Starting from Zero

  • Thread starter Thread starter Locke
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Doesn't post to the UK unfortunately :'(

Could anyone suggest a similar Audio Interface to the Focusrite Scarlett Solo which instead of the mono secondary input has a stereo input?
 
Locke said:
Doesn't post to the UK unfortunately :'(

Could anyone suggest a similar Audio Interface to the Focusrite Scarlett Solo which instead of the mono secondary input has a stereo input?
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Steinberg UR22. Now £99 in many places.

Dave.
 
Shows up as a banjo...:( Your post shows only an hour old, maybe it's regional.
 
ecc83 said:
Sounds like a "Trigger's Broom" scenario to me!

Dave.
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:) Point is: Today you can have two useable mikes for $100, and later you can have two great mikes for well under a grand. It's more like Javascript. The Prototype inheritance model of JavaScript provided all the functionality that Class based inheritance provides today. Win-win.
 
ecc83 said:
"most new midi keyboards are USB-midi so the lack of midi port on the 2i2 make no difference and you can always pick up a midi interface as and when you need it..."

We (well! "I") have been through this ad.n. A USB kbd is not a MIDI interface and it is cheapass penny pinching beyond belief to make an AI sans DINs! In any case the UR22 is an excellent interface and cheaper than the 2i2 so a win-win no brainer.

Dave.
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Gotta disagree with this advice.....

Midi is Midi.....Slave/Sync is crucial. Mandatory to have it on all keys.....plus you may have a drum machine to drop into the mix....

For keyboardists it is always better to have Midi and not need it, than to need it and not have it......
 
SteveAlton said:
Gotta disagree with this advice.....

Midi is Midi.....Slave/Sync is crucial. Mandatory to have it on all keys.....

For keyboardists it is always better to have Midi and not need it, than to need it and not have it......
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Can't see what you are disagreeing with Steve?

Dave.
 
Lol.....yeah you have the same take on it. .....someone had that point of view, pasted wrong comment......classic. ....
 
I still don't see what the big deal is having an interface without midi?

I have a 2i2, and Maschine and a usb-midi keyboard... If I want to run midi synth (or any other midi device) I can do so through either the midi din ports on the Maschine or the keyboard...
Sequencer is still sending the midi data through the usb cable first and any USB device with din in and out will act as interface but it's a non-issue and generally speaking I'd always where possible (and increasingly this will become the only option) reach for a USB cable.

Midi ports are fast disappearing from new gear but thAT gear still sends and receives midi data through the USB protocol. Midi hasn't changed and won't change because it works. But the way we send midi has and is changing because of the amount of data (both midi & audio among other types) that can be sent through USB simultainiously.
 
Dave Holmes said:
I still don't see what the big deal is having an interface without midi?

I have a 2i2, and Maschine and a usb-midi keyboard... If I want to run midi synth (or any other midi device) I can do so through either the midi din ports on the Maschine or the keyboard...
Sequencer is still sending the midi data through the usb cable first and any USB device with din in and out will act as interface but it's a non-issue and generally speaking I'd always where possible (and increasingly this will become the only option) reach for a USB cable.

Midi ports are fast disappearing from new gear but thAT gear still sends and receives midi data through the USB protocol. Midi hasn't changed and won't change because it works. But the way we send midi has and is changing because of the amount of data (both midi & audio among other types) that can be sent through USB simultainiously.
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I agree! MIDI DIN ports ARE disappearing but mostly on noobs gear! A few minutes trawl through a few magazines threw up these devices with DIN ports that are NOT AIs or keyboards..
Korg SDD-3000
iZ Radar 6
Tascam 2488 24 track recorder
Soundcraft S1 sound&light console
Behringer X32
Blackstar ID 60, 100&260 and Series One guitar amps (and several other guitar amp brands)

I have read reviews of but cannot find atmo' other mixers and devices with MIDI including I am sure a Neve pre amp!

One oddity...The Studiomaster Horizon 2012 mixer has FX and a USB port to exchange audio but not MIDI. How retrograde is that?!

So you see it is the noob that suffers. Many will be ignorant of MIDI and the lack of DINs will mean their interest is never stimulated. MIDI STARTS with an AI and DINs...SHOOT! You could even connect MIDI to the ghastly SoundBlaster cards if you bought the right lead!

Use it (or at least don't decry it!) or lose it!

Dave.
 
buy stuff you will keep forever. Save your money if you have to. Don't buy twice.
 
Supercreep said:
buy stuff you will keep forever. Save your money if you have to. Don't buy twice.
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This ^ is good advice on the face of it but is of doubtful merit in a fast moving, technical area like home recording. For sure, if you take something like a mic stand and you KNOW you will be doing recording for life, buy the best you can. The quality difference twixt a $20 stand* and $200 one is obvious.

Audio interfaces are not like that. Generally the more you pay the more ins and outs you get. The pre amps and converter quality PER TRACK stays pretty much the same. It is not until you get into the stratospheric Benchmark/Lynx price areas that measureable improvements show and it is doubtful if anyone not in possession of a pristine source, monitors and room can actually hear any improvement.

My advice to noobs is always "FFS get stuck in!" Buy AN interface (there are really no BAD ones in the F'rite/Tascam/NI/M-Audio stable to name but 4 mnfctrs) "A" microphone, SDC would be my reccy, and just DO it!

Like any hobby, HR will make you a bit poorer (but if it keeps you in and off the beer and fags for a month? Win-win!) but treat it AS a hobby, don't stress, enjoy and have fun.....Most noobs will be knitting instead in 2016.

