need soundcard advice
2012/03/03 12:37:29
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I have been more than satisfied with my Steinberg MR816x.
Of the four interfaces* I've had, the Steinberg is far and away the most stable, rock-solid and best sounding.
As far as sound quality, I rate them :
1) Steinberg MR816
2) E-mu 1616m
3) MOTU 828MKIII
The E-mu was blue screen city, but I really liked the patch mix and the sound.
The MOTU, which I really wanted to like, didn't sound as good as the E-mu let alone the Steinberg.
I wasted almost a month trying to get the MIDI to work, then sent it back to Sweetwater.
The SeaSound should have been just what I needed, but there aren't drivers past somewhere around Win 2000,
uless somebody has written drivers recently.
The SeaSound Solo EX should have been a superb interface for a song writer with a Kurzweil ans a couple of guitars,
but they went bankrupt and there are no drivers available past Win 9, unless somebody has written drivers recently.
The MR-816 has no MIDI, but my Cakewalk UM-3G with recent (1year ago)drivers has been totally fire-and-forget.
Tony S
S8.5.3x64 Producer Windows 7x64 Core 2 Quad Q9400 8 GB RAM 2x 500GB SATA 1x 250 GB SATA Steinberg MR816x K2600XS Battered Old Gibson Blue Ridge SM-57/SM-58 (Yeah,yeah...)
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