Soundcard

I'm looking to record audio from my keyboard, but I'm assuming I wouldn't be happy with my integrated soundcard.

Someone on the Jordan Rudess forums recommended this. Will that be good for my speakers and keyboard? Is there something better for the price I should get? :q

Get a mac.

Very good advice, especially since I'd be able to use Logic Studio. Unfortunately, I don't have the money.

Your onboard doesn't have a line in?

Are you recording direct in, or with a mic? The onboard sound card really should be good enough, unless you're using a mic, in which case it's probably a shitty mic that can be used with a computer instead of a real mic that uses XLR inputs.

Maybe you should try it before buying something you might not even need.

Maybe you should, I dunno, actually get good enough to do anything worth recording first?

Reminds me of an RMRK member who can't can barely play guitar and then goes and gets a $2000+ guitar.

Just use the line in on your onboard, it'll be fine.

Are you recording direct in, or with a mic? The onboard sound card really should be good enough, unless you're using a mic, in which case it's probably a shitty mic that can be used with a computer instead of a real mic that uses XLR inputs.

Maybe you should try it before buying something you might not even need.

Direct in from the keyboard's audio out.

Obviously I'm going to try it before I spend $100 on a sound card, but I'm assuming it's not going to sound that great considering most integrated soundcards aren't very good quality. Plus everything on my motherboard is garbage, why would it be any different for this? I'll try to pick up a cable sometime this week.

Maybe you should, I dunno, actually get good enough to do anything worth recording first?

Reminds me of an RMRK member who can't can barely play guitar and then goes and gets a $2000+ guitar.

The only things that I really need to work on right now are my fingering, instinctive chord/scale playing, and intervallic reading. Though I can work around these by spending extra time on whatever I'm playing/composing. I specifically need this to record music I compose. I don't want it to sound like garbage.

Nouman didn't know how to read tabs and had no plans to. He didn't know basic music theory either. He were going to learn songs from Youtube videos. There's a clear difference between the two of us.

Also, in what way is buying a $100 sound card the same as buying a $2000 guitar?

buying something you don't need.

I guess you're right.

Oh! They're also both things! That's two!

Even the shittiest onboard line in port has a perfectly fine signal to noise ratio for normal recording. I'm surprised irock would think he needs otherwise.

Mute your mic port when you're not using it, it will (incredibly likely) create very slight interference linked to CPU utilisation, though even that is nigh undetectable to the average listener.

considering most integrated soundcards aren't very good quality.

Not true, Irockpal 

Even the shittiest onboard line in port has a perfectly fine signal to noise ratio for normal recording. I'm surprised irock would think he needs otherwise.

Mute your mic port when you're not using it, it will (incredibly likely) create very slight interference linked to CPU utilisation, though even that is nigh undetectable to the average listener.

Really? Do you have a lot of experience recording an instruments through your integrated soundcard? I'm glad buying this new soundcard wouldn't improve the audio quality at all, so now I don't have to spend the money.

Didn't you once say you can't tell the difference between a 192 kbps audio file and a FLAC file around 5x the bit rate?

I feel I'm being trolled, but anyway:

Really? Do you have a lot of experience recording an instruments through your integrated soundcard? I'm glad buying this new soundcard wouldn't improve the audio quality at all, so now I don't have to spend the money.

You overestimate the improvement you will get, or underestimate the quality of your line in. Try recording through your normal line in first. Even the shittiest onboard has a perfectly fine SnR for normal up to semi-professional recording. I pass the audio from my gamecube into my PC's onboard line in then out to my headphones, it sounds perfect. The noise is imperceptible unless you max the volume (my headphones go deafeningly god damn loud at max volume) and have silence coming from the gamecube. Even then it's almost impossible to hear it. Your experience won't be any different.

Didn't you once say you can't tell the difference between a 192 kbps audio file and a FLAC file around 5x the bit rate?

Simply stating a bitrate is not enough; samplerate, channels, compression format, compression settings and the piece of music that has been compressed are required for that.

Assuming you mean MP3, in most cases LAME-encoded MP3 above 192kbit/s is transparent. I'm not sure you understand how lossy audio works; it strives to remove parts of the sound that humans can't hear. AAC or Vorbis at 192+kbit/s are transparent.

Waste some money on the card if you feel like it, you will get a negligible improvement since your onboard line in is fine.

I agree with Roph. Sound cards are mostly useless.