Afraid of getting hosed

[TheBones]

im trying to upgrade interfaces. right now i have a little fast track but i need to move to something with 4 mic pres so as i can record a drumset. i really like the clarity of the fast track and i was looking at the fast track ultra only to find that there has been quite a few defective units. i've done hours of online shopping and compare. the Akai eie pro looks way to good to be true at $250. i've tried the presonus audiobox and hated it, i just recieved a broken lexicon io42 from amazon (returning it). now i'm looking at a new MOTU called the 4pre which is a bit more expensive but at this point i'm willing to pay the price if i'm going to be happy with it. i'm just so sick of shopping for audio interfaces. i just want a nice one, under $500, that sounds good, has phantom power, and 4 mic pres. i would love some suggestions.

 

[guitarplayr82]

Try the Focusrite Pro 40. It might be a little more than you need (it has eight mic pres), but I'm pretty sure you would soon outgrow an interface with only four mic pres if you plan on tracking drums. It has MUCH better pres than the Fast Track and you can get it for under $500. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Focusrite-S...502?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19ccdc0846

I got mine for $375 from ProAudioStar on eBay by negotiating a price through the "Best Offer" feature. If that listing I posted above expires before you get to it, just wait a day or so. ProAudioStar will have another listing of the same product up soon.

 

[one guy]

tascam us-800 if you can find one were on sale for 100 bucks or step up for about 300 us-1800

 

[JimmyS1969]

tascam us-800 if you can find one were on sale for 100 bucks or step up for about 300 us-1800

Stability of drivers, clean 60db preamps, phantom power on 8 of 16 input channels, blah blah blah... Tascam US 1800 is the 'bang for the buck' choice for PC. There are many that are better out of this price point, but for the money, you cant go wrong here.

You did not mention your setup/OS. Are you hell bent on firewire?

 

[TheBones]

i'm running on a mac mini with 2gb of ram (planning on upgrading soon). lion osx 10.7. i saw the tascam units and read some bad reviews also the fact that they are discontinuing one of them doesn't put my mind at ease when it comes to drivers for my new os. i'm not hellbent on firewire but it's an option

 

[ranjam]

It won't be a popular answer, but I still use my 2-input Fast Track interface, but use a little mixer to sub-mix down to 2 outputs. I can have as many mics on my drums, but I do have to settle for a good stereo mix to my computer. Life is full of sacrifices.