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Author Topic: Setting up your PC for Recording  (Read 296783 times)

Offline jv21

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #100 on: September 03, 2007, 11:18:44 AM »
sir Kit, i usually experience DROPOUTs whenevr i record. what usually triggers this? i only have 512mb of Ram. my kinalaman po ba to?  (im using SONAr 6.) tnx. : )
"epal ikaw ,Epal ako,Epal siya,Epal Sila,Epal tayong lahat hehehehe" quote from  JUAN SINKO (founder, Sinkoism)

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #101 on: September 03, 2007, 11:48:09 AM »
sir Kit, i usually experience DROPOUTs whenevr i record. what usually triggers this? i only have 512mb of Ram. my kinalaman po ba to?  (im using SONAr 6.) tnx. : )

Lot's of things can contribute to this but the first thing you should look at is if the soundcard is sharing an IRQ with something else. Open Device Manager then View > Resources by Type and expand the IRQ tree. You will see a list of IRQs and the soundcard SHOULD have it's own IRQ. If you are using onboard sound, sorry, there's only so much you can do with it, if you are using a soundblaster, it might be able to work with another device but at the expense of sound quality.

If your soundcard DOES share with another device, you will have to move it to another pci slot. Sorry, there's no other way about this since the ACPI protocol automates IRQ assignment and does not allow user assignment of IRQs. You will have to uninstall the soundcard in device manager, shutdown, then move it to another slot and re-install the card. Do this until you can dedicate an IRQ to the card. In some cases, if the card is sharing with usb, firewire, or the onboard NIC, you can disable those devices in bios if you don't use those features.

There are other causes for dropouts to such as hard disks in PIO mode, slow HD speeds or bottlenecks. Exceeding the capacity of the cpu can cause dropouts as well as buffer settings in the software. My advice, however is to make sure that all hardware is working properly at first, and only then should you consider making software adjustments.
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Offline jv21

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #102 on: September 03, 2007, 12:08:11 PM »
very well said sir.. thanks!  :-D anyway, im planning to purchase an M-audio Delta 1010 pci digital audio computer interface and a USB mixer. can i install the M-audio soundcard without un-installing the on board sound card? sorry 4 the stupid question. hehe  :-D
« Last Edit: September 03, 2007, 12:10:47 PM by jv21 »
"epal ikaw ,Epal ako,Epal siya,Epal Sila,Epal tayong lahat hehehehe" quote from  JUAN SINKO (founder, Sinkoism)

Offline kremetory

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #103 on: September 03, 2007, 09:22:22 PM »
Lot's of things can contribute to this but the first thing you should look at is if the soundcard is sharing an IRQ with something else. Open Device Manager then View > Resources by Type and expand the IRQ tree. You will see a list of IRQs and the soundcard SHOULD have it's own IRQ. If you are using onboard sound, sorry, there's only so much you can do with it, if you are using a soundblaster, it might be able to work with another device but at the expense of sound quality.

If your soundcard DOES share with another device, you will have to move it to another pci slot. Sorry, there's no other way about this since the ACPI protocol automates IRQ assignment and does not allow user assignment of IRQs. You will have to uninstall the soundcard in device manager, shutdown, then move it to another slot and re-install the card. Do this until you can dedicate an IRQ to the card. In some cases, if the card is sharing with usb, firewire, or the onboard NIC, you can disable those devices in bios if you don't use those features.

There are other causes for dropouts to such as hard disks in PIO mode, slow HD speeds or bottlenecks. Exceeding the capacity of the cpu can cause dropouts as well as buffer settings in the software. My advice, however is to make sure that all hardware is working properly at first, and only then should you consider making software adjustments.

hey sir thanks a lot for helpin' me out

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #104 on: September 03, 2007, 10:02:55 PM »
very well said sir.. thanks!  :-D anyway, im planning to purchase an M-audio Delta 1010 pci digital audio computer interface and a USB mixer. can i install the M-audio soundcard without un-installing the on board sound card? sorry 4 the stupid question. hehe  :-D

You can run a pci soundcard simultaneously with onboard sound. I just wonder why you would need a usb mixer.
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Offline jv21

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #105 on: September 04, 2007, 09:27:30 AM »
You can run a pci soundcard simultaneously with onboard sound. I just wonder why you would need a usb mixer.

im planing to put up a home recording studio sir. anyway, regarding setting up the pc for recording purposes, ok na po ba to:? (or if hnde, ano po mga kailangan upgrade aside from its RAM na 512MB lang..)

peNTIUM 4, 3.00  gHZ
RAM 512MB
HD: 80 gig partioned at 40, 30 and 10.

