sampling w/ audio interface vs. stock computer sound card. difference?

[AragonAndOn]

i've been thinking alot about my mixing lately, and how whenever i render my tracks, they always sound "thin".
now i'm a software guy, i use Audacity to chop up the samples, FL Studio to sequence, and REAPER to mix it all down and add EQ and compression and panning stuff and making the levels different, etc. all aboard on an old Dell Desktop Computer.
and i just wondered, does midi have anything to do with it?
so i have this vague understanding on how audio interfaces, i.e Digidesign Mbox, Presonus, etc., work.
they're what you plug your instruments and mic into to record right?
and they provide stellar sound quality compared to your computers regular sound card?
Now correct me if i'm wrong alright? i'm still in high school, so i haven't had a chance to go to audio engineering school yet, plus i'm broke, so i can't afford any new gear.
You plug in your midi keyboard/ mpc, whatever you use for midi into the audio interface,
then you assign your sample chops to a key or a pad, and then you record it into the host workstation, fl studio or mpc, etc., then you go on from there.
that being said, is there any difference sound quality wise if i were to record my chops via midi through an audio interface rather than just putting my samples directly into my sequencer (FL Studio) from where i chop it from (Audacity)?

and just in advance, i know it's not FL Studio's fault, there are many producers out there who use FL Studio who's tracks sound full and incredible.
Like 9th Wonder, he made all the beats to Little Brother's The Listening and The Minstrel Show just using FL Studio and Cool Edit Pro.
Swiff D makes most of Pac Div's beats and he uses FL Studio, and so on.

and i know that alot of you guys out there have thin sounding tracks that this problem too,
then there are the dudes who's beats just sound amazing and full. i'd love to hear what they have to say on this topic.


Thanks in advance, let's keep this thread alive.

---------- Post added at 11:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 AM ----------

bump...........

---------- Post added at 11:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:24 AM ----------

come on guys, nothing? is this like a rookie question or something?

 

[J.Quest]

I don't think MIDI is your problem. I say you should get an MBox or some sort of interface. It's something that I can't explain. I just know that when I finally got an MBox the music I made in both Reason and FL Studio started sounding WAY better. Its something definitely worth saving up for, believe me.

 

[djbabyboi]

"midi" has nothing to do with it. i think you are referring to the MIDI keyboard? your post is confusing, actually. Audio does not travel through MIDI. if you are wondering on the interface itself, the difference is in your playback. if you are using stock pc sound card, most likely you will encounter buffer problems. if you have an audio card, your playback will have less buffer, which will enable you to do bigger projects without it being laggy. as far as your drum pads being assigned to samples, you should have your sample loaded up in your software, have your midi controller hooked up and recognized by your software. i use an axiom 61 via USB. then you are probably able to assign them through midi. You can try using Reason to assign your chops to your drum pads. other peoples' songs sound more full to you is probably because they know how to use Eq's, compressors and other effects processors, and by implementing their own instruments on top of the sample