An hour spent fine-tuning the performance of your soundcard can yield permanent improvements in background noise, distortion levels and frequency response.
Martin Walker offers some practical advice on choosing soundcards that will work in modern PCs without falling foul of chipset or driver compatibility problems.
As with any recording system, the first goal of recording on a PC is to preserve as faithful a copy of the source sound as possible. Achieving this, however can be a complicated business. Martin Walker goes back to basics.
Attaching several different applications to a single MIDI or Audio device can be very useful — once you've worked out how to do it! Martin Walker guides you through the procedure and points out the varied uses of the multi-client approach.
Running two or three soundcards simultaneously can greatly increase the power and flexibility of your PC but it can also lead to serious conflicts. Martin Walker leads you through the pitfalls.
If you want to move the heady heights of true multitrack recording on your PC, there are plenty of rival systems on the market. Martin Walker looks at what you need to consider in making your purchase decision, and rounds up the alternatives.
If you're thinking of buying a PC soundcard specifically for HD recording, you'll find the market awash with models old and new. Martin Walker provides an overview of what's currently available.