R,5,R,5... Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Hello lads, Finally the slow poisoning of my rich great-aunt worked. I've inherited her estate and to celebrate that fact I've decided I'm going to do some recording. I have a nice mic/bass pre that I'd like to use, so essentially I need something that takes the balanced signal from my pre and send it to my laptop using USB. I was thinking about the [url="http://www.lexiconpro.com/ProductIndex.aspx?ProductID=7"]Lexicon Alpha[/url]. Now my question is: I presume this widget has an internal mic pre. I don't want to use it, because my pre is exactly 7,843 times better than that one. Is there any way to effectively bypass it? Could it be that I only need a A/D converter? Am I worrying too much that the Alpha pre will affect the sound? Am I talking bollox? Secondly, I need an intuitive, easy to use recording/mixing software (I mean it -- I'm not willing to invest too much time into learning how to use it). AND -- there's the rub -- it has to be compatible with Vista (don't ask). The Alpha comes bundled with Cubase LE (which as far as I can understand does work on Vista... sometimes...), but I have no idea whether that's a good thing or not. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 hey man The two line in's would suggest that you can line in your avalon. LE Is a really good starting point, its simple and not too deep to understand. And its free... G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R,5,R,5... Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 (edited) Good to hear Garry -- So I take it that the line input goes straight through without passing through the pre stage, right? I imagine I would have to get an xlr to 1/4" cable. It's all starting to make sense now. Time for more medicine! Quick! Cheers, root fifth Edited October 26, 2007 by R,5,R,5... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Yup XLR to Balanced (stereo) jack though. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R,5,R,5... Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 [quote name='slaphappygarry' post='79760' date='Oct 26 2007, 01:10 PM']Yup XLR to Balanced (stereo) jack though. G[/quote] ooooh I thought the two channels were simply L and R, but no! They are both stereo channels! Quelle surprise! Well done g, you saved me some money and a considerable amount of embarrassment. cheerio Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Are they!? They are balanced inputs not stereo inputs. Don't expect 4 channels of audio. Balanced leads cancel out any noise the leads picks up. G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R,5,R,5... Posted October 26, 2007 Author Share Posted October 26, 2007 [quote name='slaphappygarry' post='79841' date='Oct 26 2007, 04:46 PM']Are they!? They are balanced inputs not stereo inputs. Don't expect 4 channels of audio. Balanced leads cancel out any noise the leads picks up. G[/quote] I told you I was useless. Oh well. Any reasonably-priced alternatives to the Alpha that you know of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Yup the firewire interface from M audio: [url="http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWireSolo-main.html"]http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWireSolo-main.html[/url] But you will need software. Or, somthing liek this (which is what i would get if i didnt use pro tools): [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product.asp?id=4530"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product.asp?id=4530[/url] G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slaphappygarry Posted October 27, 2007 Share Posted October 27, 2007 Or even this (again with LE): [url="http://www.gigasonic.com/presonus-firebox-firewire.html?gclid=CO3czZqCr48CFQ1LQgodWhXHTA"]http://www.gigasonic.com/presonus-firebox-...CFQ1LQgodWhXHTA[/url] G ps - presonus gear has worked well for me in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R,5,R,5... Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 The big presonus is a tad too... erm... big. I'm planning on keeping this on my desk and wouldn't like to have a separate studio rack. The small presonus looks good, but I won't have a firewire input on the laptop I'm going to buy. I seem to understand firewire works much better than USB 2, so I might look into getting a card adapter. Thanks for your help so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiingLizard Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 or you could buy a different laptop with firewire included - better option and yeah firewire is better for audio than usb... usb2 is a bit faster than firewire at data transfer speeds, but it sends bursts of data whereas firewire uses a continuous stream... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 Also a good idea...is to use a external hard drive for your audio...it takes the load of your system drive... and Sequencers like this...you get better performance... If your Laptop does not come Audio ready , you might wanna look at this site for tweeking you operating system for the best Audio performance... [XP].... [url="http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php"]http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php[/url] also Vista does not seem to be upto par at the moment...for Audio.. Lot of problems with drivers from 3rd party software companies... This is assuming you are going the Windows route..and not Mac.. Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R,5,R,5... Posted October 30, 2007 Author Share Posted October 30, 2007 [quote name='SkiingLizard' post='80937' date='Oct 29 2007, 07:04 PM']or you could buy a different laptop with firewire included - better option[/quote] Too late for that I'm afraid! [quote name='lowdown' post='81136' date='Oct 30 2007, 09:05 AM']Also a good idea...is to use a external hard drive for your audio...it takes the load of your system drive... and Sequencers like this...you get better performance...