damn technology: help

T

travelin travis

New member
i'm usually on top of this stuff but i need some help. my laptop has a express card slot, 4 pin firewire, and usb 2. i need an interface for 2 simultaneous direct in guitars and a couple of mic inputs. a 2-4 input interface with low latency and phantom power would be swell. usb will likely suck balls, firewire maybe not much better. is there anything out there for express card slots? 1616m looked perfect until i saw the cardbus crap. should i just suck it up and go firewire?
 
i haven't heard of anything for express card slots yet (and only of the ua plug-in units using them for any gear period).
if you need something with both two di's and two pres simultaneously, i haven't seen too many units like that (most combine the di inputs and the pres into a couple of universal inputs and then the rest are all line ins).
maybe a firepod or one of these: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tascam-FW1804-Rack-FireWire-Computer-Interface?sku=241251 ?
probably a little too big for your travellin though...
 
kojdogg said:
i haven't heard of anything for express card slots yet (and only of the ua plug-in units using them for any gear period).
if you need something with both two di's and two pres simultaneously, i haven't seen too many units like that (most combine the di inputs and the pres into a couple of universal inputs and then the rest are all line ins).
maybe a firepod or one of these: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Tascam-FW1804-Rack-FireWire-Computer-Interface?sku=241251 ?
probably a little too big for your travellin though...
Click to expand...

man that thing looks like such a good deal but the size would be a stretch for me. i think i'm stuck with firewire for now. i hate having to do the di guitar thing too but i'm screwed. i picked up a valve junior for low volume but i think i have to take it back. the little sucker is loud. :p i can't be rocking out like that in hotel rooms. i'll get kicked out.

btw kojdogg, i've been a/b'ing the vlx5s with my slm1s. the slm1's ain't going any where but the tascams are just the ticket for travel. i hear reverbs a bit better on the tascams but the arts seem to have the advantage every where else. for the size of the tascam cabs, they do pretty well though. enough ranting about cheap monitors, i needs a portable interface.
 
kojdogg said:
glad to hear it about the tascams-- i read that they are being discontinued because it's getting hard for tascam to source some of the components!
i have one of these which i used to use with a valve junior and now use with my carvin vintage16:
https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/micromass.htm
my experience was that it worked pretty much as advertised.
Click to expand...

i didn't even think about an attenuator. how transparent is that thing at heavy attenuation? probably not going to matter all that much with a stock valve junior. it's not exactly a tone machine. :p i did get the thing with intentions of modding so maybe i should just hold on to it.
 
yeah you normally wouldn't think about an attenuator for a 5 watt amp :)! it's pretty good actually. that model in particular lets you attenuate the bass and treble separately which is really useful. i haven't used any other attenuators, but i found it to be pretty transparent. that weber guy (he makes the weber speakers) talks a good game about how his attenuators use a speaker motor to properly load the signal blah blah...
if you're looking for a nice little box for tonal variety i seriously liked how the behringer to800 (tube screamer ripoff) sounded into the valve junior. that thing is like $20 shipped!
on the down side it looks like that tascam interface i linked to only has 1 di... :(
 
kojdogg said:
yeah you normally wouldn't think about an attenuator for a 5 watt amp :)! it's pretty good actually. that model in particular lets you attenuate the bass and treble separately which is really useful. i haven't used any other attenuators, but i found it to be pretty transparent. that weber guy (he makes the weber speakers) talks a good game about how his attenuators use a speaker motor to properly load the signal blah blah...
if you're looking for a nice little box for tonal variety i seriously liked how the behringer to800 (tube screamer ripoff) sounded into the valve junior. that thing is like $20 shipped!
on the down side it looks like that tascam interface i linked to only has 1 di... :(
Click to expand...

any chance you have a sample of the to800 thru the valve junior? i already have one crappy $20 overdrive pedal. :D
 
the only thing i have recorded with that chain is a solo track on a buddy's song which was gtr through to800 into valve jr. mic'ed with a karma k-6 ribbon's ass end on the ass end of the amp about a foot away through a universal audio m610. it sounds really good but it's about as biased (i.e. i mean effected by the signal path) as you can possibly get without running the mic through a distortion pedal or something.
 
ok, i think i've decided for the millionth time that di guitars really do suck, along with midi and vstis. from now on i'm using the computer as a recorder and editor only. i'll take my acoustic guitar along for the ride and let the valve junior sit at home. much more realistic and practical i think. that tascam might be the ticket after all.
 
kojdogg said:
perhaps you just need a good di. maybe a 'zero-cap cable'?
if you don't need di's there are probably interfaces that will suit your needs better-- e.g. e-mu 0202 usb or an echo audiofire4.
Click to expand...

i think i'll get an interface for the laptop and be done with it. then i can start saving for a hummingbird.
 
word-- that's going to be my next significant purchase too-- a decent to nice acoustic-- perhaps the remedy to and antithesis of "damn technology" :)
 
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