[shucky2011]

Hi guys, i have recently started recording my own stuff but am having a big problem with background/white noise.  I am using an AKG C1000S microphone and a Behringer DSP110 preamp to record guitar and vocals onto my pc.  I suspect i need to invest in a better soundcard since i only have what came with my pc. I also have a problem with delay.  on recording into the microphone the sound records about 1 or 2 seconds late on the pc - this makes it difficult for me to do things like record the music and then play it back and sing over the top.

Any helpful suggestions/questions would be greatly appreciated.

[Ramshackles]

You need an audio interface. Read this article: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/nov04/articles/pcmusician.htm
And use this wizard to help you find the right one:
http://www.recordingreview.com/soundcard/soundcard_wizard.php

[domstone86]

As a short term solution: If you're having a problem with delay, make sure ASIO drivers are selected in your DAW. If not (For instance WDM), select it in the drop down menu. Chances are, your soundcard won't officially support this feature as it's not a required feature for most users. Visit http://www.asio4all.com/ and download and install the software. As far as I have seen, it's pretty much bug free, and works straight away after installing. It should show ASIO as an option.

ASIO drivers are useful as they bypass all the windows protocols and work direct with the end hardware, making a latency as much as seconds, turn into around 8ms - 128ms depending on your computer speed.

Background noise will happen with everything, so the best way to temporarily get over this, is to have recorded sound as close to clipping as possible. The difference between the ambient noise and the wanted material is greater, (For every dB you increase the difference, is 1dB you can lower the hiss. To fix anything you've had already, there is a really good hiss removal plugin from Sonnox Oxford suite. http://www.sonnoxplugins.com/pub/plugins/products/products.htm I BELIEVE it's the suppressor but it was a while ago now since I used it. There's a tutorial on their website and it explains how to use the product and what it's capable of.

You may find that it could be the Behringer plugin that's contributing to some of the noise. I don't want to foul mouth well meaning products, but my hissy experience with Behringer 4-5 years ago turned my recordings pretty loud on the top end. See if using a different preamp helps with that.

Of course, it's a better idea to get an audio interface as a direct solution. Though it's good practice to lower the potential noise as much as possible in all areas on the studio, especially the parts near source.

[Ramshackles]

As a short term solution: If you're having a problem with delay, make sure ASIO drivers are selected in your DAW. If not (For instance WDM), select it in the drop down menu. Chances are, your soundcard won't officially support this feature as it's not a required feature for most users. Visit http://www.asio4all.com/ and download and install the software. As far as I have seen, it's pretty much bug free, and works straight away after installing. It should show ASIO as an option.

ASIO drivers are useful as they bypass all the windows protocols and work direct with the end hardware, making a latency as much as seconds, turn into around 8ms - 128ms depending on your computer speed.

Background noise will happen with everything, so the best way to temporarily get over this, is to have recorded sound as close to clipping as possible. The difference between the ambient noise and the wanted material is greater, (For every dB you increase the difference, is 1dB you can lower the hiss. To fix anything you've had already, there is a really good hiss removal plugin from Sonnox Oxford suite. http://www.sonnoxplugins.com/pub/plugins/products/products.htm I BELIEVE it's the suppressor but it was a while ago now since I used it. There's a tutorial on their website and it explains how to use the product and what it's capable of.

You may find that it could be the Behringer plugin that's contributing to some of the noise. I don't want to foul mouth well meaning products, but my hissy experience with Behringer 4-5 years ago turned my recordings pretty loud on the top end. See if using a different preamp helps with that.

Of course, it's a better idea to get an audio interface as a direct solution. Though it's good practice to lower the potential noise as much as possible in all areas on the studio, especially the parts near source.

There's a bit of mis-information here. Yes, use the asio driver, but before getting into that you need a suitable interface. The stock card that comes with your pc ('HD Audio') is no good for recording analogue signals.

I would also NEVER record as close to clipping as possible. You need to leave headroom to be able to add effects, compression and maximize loudness later on. In the DAW I would look to keep each track peaking at around -10db to -5.
Behringer products are the bottom of the market yes, but most professional products now are such a standard that any noise they generate is of insignificance, especially in a home studio setup.
More likely, both your hiss and delay problem stems from the fact that you dont have a dedicated soundcard.

[domstone86]

I didn't know that you shouldn't record close to clipping as possible. I always thought if it's too loud, you can lower the gain or compress it which allows for extra headroom for effects. That's what had worked for me, though it may not have been perfect at the time. And yes, I have a hate for onboard soundcards, which is why I moved away from them a long time ago. As an instant solution if he was unable to get a dedicated audio interface however, I think those tweaks would have developed a slightly better sound as they did for me years ago. I'm not disagreeing with what you say by the way, and didn't know about the "Recording at max volume" being bad. My experience with behringer preamps were intergrated with their compressors. Looking back, it MAY have been the mic, but the hiss was fairly consistant with different mics.