Audio interface

B

billabob

New member
Hey everyone,

I've been around a little while with a very basic mixer into mac configuration but want to take the next step into recording much better sounding music, not just demos for my band.

My first step is to get a really good audio interface with some great mic pre's.

What i have been thinking is to get a focusrite saffire pro 40 (as focusrite are supposed to have great pre's and it has 8 inputs for drums) then get something like a focusrite isa one to record vox, bass and guitar into as a better mic pre for those but then ill have the 8 pre's for drums.

The other alternative is to get something a similar price to the pro 40 but with 2 mic pres and much better quality mic pre's. This is the route id much prefer to go as im not recording drums at the moment just will be recording guitars,vox,bass and keys. Does anyone know of an interface with great quality pre amps(much better than the saffire pro 40) for less than £400 or is the pro 40 the best way to go?

Look forward to your thoughts!

Billy
 
Hi there Billy

I can't answer specifically for the setup you're proposing, but in all honesty, if you think it will work for you then just grab it and work with it.
Of course, try to find out from reviews & forums if the gear you are wanting to use is compatible with your system & software, but other than that if you think it will suit your needs then it is the right product for you.

The general recommendation I give to people is if you think you need a device with [x] inputs inputs right now, save up a bit extra and buy one with more than [x] inputs because you'll then have the ability to expand without having to re-purchase something new.
Have a think about what you want to do and aim to buy the right piece(s) of equipment to enable you to do it then work with the gear you have until it become so limiting that you simply must buy something else.
However by that time you should have already had at least two or three years' use out of the gear and you will have made great progress in your learning and skills development.

Dags
 
Hey thanks for the reply!

I guess i wasn't very clear with my first post!

What i would like is a really good audio interface with 2 really good pre amps for under £400. I will be going to record drums in the future but no time soon so i don't really need the extra pre-amps just yet. At the moment i will be recording midi keys, vocals, bass and guitar so i don't need the extra pre's just yet.

However if there isn't a audio interface for £400ish or below thats better than the Focusrite saffire pro 40 i will go for that (or an alternative if theres better for around the same money) so i have the option to record drums if i get the opportunity!

Are there any really good audio interfaces with 1 for 2 pre's much better than the saffire 40 for the same money or less? i was looking at this as on option http://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/echo-audio-audiofire-8-firewire-audio-interface.html

My set up at the moment is just running a mac and i use reaper as my daw but will probably change to either pro tools, cubase or logix soon!

Look forward to your replies!
 
Last edited:
billabob said:
Are there any really good audio interfaces with 1 for 2 pre's much better than the saffire 40 for the same money or less?
Click to expand...

The SP40 actually has 8 pre amps, and for the price it is one of the best interfaces around (if you know what you're doing.) The number of pre amps can and will relate to the number of tracks that you can simultaneously record into your DAW - which should be one of your considerations when pricing out an interface for your current and future needs. The SP40 I believe is a 20in/20out, which is pretty substantial - you can probably record each member of a small orchestra at the same time with it.

In short - the SP40 is a solid choice, but beginners might become overwhelmed and under utilize its many features.
 
In all honesty, I think you should save up for a Liquid Saffire 56. It has 6 good Focusrite pres and 2 liquid pres. These preamps are awesome and you wouldn't have to go looking for an external pre to record vocals. They're excellent. Also, it's expandable, so you could easily decide to get an additional 8 channels down the line. They're extremely solid interfaces. They'll last you for years and they're built really well to handle pretty much everything.
 
Hey thanks for the reply!

I was looking at the liquid saffire but i think it might be a little outta my price range for the moment! However if you think its good enough to use the liquid channels instead of having to buy a sepperate higher end pre for vocals ill deffo save up abit more!
 
So after taking everyones advice into account i went ahead and got this beast! A massive step up for me! Thanks to everyone who helped me with this!

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