Newbie audio interface?

Currently. I'm borrowing a Lexicon Lambda from a friend for my interface, but I've decided to get something of my own (plus he wants it back).

 

Any suggestions for a (somewhat cheap) interface for someone who's still in the early stages of learning producing. I'd like to get something high end, maybe an 8 channel interface so I can eventually record drums someday, but that's in the future. As of now, I probably only need a 2 channel interface, as I've been only recording guitars. I've had my eye on the M-Audio Profire 610 but still have a lot of research to do.

 

Does anybody have any input or suggestions. Thanks for your help.

RME or Focusrite.

I've had my eye on the M-Audio Profire 610 but still have a lot of research to do.

 

M-Audio's drivers have gotten a lot of bad reviews from users on this forum.

 

The PreSonus FireStudio Mobile is a good choice for your current needs.

Edited August 10, 2012 by Scott Jackson

am much impressed with the focusrite scarlett 2i2, i have one at home. sounds really good, and inexpensive.. (sounds better than my previous $400 interface...)

MOTU Ultralite, Audio Express or 4Pre, depending on what you need to do. I used MOTU interfaces for 15 years without a hiccup... drivers are solid and support is excellent.

+1 on MOTU. Check out the Track 16.

Anyone have thoughts on the Tascam US-1800?

Not a fan of Tascam - I've had bad experiences so I don't trust their products too much. There are some good suggestions already earlier in this thread: MOTU, Presonus, or if the budget allows, RME.

am much impressed with the focusrite scarlett 2i2, i have one at home. sounds really good, and inexpensive.. (sounds better than my previous $400 interface...)

 

I checked out a couple of the Focusrite interfaces and they seem like they're pretty legit. It looks like most of them also have built-in preamps, which is a plus. How do the preamps on the interface compare with an external preamp? Also, if I do choose to get an external preamp, is there anyway to bypass the preamp built into the interface?

 

Thanks

I checked out a couple of the Focusrite interfaces and they seem like they're pretty legit. It looks like most of them also have built-in preamps, which is a plus. How do the preamps on the interface compare with an external preamp? Also, if I do choose to get an external preamp, is there anyway to bypass the preamp built into the interface?

 

Thanks

 

Interfaces that have line in inputs besides the combo XLR mic pres, can bypass the mic pres. Motu interfaces have that.

I checked out a couple of the Focusrite interfaces and they seem like they're pretty legit. It looks like most of them also have built-in preamps, which is a plus. How do the preamps on the interface compare with an external preamp? Also, if I do choose to get an external preamp, is there anyway to bypass the preamp built into the interface?

 

Thanks

 

Interfaces that have line in inputs besides the combo XLR mic pres, can bypass the mic pres. Motu interfaces have that.

 

This leads me to another question...what does it mean when an interface has 16 in's/8 out's (looking specifically at the Focusrite Saffire Pro 24). Does this have to do with routing external hardware into the interface?

 

Thanks.

what does it mean when an interface has 16 in's/8 out's (looking specifically at the Focusrite Saffire Pro 24). Does this have to do with routing external hardware into the interface?

It typically means that the interface can handle 16 simultaneous inputs and 8 simultaneous outputs through various connectors. In the case of the Focusrite however I'm not sure how they count 16 inputs... I count 14:

http://us.focusrite.com/firewire-audio-interfaces/saffire-pro-24/specifications

On the features tab they say this:

Total I/O count of 16 inputs and 8 outputs

A host of I/O options are provided, including a unique Loopback facility for routing audio between software applications via Saffire MixControl.

 

Cheap way of adding another stereo routing.

Yeah all manufacturers tend to stretch the meaning of those i/o numbers.... you really have to see exactly how many and what type of i/o they offer and whether or not they match your needs. If you're never going to use an S/Pdif input then that's going to be useless to you. If you don't own any device with an ADAT output then the ADAT input is providing 8 channels of inputs that are useless to you. Etc...

what does it mean when an interface has 16 in's/8 out's (looking specifically at the Focusrite Saffire Pro 24). Does this have to do with routing external hardware into the interface?

It typically means that the interface can handle 16 simultaneous inputs and 8 simultaneous outputs through various connectors. In the case of the Focusrite however I'm not sure how they count 16 inputs... I count 14:

http://us.focusrite.com/firewire-audio-interfaces/saffire-pro-24/specifications

 

Hmm...I was looking at the interface on Musician's Friend, so it's possible they might have gotten it wrong. But I guess here's my main question: On that specific model, I see 2 XLR inputs, 2 1/4 inch inputs on the back, and 6 quarter inch outputs...how does that translate to 16 inputs and 8 outputs? Does it count the MIDI in/out and the SDIF in/out? Even then I only count 8 inputs...I feel like I'm missing something obvious here or asking a dumb question, but I just wanna get it clear in my head before I actually go ahead and purchase something.

 

Thanks

On the features tab they say this:

Total I/O count of 16 inputs and 8 outputs

A host of I/O options are provided, including a unique Loopback facility for routing audio between software applications via Saffire MixControl.

 

Cheap way of adding another stereo routing.

don't get an m-audio one!!

On that specific model, I see 2 XLR inputs, 2 1/4 inch inputs on the back, and 6 quarter inch outputs...how does that translate to 16 inputs and 8 outputs? Does it count the MIDI in/out and the SDIF in/out?

