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Bourbon
Sep 17, 2006

iostream.h posted:

Any opinions? I know at one point that MOTU was supposed to be 'all that' but can someone help me figure out how it stacks up now?

It'll be used on OS X incidentally.
FWIW, I've had a MOTU 8pre for 5.5 years. In OSX it has always worked perfectly. On the Windows side it has been a bit finicky. The whole you-need-a-Texas-Instruments-firewire-chipset thing is true, and it took me 3 different FW cards to find one that really works well. In Windows it also occasionally doesn't initialize into "Interface" mode and goes into "Converter" mode, but unplugging the FW cable and plugging it back in will fix it. This has never happened with OSX. Not really sure if this is an 8pre thing or a MOTU thing.

Something that I haven't tried yet is a newer Mac -> Thunderbolt-to-FW800 adapter -> FW800-to-FW400 cable -> MOTU. No idea if that might affect performance, but since Apple doesn't include FW ports anymore, it's something to think about.

I do sometimes wish I had a USB interface.

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Trig Discipline
Jun 3, 2008

Please leave the room if you think this might offend you.
Grimey Drawer

Bourbon posted:

Something that I haven't tried yet is a newer Mac -> Thunderbolt-to-FW800 adapter -> FW800-to-FW400 cable -> MOTU. No idea if that might affect performance, but since Apple doesn't include FW ports anymore, it's something to think about.

Yeah, I haven't tried this with a MOTU anything. This is how I use my Saffire, though, and it's rock solid.

iostream.h
Mar 14, 2006
I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Picked up the MOTU I listed earlier, got a crazy good deal on it and a 12u SKB both in perfect shape.

Works perfectly with the TB - FW adapter and a 9 to 6 pin cable with zero issues.

Dotcom Jillionaire
Jul 19, 2006

Social distortion
Wow I just realized why my MOTU (and probably some higher end brands) sport 2x Firewire ports. At least with the MOTU Ultralite, I believe you can daisy chain 2 interfaces together via FW and use the extra connection to hook everything to your Mac. I assume both interfaces will appear as different devices on the computer, but hell that is an awesome way to get 16 In (4x preamps) 16 Out in a 1U rackspace (more In/Outs than the MOTU 828 series provides).

I don't have the money at the moment but I am completely intending to buy another Ultralite just to try this out.

Dotcom Jillionaire fucked around with this message at 07:22 on Jan 27, 2014

Radiapathy
Dec 3, 2011

Snooping as usual, I see.

Lead out in cuffs posted:

OK, you've made me go and work out how to measure RTL latency in Linux. That figure is Jack's latency, which the jack_iodelay tool I used to measure RTL latency seems to hint is only capture latency, with RTL DSP latency being three times that or something?

Anyway, using jack_iodelay, my 2i2 gets 12.763ms full RTL (headphone jack out plugged into input 1), with Jack set to 64 frames/period and 3 periods/buffer, at 48kHz. No idea offhand how that would translate to ASIO buffer size, though. At 128 frames/period (what I use when I have the DAW running), the RTL latency is 19.597 ms, which is kinda creeping into perceptible range.
I'm curious to know how much OS differences factor in to performance differences between interface models. The actual interface hardware plays a part, but a poorly optimized driver can seriously harpoon an otherwise solid interface. I've never seen head-to-head comparisons that span operating systems (although Linux might be tough since it's not as widely supported as Win/MacOS). Maybe some day I'll spend some time on that.

I don't know how it works in Linux, but on Windows, most DAWs display input latency and output latency reported by your interface's driver at the current sample rate and buffer size. The true combined/rount-trip latency is usually within a couple ms of the reported i/o values, and the actual results you get will differ depending on your PC, your USB bus, your driver version, and interface configuration.

quote:

This is pretty useful, although those noise floor readings for the 2i2 seem to disagree with the results some quick Googling brought up:
Noise-wise, the complaints I've heard have been anecdotal, both in reviews and from guitarists saying there's perceptible noise when they crank the preamps loud enough to adequately record the guitar. I've heard this in regard to both the 2i2 and the 2i4. But I only have the one device, so I don't know if there's any actual variance between models as far as the noise floor goes. Honestly, if you primarily do line level recording, and you use the interface's direct monitor feature when tracking vocals or whatever, it's a perfectly usable interface. (They even publish Win XP drivers for it!)

