PG Music Home Forums PG Music Product Forums Band-in-a-Box for Windows Recording audio track

Using a USB mic and the resultant issues with that is not about the quality of the sound it can record. It's about having everything work together and in sync in the mixing stages. AS I mentioned, the USB mic is a sound card to the computer. You already have a sound card in the computer. The USB mic's soundcard is generally only a one way device..... sound into the computer, so to hear things, you have to use the factory sound card. Since the sound cards don't use a common clock for timing, it's very possible for the tracks to get out of sync, and unless the sample rates are the same on both, you will also have issues there. The factory card often uses MME as it's driver and that driver doesn't handle the processing of synths in real time very well. As a result, you often experience dramatic latency in the playback of that synth track even though it looks to line up perfectly with the audio tracks. Mix that with the timing and clock issues and you can have a real frustrating mess on your hands.

Laptop mics are not recommended for recording something you are planning to burn to a CD.

Interfaces vs sound module. The sound module, as I understand them are midi based devices that accept midi input and provide a sound output. Similar to using a soft synth but simply in a hardware format. Many of these are rack mountable for stage and studio use. They have superb sound samples in most cases. Many have upload capabilities to add new sounds. I've seen these used on stage to provide a very realistic grand piano sound for a band using a compact midi keyboard. Beats dragging a baby grand in the back seat of the car. To a listener who knows, it is very very hard to tell the difference between a professional sound module and the real thing.

The interface is simply an external (in many cases) soundcard. Most of them now connect with a USB cable. For many home enthusiast recording aficionado's, the third party, after market sound card or more commonly referred to as an Interface, is the way to go. Most folks who are in this hobby will eventually move to one of them simply because they make the recording and playback process so much easier. For most commercial type work, it's a "must have" piece of gear.

The size of the room you record in is not as critical as your skill set. I record in the corner of a small room. My studio space is about 6 feet, by 7 feet and that is being generous. The room, while it does play a part in the sound of things that are mic'd..... it plays no part in the stuff like MIDI in the box. Again, on the playback and mixing stages, the room will color how you hear the mix. This is probably the most important point where the room is critical. You can approach this from one of several ways.
1. Go whole hog and treat the room acoustically if you have the time, money and your wife will let you.
2. Purchase software to help figure out the nulls and peaks and resonant freqs and set that software up properly and use it. (ARC / automatic room correction software)
3. Play a number of commercial CD's and "learn" the room and your speakers. Use that as your reference to what a "good mix" sounds like in that room, on that gear.

You don't mix for a specific environment. You mix so that it will sound acceptable in the majority of environments. The only way to do that is to have the mix you are hearing be as ACCURATE as possible. Part of this is the gear. Using studio reference monitors vs using home stereo speakers or head phones for the sound source is critical. Most home stereo speakers are designed to sound a certain way, to accentuate certain freqs, and to color the sound intentionally. In a studio, you want to hear what is really happening, not listen through rose colored glasses. If there's a problem in the rhythm guitar EQ, you need to hear it in the studio and fix that before you print it to the CD.

By getting a grip on the real sound of your mix through one of the methods I listed above, you should be able, with time and skills you acquire, to mix so that it will play well in small and large spaces and not be bottom or top heavy or have mid range issues.

Hope this helps you a bit.

It takes most people years to build these skills but it depends too on how badly you want it, and how hard you work and apply yourself to this hobby and art form. Just as it takes years to become proficient on piano or guitar, the same thing applies to mixing and mastering. It's a learning process and you often don't know what you don't know. But, keep studying and learning and one day you will.

Ask questions, post songs and don't be afraid of the critical comments.