They count the audio inputs. That includes S/Pdif and ADAT, but not MIDI. The i/o connections are listed at the bottom of the page I linked to (http://us.focusrite.com/firewire-audio-interfaces/saffire-pro-24/specifications), with the mysterious 2 additional inputs explained by triplet's post.

No one laugh, but I use a Presonus Audiobox USB. It only has two channels so mic'ing drums are out of the question, but it dual mic's a guitar cab beautifully. It's probably as simple as it gets.

dont mean to beat a dead horse! Searching for a friend and lookin at an Alesis:http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iO2exp/ and a Tascam: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US144mk2/

 

Thoughts? David is against tascam, and I'm a fan of cheaper. If he has the cash I'll recommend the presonus fire..thing but if 100$ is about it I'm just curious if anybody has used 'em.

 

apologies if I hijack the thread but I thought if anyone had used 'em it'd be a good add to the talks.

Tascam has flaky drivers just like M-Audio. Stay away from those interfaces.

dont mean to beat a dead horse! Searching for a friend and lookin at an Alesis:http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iO2exp/ and a Tascam: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US144mk2/

 

Thoughts? David is against tascam, and I'm a fan of cheaper. If he has the cash I'll recommend the presonus fire..thing but if 100$ is about it I'm just curious if anybody has used 'em.

 

apologies if I hijack the thread but I thought if anyone had used 'em it'd be a good add to the talks.

 

Here's the first interface I bought:

 

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/tascam-us-100-usb-audio-interface

 

It does what it's supposed to...but not much more. And again, many people here are against Tascam just like they are against M-Audio.

thanks for the tip! but I've gotta have midi in for him to enter drum parts...quicker and more efficiently via keyboard =)

 

I did just find out I've still got my midi-usb adaptor, but only one usb works... =/ I'm gonna call up sweetwater and see what his customer complaints are like for the two I posted. Will report back!

The Tascam drivers for the IFFW/DMmkII have been just as stable as MOTU's, and I know several friends who love their smaller, cheaper Tascam interfaces, so.... in my experience, you have nothing to fear from buying a Tascam.

yea I got an e-mail back from Tascam and they said they have pretty good results in 10.5 so it's on the table.

 

also on the table is the Akai EIE I just learned about. anybody use these? Seems the non-pro 16 bit is pretty affordable... but appears there are tons of problems with it...which bites.

 

also the Mackie Onyx Blackjack. Seems simple, cheap, and has those Onyx pre's I hear good things about.

I would scrap Tascam, AKAI and Mackie from your potential choices. All sorts of issues (some I've seen first hand like Tascam and Mackie, as for the AKAI... getting a 16 bit interface today is the equivalent of getting a computer with a floppy disk drive today).

 

Focus less on the features, more on the reliability is what I'd recommend. Tried and true reliable interfaces include Presonus, MOTU, RME and Metric Halo. You want to spend time making music, not troubleshooting your system.

 

That was my 4 cents (since I see I already made the same kind of recommendations earlier in this thread).

that's what I'm trying to do. My bud needs something cheap but

 

-the presonus I looked into (the firebox USB one) has this +20db for line-in which apparently makes direct recording of guitars almost impossible to work with (especially if doing lots of palm muting/metal)

-I can't in good conscience recommend focusrite because my SaffireLE, as great as it was, the 2nd pre-amp died and the repair is more expensive than a new unit!

- RME is expensive as crap and I can't afford for myself let alone the friend I'm shopping for

- MOTU is great too, but too expensive

- Metric Halo = $$

 

So what to do? Presonus I thought would be my own upgrade but after reading about that USB they have I feel they're headed down the same road as focusrite.

 

On this topic, I've been thinking about recommending to my friend the Blue Microhpnes Icicle. It would give him an XLR with a good pre-amp for about 50$ My only question is if he were to get an xlr-to-1/4" adapter if that would then work for him to plug in his guitar. I realize this is using different impedences (which if anybody wants to take the time to explain to me I would GREATLY appreciate it) but I think so long as it doesn't damage the Icicle... it's cheap and works ^_^ People said you can't plug your guitar into your mic-in on a mac but I've seen youtube videos with people doing.

 

Also - on power. My friend's usiing my old G4 iBook. It only has one USB port that works. I'm giving him my m-audio MIDI-to-USB adaptor which will take up his USB slot. I was thinking if I gave him my old USB mac keyboard that has two USB slots he could then plug in a mouse + Midi adaptor to keyboard and keyboard to computer. Then he could just switch out the Icicle/MIDI as needed.

 

Please tell me this will work. please. PLEASE!!!

Edited September 1, 2012 by bobsbarricades

-the presonus I looked into (the firebox USB one) has this +20db for line-in which apparently makes direct recording of guitars almost impossible to work with (especially if doing lots of palm muting/metal)

Huh? I suppose that's a switchable +20 dB, no?

 

-I can't in good conscience recommend focusrite because my SaffireLE, as great as it was, the 2nd pre-amp died and the repair is more expensive than a new unit!

Great - I don't recommend Focusrite either.

 

- RME is expensive as crap and I can't afford for myself let alone the friend I'm shopping for

- Metric Halo = $$

Ok scrap those two as out of your budget.

 

- MOTU is great too, but too expensive

Have you considered the MOTU microbook?

just got a focusrite... balls

just got a focusrite... balls

Hey, maybe it will work just great for you. I don't recommend them, not because I've had bad experiences with them, but rather because there are a few brands I've trusted for years, who have been doing that stuff for years, way before Focusrite decided to get into the audio interface market.