Radiapathy
Dec 3, 2011

Snooping as usual, I see.
Also, just read about this over the weekend. Zoom has apparently released the first Thunderbolt powered interface.

https://www.zoom-na.com/products/studio-recording/audio-interfaces/zoom-tac-2-thunderbolt-audio-converter

If I ever get a TB-capable computer I'm eager to take a look at this thing. Zoom makes some interesting (and crazy affordable) stuff.

ashgromnies
Jun 19, 2004

iostream.h posted:

Picked up the MOTU I listed earlier, got a crazy good deal on it and a 12u SKB both in perfect shape.

Works perfectly with the TB - FW adapter and a 9 to 6 pin cable with zero issues.

Can you post a pic of how it looks set up? I want to get a rack mount mixer but I can't exactly visualize how it looks when it's set up. Is it awkward to use?

iostream.h
Mar 14, 2006
I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

ashgromnies posted:

Can you post a pic of how it looks set up? I want to get a rack mount mixer but I can't exactly visualize how it looks when it's set up. Is it awkward to use?

Not at home right now, but it's dead simple to use once you read the manual and familiarize yourself with the controls, only took me a few minutes, here's it last night at practice, laptop is on top.

Edit: TC Electronic G-Major is beneath the MOTU unit.

Monte Blood Bank
Dec 1, 2005

and we are faceless
you cannot attack us

take the money and then
run
Incredibly silly newbie question: so if I'm looking at picking up an entry level interface like a Scarlett 2i4 or a Komplete Audio 6, I kind of understand how I'd hook a microphone into the interface and connect the interface to my PC, but I don't understand which cables I'd need to hook my analog synths directly into the interface. They've got a 1/4" line out, but I'm not sure how I'd get from there to XLR.

Also, for recording synths, vocals, and guitar, would you guys recommend the Scarlett over the Komplete or vice versa? Or is it just a wash since they have comparable plug-ins?

Flipperwaldt
Nov 11, 2011

Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?



Butt Bidness posted:

Incredibly silly newbie question: so if I'm looking at picking up an entry level interface like a Scarlett 2i4 or a Komplete Audio 6, I kind of understand how I'd hook a microphone into the interface and connect the interface to my PC, but I don't understand which cables I'd need to hook my analog synths directly into the interface. They've got a 1/4" line out, but I'm not sure how I'd get from there to XLR.

Also, for recording synths, vocals, and guitar, would you guys recommend the Scarlett over the Komplete or vice versa? Or is it just a wash since they have comparable plug-ins?
Both the 2i4 and the KA6, like most modern interfaces, have inputs that can either take xlr or 1/4" jack. As in: they can physically take either plug.

When you're talking about plug-ins, are you talking about included software or something?

Radiapathy
Dec 3, 2011

Snooping as usual, I see.

Butt Bidness posted:

Incredibly silly newbie question: so if I'm looking at picking up an entry level interface like a Scarlett 2i4 or a Komplete Audio 6, I kind of understand how I'd hook a microphone into the interface and connect the interface to my PC, but I don't understand which cables I'd need to hook my analog synths directly into the interface. They've got a 1/4" line out, but I'm not sure how I'd get from there to XLR.

Also, for recording synths, vocals, and guitar, would you guys recommend the Scarlett over the Komplete or vice versa? Or is it just a wash since they have comparable plug-ins?
If you have USB 2.0 ports available, the Komplete Audio 6 is a clear winner in terms of latency/performance (literally half the latency given the same settings when tested on my DAW desktop), and I like its drivers and bundled software better than what comes with the Scarlett. A number of KA6 owners (including me!) have had problems getting the KA6 to work reliably on USB 3.0 ports, although the problems aren't universal. Most new laptops have at least one USB 2.0 port though, and you can get USB 2.0 add-on cards for desktops super cheap if you had a desktop with only USB 3.0 ports and encountered problems.

