Which soundcard for me?

[HenryD]

I study music tech at school with some suprisingly nice gear and I want to be able to work at home too, just for practice when I'm not at there.

I have Logic Pro 8 on my Macbook and have access to (don't actually own though) to a large variety of mics.

My budget is around £250. I don't really need any effects or anything given the ones I already have in Logic. I won't need very many channels either as I'll rarely be using more than about 4 mics at any given time (I'd record drums at school, not here).

I'm mainly looking at the Focusrite Saffire, Echo Gina 3G, Echo Audiofire 4 and the Presonus Firebox.

What kind of thing do you think would suit my needs?

Thanks a lot

Henry

 

[mattr]

All the interfaces you mention only have 2 preamps, so unless you have some outboard preamps you'll be limited and won't be able to use 4 mics simultaneously like you mention. Buying new on that budget I would recommend a M-audio Fast Track Ultra which has 4 mic pre's. Alternatively (if you don't mind buying used off ebay) you could probably pick up an 8x8, 8 preamp interface like the Presonus Firepod / FP-10. Even if you don't think you'll use it at the moment, you may find yourself needing the extra inputs in the near future.

I started off about a year ago with an Edirol FA-101 I grabbed off ebay for just under £200, which at the time I thought would be perfectly adequate (8 inputs, 2 with mic preamps).
Within a few months I found myself upgrading to a 16 preamp, 16 input rig (and even that can feel a bit limiting sometimes )!

 

[HenryD]

can't afford the FP10 but the Firepod looks good. How would the preamps compare in terms of sound quality to the soundcards listed above?

 

[mattr]

The Firepod and the FP-10 are the same thing . The Firepod probably sells cheaper just because its the older name of the two - shops want to shift old stock, etc.

The preamps will probably be very similar to all the ones you list above, in fact they're probably identical to the ones used in the Firebox. They won't be anything incredible, but certainly adequate enough for most use.