first of all sorry for the bad english you're going to read...I'm
italian.

I'm going to buy a new PC dedicated to hard disk recording. I'm a
Cubase VST user and I usually record 1 track at time, just sometimes
it can happen that I need to record 2 tracks simoultaneously (vocals
and acoustic guitar).
The instruments I might need to record a acoustic guitar, electric
guitar, harmonica and vocals. That's it. The rest I usually add it on
Cubase using virtual instruments and stuff.

Considering my needs, can you give me any advice about the best PC
configuration at the best price (processor, motherboard, HD, ram,
CDR-DVD Recorder, video interface).
I'd like to buy a dedicated sound card with microphone pre-amp, xlr
connections for guitars, and standard jack connections. 4 IN it's more
than enough. As for Output connections I don't really need a lot
'cause I process the whole song on Cubase, I don't use any external
mixer; so I think a stereo RCA out (just to plug the stereo monitors
would be ok. Do you know any good soundcard that might be right for
me?

I hope someone out there would give me a good advice.
Thank you very much
cheers

"carli55" wrote in message
om
first of all sorry for the bad english you're going to read...I'm
italian.

I'm going to buy a new PC dedicated to hard disk recording. I'm a
Cubase VST user and I usually record 1 track at time, just sometimes
it can happen that I need to record 2 tracks simoultaneously (vocals
and acoustic guitar).
The instruments I might need to record a acoustic guitar, electric
guitar, harmonica and vocals. That's it. The rest I usually add it on
Cubase using virtual instruments and stuff.

Considering my needs, can you give me any advice about the best PC
configuration at the best price (processor, motherboard, HD, ram,
CDR-DVD Recorder, video interface).

The answers to your PC questions seem obvious. It seems like it would
actually be hard to avoid buying a modern PC that couldn't do what you want
to do.

I'd like to buy a dedicated sound card with microphone pre-amp, xlr
connections for guitars, and standard jack connections.

Ironically, you are pretty much guaranteed to be on mission impossible
within an exact interpretations of what you said. AFAIK there just aren't
any or at least very few sound cards with XLR connectors built in. I think
it may be a packaging issue. What you can find is sound cards with some kind
of plug-in thingie that eventually ends up in an XLR connector. TRS and
D-subminiature connectors are most popular and work well.

Most sound cards with XLR connectors that are in some sense part of them
have some kind of external chassis that actually holds the XLR connector(s).
This begs the question whether or not you might be better off with some
outboard thingie(s) you buy separately that interface with whatever
connectors the sound card actually has built-in.

4 IN it's more than enough. As for Output connections I don't really need
a lot
'cause I process the whole song on Cubase, I don't use any external
mixer; so I think a stereo RCA out (just to plug the stereo monitors
would be ok. Do you know any good soundcard that might be right for
me?

About a zillion. What other criteria do you have, like cheap, small, and/or
really easy to find where you are?

I hope someone out there would give me a good advice.

Tell us a little more about your requirements.

In article writes:

Considering my needs, can you give me any advice about the best PC
configuration at the best price (processor, motherboard, HD, ram,
CDR-DVD Recorder, video interface).

Conventional wisdom is to buy one step down from the fastest, biggest,
slickest available. While your needs sound pretty modest now (I was,
and still am doing my studio work with a 266 MHz Pentium III and 128 MB
memory, I'm greatly limited to what new software will run on it. You
will probably be adding things to your system, so you want to be able
to accommodate them.

I'd like to buy a dedicated sound card with microphone pre-amp, xlr
connections for guitars, and standard jack connections. 4 IN it's more
than enough. As for Output connections I don't really need a lot
'cause I process the whole song on Cubase

Start out by looking at the TASCAM US-122. One thing you should look
for since you're not planning to use a mixer (and the US-122 does
this) is the ability to mix the live input from your microphone with
the playback from disk so you don't have to deal with your software's
latency for monitoring. This is an important thing, particularly when
recording vocals. The US-122 does a pretty good job of providing all
the things you miss without a mixer. If you want more than two inputs
and outputs, you might look at what Echo has to offer. They're pretty
good about designing good sounding and flexible boxes.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

The answers to your PC questions seem obvious. It seems like it would
actually be hard to avoid buying a modern PC that couldn't do what you want
to do.

Hi!thanks for your answer...
Yes, I imagine so, but I heard people talking about the best processor
between Pentium IV or AMD for hard disk recording, ASUS as the best
motherboard, QUANTUM as the best hard disks, Plextor as the best CD
recorder, and so on...
do you know anything about all this? Do you think it might be
important for me to buy the best components considering my needs? Or
it would be enough a P4 with whatever motherboard and HD?

I'd like to buy a dedicated sound card with microphone pre-amp, xlr
connections for guitars, and standard jack connections.
Do you know any good soundcard that might be right for
me?

About a zillion. What other criteria do you have, like cheap, small, and/or
really easy to find where you are?
Tell us a little more about your requirements.

