Introduction to Multitrack Computer Interface Recording

You can record 16 separate tracks into your DAW at once. Depending on your software, you can have an unlimited amount of tracks that can be mixed internally with the software mixer. The 4 outs are just outputs that can be selected within the software to get signal to say an outboard effects unit, monitor speakers or even a mixer. So yes, you are able to mix every recorded channel separately within the software.

Thank you so much for the education, Jimmy!
 
Alright... Time to pick the brain of Arcadeko.

Mr. Arcadeko.
How do you feel about the program Audacity? My friend turned me on to it as it's a free recording program, but my experience is limited (actually, it's non-existent) and I wanted to know how it compares to the other programs that you've posted at the beginning of this thread.

Don't be gentle. Give me the raw, honest truth.
 
hey guys im really sorry i havent looked through every reply post here to see if this question has been answered.

Is there any statistic or property that you can use to compare the quality of an interface? E.g. a sample rate of 800000 bits/sec or something.

Or are all interfaces the same in their ability to transfer analog to didgital, and then the only factors that influence their quality are number of ports, robustness, reliability etc?

Once again im very sorry for posting without doing the research, this is a very hurried post on my break at work.

I would also just like to thank you for doing this post. your a generous dude both time wise and knowledge wise. Keep up th e good work

Karl
 
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Is there any statistic or property that you can use to compare the quality of an interface? E.g. a sample rate of 800000 bits/sec or something.

Or are all interfaces the same in their ability to transfer analog to didgital, and then the only factors that influence their quality are number of ports, robustness, reliability etc?

//

Karl

Hey Karl. The lowdown is you are looking for 3 ( THREE ) KEY components of an audio interface AFTER the pre amp ( signal booster/volume gain ) stage:

Pre Amps are worshipped in some parts of the world. Thats a whole other topic for you to research. Just be aware that the current marketing is that the onboard or built in preamps on the latest gen audio interfaces are equal to or better than higher end stand alone preamps from a few years ago.

Ok, so after the preamp, look for these 3 when reading gear specifications.

1. The quality of the DAC's ( digital audio converters ) . Cirrus Logic are the industry leaders i believe.

2. The bit depth/resolution. Higher the better is the popular thinking. 16 bit is CD quality 24 is DVD ( can people tell the difference in a blind A B comparison ? Probably not. Not casual listeners anyway.)

3. Sampling rate. Higher the better is the popular thinking. 44.1 khz for CD and i think 192 khz for DVD.

Its all explained very concisely and succinctly here.
 
Thanks for the explanation of interfaces. I'm just starting to gather some gear and have been trying to figure out what interface to buy. I was looking at the Tascam US-1800 (I want to do some simple drum and guitar recording). The specs read its a 16x4 USB 2.0 interface. Now if I understand the explanation correctly, the 16x4 means 16 inputs (combination of mics and guitars) and only 4 outputs? So does that mean when recording into my computer I'll only get 4 tracks even though I have, lets say, 8 mics plugged in?
 
Thanks for the explanation of interfaces. I'm just starting to gather some gear and have been trying to figure out what interface to buy. I was looking at the Tascam US-1800 (I want to do some simple drum and guitar recording). The specs read its a 16x4 USB 2.0 interface. Now if I understand the explanation correctly, the 16x4 means 16 inputs (combination of mics and guitars) and only 4 outputs? So does that mean when recording into my computer I'll only get 4 tracks even though I have, lets say, 8 mics plugged in?

Naw man. That is something that confuses many however. 16X4 typically means an interface has 16 direct input tracks that go directly to DAW. You can record 16 simultaneous tracks at once. The 4 outputs are from the computer after recording. You use these to connect monitors or outboard gear.

The US1800 is great for recording drums. Keep in mind, each input channel needs a preamp. The US1800 actually has 10 preamps that you could use, right out of the box. 2 of them are High Z (guitar inputs)/line inputs, but they still run through preamps. You could, and I have, use XLR to 1/4" cables into channels 9/10 and get 10 mics recorded with the unit. The other 4 inputs are 'Line In'. You need preamp or a mixer that has preamps to feed to these channels. ART TPS II or similar is what I used. For input channels 15/16, you need a device with spdif outputs. This is a digital connection. In other words, the AD conversion is done previous to the input. I used to use a ART DPSII that has a digital output. There are other preamps which do this, but I was starting out as low cost as possible. This is just what worked for me at the time.

I would totally recommend the 1800 for what you are looking to do, and will be here to help if you have any problems. :)
 
And a member is selling his US-800 over in the gear selling section, check it out!
 
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