Best AI/Soundcard for Cheap Guitarist

[mark4man]

sure hope he doesn't read this, but...

I've always handed down my old audio interface's to my lead guitarist...whenever I upgrade. Last time I did so...I had moved up to a Lynx Aurora8; & lent him my old Layla24/96 (by Echo Audio). For about six months, it has been dying. Finally, the SRC went completely, causing permanent slow playback...so I retired it.

Obviously, he now needs to get off his butt & purchase something. We both run SONAR7.

The thing is...he really does need an AI of quote; unquote: professional quality (realizing that's an amorphous term), as the way we collaborate on recordings is to ship SONAR projects back-and-forth on DVD. & for the sake of this aforementioned quality...it would be nice if his guitar tracks were recorded w/ hardware that rates a pro sound. But the problem is...he's strapped for cash.

So...w/ advancements in modern technology being what they are (meaning that I've heard it said that even cheap soundcards record a quality signal nowadays)...what would be the best route for him to go ???

Right now he's running an (older) Behringer Eurorack in his project studio, which sounded surprisingly good as output to the Layla, but I thought about trying to talk him into one of the newer mixer/interface combos...maybe an Onyx or something.

But I'll shut up & listen to what u guys have to say...thanks a million,


mark4man
ADK Pro Audio Core 2 | Intel DP35DP MoBo/Chipset | Intel Q6600 Quad Core CPU | 4 GB SuperTalent DDR2-800 CL5 RAM | Seagate 160 GB SATA II Primary HD | Western Digital 320 GB SATA II Audio HD | Lynx Aurora8 ~ AES16 | Universal Audio UAD-1 | SONAR PE 7.0.1 | WaveLab 5.0.1 | NI Komplete5

 

[Treeline]

Cheap, good and reliable. $200.

M-Audio Fast Track Pro USB Audio Interface and MIDI Interface with 2 Phantom-powered Microphone/Line Inputs and Ableton Live Lite 4 Software - M-Powered Compatible.

Use the software you're used to.

 

[mark4man]

thanks, tree...

(had no idea you were still here...u used to help me out quite a bit, back in the day...thanks for those days, man)

anyway...not a bad idea, that. I used to run m-audio gear myself, but every playback was greeted by a loud click. Could never get rid of it. I guess that's been solved years back?

btw...how is USB as a transfer protocol? his DAW is a Dell 4550 (I told u he was cheap), which is USB 2.0...but USB is packet delivery, right? I guess it obviously holds up well or it wouldnt be offered on so many gear items...but it's capable of transferring converted audio data in real time recording in a fast enough way?

thanks again,


mf