I'm talking about soundcards with external chassis, like Tascam
series, or the M-Audio interfaces, stuff like that. Something that
would cost around €300. Any suggestions?
Thnks and cheers

Conventional wisdom is to buy one step down from the fastest, biggest,
slickest available.

I heard people on groups talking about ASUS as the best sound cards
for HD recording, QUANTUM ATLAS V as the best HD, etc... Have ever
heard about this?
Probably I don't need the best components seeing my needs are very
modest, am I wrong?

I'd like to buy a dedicated sound card with microphone pre-amp, xlr
connections for guitars, and standard jack connections. 4 IN it's more
than enough. As for Output connections I don't really need a lot
'cause I process the whole song on Cubase

Start out by looking at the TASCAM US-122. One thing you should look
for since you're not planning to use a mixer (and the US-122 does
this) is the ability to mix the live input from your microphone with
the playback from disk so you don't have to deal with your software's
latency for monitoring. This is an important thing, particularly when
recording vocals. The US-122 does a pretty good job of providing all
the things you miss without a mixer. If you want more than two inputs
and outputs, you might look at what Echo has to offer. They're pretty
good about designing good sounding and flexible boxes.

I've heard about that souncard and I was thinking of buying it to use
it with my laptop (my actual HD recording system...very very modest
PIII 500Mhz, 196mb).
Then lots of people told me that my laptop was too slow for doing HD
recording so I started thinking about buying a desktop PC and a PCI
soundcard... people on groups says aswell that if you have a desktop
PC is not a good idea to buy an USB soundcard, because for the same
price you could buy a PCI one wich is even faster (440 Mhz). I don't
know if these are all bulls**ts, that why I'm confused and here asking
you guys...so HELP! Thank you very much for your patience
Lara

In article writes:

I heard people on groups talking about ASUS as the best sound cards
for HD recording, QUANTUM ATLAS V as the best HD, etc... Have ever
heard about this?

ASUS makes motherboards, not sound cards (other than whatever audio
hardware may be built into the motherboard). Quantum, at least as a
name, has been gone for years.

Probably I don't need the best components seeing my needs are very
modest, am I wrong?

You're right, but you're wrong. You need the best components you can
afford because as you get better at doing what you want to do, your
projects will demand more capability and your taste will become more
discriminating.

Then lots of people told me that my laptop was too slow for doing HD
recording so I started thinking about buying a desktop PC and a PCI
soundcard... people on groups says aswell that if you have a desktop
PC is not a good idea to buy an USB soundcard, because for the same
price you could buy a PCI one wich is even faster (440 Mhz).

There are many tradeoffs. If I wanted to set up a modest
2-track-at-a-time recording system, building up to maybe 20 tracks or
so, I wouldn't hesitate to go the US-122 (or something like it) route.
It's only processing two channels of audio either during record or
playback, so who needs faster? The computer needs to be fast enough to
play and mix as many tracks as you want to record in a song, but
unless you're a speed freak and want to go to 192 kHz sample rate (the
US-122 is only 44.1 or 48 kHz) today's "modest" computers, even
laptops, can do that.

I don't
know if these are all bulls**ts, that why I'm confused and here asking
you guys...

At one time, it wasn't bull****, but things change, and damn fast.
There's no hope of keeping up an accurate running history if you're
just an interested musician. Look at what's available right now and
don't worry about what someone thought was good a year ago.


--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo

"carli55" wrote in message
om
The answers to your PC questions seem obvious. It seems like it would
actually be hard to avoid buying a modern PC that couldn't do what
you want to do.

Hi!thanks for your answer...

Yes, I imagine so, but I heard people talking about the best processor
between Pentium IV or AMD for hard disk recording,

IME, either works fine.

ASUS as the best motherboard,

I use a lot of Asus motherboards, but there are other good sources. Right
now I'm kind of happy with a MSI boards. My main mulitrack recording
computer has a ECS motherboard in it. I would give *none* of these vendors a
blanket recommendation.

QUANTUM as the best hard disks,

Speak well of the dead?

Plextor as the best CD recorder,

Arguably true.

and so on...

do you know anything about all this?

Some grains of truth, lots of hype.

Do you think it might be
important for me to buy the best components considering my needs?

Rule number one is that you don't ever need the best, just something very
good. This is good because figuring out what is the absolute best is a
monster headache.

Or it would be enough a P4 with whatever motherboard and HD?

I wouldn't say whatever motherboard, and the economics of Intel CPUs still
sucks compared to AMD.

I'd like to buy a dedicated sound card with microphone pre-amp, xlr
connections for guitars, and standard jack connections.
Do you know any good soundcard that might be right for
me?

About a zillion. What other criteria do you have, like cheap, small,
and/or really easy to find where you are?
Tell us a little more about your requirements.

I'm talking about soundcards with external chassis, like Tascam
series, or the M-Audio interfaces, stuff like that. Something that
would cost around ?300. Any suggestions?

You seem to be on the right track, with Tascam or M-Audio. Just follow
through.