what is the "1394" in my soundcard for?

[airguitarist]

guys tanong lang..

kasi i dont have the budget and im doing recordings mostly as a hobby so i dont want to spend on more recording equipment..

im using a P4 2.2Ghz laptop, mga 600+M of memory.. tapos yung sound card walang line in.. pero may dalawang saksakan na may tatak na "1394"  do u guys know what dis is?

thanks guys

[jplacson]

what laptop model is this???

"1394(generic)" is "firewire(Apple)" or "iLink(Sony)".

This is MUCH better than USB 2.0

If you want to start recording, you will need to buy one of the Firewire interfaces available on the market.

Some of the USB devices may be cheaper, but you might end up regretting it since the recording capabilities of these interfaces isn't as good as the Firewire ones.

But if you're really not planning to spend much, then just get a regular external USB soundcard that has line-in.  Don't bother with the other features like 24/96 or whatever... won't make a big difference at that level and you'll just be spending unnecessarily.  Shouldn't cost more than P2-3K.  If it does, then you might be over spending for a basic interface.

[airguitarist]

i have an ASUS L34..

thanks bro..

but can i use my existing card with firewire to record? ayaw ko na extra gastos hehehe.. naubos pera ko sa kakabili ng guitars.

[KitC]

Firewire is a data communication protocol much like USB. You cannot record directly with firewire, you have to have an audio interface that uses firewire to communicate with the laptop/pc. Examples of firewire interfaces are Presonus Firepod/Firebox, Echo Audiofire, RME Fireface, and many others.

Check your laptop documentation. Chances are that the microphone input is convertible to line in.

[airguitarist]

incidentally yung firewire ko pala is 4pin lang.. kaya i didnt recognized it as firewire nung una.. kasi ang liit ng saksakan eh.. may kwenta pa ba to?

another question:

1.) i tried recording, using a free cubase sx3,  may around 2 secs delay from the time i pluck my guitar to the time the sound gets registered to the computer..
       question:  is this due to my computer.. P4, 2.2G, around 5+mem, sis 1024 audio card (ata)
                  or is this due to the program?
                 or due to the fact na mic in gamit ko sa port.. incidentally.. how do u convert a mic-in to line-in.. tried searching sa net pero blank pa so far..

thanks guys

[KitC]

incidentally.. how do u convert a mic-in to line-in.. tried searching sa net pero blank pa so far..

thanks guys

It's a software switch usually. Check the laptop's sounds control panel or application. Sometimes, double clicking on the speaker icon in the system tray will bring up the application.

As for your other Q, since you are using 'free' Cubase (beware - the dongle emulator IS a trojan), it's better to use asio drivers. Most onboard sounds usually have asio and wdm drivers that are quite fast. The delay you are hearing is latency most likely because you are using the asio multimedia drivers; try to use something that says SiS ASIO or similar.

[starfugger]

might ASIO4ALL improve his latency, Kit?  give it try dude and see if your system has any dramatic improvement, then tell us about it.

[KitC]

might ASIO4ALL improve his latency, Kit?  give it try dude and see if your system has any dramatic improvement, then tell us about it.

Well, some people do experience better performance with ASIO4ALL but it all depends on the quality of the WDM drivers since it wraps around wdm anyway.

I also suspect monitoring to be part of the problem especially if one is monitoring thru software instead of hardware. In that case, latency will be greatly magnified because total latency is then the sum of both input and output latencies.

The ideal solution would be to get a really good soundcard.

[airguitarist]

sir kit.. thanks sa dongle warning..

might just invest in an entry level sound card.  

im thinking of getting a PCMCIA card.. wat do u guys suggest.. im selling my bass v-amp on the other BNS board.. so i shud have give or take 6-7k..

wat do u guys think?

singit ko lang.. thanks for being very helpful.. pansin ko konti lang nagrereply dito sa forum na to ah.. thanks ulit.

[KitC]

might just invest in an entry level sound card.  

im thinking of getting a PCMCIA card.. wat do u guys suggest.. im selling my bass v-amp on the other BNS board.. so i shud have give or take 6-7k..

PCMCIA? For a laptop? You'd be lucky to get one costing 6 to 7K. AFAIK, there are only 2 PCMCIA choices Echo Indigo and Emu 1616. Being a mod in the unofficial forums, I feel hesitant recommending the Emu (although my pci-based 1820m is working perfectly). There is another PCMCIA card by Digigram called the VX Pocket but its a lot more pricier.

If you probably meant pci card, for 6 - 7k, that will land you an X-Fi or an Audigy. Fairly decent cards but neither one I would take seriously for recording. You could get by with onboard audio, but be prepared for high noise floors.

Yeh, medyo mahina ang activity ngayon sa forum. The thing is, you got a Q, we will try our best to answer it while trying to avoid the usual RTFM response prevalent in a lot of other forums. I always believed that the stupid question is the one not asked (but then again, there ARE some that really, really try your patience - none here so far).

[airguitarist]

nice job on moderating the forum bro..

so ganito nalang yung question.. with a budget of 7k-10k give and take a bit.. wat would u suggest? yung mayron mabili dito sa manila ah.. hehehe  hirap kumuha pa sa ibang bansa. thanks dude.

[KitC]

With your budget, I'd get an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 or an Emu 0404. Over at the Buy 'n Sell forum, wilsonmb  is offering to accept orders for items to be bought in the US. The 2496 or 0404 can be ordered for $99. The guy's asking for a 15% markup, do the math if you find the deal equitable for you.

If ever you decide on the Emu, I'd be happy to assist you in optimizing your system for it. The M-Audio is nice if you want to invest in some ProTools software later on.

Btw, by unofficial forums, I meant the Production Forums a.k.a. Unofficial Emu Forums.

[airguitarist]

hey kitc

i checked the 0404 and 2496 but these are pci cards. i dont know i kaya install sa laptop.. coz i dont have a desktop.

usb port ko is 1.1 although i already bought a pcmcia card na usb 2.0... with these constraints.. wat would be better? m-audio na usb, guitar port (line 6), or yung pcmcia na soundcard parin? any thoughts?    thanks

[KitC]

My bad, I misunderstood about your pc requirements.

Do you anticipate recording with mics aside from guitar? Then I would suggest the Toneport UX2 or UX1 instead. These are USB 1.1 devices. I'd post a link on USB 2.0 interfaces but they cost $500; it seems firewire interfaces are cheaper.

[airguitarist]

Tone port it is.. i think may nakita ako nito sa perfect pitch.. any ideas where i can score one thats cheaper.. hehehe. thanks kitc

ill keep u up date on my adventure into digital recording. hehehe

[KitC]

Tone port it is.. i think may nakita ako nito sa perfect pitch.. any ideas where i can score one thats cheaper.. hehehe. thanks kitc

All I see in the Yupangco site is the Guitar port. MF/GC lists the Toneport UX2 for $199 and the UX1 for $129... I'd get in touch with wilsonmb if I were you.

[airguitarist]

kitc

may toneport sa yupangco.. 11k.. binili ko na.. paglalaroin ko mamaya.. hehehe yung lang.

[KitC]

may toneport sa yupangco.. 11k.. binili ko na.. paglalaroin ko mamaya.. hehehe yung lang.

Nice deal! Congrats and enjoy!