Also, to build off what FW said, yes almost all entry-level interfaces have XLR/TRS combo jacks that will accept either kind of cable. The Komplete Audio 6 also has two TRS input jacks on the back which are intended to be used for synths or effects units, leaving you the front jacks for mics or guitars.

One thing to keep in mind is that you should use the right kind of cable for your synth. Most synths have unbalanced/TS outputs, so it's best to use that kind of cable when connecting to your interface. Some synths (and a lot of pro effects units) have balanced/TRS outs, and you should use TRS cables with those. If you use a TRS cable to connect a synth that only has unbalanced outs you can lose a signinficant amount of db when connecting up to your interface, requiring you to crank up the input gain on your interface, cutting into your headroom.

honky dong
Sep 2, 2011

My portable setup is a Komplete Audio 6 with a Microsoft Surface Pro. I use that setup to record various amps that are not in close proximity to main recording set-up. It works fantastically going into the Pro's USB 3.0 port. There's no noticeable latency and the mic pres are quiet, provide good gain, and don't seem to color the sound at all.

Schlieren
Jan 7, 2005

LEZZZZZZZZZBIAN CRUSH
I've used an M-Audio 1010LT forever but the card isn't built for my (non-ancient) computer's expansion slots. What sorts of solutions are available for someone nowadays in need of, say, 10 simultaneous inputs?

I like using lots of microphones :)

I have a mixing board with crappy pres so I don't need something with preamps but if a recommended solution had them that would be fine

Trig Discipline
Jun 3, 2008

Please leave the room if you think this might offend you.
Grimey Drawer

Schlieren posted:

I've used an M-Audio 1010LT forever but the card isn't built for my (non-ancient) computer's expansion slots. What sorts of solutions are available for someone nowadays in need of, say, 10 simultaneous inputs?

I like using lots of microphones :)

I have a mixing board with crappy pres so I don't need something with preamps but if a recommended solution had them that would be fine

Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 is nice, as is the MOTU 828 MkII or MkIII.

iostream.h
Mar 14, 2006
I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Trig Discipline posted:

Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 is nice, as is the MOTU 828 MkII or MkIII.
I'm loving LOVING my MOTU 828MkII, to the point I'm probably going to snag a couple more and replace some of my other interfaces with them.

Radiapathy
Dec 3, 2011

Snooping as usual, I see.

Schlieren posted:

I've used an M-Audio 1010LT forever but the card isn't built for my (non-ancient) computer's expansion slots. What sorts of solutions are available for someone nowadays in need of, say, 10 simultaneous inputs?

I like using lots of microphones :)

I have a mixing board with crappy pres so I don't need something with preamps but if a recommended solution had them that would be fine

Do you need 10 preamps?

Schlieren
Jan 7, 2005

LEZZZZZZZZZBIAN CRUSH

Radiapathy posted:

Do you need 10 preamps?

Definitely not, but at least... 6 or so?

iostream.h posted:

I'm loving LOVING my MOTU 828MkII, to the point I'm probably going to snag a couple more and replace some of my other interfaces with them.

I'm sure there was some discussion in the older thread, but would you care to amplify what you liked about them?

iostream.h
Mar 14, 2006
I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Schlieren posted:

I'm sure there was some discussion in the older thread, but would you care to amplify what you liked about them?
Well, forgive my lack of knowledge, I'm less 'recording engineer' and more 'guitar player', but compared to the interfaces I've used the most, the Presonus Firestudio Mobile and the Firebox(?), the Digi003 and a couple of Mboxes, it seems to be much crisper and spacious, much less overall noise when I start layering guitar tracks, the latency seems to be less and the pre's seem to have a much fuller frequency response.

It really seems to make the biggest difference when I'm layering tracks, like I said, especially if I'm recording wet with outboard reverb/delay processing (yes, I know, I'm trying to teach myself to use plugins, but old habits die hard and I like my blinking lights on my racks dammit).

