Originally Posted By: justanoldmuso
lets first address your computer. i need some info.
1. assuming pc is shutdown cold. how long does it take from the moment you press the pc power button to seeing win desktop ?
under 10 secs ? or a loooong time ? in addition please open up realband and in the menus you will see action test audio performance.
how many traks does the test report ? over 200 traks ?
this will help me assess your pc capabilities somewhat.
btw i have an i5 much older than yours with ssd. its very very fast. but its been optimised by me. it boots into win in only a few secs.

10 seconds--fast enough to surprise me, after using old computers for so long.

"Estimated Number of 44.1k Audio tracks for playback: 189 (Note: Estimated performance is for Mono tracks)"

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2. dont worry bout the piano. you can still do loads of songs.
i cant do notation or play the piano but that hasnt stopped me doing 300 original songs in my life in studios big and small. if i remember a ton of rockers with big hits couldnt do notation/piano either.

I go back to Gizmo (the keyboard) just to remind myself that I honestly am a competent musician. **rueful smile** It's still how I prefer to write new songs.

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as a next step please read up on you tube the following if not already done so.
.optimising a pc for recording studio work.
.what is latency ?
.how to install a low latency asio usb audio interface.
(look on you tube for vids by focusrite, maudio, behringer
and other manufacturers as a start.)

Okay. I can do that.
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.best cheap condenser microphone female singer. please note your mic is a dynamic not a condenser. the problem with dynamics is they need lots of gain compared to condensers. and some interfaces dont have lots of gain. thus problems can occur.
but lets see first what the cobalt can do.

I bought the dynamic mic because Gizmo's manual said only a dynamic would work with the keyboard. The idea was to plug the mic into Gizmo and record the song directly onto the keyboard--but the mic never worked, and I could never get Audiobox to work (multiple download errors due to slow internet) so I couldn't check the mic out that way, either. If I'm understanding what everyone is telling me, I'll be plugging it into the new audio interface, whichever one I get, and recording my vocals into BIAB or RB? So I need to check the gain ony potential interface. Okay.

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it looks to me like you will need a cheap low latency usb audio interface. some work great and others dont depending on pc. which is why i test them by first renting.
DO YOU HAVE A RECORDING STORE NEAR YOU THAT RENTS RECORDING GEAR TO TEST LIKE I DO ? this can be problematic.
best
oldmuso

Have not got a clue. There's a couple music stores about a mile up the street but I have no idea if they rent gear--they're pretty specialized, one sells orchestra instruments and guitars and no gear, the other sells drums, so they might have gear... but I stay out of that one! Carpal tunnel wrists do not need to be itching for congas!! **big eyes** But I think before I get to the point of needing to rent anything, I should do some learning. Google search on "low latency usb audio interface" brought me almost 5 million results and the focusrite is at the top. I know it's pretty popular here so I'll read about it along with the others.

Thank you for all your help. After I've done some reading, can I run things by you before I have the IT friend change anything on my computer? If not, that's okay. I still appreciate all your help!!

...........honestly, I'm not sure any of you guys understand how much help you've been to me, or just how grateful I am to all of you. Your help is saving me from thinking I made a terrible mistake. Thank you, all of you.

Love is always worth the risk.

HP laptop; Windows 10 Home 64 bit; core i5; 2.40 Ghz; 8 GB RAM; 256 GB hard drive; BIAB 2021 Build 835.