Echo Gina 3G (for home PC recording)

[Tobus]

Hello, I'm having some trouble, and this forum looks pretty bangin.

 

I have a Pentium 2.8 gHz with a VIA P4PB 400-L motherboard and I just replaced my SoundBlaster Audigy with an Echo Gina 3G soundcard and got a KSM27 mic so I could record directly into my computer with Acid Pro 4.0f (I can't get 5.0a to work). However, Gina for some reason caused every sound on my computer to play in slow motion with a low pitch (laaamme). Does anyone have this card working for them, or know of hardware conflicts with it? I tried with the Gina as the only card in my computer, it still plays slow and the things I record play too fast on other peoples' computers.

 

I can't figure out what's causing this, and I've tried reinstalling and playing with the driver settings. I was thinking it might be a conflict with my motherboard, and I am terrible about selecting parts online and building computers. My brother says I should buy a Dell, but if the problem is just with the motherboard, I don't want to have to spend an extra $1500 (cause I'm poor).

 

Eventually I want to have a keyboard or a keyboard controller and some virtual instrument (any suggestions for either of these?) plugged into the Gina, but for now I'd just be playing in the mic on my acoustic guitar and singing.

 

 

Thanks for any help!

Toby

[Dylan]

First, I'd make sure that you have the clock setting to 'internal' in the echo control panel. Second I'd run msconfig from the run command to make sure that the Gina is on it's own IRQ. If it's sharing with anything else than I'd move the card to a different PCI slot until it gets one of it's own. I'm not a big fan of running VIA chipset motherboards with Intel CPU's. An Intel chipset will give you the best performance and compatiblity. Any board from Asus or Intel with an Intel chipset would be a huge improvement if all else fails.

[Tobus]

Awesome. I did read on Echo's site that having an Intel chipset with the Intel processor is a much better idea. Any recommendations for a chipset I should get? I'm looking on newegg atm.

 

Thanks!

[theblue1]

Do not buy or build a new computer just to get your interface running. That's like going out and buying a new car 'cause you're out of gas in the old one. (I love my Dell laptop. But I totally recommend building one's own desktop machines.)

 

If your interface is playing everything "slow" that means that the sample rate the tracks were recorded at was higher than what you're playing back at.

 

Some folks have decided to use 48kHz because they think they'r going to get better fidelity (without perhaps realizing that, if they remain in the digital domain they're going to have to put their audio through a distortion-producing 'ragged' downsample to 44.1kHz in order to do anything in a standard format (CD, Mp3, etc) with it. (Yes, SB cards have for the 7 or 8 years used an EMU DSP that runs at 48 kHz [the DSP was presumably developed for use in their synths and samplers which had used the 'video standard' of 48 kHz since the Emulator "one". But, nonetheless, if you keep your chain digital, eventually you're going to have to do a punishing uneven downsample. [Even multiples are good; uneven multiples are bad. If you need more info, it's all oveer the web. But take hardware manufacturers claims of 'transparent downsampling' with a teaspoon of salt. Make it a tablespoon.]

 

Anyhow, if your old material was recorded at 48 kHz and you're now replaying it at 44.1 it's going to be about 10% slower and lower in frequency.

 

If that's the case, you can set your software and Gina to run at 48 kHz. Eventually you'll have to downsample, as noted -- or some folks find that they actually get better results going out into the analog domain (perhaps doing some final 'mastering' to spruce up the sound with analog or other outboard gear) and coming back in on another device set to 44.1. If you have that option, you might want to try it both ways and see which works better.

 

When I got my first CD-writer back in '96 I was faced with a similar situation. I had 5 or 6 years of mixes on 48 kHz DAT tapes. First I imported them directly in via SPDIF andthen did a downsample from 48 kHz to 44.1 kHz.

 

It sounded very bad, slurred and harsh. (This was '96, as I said, so we can only hope downsampling algorithms have improved.)

 

So, instead, I ran out the analog outs of my (relatively decent sounding) SV3700 DAT machine back into the converters on my DAW recording at 44.1 kHz. While I was out there, I added just a touch of tube compression across the stereo mix, just for good measure. The results were night and day better.

[Bbach1]

Originally posted by Tobus:

Hello, I'm having some trouble, and this forum looks pretty bangin.

 

I have a Pentium 2.8 gHz with a VIA P4PB 400-L motherboard and I just replaced my SoundBlaster Audigy with an Echo Gina 3G soundcard and got a KSM27 mic so I could record directly into my computer with Acid Pro 4.0f (I can't get 5.0a to work). However, Gina for some reason caused every sound on my computer to play in slow motion with a low pitch (laaamme). Does anyone have this card working for them, or know of hardware conflicts with it? I tried with the Gina as the only card in my computer, it still plays slow and the things I record play too fast on other peoples' computers.

Toby, you have to do one thing with the layla 3G and should do one other in Windows. First, in the layla console, go into settings and lock the sample rate. Most windows sounds are sampled at a very low rate and each time one of those sound files plays, it resets the clock on the echo layla to a lower number. This will raise heck with the speed of playback of anything you record. The other thing you should do is turn off windows sounds. However, you may find it works just fine after locking the sample rate.

[Tobus]

I tried turning off windows sound and locking Gina 3G's sample rate at 44,100, then 48,000, but the sounds were still very slow. 88,200 sounds too fast, of course... It sounds like it'd have to be closer to 60,000 to sound more normal.

