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Noise, Mixing, Preamp, HELP!

chidman	Date: March 23, 2005 @ 6:01 PM I am recording directly to PC through my sound card, using mic input for both vocals and guitar. Both suffer major noise problems to the extent that I have to use a wave editor to mute the noisy gaps between vocals or guitar elements. Does anyone know if this would be improved by the use of some preamp or mixer? Also, my vocals seem flat when recorded and I know they could sound better. Would a better mic help or is this a problem inherrent in recording to PC. Any advice would be gratefully appreciated. Many Thanks
imemine	Date: March 23, 2005 @ 6:11 PM Set the input from line to mic in windows control panel/sound---I removed my windows mixer so I don't remember exactly where it is. Tell me what you see there and I can talk you through it!
imemine	Date: March 23, 2005 @ 6:17 PM Oh wait, its still on the laptops. Click on the little picture of the speaker (the windows mixer)---select options/recording and put the check under microphone—I think that should fix you right up!
pog	Date: March 23, 2005 @ 11:20 PM Try turning you monitor off when recording as this can cause a lot of noise.
Gmonk	Date: March 24, 2005 @ 4:29 AM What soundcard are you using? G
chidman	Date: March 24, 2005 @ 1:45 PM Thanks for the monitor suggestion - I will try that tonight. My soundcard is an ALS 4000 that I found in a box in the back of the house (I work in a computer store and tend to have lots of bits lying around). A decent one is on my list but I'm not sure what to get.
hueseph	Date: March 24, 2005 @ 2:56 PM That soundcard isn't particularly good unless all you intend to do is play games and chat. It wasn't designed for recording. On major source of noise is probably the mic you're using whichm, I assume, is the omnidirectional mic that came with your pc or one that you bought off the shelf of the Computer store. An omnidirectional mic will pick up the sound of everything in the room. I would bet the majority of the noise you are getting is coming from your computer fan. You could invest in a preamp and a cheap unidirectional mic. (around $100.00 altogether.) Unless you are serious about getting good sound out of your computer it's not worth spending the extra money on gear. If you are serious thoughm, it would be a good idea to purchase a decent soundcard. Echo Mia, M-audio, Hammerhead, ESI are some affordable names that come to mind. With the purchase of any of these you would still need either a preamp or small mixer.
chidman	Date: March 24, 2005 @ 3:00 PM Thanks Heuseph. I have used a PC mic to record at least one of the tracks on my page, the rest have been done with a cheap ALBA mic, but it does say uni-directional on it. I am definitely getting a new one - and a mixer/preamp too, now I know what to get. I'm in the perfect place to get that sort of gear at work - my problem was that I didn't want to spend the money on the wrong things.

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