Lazlow
Nov 30, 2004

New to audio interfaces here: We're looking to start recording our jam/rehearsal sessions, and start laying down separate instrument tracks sometime as well, and I'm wondering what AI we need to bridge the gap between an A&H 24 zed mixer and my laptop (using Ableton).

I've got 9 channels for drums (6 contact mics and 3 condensers), 4 instruments (2 guitar, 1 bass, 1 keyboard (usually DI)), and either 1 or 2 vocal mics. Are we going to need 15-16 channels on the AI, and route each mic separately from the mixer to it? I think I'm right in assuming that just going from the main outs off the mixer to an AI and into Ableton will only give us a stereo mix of the entire board, and not each mic in a separate channel.

Also, for routing, do we go mic to mixer to AI to Ableton, or some other route? I've read a little about going back and forth from AI to mixer and back again, but I only managed to confuse myself.

And if we do need separate AI inputs for each mic, can we get, for example, two 8 channel interfaces and somehow chain them, as opposed to one 16 channel?

Edit: The Zed 24 does have a built in USB interface but it's not multitrack capable (as far as I know).

Lazlow fucked around with this message at 16:19 on Feb 10, 2014

SaintFu
Aug 27, 2006

Where's your god now?
I’d like to hear people’s thoughts on this. I’m looking to get an audio interface, and I’m considering either the Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 or the PreSonus AudioBox 22VSL. I’m only going to be plugging guitars into it, so I want something with at least 2 instrument inputs to minimize plugging and unplugging. They’re both the same price and seem to have about the same amount of support. If anyone has any info about their relative noisiness, latency or dependability, I’d love to hear it.

One other possibility I’m considering is the TC Electronic Desktop Konnekt 6, which is actually a little cheaper. It’s firewire, which I don’t think would be a problem, but it’s also been out for a while and I’m a little concerned about future support.

For what it’s worth, I’m using a Mac Mini running OS X 10.9.1.

Koth
Jul 1, 2005
Any experience or opinions on the Presonus AudioBox 22VSL? I would be using it with guitar, MIDI keyboard and Ableton.

Hollis Brownsound
Apr 2, 2009

by Lowtax
I'm having a hard time deciding between getting an Apogee Ensemble and a RME FireFace 800. It would be be my main interface and I'd probably switch my 003r+ to being my ADAT in. I'm on OSX and they seems to go for about the same amount used.

H13
Nov 30, 2005

Fun Shoe

HollisBrown posted:

I'm having a hard time deciding between getting an Apogee Ensemble and a RME FireFace 800. It would be be my main interface and I'd probably switch my 003r+ to being my ADAT in. I'm on OSX and they seems to go for about the same amount used.

I've never used Apogee stuff, but I can vouch for RME. I've got a UCX and it was basically plug and play. Never had a single issue with it. It seems to be bulletproof and it worked straight away.

Radiapathy
Dec 3, 2011

Snooping as usual, I see.
I’ve been wanting to rip my old cassette tapes of original songs for a long time, so I picked up a Roland Tri-Capture because I knew it was designed with that kind of activity in mind.

It’s a compact, odd-looking little device- it actually looks like a miniature Atari 400 computer with a photo-negative color scheme. It has an XLR-only jack for a mic, a TRS-only jack for guitar or line, and a pair of unbalanced RCA aux inputs, as well as stereo TRS outputs and a 1/4" headphone jack.

Tri-Capture close-up:



It offers three input modes: “Mic/Guitar,” where only the first two inputs are recorded, “All inputs,” where all inputs are recorded in a 2-channel stereo mix, and “Loop back” which records all inputs like “All inputs” mode, but also routes your computer’s system audio into the interface so you can, for example, sing along to the soundtrack from a game or a YouTube video. In “Mic/Guitar” mode, the two inputs are delivered to the interface on separate channels (L/R stereo or dual mono), but in the other two modes, both the Mic and Guitar inputs are panned across both channels.

