which interface?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ollie99
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ollie99

ollie99

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Okay, so my next buy is Reaper, mostly because my DAW at the moment is limited to 16 tracks. My interface at the moment is the behringer x1222usb and I want to upgrade. My main reason for this is that when recording drums, I cannot create a seperate track for each mic (PLEASE CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG BECAUSE I DONT WANT TO WASTE LOTS OF MONEY), and I've been told that a "proper" interface will enable me to do this. I would like 8 xlr inputs, and budget isnt so much of a problem, because I will be saving up for a while whatever the price is, but less than £300 would be brilliant.
Thanks.
 
I'm pretty sure you're right about that behringer. It's an X in, 2 out interface.
Most eight channel rack style interfaces will allow you to record down each input as a separate channel in your daw.

Two examples,
Tacsam us1800 is just below budget, and presonus fp10 is just above budget.

I have personal experience with presonus stuff and really like it for quality, drivers, build quality etc.
The tascam gear gets pretty good rep around here, but I can't personally back that.
 
I like firepods (fp10), you can get em used off ebay / CL for like $200-250. I the USA anyway, IDK about £ or what the market's like across the pond....
 
thanks, I didnt find the presonus one with that exact name?
as for the tascam, I am quite impressed with first few looks, the only thing is, it says it is "16-in/4-out". What does that mean?
 
actually I have just found the presonus, does look equally as good, and this one website says that as an added bonus it comes with Steinberg's 48 track Cubase LE - is that any good? it would save me money on reaper if it is
 
Oh yeah, the firepod was renamed FP10. Old habits, eh?
Thanks suprstar.

I believe Jimmy's a cubase man, Maybe he can tell ya.
 
ahaa, okay well I'll see if he responds to this and if not then I'll PM him. At the moment I prefer the tascam simply because of the price
 
tbh, in the price range the Tascam is hard to beat. i do really like both the Motu 8 pre (£367) and the Focusrite Pro 40 (£399) but the tascam would still be my choice :)

Cubase LE looks very stripped down from this comparison page so i'd personally stick with reaper, especially if you've tried it and are happy with it
 
yeah I'll think I'll go with the tascam, just need to save up the money. £20 a month and christmas is a while away - its gunna be a while, unless I sell some of my stuff...I dont know what though :(
 
the question you need to ask yourself is this; do you really need two kidneys :p
 
actually can someone explain what some of the words mean on the comparison range that just some guy posted:
-physical inputs/outputs? - how can you have a physical input on a computer programme?
-group channels?
-insert effects?
-vst instrument slots?
-MIDI plugin slots?
-32-bit float recording?

I know the simple words like effects, channels, ins and outs, MIDI and slots, plugin and vst's but its the other words that are with them that make them confusing
 
These are educated guessed, but here goes.


physical inputs/outputs?
The number of hardware inputs and outputs that the software will allow you to use simultaneously.

group channels?
Groups (In protools, at least), are used to bind the settings of several tracks.
Eg. turn up the fader on the kick, and the rest of the kit faders will rise too, if the parts of the kit are placed in a group.
Alternatively, it may mean buses. Different progs have different terminology.

insert effects?
Effects on an audio channel (eq/comp/verb etc)
vst instrument slots?
Effects on an instrument channel (eq/comp/verb etc)
MIDI plugin slots?
Effects on a midi channel (eq/comp/verb etc)

Presumably there's a limit to how many you can have, per track.

32-bit float recording?
Duno. lol.
 
thanks, yeah there is a limit for each track. But if you're correct about the number of inputs being able to be used simultaneously, the its no use because you can only have 4 which wont go along at all with my plan
 
I thought LE had a patch or an upgrade or something where you could get 8 tracks out of it. I'm 90% positive you can record 8 tracks in LE. It was the # of inserts per track that was always getting me though, not the simultaneous track count. Reaper is prolly better anyway, you can download a full no-time-limit version for free. It'll have NONE of the restrictions LE has.
 
um, well now im confused, because i read up some specifications on the tascam, and it said it had 4 simultaneous outputs?!?! somethings not right because it has 8 inputs? or does it mean that it sends them as only 4 tracks maximum?
 
See, it gets confusing because there are cheapo mixer interfaces that sum all your inputs into stereo.

Taking those as the exception though, if an interface has 8 mic preamps, you can assume that your (limitless) software can record eight discreet channels from it.

Again, taking the mixer interfaces as the exception, audio interface input and output stats are not usually related.
Output in this sense doesn't mean 'to computer'.
It means 'hardware output'.

1+2 will usually go to your monitors.
You could use 3+4 for a headphone amp, other monitors, reamping, sending the mix to tape....whatever.

Make sense?
 
that make's sense, but by headphone amp do you mean just seperate headphones? and my reamping do you mean just putting it through other speakers and stuff?
 
They were just examples but there are headphone amps that will accept l+r line level and will have numerous headphone outputs, each with volume control.
Handy if you've got a band in.
It also means you can have your main output and mix going to 1+2, and have a whole separate mix (by using sends) going to 3+4.

When the vocalist starts the self importance routine and wants everything adjusted in the cans, you don't have to mess with your mix to please him/her. You just tweak the sends.


An example of reamping is if you record an electric guitar dry via DI, and choose to output that signal to an amp later. You would mic the amp and the same time and record the product to another channel.
Maybe you're borrowing someones Mesa for a day, but you've ten songs to record, so you record them dry at your leisure, and reamp when time is an issue.

As I say, they were just examples of what you could use hardware outputs for.
 
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