recording to laptop

[milsnips]

Hi guys,

I need some advice, i currently have the keyboard connected to my laptop via MIDI but i'd much prefer to use a M-audio USB soundcard (or similar) so i can record the actual sound instead of midi signals.

What would i need to achieve this and how would i connect it together?

Do i need to also have a mixer that the keyboard plugs into, then the mixer connected to the sound card or can i go straight from the keyboard to the sound card?

thanks,
Paul

[dbijoux]

Yes, you can plug in directly using the 1/4" outs or XLR(balanced).

A mixer could be used for multiple instruments, routing, a/b monitoring, etc. If you don't have a specific need, it's always best to keep the signal chain as short as possible.

[milsnips]

Thanks for your reply. Could you recommend a good (not too expensive) USB or firewire soundcard that i could plug the L/R 1/4" jacks from the keyboard directly to the sound card box?

regards,
Paul

[dbijoux]

Welcome. Almost anything between $100-250USD will be fine. The A/D converters are nearly all comparable at the home studio/consumer level. I'd suggest 24-bit/96khz and from there look at the form factor you like and connectivity you need(ie: a mic).

I'm partial to firewire, but both seem to have some issues with drivers/chipsets(in firewire case) you might want to check.

[curt]

Hi Paul,

There is nothing wrong with the M-Audio Fast Track Pro as a USB interface. You can connect the audio outs from your GX to it and, if it strikes your fancy in the future, there is also MIDI I/O!! There is also a headphone jack and a volume knob to make it really easy to adjust your levels - no messing around with the Windows volume slider.

Curt

[milsnips]

Hey guys,

Thanks for your replies. I just realized that i recently purchased an EDIROL UA-1EX USB Audio Interface a few months back, and today i bought 2 female XLR to male RCA cables, which will go from the keyboard into the usb interface and that goes into the laptop via the usb cable.

I think this should do the job, although RCA is unbalanced so i dont know if there will be much of a drop in quality - cables are only about 12ft long in total from the keyboard to the pc.

I'd ideally like to go XLR to XLR straight into an interface (balanced) but they are a bit over my budget for now.

regards,
Paul

[dbijoux]

Nice. That's sort of like finding a $100 bill in your pants pocket after the wash.

Now you can use that until you save for something bigger and better. Since you have a workable solution, I'd look at something that might be more expandable in the future - more inputs, etc.

As for XLR -> RCA, it's not a best case scenario as there is a difference in impedance. You might find the 1/4" outputs give you a stronger signal. You'll have to see how much gain you need once you plug it all in. Hopefully, you won't have a huge problem with noise.