New soundcard for my Laptop?

n-Track Studio Discussion Forum
1

Suggestions?

2

Hi guys,

I’ve used N-track for years now on my old Toshiba XP laptop that had both a “line-in” and a “mic-in”.
I had a very simple set up that went from my mic to a pre-amp, right into the 1/8th inch line-in.
I was very happy with this and felt that I had a good, clean signal.
Well, the old Toshiba finally pooped out and I now have a HP Vista machine that only has a “mic-in”.
Plugging into that gives me a very noisey signal so I guess I need to break down and get some sort of external soundcard that goes either into the USB or Firewire.
I can’t spend a whole lot of money, I just want something to give me that basic, clean, line-in again.
Any help?
Also, is there any special set up I’ll need to do, or setting I’ll need to change once I get it all plugged in?
What about the fact that I’m using Vista now with n-track 3.0?

Thanks for your help.

Matt

3

Hey Matt,

Look into Toneport from Line 6. Their basic unit doesnt have a lot of bells and whistles but can be used as a USB soundcard and can be had for about $100. Also, I am currently experimenting with a stand-alone recording device called the Zoom H2 which costs $200 but seems to be an excellent USB soundcard as well (check out New Acquisitionin theAnything Else` part of this forum.)

4

Thanks for the reply, but I don’t really need the amp part. I already have a good preamp, I just need to get a clean signal from it into my USB or Firewire. Any other suggestions?

Matt

5

Ummmm - I`m not too sure what you mean by that. Both the Line6 Toneport and the Zoom H2 are devices which function as USB soundcards (Toneport as USB 1.1 and H2 as USB 2.0). Neither are amplifiers (although the Toneport can do amplifier emulation) and either one will fit your needs to find an alternative to your laptop soundcard.

Personally, I would tend towards the H2 but since you mentioned concerns about cost I also suggested the Toneport since you can get one for about half of what the H2 will cost you ($100 vs $200).

6

OK, that sounds like what I need. Another question, though. Will the Toneport work with USB 2.0? Also, is there anything special I need to do with N-track 3.0 when I start using it with Vista?

Thanks,

Matt

7

It sounds like some of these might work, but it looks like they come with extra bells and wistles (amp modeling, XLR inputs, etc) that I just don’t need and would rather not pay for. Is there anything out there that will just take a 1/4" line level from my preamp and send a very clean signal into my computer via USB or Firewire?

Thanks,

Matt

8

Yes, USB 2.0 is backwards compatible with USB 1.1 - for the Toneport to function on your system you will need to run the included ‘Gearbox’ software while the unit is connected. On my cheesy little under-powered laptop this can tax the system but if you have a newer unit I don’t think you’ll have any problems. Check the Line6 website for minimum configuration standards (I think over 512 MB of RAM is required).

You can check other posts on the forum regarding Vista issues with n-Track but I personally had no problems.

9

Hey guys,

Doing some research i came across the ART Tube MP Project Series USB. Does anyone have an opinion about using this in my situation? It has good reviews, but I’d like to hear from the experts (you guys).

Thanks,

Matt

10

Have you looked at this

null

11

Actually I did come across this (Behringer U-CONTROL UCA202 USB-Audio Interface) while looking around. At $29 it’s very tempting, but it also makes me suspicious of its quality. Does anyone have experience with this? Again, the most important thing to me is clean signal and very low noise. Any thoughts?

Matt

12

The Behringer is likely hit-or-miss. It will work and work great or it won’t work for you at all.

I’ve had good luck with Behringer equipment in the past but a lot of people are sour on them. If you can, get it from a local music store and make sure they’ll take it back if you’re not happy with it. They may even let you test-drive it on your laptop there in the store before buying. Nothing ventured; nothing gained.

13

Hi Bill:
I have a pile of Behringer stuff around here… They has worked perfectly for what I use it for… I have headphone monitors and pre-amps and dynamic controllers and all… I was pretty close to getting one of those 8000 pre-amps-to-light-pipe units… I still don’t know why I don’t have one… ????

Bill…

14

I would go with the ART box - I have their tube MP Studio unit and it’s been a life saver for me a couple of times when I needed another direct in with phantom power. Very clean unit and the comp feature is handy too.