Need Help & Opinions On Planned $250 Recording Setup Before Buying

  • Thread starter Thread starter ArcticWolf
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Personally I would never buy an interface that did not have MIDI ports on it. They cost peanuts to add.

Yes, most Keyboard controllers connect via usb but very few of them are MIDI INTERFACES. This means that should you get hold of another piece of MIDI gear with DINs on it you are stumped. You then have to buy another usb interface and some have had driver issues and in any case it is another cluttering dangly bit you can do without.

In any event, even if a future controller WAS a full interface , another 16 port won't go amiss. You can only chain so many MIDI devices.

We might just forgive Tascam for leaving off MIDI (on the 2000, 'member that?) but Steinberg practically INVENTED the MIDI Sequencer FCS!

I do intend to buy a UR22 as soon as my flexible friend has recovered from the ~$1000 shock that was the car's MOT bill!

Dave.
 
ArcticWolf said:
Well I do appreciate the recommendation, I was just curious is all about the difference between the 2, but now after doing some research between ubs 1.1 and 2.0 for AI I think I'll keep looking and keep the UR22 and M-Track Plus in mind. Lol and trust me you couldn't be more of an idiot than me when it comes to recording, which is why I'm trying to get as much info as possible so I don't feel too much like an idiot down the road in a couple of years when i realize what bad choices I made in terms of equipment when starting out XD
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Man, I have wasted a bunch of money chasing my budget. I am still finding what is best for what I need. I am now around 25-30G in my studio, and still wondering what I want next.

It all starts at $100 and a desire to learn. I am impressed by the level of your research. :)
 
jimmys69 said:
Man, I have wasted a bunch of money chasing my budget. I am still finding what is best for what I need. I am now around 25-30G in my studio, and still wondering what I want next.

It all starts at $100 and a desire to learn. I am impressed by the level of your research. :)
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Oh wow! Well thanks for trying to help me out, I think I need to just get a feel for the recording realm before going out and spending too much money, like you mentioned its all a learning experience and once I go out and get equipment that suits my basic needs for the moment I'll be able to better judge what I might need or want to add to my recording setup later on. I'll definitely keep the UR22 in mind for later on when I can better afford one, from what I've read, seems like a great AI. Its the fact that at my current knowledge would I probably couldn't tell the difference between a $100 interface or a $150 one, so I'll save those higher end purchases (higher than $150) for later down the road when I have had more experience.
 
Well thanks everyone for all your help and input, as for which AI I think I'll be going with, I think I'll stick with the Alesis iO2 Express, I know there were concerns with compatibility of the drivers for W8 but from what I've read so far ASIO4All beta drivers seem to support W8, which are the drivers I'll use with the Alesis.

I'll be getting a boomstick as well as a pop filter and longer cable just as so many of you had suggested, so that I wont be limited to my desk, and record guitar easier.

Once again thanks to everyone who gave their suggestions and opinion, it all helped me out in deciding on what to go with, as well as what I might go with in the future if I plan to upgrade.
 
Keep researching man. The ASIO4ALL is just a program that allows a device without true ASIO drivers to work. It just uses your crappy internal soundcard to work as a ASIO sound device. You will have latency issues as well as poor performance. Just sayin...
 
jimmys69 said:
Keep researching man. The ASIO4ALL is just a program that allows a device without true ASIO drivers to work. It just uses your crappy internal soundcard to work as a ASIO sound device. You will have latency issues as well as poor performance. Just sayin...
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So I shouldn't go with any AI that requires I download ASIO4ALL? Ok well I guess I'll continue my search :yawn:

Thanks for the heads up :)
 
Naw man. Any respectable device will have ASIO drivers to control it. I assure you, the extra $50 is worth it. Get something that will work on it's own, and not start a battle of trying to make it work. Been there. Not productive.

And just so you know, I am not trying to sell you anything. I am a proud daddy who does not want to see someone waste their money. You may be able to do what you need with the interface you have, but it is not ideal. I am just giving my advice based upon my own experience and whatever knowledge I have gathered over the years. .
 
jimmys69 said:
Naw man. Any respectable device will have ASIO drivers to control it. I assure you, the extra $50 is worth it. Get something that will work on it's own, and not start a battle of trying to make it work. Been there. Not productive.

And just so you know, I am not trying to sell you anything. I am a proud daddy who does not want to see someone waste their money. You may be able to do what you need with the interface you have, but it is not ideal. I am just giving my advice based upon my own experience and whatever knowledge I have gathered over the years. .
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Ya I understand, and I really do appreciate you helping me out. I thought it over a bit, and while $150 does go over what I was planning to spend, if its whats needed to get what I want and is more hassle free then I'm willing to spend it. I looked at the M-Track Pro a bit and found that there are problems with the drivers they have, so I think my number one choice as of now is the UR22 both you and PDP suggested.

I was curious about the D-PRE feature that it has, and seeing as you have the UR824, I was wondering if you could provide some personal input on it, like how does it effect sound quality vs other AI you've used over the years?
 
