Need more mics inputs

Kleudde

New member
Hi all,
I have a RME babyface interface that I purchased when I was playing alone. Now I play with a band and find it really limited to have only two mic inputs to record a drum, bass, one guitar and a singer.
I believe I would need at least 8 inputs (bass drum, 2 overheads, hi-hat, snare, bass, guitar and singer).

So I looked at some other interfaces like the Focusrite - Scarlett 18i20 MKII, Presonus, Roland, etc. I also looked on the RME website and was shocked to see they didn't have an interface with 8 mics input... so I wrote to RME and asked them what they would propose I do.
They said that I don't need a new interface I just need an 8 channel preamp with ADAT output (like their Octamic 2 or XTC or any other third-party device).
So I checked their Octamic which I find a bit expensive, I wouldn't want to spend more than a thousand dollars. (I don't have a studio, I only record our jams and maybe eventually record some demos)

I looked for preamps from other companies including Focusrite. They have this FOCUSRITE Octopre MKII that is even more expensive than the interface Scarlett 18i20 MKII ...

So my quesiton is should I get a new interface or preamps? What are the pro and cons ? Why would the Octopre be more expensive than the Scarlett (are the preamps better in the octopre) ?

Thank you!
 
RME gave good advice. If the band is in another location, a new interface is just one thing to haul. But, ADAT channels can be had cheap from Behringer, and there are used ones. The old model was the ADA8000
 
I think the pres on the Tascam are clean, don't add noise or character. The unit is stable and streams through USB without problem. Price point is a driving factor. People have mentioned the headphone amp is weak.

Focusrite has a reputation for having better mic pres. I have the tascam US-600 and the Focusrite 2i2. Both sound good to me, but I have never done any side by side comparison. Even if I did, I doubt I could hear a difference, my ears aren't that fine-tuned. lol.
 
I wouldn't knock the Tascam, but that $30/channel range is on the cheap end. My last Tascam was driven by price point, too. I wanted a new buss-powered USB for when I'm off the better interfaces. And it, has optical and rca, so I can get more channels though it.

As long as you don't get put-off because they don't work like the RME, you should be fine
 
I wouldn't knock the Tascam, but that $30/channel range is on the cheap end. My last Tascam was driven by price point, too. I wanted a new buss-powered USB for when I'm off the better interfaces. And it, has optical and rca, so I can get more channels though it.

As long as you don't get put-off because they don't work like the RME, you should be fine

Hi garww,
I should be fine, I found the mixer in RME a bit complicated and the card babyface limited with inputs. So a new interface with a new mixer would be refreshing and I can always hook the two together and use both to have 10 inputs instead of 8 :)
Thanks all for your help.

I went to my local music store and found a Focusrite - Scarlett 18i20 (the first model) used for cheap. The store was recommending me more the Focusrite than the Tascam.
 
Speaking as one who owns 2 ADA8000 units, I probably wouldn't recommend them for studio work. The pre-amps (in my experience get noticeably noisy above about 3/4 level. I can use them for live work because they tend to get the outputs of radio mics which are a nice high level.

An out of the box idea for you...have a look at the Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK mixer. It's about $800 at most sources, has 8 mic inputs plus 4 line level, feeds all 12 sources to your computer via USB and has enough Aux feeds to be pretty useful for doing monitor mixes. However, a big plus is that the Soundcraft mic pre amps are very nice indeed--certainly better to my ears than Focusrite.

Hmmm...maybe it's time to go back and put a PS on the Sticky I wrote years ago saying people shouldn't buy mixers.
 
I would be inclined to stay with the RME because of its low latency, superb drivers and the fact that their kit never seems to become obsolete due to OS changes. I understand the rather complex internal mixer system can be ignored, especially for just tracking?

This Focusrite launch Scarlett OctoPre preamp/converters | looks the bizz but there are ADAT pre from Audient and Presonus.
I would avoid the older Behringer units, aside from Bobbsy's comment about noise they are said to have feeble power supplies. The new one, ADA8200 is said to be much improved but still not in the F'rite etc class.

But yes, Bob's mixer idea is a good one for a band situation, it will also (pretty sure) record to an external hard drive? So you just need to lug mixer and a wee SSD, no laptop.

Seems I was wrong, the mixer cannot record to a HDD (thinking of the A&H unit) but I would not let that put me off.
Dave.
 
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