hi all, i have been watching the letters on home recording and have recently purchased a line 6 pro- tone recording and modeling interface/ tone port ux2 at a popular internet site. i had no problem hooking it up and getting my harp playing into the headsets,,,,but i thought i could record on my computer with this thing and after a bunch of updates and other downloads, i still can't figure out if i have to hookup my cassette recorder to this thing or buy a cd recorder even though i have excellent software on my computer to do this, i do have vista on my computer and found out through forums it wouldn't work.... then i found a sun program that helps to get around the 64 bit issue, and will be seeing if that works later today, so anyway i am no pro either as a player or as a person who just wants to dabble with recording, but it has been pretty frustrating and i am still trying to figure out why i can't just push a button and play into the mike and record a
track....computer challenged in ...landisville pa thanks joe g
Robert Ross <robertaross@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: RICHARD HUNTER WROTE: This I really don't get. One of the great things about having a good recording program is that you can mix "in the box," i.e. inside the computer--you don't need to bother with the external hardware. You don't need the control you get from the mixer if all you need is a couple of inputs--you only need the mixer if you're making recordings that require 8-16 inputs, and even then you can put the inputs on the audio interface and mix in the box.
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Since Gary is a top player, I looked at my thoughts in the light that he probably wants to lean in the direction of better quality and a clear upgrade path to more tracks and more serious recording. Firewire ports and mixers give him that choice in my opinion for just a slight increase in cost these days. Although USB 2.0 is adequate, the reason so many music pros use Mac is Firewire I believe. Of course, I am not such a pro, though I did a lot of research and asking around when I bought my setup 2 years ago - a long time in the digital world - which is why I ended up recommending HomeRecording.com for more input.
I guess you are right about most people not being able to actually hear the difference between 44.1kHz and 96kHz. Higher track count as you mentioned, is just one factor in that, which I do think is important because you may start out wanted to record just two musicians, but later as you get into it may want to be able to do much more than that with your setup. But as for the 24/96, why do so many professional studios record and master in 24/96?
As a pro, limiting Gary to MP3 quality doesn't make sense. Secondly, think like a photographer. You buy a 10 Megapixel digital camera even if you are printing only 3 Megapixel files. You can't distinguish between 10MP and 3MP output on a 4x6 print, just like you can't hear the difference bettwen 44.1 and 96 kHz. However applying color correction on 10MP images and then downsampling to 3MP for printing produces a much higher quality result than doing the editing directly in the 3MP files.
Recording studios do the same thing by recording and processing audio files at 96kHz, then downsampling, which in theory, produces higher fidelity files than doing processing in 16bit / 44.1kHz. Who knows where Gary is going to go with this. The cost difference between slightly better, more capable equipment and the low end is not that much these days at all. I wasn't talking high end stuff here. My $300 Alesis mixer can do 24/96 - even my hand held Multitrack field recorder can do it. Of course, if you have to be on a tight budget, then a simple audio interface and a couple of decent vocal mics will start you out for under $300. Not knowing Gary's budget, I suggested a range of options. But for myself, even on a budget I'd want a setup I could grow into and that could grow with me.
As for the mixer on the front end, that is my personal preference as I said. Of course I was recording myself with Garageband long before getting a mixer. For me it was a pain to mix in the computer while I am actually playing and recording myself at the same time. It is much more intuitive to reach over, in the flow, grab a knob I can see in the real world to adjust the mixer than it is to go to the PC, grab the mouse, move the cursor to the right spot and make and make my adjustments. I am very digital, having bought my first portable computer in 1981, my first cell phone in 1989, and built my first web site in 1995. I live in a very digital world - yet even for me some things are just more comfortable and natural in their analog form.
- Robert www.rawfoodlife.com
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