Some notes about “Loop back” mode: In order for this to work, I had to go into the Sound control panel of Windows and set the Tri-Capture as my default device on the playback tab. When you do this, Windows routes the audio of any application that doesn’t offer audio device selection to the device of your choice. DAWs and other apps that are ASIO or DirectSound aware aren’t affected. Once I made the Tri-Capture my default playback device, I was able to record everything (mic, guitar, aux, and PC audio) all at once.

Each of the three input channels (Mic, Guitar, and Aux) have their own input gain controls; if you only need to record on your aux inputs, for example, you can just turn down the other two channels all the way. The Tri-Capture does not appear to offer a way to adjust the level of incoming PC audio in Loop Back mode, unfortunately. I’m not sure whether there’s a way to adjust this at the Windows control panel level; you might have to just hope your source application offers a way to manage the signal volume.

The interface supports full duplex 44.1 and 48kHz operation and half duplex 96kHz (you can either play or record in 96k; you can’t do both). The sample rate controls are little switches on the bottom of the device; all other controls are buttons or pots on the top of the unit. It also supports both hardware and ASIO direct monitoring. Like most interfaces in its price range, the Tri-Capture is fully USB bus powered (so no battery operation or iPad compatibility)

In terms of audio latency, the Tri-Capture performs surprisingly well. I normally record at 44.1kHz/24-bit with a 256 sample buffer (that’s my “set-it-and-forget-it” configuration), and I compared the combined input and output latencies reported by Ableton Live on my laptop to those of three other interfaces I’ve got sitting around: The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, Zoom R8, and the Roland Duo-Capture EX.

Below are the results, from best to worst. Note that in every case I had to pick “as close to 256 samples as possible” because all of these interfaces have jacked-up control panels that either don’t let you specify “powers of two” buffer sizes, or don’t accurately pass your selected buffer size to the driver (my screenshots will show what I mean). I list the sample buffer sizes after the interface name. Note that the performance gaps between the interfaces are way beyond any effect of the buffer size deltas. (In other words, if you normalize the numbers to a 256 sample buffer size, the performance gaps are still obvious, especially when you consider that the faster Roland interfaces had larger buffers than the slower 2i2.)

1. Zoom R8 (252 samples): 15.19ms (6.39 in/8.80 out)
2. Roland Tri-Capture (288 samples): 23.10ms (11.60 in/11.50 out)
3. Roland Duo-Capture EX (288 samples): 28ms (10.50 in/17.50 out)
4. Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 (265 samples): 36.30ms (15.10 in/21.20 out)

My test machine is an Alienware M14x laptop with an Intel Core i7 2670QM processor (2.2GHz) with 6GB of RAM, running on 64-bit Windows 7 Pro SP-1.

What I like about the Tri-Capture: It’s small, super-affordable, and does exactly what I needed for my tape-ripping needs. Also, the loopback feature is pretty handy to have in such an affordable little device.

Minor complaints: The input selector is a digital toggle switch, rather than a physical switch, which means that when the interface defaults to Guitar/Mic mode whenever you plug it in, or it wakes up from sleep. I’ve forgotten to toggle it into “All Inputs” mode a couple of times as a result. Also, the “peak” indicators on the device are more like “kinda loud” indicators; they go red well before your input signal risks being clipped, which makes adjusting an optimal input level a little more of a pain than it needs to be. Also, I don’t think it’s possible to adjust the incoming PC volume at the interface in Loop Back mode.

At only $100 USD this thing’s a pretty good value for someone with a mic/guitar setup, or people who simply need cheap, reliable AD/DA.

Due to the very specific input configuration, folks with external stereo synths or grooveboxes might be able to use the aux inputs with the right cables and adapters, since many synths tend to have unbalanced outputs anyway, but the Tri-Capture’s more aimed at singers, guitarists, and home audio users.

