Hook up your audio now

Ok, lets start by hooking up your onboard sound device or soundcard that came with your computer. So our first stop is to take you to a place you will go to frequently if you get involved in studios. Where is that? Oh no, we are on a trip to...

And there are lots of adapters. These are 1/8" stereo cable adapters. You need two of these if you have a typical soundblaster-type card. One for the soundcard line in and one for the soundcard line out

Another variation, to connect many keyboards or mixers to your soundcard is below

But if you Really Care about Quality, don't get ANYTHING with those little 1/8th inch phone jacks (mini jacks). Don't read the box on the cards and say, b-but tweak, this one has all the coolio features....yeah, yeah, marketing is great these days...

This soundcard is better for recording and playing back software-driven music than a typical consumer card you might find at stores. Its perfect for recording music and using all the new and cool software synthesizers. Its the M-Audio 2496 Note that you can just plug standard midi cables and don't need the 1/8 inch adapter because it has RCA jacks right on the card. You still need the 1/4 inch to RCA cable though.

Huh? Don't like that one? Think that fancy-schmancy USB is more, ahhh, "modern" do you? Tsk, tsk, wrong again! Now aren't you glad you stopped by before you slapped plastic? Let me just say now, seriously, the "technically fastest" solution for audio recording as of this date 04/21/2009 03:37:12 -0700 is a desktop computer and a good old PCI interface or soundcard. If you don't want to go PCI go Firewire. It's almost as fast. Remember, I am talking to the new guys here. USB is still in the situation of trying to catch up to PCI in terms of speed and performance. USB 2.0 is OK but be careful it's new. Aren't "new" products better? Huh, tweak are you flaming MAD?

Hehe, Nope! I just know better. This does not mean that a 1996 windows 95 era PCI card is better. All that stuff is ready for the ashcan. It does mean that a card that has been out for a year probably has better and more stable drivers than one that came out last month. Do manufacturers really release products with beta drivers still being tested? Yep! Take it from a former soundcard beta-tester.

Faster CPUs are better. Bigger, faster, more Hard drives are better. More memory is better.

Think of what is going on here. You are going to be sending massive amounts of digital audio data to a CPU and hard drive when you record and playback tracks. You will be going through studio-quality processors that exist totally in the virtual domain of the computer and it has to do it's job so fast that you can still play guitar to a recorded drum track and not miss a beat. Yep, you're getting it..Some computers and soundcards can't go fast enough or in sufficient quantity to do this well for more than a handful of tracks. The big culprits here are low end underpowered laptops with slow drives and yep, a USB 1.1 bus that cannot stream the data fast enough.

Those of you with high end Macs and souped-up PC DAWs already know what you can run. Here's a run through the offerings a zZounds under $200. There is an incredible variety. Lucky you, until relatively recently you could not get a firewire or USB 2.0 interface for under $200. The prices on the older PCI interfaces are really low. (I am not going to list USB 1.1. devices though I don't mind if you look at them. Browse USB 1.1. interfaces).

Mackie Onyx Satellite FireWire Audio Interface

Onyx Satellite represents a breakthrough for computer-based audio and music production. As the world's first two-piece FireWire recording system, Satellite consists of a portable recording Pod with premium Onyx mic preamps, and a desktop Base Station with additional inputs and outputs. You simply undock the Pod when you want to record on location leaving the Base Station connected to all your desktop studio gear (microphones, instruments, headphones, studio monitors, etc.). Tweak: Better than average preamps, nice build, great price!

MAudio Audiophile 2496

M Audio's Audiophile 2496 card is the latest addition to its highly successful Delta family of soundcards. The Audiophile 2496 is an all-in-one high fidelity soundcard solution for a wide variety of applications, ranging from multi-track recording to computer-based home theatre. Tweak: Add a mixer, Good budget card.

M-Audio Delta 1010LT 24-Bit 96kHz PCI Card

The 1010-LT offers the professional performance required by today's most popular software programs, and provides you with features like 24-bit 96 kHz recording, zero latency monitoring, and digital mixing. Tweak: When you need more i/o and will add a mixer with lots of busses, direct outs, or sends, this is a super value.

M-Audio Audiophile 192 64-Bit PCI Audio Interface

The Audiophile 192 continues the legacy of M-Audio's industry-standard Delta audio card line. Building on M-Audio's Audiophile 2496?one of the world's most popular audio cards the Audiophile 192 features high-definition 192kHz sampling rate, digital I/O, balanced analog I/O and an amazing signal-to-noise ratio. The Audiophile 192 represents a new benchmark in audio performance that's as good as it gets for music production, mastering and critical listening. Tweak: When you want higher quality balanced i/o

Emu 1212M 24-Bit/192kHz Balanced PCI Interface (Windows)

The E-MU® 1212M Digital Audio System delivers everything you need to produce audio on a PC with professional results - 24-bit/192kHz converters, hardware-accelerated effects and mixing, and seamless compatibility with your favorite PC audio/sequencer software. Tweak: Compare to the m-audio 192. Known for good converters

Emu 0202 USB 2.0 Audio/MIDI Interface
E-MU's new 0202 USB 2.0 Audio Interface is the ultimate portable USB audio interface for PC, offering pristine 24-bit/192kHz recording and playback, direct monitoring, and a host of professional features in a compact, USB bus-powered package. The 0202 USB sets a new standard in portable USB audio, providing users with two Class-A preamps that can be run independently or in stereo to amplify guitars, keyboards or microphones, with individual ground lift switches for optimal audio performance.

Emu 0404 24/96 Digital Audio PCI Card
The E-MU 0404 Digital Audio PCI Sound Card delivers everything you need to produce audio on a PC with professional results -- pristine 24-bit/96kHz converters, hardware-accelerated effects and mixing, and seamless compatibility with your favorite PC audio/sequencer software. Tweak. Emu on a budget.

Yamaha GO46 FireWire Audio/MIDI Interface (Mac and Windows)
The Yamaha GO46 is a mobile audio solution that features high quality mic preamps and world-class MIDI and audio recording software enabling professional quality recording to a computer in a compact package that can be carried and used virtually anywhere. Tweak: Mobile firewire solution by Yamaha. Yamaha also spells C-U-B-A-S-E in tweakspeak.

PreSonus Inspire 1394 FireWire Audio Interface
The INSPIRE 1394 is a revolutionary FireWire Recording System featuring professional quality 24-bit/96k analog to digital conversion rate, four simultaneous inputs, software control panel as well as audio recording and production software giving you the smallest, most flexible, most affordable and all-inspiring computer recording studio ever! Tweak: Firewire little box. Has a phono preamp, makes it a good DJ interface

Tascam US144 USB 2.0 Audio/MIDI Interface
Record two tracks at a time with zero latency; whether you have a PC or a Mac, your song ideas go down in real time, real easy. Its size means you can take it anywhere you take your laptop, yet it's packed with features that make buying it an audio no-brainer. MIDI input and output, high quality mic inputs, 96kHz/24-bit recording (better than CD quality)-all the stuff you'd want without the fluff you wouldn't. The US-144: the answer to your recording needs. Tweak: Tascam ushered in the USB2 era. They don't make junk.

Echo AudioFire2 Compact FireWire Audio Interface
AudioFire2 offers an extremely small FireWire audio solution. No product this small comes packed with as many features as the AudioFire2. Fully balanced input and output, separately addressable headphone output, S/PDIF I/O and MIDI I/O are all included in this 3.5 in. by 4.25 in. interface.