Would you be able to recommend an audio interface for recording?

[dominic87]

Hi everybody,

I'm Dominic and a newbie to the forum. I'm 27 and play drums mainly, although dabble with bass and keyboard. At the moment I have an M-audio fast track pro to do my recordings on my Windows 7 machine, however, I have dropped it a couple of times of the last few years and it is starting to give up.

I'm looking for a new audio interface but I don't know what would be the best to buy in my budget. I don't mind if it's new or 2nd hand, however, I have heard people mention all sorts of problems with old devices, such as PCI soundcards on sandy bridge, so I thought I would ask here what people could recommend.

my computer specs
----------------------
Windows 7 64bit running Cubase 7.5
Intel i7 3.4GHz 2600K
16GB RAM
256GB OCZ solid state drive
2GB secondary drive that I use as a scratch drive


I'm looking for an audio interface that has at least two instrument/microphone and line level inputs as well as midi in/out. Something that can handle at least 24bit 44.1KHz with really good latency response, since I also use a midi drum kit.

Connectivity wise, I'm really open to suggestions here. PCI express really appeals to me for it's bus speed, but I have heard that unless it's FPGA(?) it's not true PCI-E. Firewire is another option. USB I'm less keen on.

I'm happy to stretch my budget to £300 for something really good (new or 2nd hand), but the cheaper the better.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jonny deep]

I have a very similar spec to you and use a Roland Quad-Capture, which is great. It is USB, but then, USB works just fine. If you prefer Firewire, you can look into the Focusrite Saffire range (or their Scarlett range for just USB). If you are going to use Firewire, you need to ensure you're using a particular chipset (I think it's Texas Instruments) to avoid ASIO driver problems.

 

[Steenamaroo]

my computer specs
----------------------
Windows 7 64bit running Cubase 7.5
Intel i7 3.4GHz 2600K
16GB RAM
256GB OCZ solid state drive
2GB secondary drive that I use as a scratch drive

Connectivity wise, I'm really open to suggestions here. PCI express really appeals to me for it's bus speed, but I have heard that unless it's FPGA(?) it's not true PCI-E. Firewire is another option. USB I'm less keen on.
)

Hi,
Personally I'd worry a little less about whether its USB/Firewire/PCI.
On an i7 setup you should be able to set the buffer to 64 and carry out with barely noticeable latency anyway.
This is especially true if you're only looking for 2 mic inputs at once.

You record drums...Is there any chance you'll end up needing more than 2? Tascam US 1800/US800 is a good option even if it looks overkill at first glance.

The price is very good and it has all the I/O and functions you're likely to need.