ok, lets revive this thread. guyz anyone use M-AUDIO FAST RACK USB 2 IN 2 OUT AUDIO INTERFACE before?

i know nothing about recording but would like to learn on recording simple stuff. thinking of acoustic guitar + vocal. no pros and fancy stuff. just for self appreciation.

would this do the trick as a first step? or should i get one with firewire?
and any freeware software for this things?

yes this would be sufficient.

m-audio comes with ableton live lite.

ahha. i know ur gonna be the 1st to reply. coz u got many m-audio stuff. btw, someone in audiophile section saying that m-audio ceased production. is this true? if that is so, then it might be better if i go for another product is it?

If you're recording with your PC, go for the PCI ones. Not sure if M-Audio has ceased production (Where did you hear that from btw?), but check out EMU stuff too.

If you're into acoustic + vocal... try the Line 6 Toneport UX2. Haven't get to try the mic preamps yet but from what I've heard, it's pretty decent. Plus, you get a host of electric guitar and bass amp models to play with should you want to record electric or bass. Price's around RM850, USB powered though.

If you are going for series recording than can consider Presonus FireBox , it come with Cubase 4 LE and if looking for better sound quality than can consider Echo Audio 4.

if you have sound card and like to get a ori software, than may I suggest:

1) Steinberg Sequel
# More than 5000 loops from world-class producers included, covering popular styles like Hip-Hop, R&B, Dance, Electronic, Pop, Metal, World, and many more
# More than 600 ready-to-play instrument sounds including more than 60 drum kits for various styles
# this sample is use in Cubase 4 and Cubase Studio 4


2) Cakewalk Music creator 4


Just plug in and hit Record. Once you are done recording, you can edit, arrange, and mix your project all in one integrated view. Music Creator 4 is designed to let you concentrate on creating music, instead of bogging you down with confusing software.

i second led_zep_freak. im so used using USB and firewire as i travel with my laptop and midi controllers. PCI is good. it would be cheaper too. ive been using alot of m audio products and so far im quite happy with them. after all, most are m powered so if u're dead on serious about recording, u can always go for the m powered pro tools (industry standard). Line 6 Toneport UX2 is quite good too. if u wanna spend less time tweaking technical stuff and more to playing and just getting ur ideas recorded with a good tone, line6 is the way. however besides the gearbox software im not sure if they provide a DAW to record.

ive used several presonus products too but i find the prices kinda steep.
cubase is definitely better than ableton for your case but ableton is more towards live usage and midi/DJ but u can use it as a DAW too. Cubase on the other hand has a higher learning curve compared to ableton live.

This post has been edited by echobrainproject: Nov 14 2007, 11:46 PM

this is where i heard M-Audio ceased producing.

Guyz, please dun be too technical. Remember, i have no knowledge in recording software or whatsoever. ahha. Ok, if PCI is better, got any recommendation? i have also eyed on line6 ux2, and it is better but the price is 850, im not paying that much for starters. its kinda an initial interest. i might continue, or i might dump it in the middle of the way. so, i want to try to get the cheapest decent soundcard with user friendly software. I know there is no such thing as cheap price and best quality, im looking for a reasonable one.

and btw, i dont think im going with midi. i have no idea on how those thing works.

i dont see them mentioning m audio ceasing production.
so far i dont think they will. theyre doing so good with more and more artist supporting them.

http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=produc...D=pciinterfaces

i think the cheapest PCI unit would be the EMU 0404.

This post has been edited by echobrainproject: Nov 15 2007, 10:34 AM

imo if all you're gonna record is acoustic guitar + vocals...
you dont really need all the fancy fancy soundcards etc...u only really need it once u start adding drums and everything else.

freeware with a decent soundcard and a couple of good mics would be more cost effective.

saw this:
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/552542

but a decent mic preamp on the soundcard is important too. of if ure getting mics make sure it has XLR. saves u the trouble of getting converters

recommended mic: sm57!

is it? my pc soundcard currently is sb live external. i think i should get a better one. ok, here is what i have, a sennheiser mic, e818 i think (not condenser mic), and an acoustic guitar with active pickup. im thinking of recording my guitar 1st then my vocal. mic using xlr input (incase i go with m-audio/ux2) and 3.5mm jack thorugh the pickup for the guitar. i might be interested in recording drums afterwards but i think i will give up half way as it is very hard to record drums, at least thats what i heard.

should i buy a soundcard or stick, install software and adapt with the current situation and learn 1st?

obviously try what you have first...as long as it sounds decent.
nowadays ppl so spoilt...want high end this high end that...after all the magic lost.
back then was just mic into tape recorder and it still sounded decent

any freeware software u recommending? or there is no such thing? always keep in mind that i dont know anything about recording k. my previous stupid recording was done using windows sound recorder, how pathetic!

use audacity, an open source software for recording and sound editing.



more info: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

download: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/download/windows

how much money do you have to spend?

I think you won't have major problems with your soundcard if you're just going to record and play on your computer. Only problem is maybe latency. ASIO drivers help but don't solve the problem to a satisfactory level. But that's just something you have to live with if you don't want to invest in a recording soundcard. But i think latency is ok until you decide to start recording drums. Then you will curse your soundcard with words you never knew existed in your vocabulary in the first place.

Drums are not hard to record. Only hard to mix (for me anyway).

*and i agree that mic into tape recorder is the best option*

This post has been edited by Bassix: Nov 16 2007, 06:10 AM

You can try to use this software:

Sonar 7 :

sonar 7 producer download


Stinberg Sequel:

Sequel download


BTW, sound card is one of the important key in your music cretaion, normally you can try to get a budget sound card like RM 4xx first.... instead of putting too high budget....

any drum samplers to recommend?

or any arranger software i can mix my music...

any ux1 user here? is it a good recording soundcard?

ux 1? i think blacktrix own 1 (or maybe it's UX2, can't remember) try to ask him.. if u're recording only guitar and vocal this is good enough for its price and it's bundled with Live Lite 6 software.

And i have a question too. I'm looking for a decent pairs of desktop studio monitors/book shelf monitors/speakers for my home recording rig. What would u guys recommend to me as my budget is not more than RM700. Ask denhock from midi specialist he says got ESI nEar04 which suits my budget. Are there any other recommendations? Thanks.

Hopefully there will be more discussion on this thread as it's not so active in the past months..

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