PC- voice recording, need help

[Senvae]

I think I first posted this in the wrong section, so I'm going to try this one.

Hi people, my first time in these forums. I'm a self taught PC geek who currently has a Auzentech 7.1 Prelude X-Fi soundcard with a Yamaha HTR-6160, plugged to 5 kenwood speakers and one Klipsch 10" subwoofer.

I've learned a lot about sound but realized that even though I love watching movies and playing games, I know nothing about sound recording. I've done some amateur video editing, but all my sound so far had been pre-recorded (ie music, movie sounds, fx)

However my mother is currently trying to run a home studio for advertisements on the radio. She would like to find a good quality solution for plugging in microphones etc. She recently bought an M-Audio Fast Track Pro only to find out the softwares are giving her trouble with Vista.

So here is my question, what is the best solution for getting her set-up with a good voice recording studio? What's better between Firewire, USB, PCI etc.? ALSO, will a midi/audio interface perform better with a soundcard like mine (Auzentech Prelude) in the PC, or is the device independent from your PC sound?

I just want to make sure that her purchase will be the right one, since I know firsthand how frustrating it can be to find compatible devices for PCs.

Just like to add, she currently has onboard audio from the motherboard, and a non-working M-Audio Fast Track Pro, and a professional midi-plugged microphone (salvage from an old job at a radio studio).

[TimOBrien]

My obligatory standard reply-for-newbies that I keep in Wordpad:

First off, immediately get a good beginner recording book (spend $20 before spending hundred$/thousand$) that shows you what you need to get started and how to hook everything up in your studio:
Home Recording for Musicians by Jeff Strong - $15
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0764516345/102-9059220-3248917?v=glance&n=283155&amp%3Bn=507846&amp%3Bs=books&v=glance
(Wish I'd had that when I started; would have saved me lots of money and time and grief)
You can also pick up this book in most any Borders or Barnes&Noble in the Music Books section!

Another good one is: Recording Guitar and Bass by Huw Price
http://www.amazon.com/Recording-Guitar-Bass-Getting-Record/dp/0879307307/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215734124&sr=1-1
(I got my copy at a place called Half-Price Books for $6!!)

And you can get a FREE subscription to TapeOp magazine at www.tapeop.com

Barnes&Noble or Borders are great places to start --- they have recording books and you can go get a snack or coffee and read them for FREE! Don't pass by a good recording book --- this is a VERY technical hobby and you REALLY want to start a reference library!!!

Good Newbie guides that also explains all the basics and have good tips:
http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm
http://www.computermusic.co.uk/page/computermusic?entry=free_beginner_pdfs
http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/

21 Ways To Assemble a Recording Rig: http://www.tweakheadz.com/rigs.htm

Also Good Info: http://www.theprojectstudiohandbook.com/directory.htm

Other recording books: http://musicbooksplus.com/home-recording-c-31.html

Still using a built-in soundcard?? Unfortunately, those are made with less than $1 worth of chips for beeps, boops and light gaming (not to mention cheapness for the manufacturer) and NOT quality music production.
#1 Rule of Recording: You MUST replace the built-in soundcard.
Here's a good guide and suggestions: http://www.tweakheadz.com/soundcards_for_the_home_studio.htm


Plenty of software around to record for FREE to start out on:

Audacity: http://audacity.sourceforge.net (multi-track with VST support)
Wavosaur: http://www.wavosaur.com/ (a stereo audio file editor with VST support)\
Kristal: http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/
Other freebies and shareware: www.hitsquad.com/smm

Another great option is REAPER at http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ (It's $50 but runs for free until you get guilty enough to pay for it...)
I use Reaper and highly reccomend it...

Music Notation and MIDI recording: Melody Assistant ($25) and Harmony Assistant ($80) have the power of $600 notation packages - http://myriad-online.com
Demo you can try on the website.

And you can go out to any Barnes&Noble or Borders and pick up "Computer Music" magazine - they have a full FREE studio suite in every issue's DVD, including sequencers, plugins and tons of audio samples. (November 2006 they gave away a full copy of SamplitudeV8SE worth $150, November 2007-on the racks Dec in the US- they gave away SamplitudeV9SE. It pays to watch 'em for giveaways...)

[Czar]

thanks tim - this is very helpful.

[ecc83]

Can I just add:

The Fast track pro does have proper Vista drivers (not beta!) so it should be ok. I have always found MA very helpful.

If you have the bog standard Home Basic Blista I have read it does essentially jack for audio kit!

The FTTP does not have very high gain mic pres' and you will struggle for speech recording with anything dynamic. I have just bought 2 AKG Perception 150's and they work with my pro beautifully.

Good luck,
Dave.

[Senvae]

Well actually we did try to install it with the updated Vista driver and got the thing to work in Goldwave. Problem was that after we recorded a few things in Goldwave and try to do anything else, the sound crashed or something. In media center, if we tried to play an mp3, it would give us an error message saying "error reading audio".

There was nothing we could do besides reboot the computer at that point. I haven't made any other tests since, I will keep you all updated with that for whoever is curious.

[ecc83]

Usb AI's can be a bit of a trial to start with but seem to settle down after a few boots. I have 3 usb AI's and 4 pc's so I have done a bit of this!>>>>

Unplug the FTTP and run the install software. It should start by unistalling the last setup (btw have you got the System sound disabled in Device Manager? Do that first.). Once the software has run, plug in the pro, switch on and wait, ultimately a "hardware found" or similar notice should come up. Follow the instructions. You might have to run this 3 times.

Once it seems settled, Rclick on the red and white A (sideways) icon, clk MAudio control panel, look for "connected". If it says "not connected" try switching the pro off then on. No joy? Start again, sorry! Still no joy? OK.

Go to Control Panel>Dclk Add Hardware (pro unplugged)run add hware till you get "Have you connected the hardware" then tick box to shut down and find.

When pc dead, plug in the pro, fire up pc and follow screen instructions.

Note. I never use WMP for audio. Right click an audio file and "open with" and use the audio app, in your case Goldwave (never tried btw!) I just use Samplitude to open all audio files.

All this is XPspeak, I don't have or want Blista so some things it will do different I am sure.

Dave.

[Reegs]

It's a little different with Vista, though not by much.

One of the useful solutions is to run all installers and audio apps (and mixer control panels) at the administrator level. Otherwise, Vista has the tendency to put files into "compatibility mode" file systems (read: fake directories and registry entries) which other applications can have a hard time finding.

[ecc83]

"run all installers and audio apps (and mixer control panels) at the administrator level."

Could you expand on that a little Reegs please?

Dave.

[Reegs]

Sure. Some programs not designed for Vista follow an older method for interfacing with the operating system. Windows allows them to run, but places resultant files in a "virtual" folder. In my experience, it also seems that it gives them a lower priority to devices (I have no actual evidence or articles to back this up, but things seem to run slower). Sonar 5 on Vista is one such example.

Most programs aren't affected by this virtualization and interfacing, but audio and video apps are. By running at an elevated administrator level you remove these restrictions. To do this, right click on the .exe file and click on "Run as an Administrator." UAC will then do its thing and the program will go. To avoid having to repeat this action each time, you can right-click and open the file's properties, go to the security/compatibility tab, and click "Run as Admin." UAC will then automatically prompt each time you run the program.

Another useful tool in the compatibility tab is XP SP2 compatibility mode. I use that one a lot. Sometimes Vista will even prompt you to use it.

[ecc83]

Thanks Reegs.

Hmm, even more reasons methinks to stick with XP!

Cheers,
Dave.