Which Interface?

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bh4554

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I've read so much about so many different interfaces and talked to some guys at a specialist pc music store but am still not sure which one to buy.

I want to be able to use 4 mic's at a time(i.e - when it comes to doing the drums)......if i could do 6 it would be better, whilst also still monitoring all the channels on Cubase.

my budget is about $400 roughly

I've looked at the Edirol FA-101 Firewire Interface....is this a good choice???

i've heard this has the best pre-amps in it - being made by roland......

there are also the M-Audio options.Should I go firewire rather than USB? becasue some of the tascam systems such as the us-224 look quite good and easy to use.

Added to this why do most of these interfaces use jack inputs instead of xlr's? Are xlr's not better?

If someone could explain the what exactly a 10input-10output interface is, that'd be great.

Thanks for any help anyone can give me - I know there is already a thread on the edirol firewire interface but i'm still not sure abd being a student i don't want to buy the wrong thing and be stuck with it.

:confused:
 
Not to depress you, but you could go nuts trying to figure this out. You have defined your scope and budget, so let's work with what we got.

Should I go firewire rather than USB?
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Yes.

...I've looked at the Edirol FA-101 Firewire Interface....is this a good choice???
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Who knows?? I am sure it will work

I've heard this (FA-101) has the best pre-amps in it - being made by roland...
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Hahahahahahahaha....

Okay, that was rude. There are two things to keep in the back of your head when your looking at boxes that include preamps... Preamps are one, converters are the other.

As far most of the gear snobs on this board (and elsewhere) are concerned, there are no good preamps on any of these boxes. Which is not to say, of course, that they are not good enough. Only your ears will know for sure. Likewise converters. I am sure that the preamps on the Edirol (Roland) are solid, but I do not have a great warm fuzzy when it comes to the converters. Still, once again, only what your ears hear matters.

Get your mic, go to a store where you can A/B gear you would like to have and gear that you can afford to have, and decide if you can live with the compromises. If not, well, keep saving.

...why do most of these interfaces use jack inputs instead of xlr's? Are xlr's not better?
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It's not a function of XLR vs. jack inputs, it's a function of balanced vs. unbalanced lines. Balanced lines (which are less subject to interference) are preferred. XLR are (pretty sure) always balanced. Jack inputs are a little tricker. They may be TS (tip / sleeve) or TRS (tip / ring / sleeve). TRS are balanced, TS are not.

Besides, jack inputs take less space.

If someone could explain the what exactly a 10input-10output interface is, that'd be great.
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10 physical inputs, 10 physical outputs. Don't get hung up over the idea that you have to use them all. You may not need all 10, but better to have them and not need them then to... you know.

...I want to be able to use 4 mic's at a time ... if i could do 6 it would be better ... my budget is about $400 roughly...
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Uh... well, good luck. Keep in mind that the FA-101 only includes two mic preamps, but you will need a preamp for every microphone. You can hang preamps in front of all of those jack inputs, but of course the $$$ goes up.
 
ok so if I got something like this:http://www.dv247.com/invt/9214

i could then plug in and record with 4 mic's at the same time. right?!

that way I can record drums, double track or triple track guitars etc... and all should be good. I hope.


i realise this is bottom of the quality scale but is all i can afford at this point so to me this seems like a worthwhile investment.

Thanks for your help wheelema.
 

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If you can come up with an extra couple hundred bucks, I bet this fire wire interface will do the trick. $600 at MF, 8th Street etc.
 
yeah but thereare two pre-amps already in the edirol unit so surely the other two pre-amps could be used in channels 3 and 4 and then 4 chanels will have pre-amps!
 
