Getting started!

Ah. just remembered. I will also need a firewire card in my computer. These are pretty cheap I've heard. Anyone have any tips on a good cheap one?

Hi Klangen 86
I have been using a SB Live ! soundcard and done fairly good recordings.
Listen to my recordings on my Soundclick site and decide if the sound quality is good enough for you, see link below.
I have connected an analog UB802 mixer in front of the soundcard (connected to soundcard line-in ports).
When I use the free recording SW Kristal Audio Engine and the free ASIO 2 driver Asio4All , I can do track to track recordings without latency problems.

I have used a XM8500 through the mixer on the vocal songs.

The SB Live ! soundcard has a crappy mic input port but the line-in port and its 24 bit A/D converter is good enough for amatour recording use. You therefore need a Mic Pre-amp (as in the Mixer) to be able to use the soundcard Line-In.

/Kalle

Thanks alot for the fast reply! I've listened to your recordings and I must say, they sound great.
I've had major problems with latency on my SB and not been able to fix it. I posted a topic about it here: https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=35399 . What's this "SW Kristal Audio Engine and the free ASIO 2 driver Asio4All " you speak of? Forgive me but I'm a major rookie when it comes to home recording.

If I manage to fix the latency issues on my SB I only need a basic preamp? Any recommendations that works well with the Behringer mic?

Edit: Found this preamp: http://www.kellyindustries.com/signalprocessors/behringer_tube_ultragain_mic200.html . It's reasonably cheap and seems to fit my purpose.

Asio4all is an audio "driver" that does not replace your current cards driver but "stands in" when using software like Kristal AE. Kristal Audio Engine is a multitrack software which supports VST effects in realtime. VSTs are a plugin which run natively in your Digital Audio Workstation. They come in the form of a dll file which means that the files are small an use up very little resources on your computer. In theory at least. Some VST are more resource hungry than others.

If you do plan on using your current card consider picking up a reasonable Preamp. It doesn't have to be top end. The Behringer "Tube" ultragain 100 will do fine. I would recommend using a condenser mic though. You will find that dynamics produce a lot of hiss. The Behr. c-2 would do fine. These are a cheap solution but I think yo will find that they will produce a better result than the dynamic will. Especially for acoustic guitar.

http://www.behringer.com/MIC100/index.cfm?lang=eng

http://www.behringer.com/C-2/index.cfm?lang=eng

The C-2 ones will perform better with vocals too? I'm pretty sure we used a few of those to mic parts of a drumset back in school. Thanks for the help!

You can find Kristal Audio Engine ( KAE) here http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/ and Asio4All here http://www.asio4all.com/
plus some useful VST plugins here http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-series.php .
As you probably want to convert KAE´s output file format (.wav) to .mp3 I recommend Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ plus the "LAME package" you kan find here http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Lame_Installation#Windows_Instructions

/Kalle

Thanks alot mate! that did solve my latency issues!

I'm even more confused than I was before concerning the mic/preamp setup though. Will a Behringer really produce as much "hiss" as hueseph says. Note that I'm basicly just gonna record a few acoustic guitar tracks and vocals.

And what about the BEHRINGER MICROPHONE C1? I've always worked with a single mic for recording acoustic guitar. Recording 2 times and then panning it out. So I really don't need 2 mics.

You might not need the two mics but I think buying the c-2 pair will be cheaper than buying one c-1. Pencil mics are used as overheads for drums but there are no rules in audio and I personally think they would sound fine as vocal mics . And yes, with cheaper preamps dynamics are noisy. If you have a cheap dynamic it will be that much noisier. The reason being that because dynamics are inherently less sensitive than condensers you need to add more gain. More gain = more noise. Cheap preamp? Even more noise.

Ah! thanks for clearing that up for me. I'm off to my local store tomorrow to pick the stuff up. I will take your advice with me!

Thanks both of you for the great help!
I love this forum!

Thanks alot mate! that did solve my latency issues!

God to hear, it was probably the Asio4All driver that fixed the latency problem.
What recording sw have you used before ?
Asio4All might reduce latency on that sw also.
But SB Live ! is not the best recording soundcard in any sense and can have latency problem with many advanced recording sw, even when using a ASIO2 driver !

Here are some tips on recording acoustic guitars http://www.humbuckermusic.com/acguitrectec.html

/Kalle

I was at the music store today. The guy there tried to set me up with stuff that would cost me over 300 euro! you should have seen his face when I told him I was gonna use a SB live sound card. Then after I explained I'm not a professional at all and just want something to record some songs I've written with a acoustic guitar and vocals he agreed to sell me the stuff I wanted!;)

They didn't have the c-2s or the MIC100. So I ended up getting a C-1 and a MIC200.

I must say.... it sounds incredible! Been recording stuff all day!

I'm sure a trained professional would disagree but to me who have been recording with a headset mic for several months this is quite a step up!

I played around with EQ on some of the songs I recorded today but I must say after twisting and turning the original recording sounds best!:D

Thanks again guys!
Much love!
/A happy songwriter

Alright! Glad to hear it's all working out for you. Yeah. Those salesmen. Especially in guitarstores! I hate when they go all rock star on you. Anyway. Let's hear it! Post something for us over at the hear here forum.

http://www.box.net/shared/lljqt5h2dg

There's a song I wrote a while ago and recorded today. The input volume was a bit to low on it but cba to record it again since my voice was all messed up. Have a nasty cold.

Will record a better version once I get better.

oh btw! in all of the excitement of owning a real microphone I forgot to buy a stand for it!

Had to lay it on the table while recording the guitar and hold it in my hands when singing. *hides from the professionals*

hehe