*But if you treat it fairly carefully a $20 stand is all you need at home.

Dave.
 
BroKen_H said:
What I said about MXL before, they've got the 990/991 kit HERE for $99 today. I'm considering it myself for that price.
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Some years back I bought a pair of MXL990s simply because they were cheap. I was NOT impressed with the sound on things like vocals or guitar and ended up using them only for drum overheads--and even there I had better. Hate to admit it but I eventually sold them for more than I paid to a bit of a sucker....

You can certainly make recording with the Samson C02 or the AT2020 but you'll almost certainly want to replace them in the next year or two if you decide you enjoy recording. By all means go that route if that's the budget...but if you can spend more I recommend you do!

Cheap interface? I bought an M Audio M Track at the beginning of this year and have been very impressed--drivers behave well, mic pre amps are quiet enough even for low level dynamics, good direct monitoring and even MIDI DIN for ecc83. FYI, M Audio are coming out with a replacement so watch for deals on the original.
 
Am I the only one who haunts pawn shops for gear? I find tons of mics, etc.
 
radi0j0hn said:
Am I the only one who haunts pawn shops for gear? I find tons of mics, etc.
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I do... Usually they're either very shabby, cheap dynamics or high-end but overpriced (ie; cheaper used on eBay)
 
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radi0j0hn said:
Am I the only one who haunts pawn shops for gear? I find tons of mics, etc.
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Oh! I do, to date I have found a Tascam 144 (with a virgin Cubase LE4 copy) a Tassy 122 (sent that to son, said it broke!) A Line 6 amp (sent to son) and perhaps my best find, a Focusrite 8i6 for 100quid.

My search is for a very cheap Akai EIE.

Dave.
 
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ecc83 said:
This ^ is good advice on the face of it but is of doubtful merit in a fast moving, technical area like home recording. For sure, if you take something like a mic stand and you KNOW you will be doing recording for life, buy the best you can. The quality difference twixt a $20 stand* and $200 one is obvious.

Audio interfaces are not like that. Generally the more you pay the more ins and outs you get. The pre amps and converter quality PER TRACK stays pretty much the same. It is not until you get into the stratospheric Benchmark/Lynx price areas that measureable improvements show and it is doubtful if anyone not in possession of a pristine source, monitors and room can actually hear any improvement.

My advice to noobs is always "FFS get stuck in!" Buy AN interface (there are really no BAD ones in the F'rite/Tascam/NI/M-Audio stable to name but 4 mnfctrs) "A" microphone, SDC would be my reccy, and just DO it!

Like any hobby, HR will make you a bit poorer (but if it keeps you in and off the beer and fags for a month? Win-win!) but treat it AS a hobby, don't stress, enjoy and have fun.....Most noobs will be knitting instead in 2016.

*But if you treat it fairly carefully a $20 stand is all you need at home.

Dave.
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I didn't have stands in mind. My thought is that if you buy a mic you know you will keep forever, you won't have to replace it. If you get a high quality pre, you're not going to be dicking around with trying to mod it to sound like a high quality pre. Interfaces are more complicated, but the reality now is that you don't have to spend a fortune on a good interface. Mics and instruments and room treatment (and talent, of course) are more important.

Obviously, one can't record with just a mic. So there is a minimum barrier to "just DO it". I am simply adding that there isn't anything wrong with a more measured approach than "buy all the things now".

I think the best part of buying the thing you want once is that it takes longer to get fully outfitted. You learn to use a thing and how it works in your environment, and that leads you to make better decisions about what other gear you need and how you will use it. Building on that learning loop is the best way to put together a studio. Buying a great pile of stuff will get you stuff you don't need or that doesn't work how you ultimately want it to.

Patience is still a virtue, and impatience can be costly. YMMV.

PS: SDC would not be my reccy. A pair of multipattern LDC or MDC would.
 
Supercreep said:
I didn't have stands in mind. My thought is that if you buy a mic you know you will keep forever, you won't have to replace it. If you get a high quality pre, you're not going to be dicking around with trying to mod it to sound like a high quality pre. Interfaces are more complicated, but the reality now is that you don't have to spend a fortune on a good interface. Mics and instruments and room treatment (and talent, of course) are more important.

Obviously, one can't record with just a mic. So there is a minimum barrier to "just DO it". I am simply adding that there isn't anything wrong with a more measured approach than "buy all the things now".

I think the best part of buying the thing you want once is that it takes longer to get fully outfitted. You learn to use a thing and how it works in your environment, and that leads you to make better decisions about what other gear you need and how you will use it. Building on that learning loop is the best way to put together a studio. Buying a great pile of stuff will get you stuff you don't need or that doesn't work how you ultimately want it to.

Patience is still a virtue, and impatience can be costly. YMMV.

PS: SDC would not be my reccy. A pair of multipattern LDC or MDC would.
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Not disagreeing with your basic philosophy Supercreep, "buy cheap, buy twice" but the fact is we are in the noob dept! Attrition from any hobby is high but in HR we are fortunate that almost any $100+ interface and $50 cap' mic will give results we would have killed for 40 years ago (back then a Neve lathe was ~£20k!).

If a noob buys a $150 interface and loses The Faith he can get 1/2 of that back probably on the Bay. If he buys a $1500 RME the depreciation is much higher. "We" are always saying "the gear is only a small part of good recording". If you agree with that then I say let peeps try out for a few 100 dollars and learn a few ropes.

Dave.
 
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