£550/$1000 budget

[MattForshaw]

Hey guys,

Recently my EMU 1820 crapped out on me and I'm now left with store credit and willing to pay up to £550/$1000 for a replacement.

I'd like to move away from a PCI Host so firewire is going to be the way to go.

I'll mainly be using this for acoustic work but will also be doing live recordings with it so a fair few channels'll come in handy.

My main concern though is that I'll invest serious bucks on a MOTU 828mkII or similar only to find that vocals'll be crap because at the moment all i have is a Sennheiser e816S, a live mic and not a particularly good one at that. I'm torn between getting something like the MOTU which'll last me as long as I can foresee and going for a cheaper unit and getting a good condenser and maybe a pre if needed, or just to hold out and get a mic and pre later, safe in the knowledge of having a really top notch interface.

Anyone been in the same place who could provide some insight into the best route to go down?

Thanks all.

Matt.

 

[MattForshaw]

By the way, not that it should make much of a difference I use Sennheiser HD515s and Alesis M1 Mk2's for monitoring.

Matt

 

[ssscientist]

I use and recommend this.

It has, in my humble opinion, every bit as good mic pres as an Emu 1820, is built like a tank and has been VERY reliable.

You'd have money for a microphone like this one, this one or this one with some left over.

If you do get into a situation in which you need more than 4 inputs and 6 outputs at a time the Firebox is cascadable, meaning you can easily add another unit for a total of 8 inputs and 12 outs...

 

[dgatwood]

If you're thinking 828MKII, you might consider the FirePod. Cheaper, and you'd have about $400 left over to add a decent mic or two. Get one of the package deals and sell all the junk that comes with it on eBay, and that'll give you another $150 or so to add to the mic pool.

 

[MattForshaw]

Thanks both of you!

ssscientist, I was tempted by the Firebox but I'm not convinced 4 ins and 6 outs'll last me long enough to make it worthwhile and I failed to mention in the original post that ADAT would be a bonus, as would midi connectivity. The idea of a more modestly priced interface leaving room for a really good mic and some spare change is a really tempting one but I'm not sure how possible it is considering the features I need from the interface.

dgatwood, How does the FirePod compare for the 828mkII? One thing which concerns me is the whole "4x as many pre's but cheaper" thing. Since I'm guessing from both your responses it is isnt worth investing in an external pre? The package deal plan's very tempting but they don't tend to be available in the UK as much and I've store credit for soundslive.co.uk (or rather the Newcastle store, which should be able to order most things in in fairness) so I'm somewhat limitted to where I can shop arround (for the interface at least, I could get a mic elsewhere).

The overpowering feeling here is to get (within reason) the best stuff I can as I go along. I'd rather have an interface and be stuck with a crap mic for a month or so than compromise both and run the risk of regretting it later. Any other guidance is most welcome.

Thanks again.
Matt