Help me
Hello, I know ,I know, another dumb noob asking redundantly annoying questions, but please bare with me. I am using N-track, I have a fast computer, plenty of ram and all that good stuff. I am using a behringer board( I can’t remember which model) going from the tape outs to the line in of my sound card ( it’s a crappy ess solo 1 pci) , and I have the recording inputs and playback inputs set right in the computer, but I am getting a strange hiss. Even with the boards master all the way down and even the whole thing turned off, my VU meters are constantly moving slightly and if I monitor it on headphones with no signal going in at all I get a hiss. Also what I thought was weird was when I was setting the recording volumes in N-track, when it was too loud and clipping I was getting a delay, like if I said “hello” I would hear it in real time all distorted obviously, but then about a second later I would hear it again!! It was less loud, but still , I thought that was strange. Is this because of the crappy soundcard(same kind of card works fine on my home computer) or is it maybe the electrical inputs ie: the plug from my comp to the wall or something,or what?? I’m stumped and have been through the FAq’s and read virtually every post in this forum and can’t seem to figure out whats goin’ on. Any help at all would be greatly greatly appreciated!!! Help!!! Thanks a million in advance!!—smitty
Concerning the noise, this is probably due to your soundcard. It might also be faulty leads, loose connections, poor or undone solderings in the signal path, or corroded connectors. Most ‘Soundblaster’ or onboard types of soundcard are meant to work well for games or casual music listening, but usually not suited for recording. The noise figures are poor, the distortion fairly high, and they may even refuse to record and reproduce at the same time…(I’ve seen that).
I suggest you go shopping for a new soundcard. Read the FAQ and this forum for inspiration regarding brand names etc. It may seem like a big investment to you, but eventually it will pay off.
regards, Nils
That’s weird. As for your sound card, I don’t think that there are any cards crappy enough NOT to record with and get half decent sound. The pro cards sound way better, but the garbage ones (I started out with a $10 ESS) should still deliver usable sound. You shouldn’t have tons of hiss or distortion with any card, unless you use the mic in instead of the line. Do you have the proper drivers for the card installed?
yer got wrong gear matey’’‘get yerself good sndcard,goody mic pre,n decent cables n goody mics’’’‘eres an idee fer ya fer siggy chain’’’‘senny 421 mic ta a symetrix mic pre ta a delta snd card jobby’’’‘if yer got beaucoup quids’’‘get yerself a great river pre’’‘or a neve cloney jobby’’’’ 
…
Hi and welcome to the club, so to speak
Can I suggest you get back to basics on this. I too have suffered these sort of problems, and like you are probably finding, you can spend hour trying to sort it.
First off, get rid of the Beiringer and find something with a line output that will go straight into your soundcard. The output of a tape or CD deck is fine. Stick your earphone on the phones out of your soundcard and then determine if there is hiss. You can try this without anything on the input as well for good measure.
Then gradually add back the stuff you currently have on the line in, and so on.
Sound cards can be a let-down, but don’t let thought destroy your hopes just yet.
Good luck