Sound card for ACID PRO 6.0?

[zeegler]

Okay guys. I'm moving into the 21st century. I decided it's time to retire my old Yamaha 4 track, and come to grips with this Acid Pro thingy. However, I'm going to need some help. First off, my computer has on board audio by Realtek, and I'm assuming this won't be adequate, as I've already had some problems.

To start with, I'm experimenting with a cheapo computer mic. I originally had this plugged into the front mic input on the computer. This caused all my recorded audio to be out of sync with my drum tracks. So, I switched it to the rear input, and it seemed to make a big difference. It's almost right now, but my guitar tracks still sound a hair behind.

I'm thinking this is due to my crappy onboard sound. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Plus, I don't have any proper mic inputs at the moment, so it looks like I need a sound card. Anyway, so what I need to know, is what should I look for in a card that isn't going to cost me an arm and a leg? Also, will I have conflict issues with the onboard audio? All I really need, is something that has a 3 pin mic input, decent sound quality, and no lag, so that my recorded track sync up properly with my drum tracks.

Help me please!!

[Inazone]

The lag you're talking about is called latency in the recording world, and is usually measured in milliseconds (ms) on sound cards. There's not really such a thing as zero latency, but most decent cards are considered low latency. Since you want a mic preamp with an XLR input, you might be best served by buying a USB or FireWire recording interface rather than an actual card. M-Audio makes a number of these, usually with some combination of XLR and 1/4" inputs. I personally have an Echo Mia card with dual 1/4" ins and outs, but have to use an external mic preamp because the card doesn't have its own. That's typical of most (but not all) cards, which is why I think a USB interface in particular would be best for you. Then again, you could get a 1- or 2-channel mic preamp for very cheap that could connect to a sound card via 1/4" cable.

[zeegler]

Hey, thanks for the reply. I was checking out those recording interfaces and I think you're right, that's exactly what I need. Line 6 has a couple of models with built in modelling software too. Then I have the choice of running a mic'd cab, or a direct line from my guitar.

Thanks man!

[Hellbat]

Yeah I just picked up one of the Line 6 toneports a couple of weeks ago and it's really easy to use for recording, with no noticable (to me) latency. Some of the high gain amp models sound really good too. It also has the mic inputs if you want to mic up your real amp.

Keep in mind only the UX2 model and higher have the phantom power for mics though. I just grabbed the UX one for straight modelling. I run the line outs to my powered monitors and it sounds great. You can keep headphones plugged in as well and just disable the line outs for when you don't want to make noise.

THe only issue with it is that you still need to use your built in soundcard for games and such, especially if you are using a surround setup on the PC.