Good USB interface, low budget

  • Thread starter Thread starter Opivy
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Opivy

Opivy

Nova Police
Alright guys - trying to decide what interface to get. (My alesis USB 8 which I liked very much is pretty much broken)

Over on gearslutz, I've been advised against the Lexicon omega, and the M-box.

After reading the under 100 dollar microphone sticky in the mic forum, I think I'm going to go with the MXL v67 which I'm going to buy new -

But for the interface, I'm going to play the waiting game and see if something nice comes up on craigslist for cheap.

Does anyone have anything nice to say about the "Presonus AudioBox"?

Thanks in advance! Any advice is appreciated.
 
A quick look at the reviews confirms what I had suspected from looking at the specs. This one falls short in most areas.
I wouldn't buy it if I was you but I do like your plan.
See if you can't find something in the $200 to $250 range for $100.
The Fast Track Pro (make sure it says "Pro") is a good one.
Edirol makes a nice little unit too.
 
I have used the Omega and the pre's are not bad, you get inserts on the inputs and the reverb that comes with it is killer. The overall sound is very good. I don't like the monitor knob setup. You have one knob that does a ratio of the mic being recorded and the recorded tracks and when you adjust it you have to re-adjust the volume and that's a bit weird.

I'm using a Delta 1010LT which is junk but actually not bad at all. The monitoring setup is excellent. The pres built in are pretty much not useable, I tried them for 5 seconds once. But for the bucks, $100 used, it is a bargain. It works real solid and there's no latency issues with my antiquated computer.

M-Audio is not a great company, I have had lots of trouble dealing with them. Overall their products are garbage. Presonus has been A1 to deal with.
 
I'm in the same situation - looking for a good entry level USB interface after making do with a soundblaster for years. A couple of inputs will be plenty for me.

I've looked at the Presonus Audiobox & Focusrite Saffire 6, and another muso has just offered me his second hand M-Audio Fast Track Pro. My brother uses a Lexicon alpha and lambda without any problems to date.

I've seen varying reviews for all of these, so none the wiser. Any advice is welcome.
 
Go with the Fast Track Pro. By the time you outgrow it, you'll know what you want and like me, will probably pass it on to someone else who's starting out.
 
In the $200 range, Emu 0404 USB is a good choice (good pres, excellent converters).
 
Thanks for that - it'll save me a few dollars to buy second hand as well :).
 
You might check out an Edirol UA-25.
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That's the one I tried out.
Less features but better preamps than the Fast Track Pro.
Nice interface.
 
thanks for the advice guys =) I think I'm gonna try n' go with the fast track pro.

Seen em' a couple times on craigslist - there's been one there for a while, gonna wait and see if the price drops a little so I can still buy gas hehe.
 
The 001 is powered by Pro Tools LE software, which is extremely similar to the latest Pro Tools 5 software
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looks that way to me but I can't say for sure.
 
dintymoore said:
What was the story on that?
Click to expand...

I'm not quite sure. My friends and I used to record using it with some MXL condenser mics, and might have been careless using the phantom power switch? I don't know anything about phantom power.

We moved on and forgot about recording for a while (I was the only musician, my friends dad bought him equipment as he wanted to get into recording) and he passed it on to me. He moved on from recording and music in general.

So, recently wanting to try my hand at it again - Got it to work in Cubase 5 - but I've noticed that the channels only pick up a signal if the gain is turned all the way up. (well, not all the way up - but to get the lights to light up at least 3/4ths of the way to clip all the way up)

So, I'm not sure what's wrong with it - any advice? I would really like to just stick with this thing since I already have it, but there is definitely something wrong with it.


Also - whatsup with this digi 001? I noticed it's very expensive, so I'm starting to think the craigslist ad has a typo in it. But can it be used through USB? With a DAW besides ProTools?
 
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