 

This is probably obvious, but I can record with the KSM27 through the Gina, then listen to it, and it sounds fine. But then if I try to render the recording as an mp3 and set the Audigy as my main soundcard, then play the sound, it plays very fast.

 

Does turning off windows sounds only fix the problem if it's a fresh driver install? (btw it is a Gina 3G, not a Layla 3G, I'm not sure if that makes a difference. I could try to send back the Gina and get a Layla if that would be more stable.)

 

Thanks for the quick responses!

Toby

[AudioMaverick]

Tobus, this sounds very familiar... Try uninstalling the Audigy driver. Get teh latest non-beta from the SundBlaster site and install it. See if your problem goes away, after the reboot.

[Tobus]

So I should keep both the Audigy and the Gina in my computer? The problem is only when I plug my headphones into the Gina. I'm installing the new drivers though, I'll reboot and watch family guy. Hehe

 

 

-----

 

Family guy is on now! Season premiere on Fox! Watch it, take notes, quote it later.

[Tobus]

It still plays back slow, I'll just try to call tech support tomorrow, maybe they'll know. If I need a new motherboard, I might get a

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131464

Which looks pretty good I think.. and a new case

http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811112022

 

 

If anyone has a setup using Gina 3G and has dealt with similar problems and wants to talk, my AIM name is Tobuscus if you need quicker responses.

 

Thanks!

Toby

[theblue1]

I've had two audio interfaces of one kind or another in my desktop machines for most of the last decade. (Currently a SB Live and an Echo Mia.) And I often have both my MOTU 828mkII and my laptop's internal soundard hooked up and active.

 

I don't know of any reason why you can't keep your SB for everyday or soundfont use and use your Gina for recording. It's certainly how I've always done things.

[Bbach1]

Originally posted by theblue1:

I've had two audio interfaces of one kind or another in my desktop machines for most of the last decade. (Currently a SB Live and an Echo Mia.) And I often have both my MOTU 828mkII and my laptop's internal soundard hooked up and active.

 

I don't know of any reason why you can't keep your SB for everyday or soundfont use and use your Gina for recording. It's certainly how I've always done things.

I agree. I now have an Echo Layla 3G and my onboard sound card and use them both. I don't have the same problems as you do Tobus. Locking the sampling rate and turning off windows sounds has done the trick for me.

[Tobus]

I called tech support, and he said he thinks it's a clock problem on the breakout box so I have to sent it back to get it fixed, and I won't get it back for 3 weeks. Aaahhh.. that stings. I hope it ends up being that. I should take my soundcard to a friend's house who has a Gina 3G as well and see if it works on his computer. But.. he's sort of a hermit, and may try to kill me for asking.

[theblue1]

That's a bummer. I hope that straightens it out, though.

 

I've always heard good things about the Laylas (at least after a couple kinks were worked out of the very first one).

 

In fact the reputation of Echo for reliable (your case possibly notwithstanding), good sounding interfaces was what made me buy my Echo Mia.

 

[Tobus]

Hm. I just installed the Gina into my Dad's computer and the same thing happened. Instant Slow-Mo. Maybe it is the clock speed of the breakout box. I could get a Layla and record into the Layla with an electric guitar. Or can I also do that with the Gina?

[Bbach1]

Originally posted by Tobus:

Hm. I just installed the Gina into my Dad's computer and the same thing happened. Instant Slow-Mo. Maybe it is the clock speed of the breakout box. I could get a Layla and record into the Layla with an electric guitar. Or can I also do that with the Gina?

So was the Gina working ok on your friends computer? Did you use the same breakout box?

[Dylan]

Originally posted by Tobus:

Hm. I just installed the Gina into my Dad's computer and the same thing happened. Instant Slow-Mo. Maybe it is the clock speed of the breakout box. I could get a Layla and record into the Layla with an electric guitar. Or can I also do that with the Gina?

Both the new Layla and the Gina 3G have a combination mic/instrument preamp, so yes, you can record a guitar direct with the new Layla as well.

[Tobus]

My friend didn't let me try it on his computer.. I wish he would have, I sent it off to Echo already though like the tech suggested. I almost went ahead and bought a Dell because this morning I put in 2 of the best Corsair 512s and my computer wouldn't even start with them. Maybe I shorted them or something. What a week.

I'm trying to get Amplitube to work in Acid, is that a lost cause? In Sonar I have to right click on the soundwave and go to edit with synth or some such. I really like being able to zoom in and out with the mouse wheel in Acid, and it feels more user friendly to me than Sonar 4. Maybe I just have to try Sonar when my computer isn't PMSing.

[Dylan]

Originally posted by Tobus:

I almost went ahead and bought a Dell because this morning I put in 2 of the best Corsair 512s and my computer wouldn't even start with them.

Don't buy the Dell. It won't be as expandable or upgradable, plus Dell will only support the system in the same condition as when it left the factory (i.e., before you installed your Echo Card and other software).

[Tobus]

What the Dell. The expected ship date is the 27th (so it wouldnt get here till Juneish), but the guy on the phone said it'd ship by the 9th (2 days ago). So I called and said I need it now. So they upgraded it to overnight delivery for free. So.. assuming they ever ship it... I'll get it the day after.

Now I must begin to make ridiculous amounts of money at Starbucks & Hard Rock Cafe.