#1
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8 mic audio interface suggestions?
Hi. Looking for some thoughts on audio interfaces for the near future.
Looking for something of decent enough quality for home hobby use, up to recording demos/practice tracks for my band. Not professional use, certainly. The largest number of inputs I see needing at the same time is 7, for my drum mics. My workstation is a Win7 desktop running Sonar, with both USB and FireWire ports available. Budget is flexible currently. Less expensive is a plus, but not to the point of sacrificing quality/reliability. I've had some bad experiences with cut-rate gear before.
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"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." -Zig Ziglar Acoustics 2013 Guild F30 Standard 2012 Yamaha LL16 2007 Seagull S12 1991 Yairi DY 50 Electrics Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Am. Standard Telecaster Gibson ES-335 Gibson Firebird |
#2
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check out the presonus stuff. Just bought the Audiobox 44vsl (4channel / line version) and just learning it truthfully, but really dig so far. 8 channel version runs about 499 I believe, good reviews. Not quite as complex as say pro tools, but really nice piece so far, easier software.
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#3
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Quote:
if I were doing it again. In DAW's, I have Cubase 5, Presonus One & Sonar X3. MIDI on Presonus doesn't cut it for me. Sonar is easier for me to navigate on MIDI - but still not nearly as easy as it should be. I don't like or use Cubase much. I mostly record audio these days on Auria w/an iPad2 and later edits in SoundForge. But neither do MIDI. I use an Alesis ioDock for my converter on my iPad recordings.
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Ceci n'est pas une pipe bebe. Youtube France (Film Musique & Fantomas) --- Guitars: (2007) big Vietnamese archtop; (1997) Guild F65ce, (1988) Guild D60, (1972) Guild D25, two other Vietnamese flat-tops and one classical. Last edited by louparte; 09-30-2014 at 07:12 AM. |
#4
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I've been using a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 for a few years and have been extremely happy. Firewire interface, 8 channels with killer clean preamps originally designed by Rupert Neve, plenty of output options, dual headphone outputs. Serious quality at a reasonable price.
Here's a link: http://us.focusrite.com/firewire-aud...saffire-pro-40 I was a long time SONAR/Cakewalk Pro Audio user, but transitioned to Presonus StudioOne when I went to a Mac in the studio (SONAR is PC only). Haven't looked back since... Good luck in your search!
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"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything." - Plato | '02 814c Custom (Coco/Sitka) | '03 912ce Custom (Coco/Engelmann)| '06 K65ce | '17 J45 Std. | '10 Breedlove Revival OM DLX (EIR/Adi) | Lots of electrics... |
#5
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Your best 'bang for the buck' may be the Tascam US1800 - often on sale for less than $300.
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Mike My music: https://mikebirchmusic.bandcamp.com 2020 Taylor 324ceBE 2017 Taylor 114ce-N 2012 Taylor 310ce 2011 Fender CD140SCE Ibanez 12 string a/e 73(?) Epiphone 6830E 6 string 72 Fender Telecaster Epiphone Dot Studio Epiphone LP Jr Chinese Strat clone Kala baritone ukulele Seagull 'Merlin' Washburn Mandolin Luna 'tatoo' a/e ukulele antique banjolin Squire J bass |
#6
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Just make sure that whatever you buy has enough pres for the channel inputs. For example, my m audio FireWire 1814 has 18 input and 14 output channels, but only two preamps...
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#7
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Thanks to all. After looking those up online, the Focusrite and Presonus ones look really good. I have a feeling I'll probably end up with one of those two.
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"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." -Zig Ziglar Acoustics 2013 Guild F30 Standard 2012 Yamaha LL16 2007 Seagull S12 1991 Yairi DY 50 Electrics Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Am. Standard Telecaster Gibson ES-335 Gibson Firebird |
#8
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One of the RME USB interfaces might be a good choice. Monitoring mixer software can be quite important to get the most out of your interface and RME's Totalmix is probably the best available, designed for serious studio use. You can easily create separate submixes for different people and other tricks which could come in handy recording multiple musicians.
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#9
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I really like Focusrite interfaces.
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#10
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One of the managers where I work said the same thing. He has a smaller one and is very happy with it. I listened to a couple of his recordings too, and they sound very good. I think I'll be getting one of them when the time comes.
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"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." -Zig Ziglar Acoustics 2013 Guild F30 Standard 2012 Yamaha LL16 2007 Seagull S12 1991 Yairi DY 50 Electrics Epiphone Les Paul Standard Fender Am. Standard Telecaster Gibson ES-335 Gibson Firebird |
#11
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I'll chime in with a Focusrite reccomendation as well. I've got one of the entry Saffire models and a friend of mine owns the Liquid. Excellent pre's for the money.
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