Recommendations for digital interface instead of knobs?

Basilosauridae

Basilosauridae

Member
I have a Scarlett Focusrite Solo Gen 3 interface for voice over/voice acting work. Its fine, but I'm not really happy with it. It makes a weird clicking noise from time to time that I've tried everything to solve and the gain knob is really hard to work with. I'm doing a live streaming project where I need to be able to consistently set my gain and sometimes I do projects throughout the week where I need to adjust and its almost impossible to get it back to where it was.

So anyways, I'm thinking of getting a new interface, maybe something with buttons instead of knobs. I'm open to knobs if they have better control than my current interface but at this point I think just buttons with a digital readout is probably the best thing.

Any suggestions or feedback is appreciated! I would like to stay under $350, but I could go higher if there was a good reason. Thanks!
 
What ever happened with the LDC microphone decision?

It is surprising that the DAW does not save the settings. Are you saving the project when you make changes? 'Save new version of project' each time you make a change. Also set the DAW to enable undo history. So you can click back up.

I like the UA Apollo. It was $699.
 
LazerBeakShiek said:
What ever happened with the LDC microphone decision?

It is surprising that the DAW does not save the settings. Are you saving the project when you make changes? 'Save new version of project' each time you make a change. Also set the DAW to enable undo history. So you can click back up.

I like the UA Apollo. It was $699.
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Saving up for an AKG C-414 :) I think I'm pretty set on getting that one. It's not the most urgent of purchases since the EV RE20 is fine for now. I'll post samples when I finally scrape up enough.

What do you mean the DAW should save the setting? I've never set gain in my DAW, always using the physical knob on the interface.
 
Basilosauridae said:
Saving up for an AKG C-414 :) I think I'm pretty set on getting that one.
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That's a nice one!
Basilosauridae said:
What do you mean the DAW should save the setting? I've never set gain in my DAW, always using the physical knob on the interface.
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My interface volume or gain knob is synchronized to the DAW control. Changes to the interface are reflected in the controls on screen. When I save the project, it saves ALL the parameter settings too. I can go back and forth through the history and see what changes I have made. Very rare to find myself in a position where I cannot find what i did.
 
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Basilosauridae said:
What do you mean the DAW should save the setting? I've never set gain in my DAW, always using the physical knob on the interface.
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Some interfaces have software controls. It's not so much the DAW but more the interface program.

That aside, I'm not sure that I understand why controlling the knob is difficult, nor why you need to adjust it so much.
 
gecko zzed said:
Some interfaces have software controls. It's not so much the DAW but more the interface program.

That aside, I'm not sure that I understand why controlling the knob is difficult, nor why you need to adjust it so much.
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I don't know why my gain knob is so sensitive, it's a big part of why I want a new interface. It seems like 95% of it is unusably low and then there is this very thin range of a few degrees on the wheel that is exactly what I need and any variation from that very limited tuning is too loud or too quiet.

I've mentioned before that I do a fair amount of NSFW acting so I do adjust my gain accordingly if I'm doing a whispery ASMR commission or if I'm asked to do an over-the-top simulated climax. I hope that answered the question. :)
 
Basilosauridae said:
I don't know why my gain knob is so sensitive, it's a big part of why I want a new interface. It seems like 95% of it is unusably low and then there is this very thin range of a few degrees on the wheel that is exactly what I need and any variation from that very limited tuning is too loud or too quiet.
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Ir is possibly a mechanical problem. One ting you can try is to rotate the gain control rapidly left and right for a few minutes (preferably without a mike plugged in). This can often clean up the contacts, and that may resolve the issue.

If it's a circuit design problem, then you may need to look at a different interface.
 
Try reducing or increasing the gain in the software you are using so the outboard interface gain control in is a different position. It may be a bad spot on the pot.
 
I don't use Focusrite, so I don't have a clue as to the taper of their volume control. Some are more linear than others. I wonder if adding a FEThead or Cloudlifter would move the desired level further down the range to a more linear area. Someone who has a Focusrite and a inline preamp might be able to check this.

A slider might be easier to control, vs the relatively small volume knobs on most interfaces. I would think the best place to control it would be in software. Set the mic for maximum effectiveness, and adjust in the DAW as required.
 
I think this is a pretty good application for an inline gain booster, as mentioned above. That'll allow you to avoid operating at the top of your knob's gain range and stay out of that area that's super sensitive to adjustment.

But you can always add a VST effect that has the ability to add gain, like a compressor or limiter or maximizer (or whatever other FX you have that has a gain or volume adjustment)
 
Basilosauridae said:
I have a Scarlett Focusrite Solo Gen 3 interface for voice over/voice acting work. Its fine, but I'm not really happy with it. It makes a weird clicking noise from time to time that I've tried everything to solve and the gain knob is really hard to work with. I'm doing a live streaming project where I need to be able to consistently set my gain and sometimes I do projects throughout the week where I need to adjust and its almost impossible to get it back to where it was.

So anyways, I'm thinking of getting a new interface, maybe something with buttons instead of knobs. I'm open to knobs if they have better control than my current interface but at this point I think just buttons with a digital readout is probably the best thing.

Any suggestions or feedback is appreciated! I would like to stay under $350, but I could go higher if there was a good reason. Thanks!
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Here is good checklist for troubleshooting fro Core Mic.


Cheers
 
gecko zzed said:
Ir is possibly a mechanical problem. One ting you can try is to rotate the gain control rapidly left and right for a few minutes (preferably without a mike plugged in). This can often clean up the contacts, and that may resolve the issue.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will try that! I will also look at the troubleshooting that Tomeh posted, but to be honest I'm just ready to upgrade overall I think. I've tried so many times to figure out the clicking and I've switch out everything else so I'm pretty confident its the interface. Between clicking, having weird knobs, and limited features my experience with this interface has just been "meh".
 
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