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Table Of Contents
Record
Hard drive recording
The device used to digitize audio signals is already included on the sound card and is called an
analog/digital converter (A-to-D, ATD or A/D). In order to record, the A/D Converter gathers samples
of the signal to be digitized in determined time lapses and measures its frequency. The rate is called
"sample rate" and normally lies in the kHz ranges. KHz means a vibrating frequency of several thousand
times per second. The higher the rate, the more samples are taken by the A/D converter
and the more natural the digital transformation of the sound will be.
The precision with which the A/D converter measures the analog signal is determined by the sample
resolution. The finer the resolution, the better the digital transformation.
CD-quality audio recordings are recorded with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and 16-bit resolution.
Recording source
First of all, the recording source must be connected to the sound card. There are several ways to do
this, depending on your equipment.
Microphone
: Microphone signals must first be amplified before the sound card modifier can record them. Most sound
cards have separate microphone inputs that pre-amplify signals, but the results are rarely professional.
Quality
: Connection to an external mixer or external microphone amplifier produces far better results.
Amplifier
: If, for example, you possess a guitar amplifier that has a line-out output, you can connect it with the
line-in input on the sound card.
Stereo system
: The stereo system's amplifier usually has a separate line-out. If instead, you see "Aux. out sockets," then
you should use these. Connect them with the input on the sound card (usually shown in red). Normally, a
high-fidelity (hi-fi) amplifier has cinch sockets and sound card mini-stereo catch sockets. You must have
the corresponding cable to connect these properly.
If the amplifier doesn't have separate outputs (other than the loud speakers), then you can use the
headphones socket for recording. In this case, you need a cable with two mini-stereo headphone
connectors. This process has an advantage: you can control the signal level through the phones input. The
disadvantage is that phones outputs are normally not very good. With cassette recordings, always use the
cassette deck line out. Record transfers often leave you no other choice... Never connect a record
player's outputs directly to the sound card, because the phono signal must be pre-amplified first. If you
don't have a pre-amplifier, the only way to do this is via the phones output or an external amplifier
Adjusting the signal
Digital recordings through the sound card need optimal control in order to obtain the best sound quality.
Once the recording source is connected to the sound card, open the recording dialog with the "Record"
button and start the recording source.
You can check the control on the LED displays in the recording dialog.
If the level is too high, reduce the incoming signal. If the recording source is connected through the
amplifier or tape deck's line out connectors, then you can reduce the incoming signal only by using the
sound card's mixer window. This is located in the recording dialog under the "Level control" tab.
If you reduce the input sensibility with the sliding regulator (fader), then you also reduce (with many
sound cards) the precision of the resolution of the digitized analog signal. This is why these controls
should be kept at the loudest possible setting!
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