[/quote] Thanks Garry, I do have a largish (160gb) external hard drive that might work for this purpose. Do you mean install the program and everything on the external drive and run it from there, or simply have the samples/recorded bits and so forth there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colda Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 FWIW, I sent this to Dolphin Music: [i]"Hiya Like many others I'm interested in doing some recording, after a few conversations and reading guide on the internet (including your one - btw you have a typo in the PCI bit 'still going string' should presumably read 'still going strong') I'm still struggling to find exactly what I want. I'm using a StudioMaster Proline Gold 16-8-16 mixer, so I have no need of pre-amps on my audio interface, for the type of recording that I'll do (generally live sessions) I'll be using the group outputs so my audio interface will need 8 channels (in reality only 6 are needed). I'll be using a laptop so need either PCMCIA or USB interface. Any suggestions? Cheers Darren"[/i] ...and got this reply: [i]"Hello Darren. Thank you for your email. The best option for you to go to would be the MOTU 828 mkII USB soundcard. Herewith I'm sending the link to the product on our website. [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/8477"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/fl...product_id/8477[/url] If you decide to go ahead with the order, please call me...."[/i] Looks like a nice bit of kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 (edited) [quote name='R,5,R,5...' post='81253' date='Oct 30 2007, 02:06 PM']Thanks Garry, I do have a largish (160gb) external hard drive that might work for this purpose. Do you mean install the program and everything on the external drive and run it from there, or simply have the samples/recorded bits and so forth there?[/quote] Just your recorded Audio data/Samples etc...and your Project folder for the Sequencer that you will be using.... [this will store all information relevant to your sequencer recordings].. And well worth checking out the link i posted above... A lot of eye candy stuff on windows XP....that reallly slows down the system when working with audio. If you Get a Audio ready system from a know music/audio dealer...they would have already done this.. Its amazing how much extra performance you can get after a XP tweek.. Garry Edited October 30, 2007 by lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R,5,R,5... Posted October 30, 2007 Author Share Posted October 30, 2007 [quote name='lowdown' post='81301' date='Oct 30 2007, 03:44 PM']Just your recorded Audio data/Samples etc...and your Project folder for the Sequencer that you will be using.... [this will store all information relevant to your sequencer recordings].. And well worth checking out the link i posted above... A lot of eye candy stuff on windows XP....that reallly slows down the system when working with audio. If you Get a Audio ready system from a know music/audio dealer...they would have already done this.. Its amazing how much extra performance you can get after a XP tweek.. Garry[/quote] Good tips, thanks Garry. I've seen similar tweak pages for Vista, will give it a shot. Colda -- a tad too expensive, and a tad too large for me -- I only really need two inputs at most. MOTU also have something called the Ultralite IIRC, which is more commensurate to my needs, but that runs on firewire, so I'd need a pcmcia adapter; the ones on Maplin do not work with Vista... boo. I'll keep thinking, but as things stand, I think it may be better to start with the Alpha, then move on to the big MOTU or similar if/when my needs change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkiingLizard Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 if I remember correctly digidesign recommend a swann pcmcia firewire card I've got one somewhere that I used to use with my old thinkpad before I killed it and went macbook and it worked well with my 002 I think these can be had pretty cheaply if you can find them - I think I paid 25 quid or so, years ago and can't remember where from if your current hard drive isn't firewire then I'd consider using that just for backup if you can get an interface that'll let you daisy chain firewire devices (I'm not sure all do) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr.funk Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 [quote name='lowdown' post='81136' date='Oct 30 2007, 09:05 AM']Also a good idea...is to use a external hard drive for your audio...it takes the load of your system drive... and Sequencers like this...you get better performance... If your Laptop does not come Audio ready , you might wanna look at this site for tweeking you operating system for the best Audio performance... [XP].... [url="http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php"][url="http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php"]http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php[/url][/url] also Vista does not seem to be upto par at the moment...for Audio.. Lot of problems with drivers from 3rd party software companies... This is assuming you are going the Windows route..and not Mac.. Garry[/quote] Thank you Garry! That just saved my FW410 from crashing on my new laptop It was glitching when monitoring the input but turning of power management and enabling background services worked a treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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