I do not need pre-amps. I prefer to have line-in as I have a pretty decent mixing board. I would also like midi controls to hook up my sampler/drum machine. My budget is $150. Sound quality is not as important as latency. I want to be able to get almost zero latency for dubbing over. This is just to help write music. I will be using garage band on my Powerbook.
I am looking at the Tascam US-122L. This has line-in as well as pre-amp. Midi in/out also. I'm just curious on latency.
The Tascam US-122L has a 'monitor input' function that has zero latency.
The theory is that you monitor what you play or sing in real time --- with zero latency --- and how ever fast or slow the computer is on the recording end doesn't matter.
Playing back existing tracks is something that almost any modern computer built in the last 10 years can do without any synchronization or latency problems whatsoever. What older computers and newer computers alike have a problem with is tracking new audio along with existing tracks - also called overdubbing - and that's where we get latency problems. The US-122L gets around this by letting you monitor the existing tracks along with the incoming part coming straight into your headphones or speakers.
The Tascam 122L would be a great choice for you. It meets your requirements well and if you take advantage of the 'monitor input' function you will find no latency problems at all.
