1 Reason you shouldn't buy an M-Audio Fast Track to record guitar

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recordiac

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Hello! I just bought an M-audio Fast Track USB for 110 euros. The first thing I wanted to do was to check if there was a difference in the audio quality between it and my cheap on-board soundcard (motherboard is MSI PM8PM-V, also cheap and 3-4 years old). So, what I did to test this was the following:

1) Washburn WR150-->Line 6 Spider III 75 Watt Pod-Style Out-->On-board soundcard line in-->Audacity On-board soundcard file and
2) Washburn WR150-->Line 6 Spider III 75 Watt Pod-Style Out-->M-Audio guitar in
-->USB connection to pc-->Audacity M-Audio Fast Track file

I used the Insane amp with the same settings on both files and there is no eq, compression or impulses loaded.

There is no difference between the two files, recording through my CHEAP on-board soundcard IS THE SAME as recording through M-Audio Fast Track. I see no reason why someone should buy this. Opinions over this topic are welcomed.
 
Could you multi-track guitar plus vocals plus a midi drum kit on your on-board sound card? Can you do inserts with your existing gear on your on-board sound card? Does your on-board soundcard have S/PDIF outputs? Does your on-board sound card provide phantom power? Etc.

It's all very situational, of course, but it sounds like you lucked out. It's not that there's literally no reason to buy a Fast Track.
 
Hate to say it, but "IS THE SAME" doesn't leave a lot of room for debate. Are you presenting a fact here?

Perhaps the difference isn't apparent in your monitoring environment, or are you comparing files visually?
 
Thanks for the replies. The thing is that in my monitoring environment I don't see any kind of difference in the sound quality of both tracks (meaning that my guitar sounds exactly the same-in my opinion). The reason why I bought the audio interface is because I thought that it would improve the overall sound quality of my guitar tracks. I didn't quad track, add bass and drums, and I played the same song because I didn't want to alter your hearing perception (caused by differences in picking speed and aggression etc). Many of you already have your own studios with pro recording tools and hardware and have much more experience in this field. Judging from the two files that I already uploaded here, are you sure that there is some difference in sound quality that justifies the payment of 110 euros? (I am talking about difference in sound quality, the tone, the character, the exact reproduction of my guitar sound).
 
tbh i don't really wana download the files cos i don't know that site.

Put em on soundcloud or something.
 
Steenamaroo said:
Hate to say it, but "IS THE SAME" doesn't leave a lot of room for debate. Are you presenting a fact here?

Perhaps the difference isn't apparent in your monitoring environment, or are you comparing files visually?
Click to expand...

I,think Steenamaroo is right ,at least there should be a little difference...
 
while we're waiting for the other track, it might be worth considering a few things.

there might be a notable difference in hiss or noise that you're not hearing with a distorted guitar track.
Try recording acoustic guitar, or even 'silence'.

Often things like this aren't noticed until you have ten or twenty tracks playing at once and it's a hissfest.

Also, IMO the sound quality is pretty good. Maybe the difference that you want to hear isn't a difference in preamp/interface quality; Maybe it's the difference between what you're using, and a nice amp/mic combo?
 
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ok,so.fair play..there's very very little difference, but IMO linein/inst in is the last place you're gona hear the difference when upgrading interface.
I'm sure plenty of people here would say if you want 'better' or 'more professional' sound, micing the amp is the way to go, and THATS where the maudio pays for itself cos your pc line in just can't do that (properly)
 
Unless you have a killer onboard sound card, I seem to really only notice the latency with stock sound cards when I am recording or overdubbing. Granted, cheap interfaces aren't all that much better then very good onboard sound cards, but you can sometimes have analog inserts (like on my Fast Track Pro) that allow me to add effects. You can't do that with any sound card. But I still believe you notice latency with any overdubbing using the stock sound card. Just a single guitar tracks doesn't condemn the interface just yet.
 
What about Latency anyone? I bought a Fast Track just for that, with good mics you'll get the best sound as you go.
 
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