Setup Advice...

[bjaco01]

Yo everyone, new here and looking for a little help

Im using a laptop right now with the stock soundcard hooked up to my stereo and a midi controller. I'm running fruity loops and sampling only mp3's with cool edit and acid. My problem im having is that i want to sample vinyl. I have no knowledge whatsoever of mixers or turntables. I need to know what i need to buy and how it all hooks up to make the setup work. I'm under the impression that i need a new soundcard, a dj mixer, and a turntable. Is both the soundcard and the mixer neccessary or can i directly hook up the turntable to the soundcard? Also if i do need the soundcard, what does everyone recommend for me considering that i have a laptop and the only way i know to hook one up to it is through the PCMCIA slot. i know i sound dumb but everyone has to start somewhere so if anyone helps me out i'd appreciate it. thanks

 

[GRAFIK]

if your turntable has a preamp built into it, you can connect your turntable directly into your soundcard. If the turntable does not have a preamp you will need a mixer or a preamp to power the turntable. So you need one of the two. A new soundcard is recommended. Just plug your turntable into the preamp or mixer and then run that into your soundcard, easy as that. I hope this helps..........

 

[5th Sequence]

you need a new soundcard. Theres no getting around that. Your stock soundcard will not record with useable quality. Look into getting a nicer soundcard first of all. Next, get a preamp for your turntable if it doesn't already have one. Then you'll need to buy a cartridge/needle if your turntable hasn't already came with one.

 

[bjaco01]

thanks for the help

 

[J-ReZyN]

There is a wide price range for most audio & DJ equipment, so what you get will be determined by your budget and what you want to do with the gear. Are you going to be scratching or just recording the records to mp3? If you want to scratch then you will need a mixer and a good one at that. If you just want to transfer records to your laptop, you can skip the mixer get away with a cheap phono preamp that converts your phono signal to line level. Then there's the turntable. Again, if you're going to be scratching you'll want to get a better (more expensive) TT, otherwise a cheaper one may be fine. Either way, you should get a better soundcard first. Preferably an external one with good mic and line inputs and maybe some midi in/outs if you plan to use any midi gear in the future. Check around and do some research to see what fits your needs and your budget. If money is not an option, then let me know cause I need some gear too!

 

[bjaco01]

haha money is an option, but thanks for the advice. i can only get one thing at a time cause im a broke college student but i picked up a numark direct drive 1910 for the first buy. i didn't plan on doing any scratching, just sampling but i got this because it was a good price used and i figured maybe i'd get into it in the future. im going to get an echo indigo card next for my laptop i think, then i'll get a mixer last.

my setup right now looks like this:
toshiba laptop with stock soundcard(upgraded next)
big sony stereo system connected to laptop until i get moniters
m-audio midi keyboard
numark 1910 turntable

im going to get that soundcard, a mixer, then a triggerfinger then i'll be set for a while til i sell some beats

 

[Big Tone]

pcmcia is not the only way to go. theres usb 2.0 firewire also. you have plenty of options

 

[bjaco01]

really, i didnt think usb was any good for sound because it couldn't transfer data fast enough, oh well i'll look into those too, thanks

 

[Big Tone]

i know of several peaople that use usb.

 

[bjaco01]

any usb or firewire ones that you reccomend?

 

[Big Tone]

i never do recommendations homie. you have to go to the store and check whats right for you. i have a soundcard midi combo. made by roland but there are others out there like it. theres even one that uses protools.

 

[Formant024]

I say pcmcia aswell, just look for a nice second hand deal...Currently there arent that many pcmcia cards available, I know RME comes with the cardbus but then you need a rpm or multiface to go along with them. I dig RME, using the hammerfall 9652 with tripple adat ( the cardbus is the hammerfall engine ). Then EMU has the 1616 which is cheaper and comes with a break out box, quality wise its good with too many options...well enough for a bedroomstudio. Indigo has 2 cards with 1 simple stereo I/O, dont find it impressing but can be functional, though I still think its not off much from your internal soundcard. There another card, VX something, really pricey, never seen or heard them...