D-Pre is just what Steinberg named their preamps. It is not a 'feature' really. Just good clean preamps. All mic's require a preamp. The D-pre's have way more clean gain than the Lexicon did. As far as how it affects sound quality; well it is the 3rd or so most important thing in your recording chain. Performance, tone, room, mic, and preamp. A preamp/AI is the link to being able to record digitally. It really just depends upon what it is you are looking to do. If quality of recordings is not an issue, then go cheap. If you wish to make the best of what you are recording, then save a few bucks and get something worth using.

The D-pre preamps are way better sounding and have much more 'clean' gain than the Lexicon. Plus, the UR22 has phantom power. The Lexi does not.
 
jimmys69 said:
D-Pre is just what Steinberg named their preamps. It is not a 'feature' really. Just good clean preamps. All mic's require a preamp. The D-pre's have way more clean gain than the Lexicon did. As far as how it affects sound quality; well it is the 3rd or so most important thing in your recording chain. Performance, tone, room, mic, and preamp. A preamp/AI is the link to being able to record digitally. It really just depends upon what it is you are looking to do. If quality of recordings is not an issue, then go cheap. If you wish to make the best of what you are recording, then save a few bucks and get something worth using.

The D-pre preamps are way better sounding and have much more 'clean' gain than the Lexicon. Plus, the UR22 has phantom power. The Lexi does not.
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Ok thanks for clearing that up with me, as I said before, I plan to use it for vocals, commentary and guitar, probably both acoustic and electric, along with using a condenser mic. I plan to add in another dynamic mic to the mix at a later date as well. Since I plan to be using the AI I get for a quiet a long time I guess I wont skimp out on the price. I like the look of the build quality with the UR22 and have read mostly great reviews on it.
 
I just trying to be clear that saving a few bucks on the link between what you play/speak/record, will bite you in the ass later. Spend a few more to get something you can grow with. The last thing you need is an excuse as to why your recordings are not the quality you want. Again, just trying to give you advice based on my experience. I imply no warranty. lol
 
Ya I got you, and I greatly appreciate receiving help and suggestions from people who have been doing recording for much longer than I or anyone I know has, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to go with the UR22 just because you guys suggested it, I also took the time to look around and read what everyone else is saying, and found a few videos of people using it in their recording. Overall I am happy to have found what I needed, and I thank everyone here in here for their help and opinions, with my search.
 
Come back here once you get setup, or if you need help getting setup. I am looking forward to hearing what you do. :)
 
jimmys69 said:
Come back here once you get setup, or if you need help getting setup. I am looking forward to hearing what you do. :)
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I will for sure do that if I find myself having any questions or problems. You've been a great help, and I'm glad I went to this forum for help! Will probably be sticking around for a while.
 
Oh great, another member...lol!

I have been here a few years, and opted to be a moderator because of the helpful people that hang here. A great place to get 'real' advice from those who know. I have learned so much from this forum and continue to every day. Welcome to HR. :)
 
Mea culpa on the Lexicon/Phantom thing. It's a fine box for what it does but I forgot that my friend who owns one uses it with a separate phantom suppy.

As for MIDI, you either need it or you don't.
 
$250 recording set up

Just a couple of suggestions. 1) presonus fire box . My experience is it's super simple to use and set up and a a fire wire cards for laptops are pretty cheap on ebay and the pres sound really good. Plus you can set it up for latency free monitoring. It can be powered using your computer or if need be it's own power supply (wall wart). 2) I've used cubase, reason, samplitude etc and they are all very good but I use Reaper as my DAW. You can use it free forever if you don't mind the nag 5 second nag screen on start up and new versions are available also for free whether you pay the $60 for it or not and no limitations as you find on the le versions of the a fore mentioned products. It's extremly versitile and will integrate with many other DAWs and free vst instruments and efx that you will find on the web. It has it's own suite of efx and pluggins that are very useful and good quality. But most of all you can configure it to work the way you want your work flow to go.
 
Don't go firewire.
Very few laptops have express card slots these days and you would need to source a card with the TI chipset anyway.
Your mate is also unlikely to have Fussywire but everyone has usb!

Dave.
 
Well thank you guys for still providing input, but I have already bought my setup, I have just finished setting the UR22 and am currently waiting on the Studio Project B1 Microphone that I should get next week. I mean if you feel like you wish to add more input for those that will see this in the future, feel free, I wish to just let you guys know that my questions have already been answered and I'll be looking forward to having fun with my new recording setup.

And yes ecc83 is right, I haven't seen many mainstream laptops (especially the newer thinner ultrabooks) have a firewire port, or even an express card slot. I mean people can always try and look for laptops with those ports in mind if they are buying a new laptop, but for the most part, people who already have a laptop before planning to start home recording will have at least a usb.
 
I've been using a line 6 ux 2 that I found on sale for $120 (normally $199) and reaper ($60 for the license) for my DAW for about 2yrs now. Both really user friendly. I haven't had a single problem with either one
 
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