KVR Audio

tonalaxis · Post by **tonalaxis** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:09 pm

Stealthplug, jam lab or M-Audio fast track usb?
I just need a simple way of connecting a guitar or maybe mic up to my PC which already has a Audiophile 2496 card.
I was thinking about Stealthplug but really want 24bit audio, then I came across Jam Lab and the Fast track.

Any recommendations?

Cheers!

GaryG · Post by **GaryG** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:18 am

Wouldn't you be best served looking for a simple pre-amp or something seeing as you already have a pretty fine interface (yeah, i've got an Audiophile too

)?

Not sure I'd want to add another interface (especially a USB one) if all I really needed to do was match levels.

Something like the Maudio Audiobuddy? Simply takes a mic or guitar (or both, two channels!

) and puts out a line level you can plug straight into the Audiophile.

Obviously lots of other options... the budget Arts and Behringers are pretty good imo (Studio MP, MIC 100/200...?) for not a lot of cash at all. And you get a tube with those models which makes it all worth while.

.g

tonalaxis · Post by **tonalaxis** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 11:30 am

GaryG wrote:Wouldn't you be best served looking for a simple pre-amp or something seeing as you already have a pretty fine interface (yeah, i've got an Audiophile too )?

Not sure I'd want to add another interface (especially a USB one) if all I really needed to do was match levels.

Something like the Maudio Audiobuddy? Simply takes a mic or guitar (or both, two channels! ) and puts out a line level you can plug straight into the Audiophile.

Obviously lots of other options... the budget Arts and Behringers are pretty good imo (Studio MP, MIC 100/200...?) for not a lot of cash at all. And you get a tube with those models which makes it all worth while.

.g

Thanks for the advice, I just need something that I can plug in for Guitar/mic so I've no worries about routing through a mixer and into the audiophile. When I do this at the moment all I seem to get is a horrible feeback loop in Tracktion/hosts and when I can get the guitar sound out I can't run it through vst effects on the track. All I hear is the dry guitar sound.

I thought it might be simpler to get another usb interface.

GaryG · Post by **GaryG** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:12 pm

the feedback thing sounds like something i used to do occasionally: feed the out of the soundcard into the mixers monitor in sockets then select 'monitor to main out' or something by accident so the outputted signal gets fed back to the soundcards ins. Then if you have e-to-e on in Tracktion... feedback heaven (or hell).

But I digress... one of these preamps is like a single channel mixer with no routing options so should just bump up/impedance match your signal then pass it to the soundcard. There's no way for the soundcards output to get back into the input path.

I assume you've monitors or something plugged straight into the cards outs? (well, through a power amp first obviously...

)

.g

tonalaxis · Post by **tonalaxis** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 4:50 pm

GaryG wrote:the feedback thing sounds like something i used to do occasionally: feed the out of the soundcard into the mixers monitor in sockets then select 'monitor to main out' or something by accident so the outputted signal gets fed back to the soundcards ins. Then if you have e-to-e on in Tracktion... feedback heaven (or hell).

But I digress... one of these preamps is like a single channel mixer with no routing options so should just bump up/impedance match your signal then pass it to the soundcard. There's no way for the soundcards output to get back into the input path.

I assume you've monitors or something plugged straight into the cards outs? (well, through a power amp first obviously... )

.g

Yep, thats the whole situation Gary, I can get it to work ok if i just monitor through headphones, but it feeds back into the soundcards input if i don't just monitor through the phones.
I have my mixer set up this way because the amp's headphones output is too hissey and I can't mix with the background noise. If only my audiophile had a phones output

I'm still undicided

GaryG · Post by **GaryG** » Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:17 pm

obviously you can buy dedicated headphone amps but i think that's overkill... are you handy with a soldering iron? some really nice sounding/simple designs around that you can fit in an altoids tin... http://www.creativemods.com/forums/view ... hp?p=46831

you may be ok with your mixer, has it a 'tape in' or 'monitor in'? you should be able to use that to listen to the soundcards output without it being fed back into the soundcards inputs. As i said earlier, just don't press the 'monitor/tape to mix' button.

gary.

tonalaxis · Post by **tonalaxis** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 1:26 am

Thanx for your help Gary, I may just go for the M-audio fast track anyway, If I end up getting a laptop at some point then I'll be able to use that with it aswell

Thankyou again.

tonalaxis · Post by **tonalaxis** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:33 am

Anybody got a lexicon alpha ?? Just saw this woth a cheap price ticket and wondered if it was ok. I've read a couple of reviews of the lambada and they have a poor latency issue, just wondered if it was the same with the alpha.