"epal ikaw ,Epal ako,Epal siya,Epal Sila,Epal tayong lahat hehehehe" quote from  JUAN SINKO (founder, Sinkoism)

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #106 on: September 04, 2007, 09:57:52 AM »
Just one HD? Get another HD for your audio data. Audio typically uses a lot of HD space, and your DAW apps will take up a lot of your remaining space on your 80 gig drive. Why 3 partitions? I personally have an 80 gig system drive (partitioned into two 40 gig logical drives), I've used up the 40 gig system in no time! If I were to redo my system drive, I would partition 5 - 10 gigs specifically for the swap file, and this partition would be located at the fastest part of the drive (there are partition and defrag utilities that allow you to do that).

I also have an audio data drive, 160 gigs unpartitioned. It is important to have 2 physical drives in case you experience drive failure. I've even made the other drive bootable just in case of boot failure on my main system drive - remember, if the MBR fails on your main system drive, you won't be able to access data on any of the partitions in that drive.

Lastly, I can't stress the importance of data backup. If I have my project files on my system drive, I have a duplicate on my data drive too, as well as a dvd copy... just in case.
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Offline jv21

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #107 on: September 04, 2007, 11:20:39 AM »
tnx sir.  :-D
"epal ikaw ,Epal ako,Epal siya,Epal Sila,Epal tayong lahat hehehehe" quote from  JUAN SINKO (founder, Sinkoism)

Offline legato

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #108 on: September 05, 2007, 02:11:10 PM »
I have an el cheapo DAW in the making (old P4 2.4Ghz, 1G RAM, 80+160 HDD), a Xenix 802 Mixer, a boombox monitor and an M-Audio 2496 (on order). The plan is to use it to record backing and guitar tracks to learn a thing or two about recording.

I also have an old Boss DR660 drum machine that is stored somewhere gathering dust. Should I connect this too? And how do I apply and use it? Is it necessary or is software enough?

Offline jv21

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #109 on: September 05, 2007, 03:15:38 PM »
hi. what's the difference between a 32 bit and 64  bit computer system in recording?
"epal ikaw ,Epal ako,Epal siya,Epal Sila,Epal tayong lahat hehehehe" quote from  JUAN SINKO (founder, Sinkoism)

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #110 on: September 05, 2007, 08:43:04 PM »
I also have an old Boss DR660 drum machine that is stored somewhere gathering dust. Should I connect this too? And how do I apply and use it? Is it necessary or is software enough?

Software can be enough although, sometmes, hardware can be more immediate than turning on a pc and waiting for it to boot. For example, it would probably take minutes for you to program the DR660 with a nice loop, immediately after turning it on. A pc can take a few minutes just to boot into the OS then you have to launch your DAW software. You can have the best of both worlds by midi'ing up your BR to your pc. It will take some doing but we can guide you through the process - why not make a new thread for that when you get to that situation?

hi. what's the difference between a 32 bit and 64  bit computer system in recording?

A lot in terms of addressable ram, sometimes file sizes and operating systems. Normally, though, the emphasis is on addressable ram which is important to some who like to use LOTS of it, notably those with samplers that load gigabyte size sample libraries. XP will only address 2 gigs of ram, 3 gigs if you engage the /3GB switch; 64 bit OS allow you to address up to 128 gigabytes of RAM. If you don't do a lot of sampling, having that much ram won't benefit you much, but you sure can run at least a hundred instances of MS Excel each with several large spreadsheets.

The problem with 64-bit systems are the lack of drivers for audio devices. Some soundcard manufacturers have developed Vista drivers, but none have developed any WaveRT drivers and only a few have 64-bit drivers. Then, there are those who are saying that latency is worse in Vista. I'm waiting for Vista SP1 to come out before I will even try it out, even then, I don't fancy spending P25k for an OS. Rest assured I'll be posting updates on Vista when it is confirmed that we will be benefitting from that new OS, which some say is turning out to be the new Windows ME.
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Offline jv21

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #111 on: September 06, 2007, 10:17:50 AM »
wow.. thanks ulit sir..  :-D anyway, im just wondering, ano gmet ng D.I? ano difference nya pag d gumamit ng D.I?
"epal ikaw ,Epal ako,Epal siya,Epal Sila,Epal tayong lahat hehehehe" quote from  JUAN SINKO (founder, Sinkoism)

Offline legato

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #112 on: September 06, 2007, 10:35:36 AM »
Thanks kit! Will do, got too excited there.  :-D

Offline gobernor

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #113 on: September 15, 2007, 02:49:03 PM »
sir kit,

im new to this field and would like to get more information and this thread's a good read for starters. i am planning to use my pc as a daw, is it possible with my current spec?

amd sempron am2 2ghz
msi k9ngm-v (nvidia-based mobo) - Chipset NVIDIAŽ MCP61
512mb shared with video(On-Board VGA nVidia GeForce 6100)
80gb/160gb sata drives
xp pro sp2

i am not sure if my specs will be able to do recording so can you suggest additional hw required for me to add on a budget? exclude the ram since im getting 2gb soon. im currently reading materials for vegas 6 and audition 2. any info will be appreciated.