SCREENSHOTS

Tri-Capture and other interfaces mentioned in this post:




Janky Tri-Capture control panel. Yes those are “O”s used to represent the performance/stability ratio:




Janky 2i2 control panel. The buffer slider is sorta confusing in its use of “ms” as a configuration metric. Using samples instead would help users mentally separate the buffer concept from actual ASIO latency:




Janky R8 control panel. It lets you select buffer sizes in traditional “powers of two” increments, but as you can see in the Ableton Live settings, what you pick in the control panel doesn’t necessarily translate to the interface:

Radiapathy fucked around with this message at 16:37 on Feb 25, 2014

Filthy Monkey
Jun 25, 2007

I appreciate the information Radiapathy. Got a good deal on a quad capture, which will hopefully fill my interface needs. Don't really need that many inputs, but when it is the same price as the duo capture, I figure "why not".

Radiapathy
Dec 3, 2011

Snooping as usual, I see.

Filthy Monkey posted:

I appreciate the information Radiapathy. Got a good deal on a quad capture, which will hopefully fill my interface needs. Don't really need that many inputs, but when it is the same price as the duo capture, I figure "why not".
I think the Quad's got better software than the Duo and the Tri, and it supports up to 192kHz sample rates. It's a solid buy at the Duo's price, for sure.

illestG
Oct 8, 2009

Alright, so basically all I want is to record my complete songs from my Roland SP-808 onto my computer without it sounding like complete poo poo. Should I just grab an M-Track? All feedback is highly appreciated.

Schlieren
Jan 7, 2005

LEZZZZZZZZZBIAN CRUSH
So I'm thinking a used 8Pre (for drums, ) and something like a GAP Pre73 (guitars, vox, ribbon mics, &c). I'm assuming I can plug the Pre73 into the 8Pre into the computer and not have the 8Pre color the GAP? Is the USB kinda latency-vulnerable? My case has a FW input but I don't think the MB does anywhere, but I suppose I could try out a few TI chipset cards if I get a FW 8Pre...

iostream.h
Mar 14, 2006
I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Schlieren posted:

So I'm thinking a used 8Pre (for drums, ) and something like a GAP Pre73 (guitars, vox, ribbon mics, &c). I'm assuming I can plug the Pre73 into the 8Pre into the computer and not have the 8Pre color the GAP? Is the USB kinda latency-vulnerable? My case has a FW input but I don't think the MB does anywhere, but I suppose I could try out a few TI chipset cards if I get a FW 8Pre...
I'm a little confused here, you asked about USB latency and then mentioned Firewire, which are you using? I know the 8Pre comes in both flavors (I have the FW version).

For the record, the 8Pre and the 828 Mk II work flawlessly with the FW 400 to 6 pin adapters (and also work with zero issues using the lightning -> FW -> 6 pin adapter). Which MB do you have? I'm using a 13" MBP and 15" MBPr, 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The 8Pre shouldn't color it at all really, there'll likely be SOME alteration but it's transparent enough that, unless you're in a hyper-sterile environment, you wouldn't notice at all. I've been thrilled with how transparent the MOTU products have been.

Schlieren
Jan 7, 2005

LEZZZZZZZZZBIAN CRUSH

iostream.h posted:

I'm a little confused here, you asked about USB latency and then mentioned Firewire, which are you using? I know the 8Pre comes in both flavors (I have the FW version).

For the record, the 8Pre and the 828 Mk II work flawlessly with the FW 400 to 6 pin adapters (and also work with zero issues using the lightning -> FW -> 6 pin adapter). Which MB do you have? I'm using a 13" MBP and 15" MBPr, 2012 and 2013 respectively.

The 8Pre shouldn't color it at all really, there'll likely be SOME alteration but it's transparent enough that, unless you're in a hyper-sterile environment, you wouldn't notice at all. I've been thrilled with how transparent the MOTU products have been.
Thanks for the comments :)

I mentioned both because obviously USB would be brainless, whereas FW would have the potential for less latency, but would require finagling a card... the mobo is an ASRock H77 Pro4-M.

