KennysFord Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Hey all. I'm not the most computer savy,nor techy minded for that matter so i'm hoping you guys can help. We're wanting to record our rehearsals onto PC from the desk with Audacity.We don't need anything sophisticated at this point and everyone is DI'd.We've been trying using 2 phono's from the tape out from the desk into a 3.5 jack straight to the line in on the sound card.We manage to get a signal to record but there's a hell of a lot of background noise. Do we need to use a firewire/usb interface to solve this or are we going about it in completely the wrong way.Alternatively is there something else we should do.We'd like to keep it to recording thru' the desk onto the PC if possible. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smashie Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 Hi, you could try something like the Alesis Line Link [url="http://www.alesis.com/linelink"]http://www.alesis.com/linelink[/url] that will connect to the desk and out to the laptop via usb. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 The method you're using should be fine. It could be lots of things causing the noise. Perhaps the signal is too weak, or those particular outputs don't work properly. A headphone output on the desk would be ideal. It could be you're mistaking distortion for noise, and you're recording it too hot which would create horrible distortion. There should be no need to get another interface, your on board sound card should record line-level stereo at fine quality. I know mine does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlueFalcon Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 The quality of the sound card can make a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennysFord Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 Cheers guys, I'll keep at it then and see how we go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 [quote name='TheBlueFalcon' post='610976' date='Sep 28 2009, 04:41 PM']The quality of the sound card can make a big difference.[/quote] I think when trying to record an instrument or a mic it makes much more difference than when you're recording a line-level input. EG (and please tell me if i'm wrong) they sell these USB turntables for ripping vinyl, which seem stupid to me as you could just plug your turntable through a hi-fi amp into the lin-in on a standard PC sound card to get the same quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlueFalcon Posted September 28, 2009 Share Posted September 28, 2009 (edited) [quote name='cheddatom' post='610992' date='Sep 28 2009, 04:55 PM']I think when trying to record an instrument or a mic it makes much more difference than when you're recording a line-level input. EG (and please tell me if i'm wrong) they sell these USB turntables for ripping vinyl, which seem stupid to me as you could just plug your turntable through a hi-fi amp into the lin-in on a standard PC sound card to get the same quality.[/quote] I think it really comes down to what quality is expected. A few years back I used my very decent Hi-Fi connected to a PC's on-board sound card's 3.5m jack input to put some vinyl on to CD. To me, the quality left a lot to be desired. Using a newer PC with a decent Creative Labs sound card made a huge difference. I would imagine that onboard sound cards have improved a little since then, but I would guess there can still be quite a difference in quality. Although I have never tried one, I can see how a dedicated off-board device with decent analogue to digital converters could improve the quality, just like a higher quality sound card would. Edited September 28, 2009 by TheBlueFalcon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KennysFord Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 Had another bash at it tonight fella's and with quite a bit more success this time.Decent quality recordings were had from the headphone out on the desk rather than tape out.Next week I just need to pay more attention to the levels for each intrument/mic etc. Thanks for the help and for saving us a few bob as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 [quote name='TheBlueFalcon' post='611033' date='Sep 28 2009, 05:23 PM']I think it really comes down to what quality is expected. A few years back I used my very decent Hi-Fi connected to a PC's on-board sound card's 3.5m jack input to put some vinyl on to CD. To me, the quality left a lot to be desired. Using a newer PC with a decent Creative Labs sound card made a huge difference. I would imagine that onboard sound cards have improved a little since then, but I would guess there can still be quite a difference in quality. Although I have never tried one, I can see how a dedicated off-board device with decent analogue to digital converters could improve the quality, just like a higher quality sound card would.[/quote] Ye, sorry, that does make sense, if a soundcard has crap converters then it will make quite a difference going to something better. FWIW I reckon most modern onboard soundcards will be the same quality as your creative card. I have m-audio delta 1010Lts which are nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBlueFalcon Posted September 29, 2009 Share Posted September 29, 2009 [quote name='cheddatom' post='611665' date='Sep 29 2009, 09:43 AM']Ye, sorry, that does make sense, if a soundcard has crap converters then it will make quite a difference going to something better. FWIW I reckon most modern onboard soundcards will be the same quality as your creative card. I have m-audio delta 1010Lts which are nice.[/quote] I've upgraded again since then and I would imagine there would be another small increase in overall sound quality, but I no longer have a turntable to confirm this. An off-board device or a dedicated internal audio device (like your Delta 1010LT) is going to allow for the best quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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