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 What Audio Interface To Buy?, For 500$ or Less |
  Wed 8 Mar 2006, 03:40
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#1
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 Newbie Group: Members Posts: 2 Joined: 08-Mar 06 From: Berkeley - US Member No.: 77,877  |
I am an amateur musician who plays guitar and wants to start recording onto my PowerBook G4. I am looking for an audio interface that will be good to use to record my songs. I would like an interface that has at least 2 1/4 inch inputs and includes good recording software. What would you recommend? I have looked at things such as the MBox 2, FireWire 410 and the FireBox. My budget is $500 or less initially, but I am willing to spend more later if I wish to expand. Thank you for any help.
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 Wed 8 Mar 2006, 04:03
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#2
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 Moderator In Chief (MIC)  Group: Editors Posts: 15,189 Joined: 23-Dec 01 From: Paris - FR Member No.: 2,758 |
I'd look for the Presonus Inspire, presonus are serious guys, it's coming with software (Cubase LE) or I'd go the M-audio/M-powered route, or better, the Mbox/Pro tools LE route.
The cheapest solution seems to be the Inspire. Note that a decent amount of RAM and an external hard drive is a good idea too. Do you need more than 1 guitar and 1 vocal inputs? 
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Wed 8 Mar 2006, 06:44
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#3
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 2 Joined: 08-Mar 06 From: Berkeley - US Member No.: 77,877 |
The Inspire seems pretty good, but I noticed it doesn't have a MIDI input, which I should have put in my original question. I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest setup, so what would you recommend as the best in the $500 or less range?
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Wed 8 Mar 2006, 13:14
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#4
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 3 Joined: 31-May 05 From: Brooklyn - US Member No.: 66,293 |
Check out Presonus Firebox. Great sound for $300 and it comes with Cubase LE. I don't believe there are any audio interfaces at that price that rival it's sonic capabilites.
Moonie |
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Thu 9 Mar 2006, 12:13
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#5
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 Maniac Member  Group: Members Posts: 645 Joined: 17-May 02 From: Broughton Member No.: 4,705 |
Yeah, in that price range, probably the Firebox. Maybe the Focusrite Saffire, too. I don't know the price of the new MOTU UltraLite, but it looks nice and is guaranteed to be a quality item - check that out.
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Wed 15 Mar 2006, 05:06
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#6
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 5 Joined: 03-Feb 05 From: East Longmeadeow - US Member No.: 59,756 |
ultralite is $550 on sweetwater.
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Wed 15 Mar 2006, 09:52
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#7
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 178 Joined: 14-Mar 05 From: - Member No.: 62,351 |
QUOTE (rickenbacker @ Mar 9 2006, 11:13) Maybe the Focusrite Saffire, too Anybody have experiences in this machine (Focusrite Saffire), it looks superior to Firebox, not zero-latency though? Ultra-Low-Latency Firewire400 Interfacewith onboard-DSP, 4 Inputs: 2x Focusrite preamps and 2chn. S/PDIF; 10 Outs: 8x analog/sym. und 2 chn. digitalOut S/PDIF; 2x headphones; 24 Bit / 192 kHz A-D/D-Aconverter, midi I/O; Saffire-DSP-powered plug-ins:compression, eq, amp-modelling und reverb for themonitoring path, Focusrite-software for five independentstereo-mixes for all incoming and recorded tracks;plug-ins also available for other platforms like VST/AU;Cubase LE included |
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Fri 17 Mar 2006, 15:31
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#8
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Maniac Member Group: Members Posts: 645 Joined: 17-May 02 From: Broughton Member No.: 4,705 |
I've had both on my desk at one time or another and they're both good interfaces. Most of my complaints with the Saffire were cosmetic or software interface-related, which I believe Focusrite may have corrected with the recent v2 release. I liked the Firebox, too. Very loud headphone amp, which is good. Ultimately, I preferred the small horizontal format of the Firebox over the vertical Mbox-style Saffire. YMMV.
My personal audio interface search is over now, though: I bought Metric Halo's ULN-2. Awesome. |
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Sat 18 Mar 2006, 18:19
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#9
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Newbie Group: Members Posts: 7 Joined: 20-Dec 04 From: Downsville - US Member No.: 56,937 |
QUOTE (rickenbacker @ Mar 17 2006, 09:31) My personal audio interface search is over now, though: I bought Metric Halo's ULN-2. Awesome. Have been considering the RME Multiface II, but the proprietary i/o might be a problem in the future. Just looked at the specs for ULN-2, and it looks like a great unit, very similar capabilities as the Multiface. Any comment on latency? Just wondering how little there might be. Dave |
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Sun 19 Mar 2006, 22:47
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#10
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Maniac Member Group: Members Posts: 645 Joined: 17-May 02 From: Broughton Member No.: 4,705 |
I was tempted to give a two-word answer, starting with "f" and ending in "all".
 Instead, I'll simply say very, very little. MH did a great job with the routing/mix software interface. And the sound of the unit is really terrific. I've heard people say good things about RME, for sure, but I have absolutely no regrets about choosing the ULN-2. If you're feeling flush, you might even consider the ULN-2+DSP which has onboard signal processing, utilising MH's widely-respected channel strip plug-ins. |
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