I'm just super-leery of the whole latency issue because my old (ancient) setup had actual IRQ conflicts that I had to resolve by disabling a few of the USB ports on my computer to give the LT1010 its own virtual port. When I tell this to nerds they roll on the floor laughing because it's such an esoteric problem that problems like this just never crop up anymore except in stuff like multi-track recording; they think I'm spouting AOL-era nonsense at them.

Although with the 8Pre I think I can just monitor straight from the unit itself? That would render latency more or less moot since it would be restricted to that contained in the unit itself which is going to be undetectable

Radiapathy
Dec 3, 2011

Snooping as usual, I see.

Schlieren posted:

I mentioned both because obviously USB would be brainless, whereas FW would have the potential for less latency, but would require finagling a card... the mobo is an ASRock H77 Pro4-M.
On my system, which has a kickin' TI FW chipset, my RME UFX clocks lower latency on USB 2 than it does on FireWire, and I've got probably a dozen USB devices connected vs. only the one FW device. With the right drivers, USB is fully capabale of holding its own against FW 400.

But as you mentioned, if you can work with direct monitoring (which all MOTUs support), latency's not really that much of a concern anyway, at least not when singing and playing live HW instruments. I routinely just set my buffer size to 256 samples and direct monitor all live signals. But then I'm not the type who needs to hear live reverb or whatever while I'm singing/playing.

iostream.h
Mar 14, 2006
I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

Schlieren posted:

Thanks for the comments :)
Anytime, although I just now realized that you meant 'MotherBoard' instead of 'MacBook', so I promise, I'm not really insane too much.

I can't suggest anything regarding recording on a Windows machine, sorry. I know a lot of my friends say that latency is really not much of an issue with more modern systems these days, so there's that at least.

Yes, what Radiapathy said, the direct monitoring is nice.

JamesKPolk
Apr 9, 2009

I'm looking for a 16-24 track mixer/interface that I can use standalone and then plug into a computer to multitrack into a DAW. And that's 3-5 rack units rather than a board. The Mackie Onyx Firewire stuff looks good but it's bigger than I want (and more expensive, though that may just be the way it is). Is there anything like that?

I've thought about maybe some ADAT input strips and like an MOTU interface, but I really want to work away from the computer til the final mixdown if possible. Can any of those run standalone?

iostream.h
Mar 14, 2006
I want your happy place to slap you as it flies by.

The MOTU 828 series can be run stand alone, the interface takes a little getting used to, but absolutely.

RaoulDuke12
Nov 9, 2004

The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but to those who see it coming and jump aside.
This might be the wrong thread for this, since this is for a live performance situation, so if there's another thread that this question would be better suited towards, please let me know.

I've been acting as a tech director on a series of live performance radio plays (kind of a hipster throwback thing, but they're satirical so I guess that makes it less obnoxious?), and the majority of my job has been the live playback and cueing of sound effects and music. I've been using a program called Soundboard to trigger all this, and it's worked out great.

Recently however, I've been tasked more often with effecting the vocals of performers to accentuate their characters; for example, in the noir-ish myster thriller plays, the narrator has a deep, classic reverb effect. For the sci-fi plays, a harmonizer to create a robot sound, etc. etc.

To accomplish this, I've been buying one-trick pony, XLR-in vocal effect stompboxes and triggering them (with my foot back in the booth) when they are needed. But this is becoming both costly and annoying to piece together, and I was wondering if there was some sort of hardware/software combination that might make this job a little simpler.

Ideally it would also incorporate the SFX triggering into its interface as well, but if it doesn't, that's fine, what I have for that does the job. Any sort of live-mixing solution with software-based effects would be incredible.

The requirements:

- at least 6 independent channels, ideally XLR in
- zero delay, live mixing and effects processing
- compatible with a macbook pro (firewire 800, thunderbolt, USB, or whatever can run through a PCI slot)
- master line-level outs to go to the PA.

I already have an m-audio fast track pro and pro tools 9, but those aren't entirely effective for this situation obviously. I'm kind of out of my league for what to search for at this point, and since this isn't exactly a well-paying job (it pays $0 actually, I'm just doing it for fun), I can't really afford to spend thousands of dollars on a setup.

