Audio/MIDI Interface

mobodcubism

New member
Hey guys,

I'm a bit confused with the importance of an audio interface in terms of sound quality in relation to my set up, and if I really am doing everything right in terms of sound quality and efficiency.

My set up is as follows:

- M-Track M-Audio Plus
- Ableton on an Apple Macbook Pro, 2.8 GHz i7, 16GB memory
- Nord lead 4 rack synthesizer
- MFB Tanzbär drum machine
- Akai MPK 25 MIDI keyboard
- 2 Oktava Mk 012 microphones
- KRK Rokit 5's
- Zoom H5 Field recorder

I want to achieve the most practical and best quality sound with my set up but am really unsure if an M- Audio M- Track is doing the job, or if its letting me down right now. Is there a better alternative? Or is there perhaps a piece of equipment i've not yet gotten, which would be useful for me? Pretty much all I have is listed above.

Any suggestions? Is a preamp something I should seriously be looking into?

Any help is greatly appreciated, Thanks guys! :)
 
YOU'RE confused!!??
WTF have you bought an interface with no MIDI ports when you have two other pieces of kit so endowed?

I suspect the M-A "plus" interface has much the same pre amps and converters as the M-A Mtrack Mk1 and I have the "clone" of that, the Alesis iO2 and, although I have yet to do any in depth tests, the interface seem remarkably good for the money. That of course has MIDI 1/0 and S/PDIF!

If cash is an issue the Steinberg UR 22 is very well thought of. Has MIDI DINs and comes with MIDI's mate Cubase.

Since you have the drum machine two extra inputs would be invaluable and so, as ever,I have to say you will not better the NI KA6 for £160 or indeed a great deal more.

A pre amp you do not need although a small mixer,IN ADDITION TO A GOOD AI! Is always very useful.

Dave.
 
I may be a bit old school, but even with the good pre amps now found on budget audio interfaces, I think an outboard mic pre is a necessity. I also agree with ecc83, that you need a mixer in your signal chain. It looks like the M Audio unit only has 2 inputs and you must be plugging things in and out on a regular basis. A mixer would alleviate the issue.

The M-Audio unit looks like a good budget interface and has the Midi in/out you need.

Hope this was of help to you.
 
I may be a bit old school, but even with the good pre amps now found on budget audio interfaces, I think an outboard mic pre is a necessity. I also agree with ecc83, that you need a mixer in your signal chain. It looks like the M Audio unit only has 2 inputs and you must be plugging things in and out on a regular basis. A mixer would alleviate the issue.

The M-Audio unit looks like a good budget interface and has the Midi in/out you need.

Hope this was of help to you.

Could you expand on the reason for a pre amp?

Dave.
 
Could you expand on the reason for a pre amp?

Dave.

It may be more of personal preference, but I prefer having more control in my hands. I'm a fan of the Joe Meek units. Affordable and good quality. The "channel strip" units. I like having something with EQ and compression before hitting the DAW.

I don't have vast experience with a lot of these newer interfaces, but I know they are loading them up with better mic pre's, especially the focusrite units.

I come from the days of big consoles and rack gear and I like being able to grab a fader/knob.

I just think that you would have a better chance of shaping the sound before hitting the interface.
 
It may be more of personal preference, but I prefer having more control in my hands. I'm a fan of the Joe Meek units. Affordable and good quality. The "channel strip" units. I like having something with EQ and compression before hitting the DAW.

I don't have vast experience with a lot of these newer interfaces, but I know they are loading them up with better mic pre's, especially the focusrite units.

I come from the days of big consoles and rack gear and I like being able to grab a fader/knob.

I just think that you would have a better chance of shaping the sound before hitting the interface.

Ok, well, "old school" indeed! These days most people like to record "flat and clean" and with a good level of headroom. The quality of software effects is now so good that you would need to spend a small fortune to match them in hardware EQ and compressors. Then of course, once you have EQ'ed and squashed, virtually impossible to undo.

Dave.
 
Ok, well, "old school" indeed! These days most people like to record "flat and clean" and with a good level of headroom. The quality of software effects is now so good that you would need to spend a small fortune to match them in hardware EQ and compressors. Then of course, once you have EQ'ed and squashed, virtually impossible to undo.

Dave.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the plug-ins and technology and I've gotten great sounds with them. My first DAW was Logic Audio version 3. I was recording directly into my sound card. To me it was a huge step up from my Tascam 4 track cassette recorder.
 
One good thing, the MAudio has inserts on both channels, so you can plug a mixer in bypassing the onboard pres. I got a deal on a Soundcraft Compact4, which seems very nice for a small board, much cleaner than the other small mixers. I use an iO2 Express with my macs--originally bought it to use with my laptop, but Alesis was too cheap to write ASIO drivers for it, so useless in Win7. Works great with CoreAudio, though.
 
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