Focusrite A/D Converter Option (Platinum Series)

[Bryan T]

Hi all, this is my first post. I record solo acoustic guitar instrumentals. No real multi-tracking, just a mic or two on an acoustic guitar until I capture the best performance.

I have a simple home recording setup. I have a pair of microphones (A/T 3035 and a Groove Tubes GT33), a Focusrite Twintrak, and a Digi001 running on a G4 400. I'm fairly happy with the recordings that I am getting, but I'm wondering what the best way to improve them would be.

I bought the Twintrak recently and have found it to be a real upgrade over the Digi001's mic preamps. I've read that the A/D converters on the Digi001 are not very good. Is this true? Should I be looking to upgrade to something else? What would that "something else" do to the sound of my recordings of solo acoustic guitar? I see that Focusrite has an A/D card option for the Twintrak. Would that be an upgrade? Is it worth the money? Where else should I be looking to upgrade?

Thanks,
Bryan

 

[steve350]

I purchased the A/D card so I could bypass the preamps on my Korg D1600 recorder. I get very clean recordings now. For me it was worth the money.

 

[anywhither]

I purchased the A/D card so I could bypass the preamps on my Korg D1600 recorder. I get very clean recordings now. For me it was worth the money.

is the sound really better much with digital card?
I wonder how clear it is.
would you record a demo using analogue out and digital out?

 

[lumbago]

I use the A/D card on the Focusrite Trakmaster. Yes it is very clear. But if you use a quality mixer after the Focusrite preamp, there is very little difference between the analog and digital outputs, except maybe for noise floor levels. These are almost imperceptible anyway.

As an example, I use the Trakmaster into a Lexicon MPX-500 to a Roland digital mixer then to disk. I use SP/DIF digital connections wherever possible. I never have any noise issues, and no unwanted artefacts or interference.

Gain structure is all you seem to have to take care of, and this is largely "set and forget" anyway.

Now the sound of these Focusrites is not to everyone's taste here in the forums, and digital is only as good as the source material you play through it.

Secondly, there is no comparison between these Focusrites and say, an Avalon mic pre - the Avalons are superb by comparison. There are other competitive preamps.

And pristine mistakes and bad sounds (recorded in digital) are still bad.

However, I reckon you'd be mad not to consider digital nowadays, and the sound of the Focusrite digital card (esp the lack of noise) is good for the home musician, at this price point (approx US $225 at Musician's Friend) .

Your microphone is also critical - the preamp and the source material quality and the microphone are all important parts of the recording chain. Looking at one part (the preamp) in isolation may not be of value to you. A bad mic or bad mic placement or poor room acoustics won't be improved by spending money on a preamp A/D card.

 

[Bryan T]

I appreciate everyone's responses, but the key insight I hope someone has is how the sound of the A/D converter in the Digi001 differs from the optional A/D converter for the Twintrak.

OK, I'll be a little more direct:

Are the A/D converters on the optional card for the Twintrak an improvement over the A/D converters in the Digi001? In what way?

Thanks,
Bryan