Lesson 2: Cables, Adapters, ETC.. In this session we will discover just what we plug in to them ports, what they do, and why. OK, lets start with the different types of cables we need to get going. You will discover later on as your studio advances, there will be all kinds of cables you will need. For now though, its will just be the basics. A good place to find affordable cables, etc is Radio Shack They probably have a better selection of cables, adapters, and components than anyone. You don't need to run out and buy a bunch of "pro" cables. Remember this is a PC studio, not A&M records.

First Cable: Dual RCA Male to Single 1/8 Stereo Male (Y Cable)



Actually you may need 2 of these so keep that in mind. Also remember the shorter the better. The longer that cables are, the more they loose their sound quality due to Db loss, and noise.
This cable is used to connect the line out from an amplified source to the line input of your sound card. Do not plug it in to your mic input. The source can be a pre-amplified turntable (they used them back when to play things called records), pre-amplified microphone, cassete decks, stereos, DVD & CD out, guitar amps, and so on.
Let me clarify something right here. You don't plug 50,000 watts of power in to a sound card. Line out of the examples I mentioned are filtered by using attenuation. That means it reduces db (loudness) output, without sacrificing sound quality too much.
But what if you don't have line out, you ask? Well that takes us to the next cable, the 1/8 to 1/8 Stereo Male Cable



This is the alternative, So how would this be useful? Simple, you plug one end into the line input of your sound card, and the other end into the source's headphones jack. Headphone jacks are always attenuated so you wont blow your headphone speakers, or you brains out.

Now to the output from the sound card. Once again we use the Y Cable we did earlier.



OK, I bet you're saying why do I need this, I already have speakers?
The answer is this, you are not just going to do playback. In later sessions we will discuss dubbing, and then you will realize why. However for now I will tell what it can be good for. You plug in the 1/8 Stereo Male to line/audio out of the sound card. You plug in the 2 RCA Male plugs to your amplifiers auxiliary input. Sometimes this may be called CD/DVD on newer models. Lets face it, your computer will sound awsome going thru the stereo :)

Finally The MIDI Cable:



Bet you're making a face saying MIDI? Yuk! Not so fast there. I know midi sounds like crap most times on the web. But you wont be using MIDI for making midi songs (I hope). You will using it to compose your own music, and special effects. How? well that is a few sessions away too, when we get into software. Anyway the MIDI cables are pretty simple to plug in. It's pretty obvious this can only go one place.

Don't panic gamers, there is a bypass so you can still use your joypad :) The 2 round plugs will plug in to your midi keyboard. The how to of that is in the next session named: Hardware, and Gear
End Lesson 2: