Now that I have my gaming rig I realize that only missing part is a soundcard - I play guitar and when I try to record it through the "line in" I hear a lot of of noise and overall quality is abominable. I know that one possibility is first to connect my acoustic guitar to an electric guitar amp(works just fine) and then connect the amp to the PC. With that said, I still think that it's better to have a soundcard because I also listen to music a lot and its quality also might be better.
So, all in all, is there something I can get for around 70 euros or it requires significantly more money?

1 decade ago*

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My uncle uses something similar like this and he also records guitar

1 decade ago
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I don't really understand what kind of device is this... Is it a pre-amp?

1 decade ago
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a recorder, you plug it on the computer and you can use it with your guitar

1 decade ago
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Exactly, it's kind of an external sound card

1 decade ago
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I have an Sound Blaster Z, its a really good sound card for 70-80 euros.

1 decade ago
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Totally Agree

1 decade ago
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You could get something like the M-Audio Audiophile 192 but it's PCI rather than PCIe, and it's a bit more expensive than you mentioned.

There's also regular consumer sound cards that can be good at doing recording too, but it'll take some research to find which ones are the best for what you want.

1 decade ago
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How exactly are you connecting an acoustic guitar to line input?

1 decade ago
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I've got an electro-acoustic Washburn guitar with a piezo pick-up. I connect one side of the cable to guitar and the other directly to the line input - using 3.5 mm adapter.

1 decade ago
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Make sure it's not the guitar itself. Ask around and see if any of your friends (or their friends) have an USB ADC that you could borrow, or if anyone has a decent sound card.

Also see if you can find electrical specs for your guitar. Find out the voltage level and output impedance.

1 decade ago
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I use a Sound Blaster Z, has a very good sound for all stuff you're doing like gaming, movies, music and even for audio producing. Remember that you need equivalent Headphones and/or speaker benefit from this, you should also check possibilities to connect instruments to it like your uncle. I have no comparison to other soundcards besides the former model of the soundblaster Z but I really like it I use Sennheiser HD598 Headphones and the difference to a onboard soundcard is huge, you can connect it to PCI or PCIe. So if that is your budget I can recommend the soundblaster if you want to going on really high quality audio editing/hearing you should look for a more expensive one. Hope this helps.

1 decade ago
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I have just bought AKG 518 DJ headphones, hoping that they will both improve my music listening experience and will be useful during recording. I know that they are almost 3 times cheaper than the ones you have mentioned, but I kinda liked the looks and ergonomics. While the bass is rich and thick, highs can get a little bit mushy from time to time. Still, a big step forward from using earbuds.

1 decade ago
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What do you think of this entry-level sound card?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132013
Or I can even go with this one?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132020

1 decade ago
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" I play guitar and when I try to record it through the "line in" I hear a lot of of noise and overall quality is abominable"
Those cards are probably better, than your on-board soundcard is, but for recording guitarstuff those won't be that great either. You said earlier, that you use a 3,5mm adapter. DON'T! That's the enemy of soundquality.

Get a soundcard, that is built for recording guitars and other instruments. I mentioned an external USB card earlier, that works for me like a charm and is very portable. Not 70 euros, but it's worth it.

1 decade ago
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That's still assuming that the guitar itself can produce quality output. Maybe it can't. From what I know, piezo pickups aren't that great to begin with, and the unit also might be faulty.

First he needs to try recording somewhere else. If there's an improvement, only then should he get a better recording device.

1 decade ago
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True, i was looking at the problem from the hardware perspective only, not the instrument part.

1 decade ago
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I want to assure you that although piezo pick-up might not be of the finest quality, it at least gets the job done alright, as I have plugged my guitar into huge speakers and even into my eletric guitar amp and it gave nice sharp tone, although maybe a tod dim, but that's it. No noise and nothing of the sort. And is it possible to find a sound card designed for the guitar cable or it absolutely has to be external?(I am not really into having a lot of devices in my room, plugging something inside sounds better)

1 decade ago
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There are internal ones, too. I don't have any experience with them, but this might be helpful: http://tweakheadz.com/audio-interface-pci-comparison-chart/

1 decade ago
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How bad is the noise, exactly? Perhaps the card or the software applies some kind of auto-gain, and the input signal is too weak (maybe because of impedance), and then you get amplified noise...?

External devices are always better. The computer is a box full of EM radiation that doesn't leak out because the case is metal, but the inside of it is just noisy as hell. Usually there's better design going into the sound card output stage, so there's less noise, and input noise/quality isn't taken care of because most people don't go past Skype and poor quality headset mics, so that doesn't matter.

If you're serious about recording your music, then you'd be better off with an external ADC.

1 decade ago
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I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. It's an external USB soundcard with 2 hybrid inputs (XLR and 6,3mm Jacks merged) and it does the job very well. Just plug your guitar in directly with a jack cable or mic the amp and you can record. Not even that expansive.
http://us.focusrite.com/usb-audio-interfaces/scarlett-2i2

Edit:
For guitar recording you could also take a look at this forum:
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1541771

1 decade ago
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Internal soundcard is more than good for everything, dedicated sound cards are a waste of money (for anything other than offloading the small bit of processing off of the cpu). If you want to learn something, watch this, they provide great information on why dedicated soundcard is a waste.
If you want to record a guitar, look into DI (direct input) boxes / recording interface for guitars, like from m-audio, line6 or other reputable brand. I myself am using the Line6 Studio GX, which is probably the most basic you can go when it comes to DI boxes, it records with absolutely no latency and no noise, but there are other, better/more expensive options as well.

1 decade ago
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DI box is a nice touch, now I see it! It was recommended above as well ,but I didn't really get it back then. Thanks mate, I'll probably buy one of these.
EDIT: do I connect it to my PC with an XLR-3.5mm cable?

1 decade ago
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Closed 1 decade ago by Actionhank.