Any help at all would be amazing.

illestG
Oct 8, 2009

I'm not sure exactly what I want. I sample records with my SP-404, and then make complete beats on my SP-808 with the 4 track it has on it. Do I want a mixer, or an interface? I'm thinking if I went from my record player, through a mixer, into the SP-404, then back through the mixer into the SP-808, wouldn't I get a much cleaner sound? But then, I also need it to be clean when it goes into the computer. Could this Behrenger Q802USB possibly be what I'm looking for? Or get a separate mixer and audio interface? Thanks.

e: Wow just reading the reviews, this thing is a piece of crap. Ugh, this is so frustrating for me because this is like the last piece of equipment I need, and I can't figure out exactly what I want.

illestG fucked around with this message at 21:06 on Apr 6, 2014

TZer0
Jun 22, 2013
I'm considering to get a Presonus Firebox 24 or Audiobox (probably the Audiobox). Is the thread's general consensus that they're okay?
I don't need to be able to record many instruments at once.
They're under 200 USD in a market with higher prices compared to the US one (I'm in Norway).

Mutant John
Dec 24, 2012
I've got a fairly dumb question here, it seems.
I just got a Steinberg UR22, installed, connected, everything's fine and dandy, but... do I have to connect the thing to monitors (which I... don't own) using the two line-outs?
Does anyone know if there is some magical way to route it so it plays through my PC's speakers?
(Edjit: I'm talking about Amplitube/Guitar Rig use specifically. When I choose the UR22 as an input option, I only get the UR22 as an output option with no way to route it through my PC)

Mutant John fucked around with this message at 18:02 on May 11, 2014

Flipperwaldt
Nov 11, 2011

Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?



Mutant John posted:

I've got a fairly dumb question here, it seems.
I just got a Steinberg UR22, installed, connected, everything's fine and dandy, but... do I have to connect the thing to monitors (which I... don't own) using the two line-outs?
Does anyone know if there is some magical way to route it so it plays through my PC's speakers?
(Edjit: I'm talking about Amplitube/Guitar Rig use specifically. When I choose the UR22 as an input option, I only get the UR22 as an output option with no way to route it through my PC)
Yeah that's not a thing you can do. You can, technically, with a lead from the line out of the UR22 to the line in of your soundcard, but then you are just negating the point of using the UR22 in the first place.

You're supposed to connect your speakers to the line outs of your UR22. Don't worry, it's going to be a superior soundcard for everything (except surround obviously).

You might need a couple of these:


And one of these:


To be sure I'm not giving you crap advice here: what sort of speakers do you have connected to your PC right now?

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Militant Lesbian
Oct 3, 2002

Mutant John posted:

I've got a fairly dumb question here, it seems.
I just got a Steinberg UR22, installed, connected, everything's fine and dandy, but... do I have to connect the thing to monitors (which I... don't own) using the two line-outs?
Does anyone know if there is some magical way to route it so it plays through my PC's speakers?
(Edjit: I'm talking about Amplitube/Guitar Rig use specifically. When I choose the UR22 as an input option, I only get the UR22 as an output option with no way to route it through my PC)

No, you can't connect it to your PC speakers and still have them connected to your PC's built in sound card unless your speakers have two inputs. If you want to record and listen to things through your UR22, all the audio will be routed through it, you use it instead of whatever (probably not very good) sound card built into your computer; it's a complete replacement for whatever was built in. You can just unplug your PC speakers and use your UR22 for everything though, including watching videos, playing games, etc., there's not really much reason to still use your on board sound.

The other options are to get a small mixer (dj style two channel crossfader mixer) and plug both your onboard sound card and UR22 into that, then output the mixer to your existing speakers, or you can buy a second set of speakers just for the UR22. In either case, the whole point of having the UR22 is not only having the extra inputs, but also the lower latency audio, a benefit you'd lose by routing your output through the onboard sound card (which usually has pretty cheap DACs and isn't designed for low-latency monitoring).

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