thanks!
:-D

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #114 on: September 15, 2007, 06:20:21 PM »
gobernor,

Start with a good soundcard. I suggest getting an M-Audio 2496 if all you need is stereo I/O. Next, get a good pair of monitors if you will be mixing. You can start with a stereo component kung walang budget, but always compare your mixes with playback different systems. In the end, good monitors should be part of your listening chain.
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Offline gobernor

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #115 on: September 19, 2007, 03:52:57 PM »
thanks for the reply sir kit!

sulitin ko na, other than a good sound card, anything else you can recommend for a startup DAW? based on the specs i had, im not sure kung kakayin nya maging DAW...

my requirements for this project will be for creating demos(na quality cyempre) and overall music production kung kakayanin.

thanks again sir kit!

 :-D

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #116 on: September 19, 2007, 04:10:30 PM »
I'm going to go out on a limb here pero you can create good demos with a soundblaster, PROVIDING you have a good sounding room to begin with, good instruments and other outboard gear like mics and preamps. This assumes you will be recording a band and you will treat your pc as a 2-track recorder. Let me assure you that it can be done. This is even truer if all you will be doing are midi demos since the blasters are very capable in that department.

BUT... let me balance this by saying that a soundblaster will only get you so far with audio, especially if you want to track each instrument individually and with regards to sound quality since the blaster was intended mostly for sound playback, not recording - Creative cut a few corners in the A/D department. Tip: Someone is selling his Delta 1010LT (which is an 8 analog input card) in the classifieds. You will need to pair this with a good mixer with at least 6 mic preamps (the 1010LT has 2 XLR inputs) and at least 6 direct outs, so be advised.
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Offline gobernor

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #117 on: September 19, 2007, 04:49:44 PM »
thanks sa tip sir kit!

as much as possible live tracks sana so soundblasters are out of the equation. m audio nako. mapapalaban pala talaga ako sa gastusan dito sir kit.

thanks po sa prompt reply!

will be looking forward for more helpful tips here!

more power sir kit!

***baka may marerecommend po kayong good deal for recording demos

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #118 on: September 19, 2007, 05:06:31 PM »
Tip of the iceberg pa lang yan. Next will come the quest for better mics, better preamps, better gear, better software... haaayyyy.... welcome to G.A.S.

***baka may marerecommend po kayong good deal for recording demos

I'm not sure what you mean by this. If you mean bands who want to record demos, I give you 2 words: package deal.
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Offline replica

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #119 on: September 21, 2007, 08:55:14 AM »
pa post naman mo ng connection ng Mixer to PC  :-D

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #120 on: September 21, 2007, 11:42:12 AM »
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Offline kamots

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #121 on: September 21, 2007, 01:33:45 PM »
Warning: N0ob question follows!!!

When recording a guitar, what are the the differences/pros/cons of using a USB interface (say MI Audio Jamlab) vs. a good soundcard (and a DI box?)? Or does the  apples and oranges thing apply here?

TIA
walang maisip

Offline replica

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #122 on: September 21, 2007, 01:42:30 PM »

Offline marcowpg3

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #123 on: September 26, 2007, 01:50:35 PM »
sir Kit, question lang, i just bought an M Audio 1814 firewire interface with Pro tools software, and i intend to use it sa PC muna kasi wala naman ako pang buget sa mac. i think ive asked u this before e, pero tatanong ko na din uli hehehe. what's the most compatible motherboard for this kind of setup? kasi i intend to get Intel dual core na processor...hindi ko lang alam kung magiging compatible to any kind of motherboard yung interface na 1814, kinakabahan lang ako baka masayang pag mali yung nakuha kong motherboard. thank u so much!

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #124 on: September 26, 2007, 02:13:22 PM »
You do not need a mac to run PT with your 1814. For one thing, the PT that comes with any M-audio product is merely the the M-powered version, a relatively stripped down PT that has no access to TDM hardware and plugs. Secondly, PT has been proven to work on both OSX and XP so there is no difference in functionality. Third, PT on OSX and XP WILL CRASH if you let it. Just because it's a Mac doesn't mean it's more stable, the only upside is that a Mac works out of the box although you still have to tweak it just a little to squeeze the most performance out of it. Bang-for-the-buck goes to properly configured pc systems as long as you have the right combination of parts and OS configuration. One thing you should do with PT: don't use Vista!

As for recommended pc's, go to the Digidesign site for recommended systems. Off the hat, though, I could say that most present day computers will run the 1814 fine although only the high end mobos have TI-equipped firewire chipsets, Asus and Gigabyte in particular. Another thing to check is that PT M-powered doesn't seem to like multi-core processing, so that will be a MAJOR consideration. Digi is comnig out with Vista tweaks, though, so expect to spend for the upgrade.  :evil:
« Last Edit: September 26, 2007, 02:15:02 PM by KitC »
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