Sound card recommendation please

[JohnRoss]

I've really fallen behind on the digital music front, and I ran a forum search but didn't find an answer. Would anyone like to recommend an external sound card for use mainly with Mac and secondarily with PC? If it can be persuaded to work with a sluggish Linux-powered laptop, so much the better. I don't think I need a mixer as such, but something with mic in (for the classical), line in, maybe instrument line in (I have a vague idea, on account of an electric guitar signal being low impedance?) and MIDI in for a keyboard.

[martins]

I use a Edirol FA 66. A bit expensive but works excellent with Mac, has all you want and comes with excellent sound quality.

[spiral]

Apogee One
USB Microphone and Audio Interface > Apogee ONE > Apogee Electronics

These are a big deal:

1. Apogee has fantastic DAC
2. portable
3. built in mic that is actually usable
4. built in mic preamp w/ 48v phantom power
5. USB powered
6. Instrument / Guitar direct input
7. Apogee has really good drivers / tight integration on the mac

What DAW are you using? Do you need instrumentation (ie virtual / MIDI instruments) or just audio recording?

As an alternative, consider the Tascam DP-008. It is a battery-powered 8 track which records to SD card. I recently switched to it for my personal recording after years of using Logic and various Firewire interfaces and have been really happy with the simplicity of setup. When i want to mix i just dump the tracks into Logic.

Also, there is a recording section on this board here: Recording & Music Software - The Jazz Guitar Forum

[JohnRoss]

Thanks, guys. Yes, I'd seen the recording section, but hadn't found an answer there. Both the Edirol and the Apogee look interesting, the trouble is that after being away for a few years, I'm floundering with a lot of new language here - I mean, what on Earth is 'phantom power' when it's at home? The price ranges are more or less what I had in mind, you can't expect something for nothing, just that I'd like to know just what it is I'm spending my money on.

The Edirol was more the sort of thing I had in mind, I think, except that I don't need 6 input channels, and there do seem to be a lot of people on the Internet wailing that they can't get the drivers to work. I don't understand (among a whole heap of other things) how the 6 input and 6 output channels it's supposed to have relates to its "2 XLR/TRS combo inputs with phantom power and 2 RCA inputs, plus 4 balanced +4dBu outputs, optical S/PDIF I/O," which is currently a particularly obscure dialect of Greek to me, though I expect I'll work it out in time.

The Apogee looks cute as anything, and I was looking covetously at the Apogee Duet, as well (though that is more more money than I want to spend). It doesn't look easily transferable to the PC, though, and probably less so to a Linux setup. The thing, is the Mac belongs to my wife, who needs it for work (we're a home-working couple, however much that may sound like a synonym of 'divorce'), and spends quite a lot of her free time on it as well. So though I'm pinning my greatest hopes on the Mac, my access to it is limited, and I'd really like something I can move between machines.

DAW? Software, you mean? Dunno, GarageBand on the Mac, I suppose, just 'cos it's there, maybe Cubase on the PC, I have a Cubase 5 floating around somewhere, and Audacity on the Linux, though I find Audacity frustratingly user-hostile. I shouldn't think I need much in the way of virtual instruments, I mean, that's all software nowadays, anyway, isn't it?

(Now that you mention it, I have an old Tascam gathering dust in a cupboard, a Portastudio. I suppose I should get some use out of it before cassette tapes become completely unobtainable.)

[spiral]

phantom / 48v
Condensor mics need phantom power to work. If you don't have one, you don't need to worry about it.

simpler interface / cross platform
Mackie Blackjack would be cross-platform and give you good conversion.

Apogee on PC
Nope. Mac only. PC audio drivers always seem to be a minefield.

Work-at-home family
My girlfriend and i are both freelancers with joined offices (we own a house). It works surprisingly well and as long as we don't talk about work at night, it's never been an issue. We have even worked on 1 project together.

Garageband / DAW
Yes, DAW = Digital Audio Workstation, ie. audio software. Garageband is an awesome recording package suited for the beginner but powerful enough for a professional. You also can't beat the price. The downside of course is that is it Mac only. If you want to go cross-platform you are looking at something like Reaper, or Steinberg Sequel (which is a Garageband-esque app). If you already have Cubase and like it, stick with it. Moving between all three platforms without consistent software will be a bit of a headache but is doable.

Portastudio / DP-008
The DP-008 is digital, but has the simplicity of the old tape 4-tracks. That might be a good solution for you because you can track to the DP-008, and then dump the tracks to whatever computer via USB for final mixing. It is much easier to just turn it on and start recording. You don't have to worry about drivers, latency, stability, or getting distracted by email. You don't need to worry about a converter either. If you need software instruments too, then ignore this advice.

Can you give an example of a typical recording session you might do?

[martins]

The edirol has 2 input (works for XLR and 1/4'') on the front, a pair of line inputs on the back side and a 2 channel digital in. That sums up to 6 inputs.

[helios]

Originally Posted by JohnRoss

I've really fallen behind on the digital music front, and I ran a forum search but didn't find an answer. Would anyone like to recommend an external sound card for use mainly with Mac and secondarily with PC? If it can be persuaded to work with a sluggish Linux-powered laptop, so much the better. I don't think I need a mixer as such, but something with mic in (for the classical), line in, maybe instrument line in (I have a vague idea, on account of an electric guitar signal being low impedance?) and MIDI in for a keyboard.

Hello,
I had to get an external sound card audio interface because I was experiencing horrible latency (delay) issues when recording with my newly acquired "Band In A Box" software. While I'm no expert, I got the Cakawalk UA-IG audio interface ($80) and it works great. It is line in and mic in capable and has a headphone jack. It also comes with Sonar recording software, but I've only used the device with BIAB thus far. It can be used for Mac or PC. Best Wishes!