If you do not mind the fact that all of the inputs will be summed into one before it hits the computer, you can look into a Soundcraft Spirt M8 mixer.
 
not really - can anyone recomend any good pci cards that allow 4 simultaneous mic inputs??!!
 
ok, lets see.

firewire vs. usb 2.0
- usb isn't hotpluggable so if you unplug something without telling the computer you're going to it could screw some stuff up

at least 4 mic inputs.
- in order to record 4 mics at the same time you are going to need 4 microphone preamps. a lot of interfaces only come with 2 preamps and then the remaining channels are line inputs. that means you would need a few more external preamps to run mics into those inputs.
now this wouldn't be all that bad if you could get a few really nice preamps.
i have a presonus firepod (pictured in treeline's post) and it works pretty well. i don't think i'm experienced enough to comment on the quality of the converters but they seem alright to me. it has 8 inputs with preamps. so you would easily be able to mic a whole drum set with it. It also works fairly well with Cubase. the firepod comes with Cubase SE but i already had Cubase SL so i'm using that.

as far as pci cards, if you go with a pci card you will also need some preamps. probably the easiest way to get some preamps would be with a mixer. for pci cards you may want to look at a m-audio delta1010. you'll need a mixer to use for preamps though.

if you plan on doing all your mixing on the computer then i think you should consider something like the presonus firepod because it has preamps in it already. another option would be the tascam fw1804. it has 8channels, 4 of those with preamps. so you would be able to record 4 microphones at once without the need for any external preamps. it also has an adat lightpipe connection (firepod doesn't) in case you wanted to add some more channels. the tascam is also $600. its a little more than you were looking at but those are your options other than a pci card with a mixer for preamps.
 
go with delta 66

im in your same boat....delta 66 has 4 1/4 ins....4 mics on the drums is all you need unless you are recording Neil Peart. No, the cowbell doesnt need its own mic. Then, get a decent mixer with 4 insert outs....usually, it would be a 12 channel mixer (behringer, etc)...whatever it is...insert outs are easy to come buy...use the mixer as a preamp (and like a snake)...and then, wa-la 4 mics into the delta 44....PLUS, the Delta 44 is economical 150 (new), and it is a PCI card with a sweet break out box...You want a PC card...faster than USB...and FIREWIRE....only use FIREWIRE if you are running a laptop or you want to spend the extra cash to say you've got some nifty pre-amps that dont mean crap. If yor tunes are good, and you can record...the Delta 44 will work. I totally am in your same boat. Ive done research...this sounds like the best set-up
 
I've got the Delta 66 and it is pretty neat and simple. 4 in, 4 out, 2 digital in / out (S/PDIF). Breakout box takes 1/4 " balanced or unbalanced plugs. You need preamps with it; aurorakooba nailed it right on the head. Look at these: About $400 for the pair and you've got all your preamps, outboard eq if you need some, the start of a live rig and 24 / 96 interface. You'd need some cables.
 
Treeline said:
I've got the Delta 66 and it is pretty neat and simple. 4 in, 4 out, 2 digital in / out (S/PDIF). Breakout box takes 1/4 " balanced or unbalanced plugs. You need preamps with it; aurorakooba nailed it right on the head. Look at these: About $400 for the pair and you've got all your preamps, outboard eq if you need some, the start of a live rig and 24 / 96 interface. You'd need some cables.
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Hey that's my setup. Except I've got the 44 instead of the 66.

bh4554, another option on treeline's suggestion, is to get the delta1010LT instead of the 66. It's only another $30, so together with the MG12/4 is still within your budget. Downside is it's got breakout cables instead of a nice breakout box. Upside is 8 analog inputs (+8 outs) & a couple of preamps
 
Vectron said:
I would check out the PreSonus FireBox, $399 at www.zzounds.com/a--2676837
2 pre-amps built-in and 2 additional bal.line ins(total 4 ins), 6 bal. outs.
Of course, you will need a mixer or preamp for the 3rd and 4th channels if
you want to record with 4 mics simulataneously.
The FA-101 is over your budget(>$400).
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with the Firebox at $400 already i don't think it would be economical. in order to use 4 mics on the firebox you'd need another set of mic preamps. so paying another $200 for 2 more preamps and you're at $600 for 4 channels. At that price you can just get the Presonus FIREPOD and have 8 channels with preamps. with the firebox your paying the same amount for half the channels.
 
Wow, I didn't know the firePod was only $600, I thought it was a lot more(closer to $800).
Then, I would agree, with 8 preamps, it's a much better deal than fireBox.
In fact, it may be the best deal right now for a firewire box , because
even the MOTU 828MkII and new Terratec 88 Rack FW, both have only 2 mic
inputs.
(BTW,for the fireBox, you don't have to pay $200 more for 2 more preamps, maybe more like a $100 more.)
 
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