Just got a new soundcard.

[Jay]

Hi, i just got the sound blaster audigy platinum to have a little recording fun, even i picked this one but nonetheless im not really sure this is a nice one to get, here i need a little advice here before i open the box, appreciate for all your advice and input. thanks.

[JerBear]

What you need in a sound card is dependant on what level of recording you want to do. There are many things to consider. I will list a few and you will have to decide.
1. What is the sample rate you want? (44khz is the standard for CD) I have seen up to 128 but I use a 96khz card.

2. What is the bit size that you want? (8, 12, 16, 24, 32)

3. What is the software package that you are going to use? There are several good ones out there that vary in quality and support.

4. What kind of computer are you going to use? This is critical in the development of the entire recording setup.

5. Does the sound card that you get have 1/4 inch inputs and outputs. This is important if you want to go with a higher quality setup.

6. How many Inputs/Outputs do you think that you need in a soundcard? Think about MIDI when you make this decision.

7. The Biggie--- How much are you going to want to spend to make this happen?

A few things to research before you purchase would be, does the software and hardware all appear that they are going to reside in the system together? I would say that you should settle on the Software package first and then fit hardware into the system as a function of what's supported by that package.

All this said, these are the questions I had to ask when setting up a system but you can take a lesser route and still have fun. I set mine up with the desire to reduce the time and money spent in a recording studio. I did invest quite a sum into mine but over the next year it will actually save me money, time and frustration. Just as a point of reference I will tell you what I put together.

Hardware
P3--990/ going to a p4 1.4 gig this year, 512mb ram, 2-80gb fast ata hard disks, g400 video with 32mb ram, Delta 44 sound card, MidiSport 4x4 USB interface. For the MIDI device I got a Casio 671 General Midi Keyboard.

Software
Win2k pro, Cubase 5.0 VST, Acid loop 3.0, Sonic Foundary, and Nero Audio Burn.

This is a really decent setup but cost around 3k and does not include any of the guitar stuff also needed.

[StoneDragon]

Looks like a nice setup JerBear.


Jay,

The high end SB cards can be seen as upper level hobbyist quality or entry level pro quality... depending on your point of view.


Like JerBear said, it's a matter of where you're at and where you're trying to go whether this card is what you need.

[Jay]

Umm, thanks, but actually i haven't decided which softwares to use yet, but heres my computer setup.
P3 733, 384MB ram, a dvd rom and a cd-writer, 20GB and 40GB (storage) hardrives. i might make my own cd if everything's going smooth. I'm not a really good guitar player but i think this is gonna be hobby the rest of my life, so some investment wouldn't be a problem for me.
And a guitar and an amp is all i have now. now i have a soundcard which i haven't installed yet, which i'm glad i haven't heard any bad things about it so far. and im gonna get the Asus Geforce2 64MB video card this week (if this helps http://www.zentao.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif) and a multi-effect in the very near future.
well, i guess im set on this sound card for now, thanks for all the input and if it's not too much trouble, which softwares are you guys using now? and what can they do? and post links so i can download a trial or something to try it. thanks again. *peace*

[bugman]

I don't know too much about this stuff but you could also check these out: http://www.cdrecordingsoftware.com/soundcards.html

[dacster]

Soundblasters are not a good choice as an input device. they run at a different sampling rate then CD's. So there is smoe dithering and funny stuff that has to go into getting a CD"s sample rate to match up with SB's chip. They do work and do not sound bad but for input there are better choises.
For output and other uses th SB line is a very good soundcard. A there is one in my system.
I use a USB input device.
Best of both worlds