Just curious... what's everyone using for their audio interfaces?

[Bodge]

Please tell us about your audio interface. I'd also love to hear about the things it does, or the features it has that you really like, as well as any major areas of concern that you have, or things that you wish were changed or improved.

i use the mackie onyx 1220 with firewire

enough channels for my needs
seems rugged and well built
works as a stand alone mixer

I got it when it first came out so probably paid a premium for it and there are lots of other similar stuff out there now, but overall no real complaints about it

[llanafreak44]

Saffire 56 going ADAT into my Saffire 40 into my laptop. I love the inputs obviously, but other than that they are clean interfaces that get the job done. Only complaint is that there isn't much juice on the preamps to drive my SM57 for vocals without noise, probably going to purchase a FEThead.

[emtoth]

Tascam DP-01 fxcd.

It is old but works great!!!!

The effects suck- but I only need reverb added.

I got it really cheap and it can burn CDs right from the unit- i dont need a computer.

The hard drive is a computer hard drive- it died after a couple of months of use- I just got an old computer hd and it works great!

[B.S.Jansen]

Nothing right now, sold my interface as part of a move to Mac. Looking at a TC Electronic Impact Twin.

[cryptosonic]

Delta 44 with a mackie 802 serving as the front end. More than sufficient for my basic uses.

[six acre lake]

At home I have the first generation Apogee Duet. I use that to get ideas down for songs and the like. SAL and my drummers other band split the cost of an Apogee Ensemble which we run at the practice space.

[r0bo01]

mbox mini [hangs head], which actually isn't as bad as i thought it would be (if you only need one track...). most of my tracking so far has been on a tascam 2488 (which has 8 ins), but editing on it... so i import into protools (the mbox is just a dongle w/benefits ) and go from there. am looking at the best way to upgrade, now that pt allows any interface. or maybe go with something else... wheee!

[OrangeLazarus]

A karaoke machine with two tape decks.

&

Tascam cassette 4 track.

 

(y'all are doing it wrong)

[stevics]

Just learning how to. Bought an E-MU Tracker Pre. Used from a fellow forumite.
Seems like a good place to start.

Using to record guitar, SM57 > E-MU Tracker > Reaper

I like its simplicity for the novice


By the way, thanks Phil for your help threads and stuff.

[BushmasterM4]

Mackie Onyx 1640i, Mackie MCU and a Mackie Big Knob. Where to begin. First, 16 independant channels to my DAW rig and the ability to route the individual channels back to the 1640i for mixdown. Or just mix in the box. The 16 channels can be pre mixer eq and or post eq. I do find the Perkins Eq on the mixer quite nice. I utilize the 6 aux channels to send 6 individual headphone mixes out to my live room (via multi channel headphone amp). I can also route vst effects out to the headphone mixes via my DAW which is nice for singers who want that large reverb when tracking. I can route the entire DAW mix through the mixer for a more analog feel during mixdown. I can route the daw mix through the Big Knob or the 1640i's mains to any outboard gear (say 2 channel tape machine) and back in again (if I want). I can use outboard gear via the mixer inserts and or mains. I have been experimenting with routing mixes through old analog stereo gear and taking that output back into my daw and it works quite well. Plus I have consumer level inputs, for tape deck, and an old school phono preamp input !!! Its a freakin "Swiss Army Knife". Sure there is better quality stuff out there if I want to spend 10 - 20k, but for just under 2k (all three pieces), you cant beat it

[Dimaension X]

My own home recording is ALL thru an original Line 6 POD XT Live. All guitars, bass, and sometimes vocals go thru it. I also run my old Johnson J-Station into it, and sometimes my original (bought it in 1992) Classic Tech 21 SansAmp

My bass player has a Tascam US-600 that he bought new for $99! He has a nice pair of Sennheiser condenser mics that he also got real cheap. Drums sound great "Recorderman" style. Guitars, bass go direct to the interface.

[Texas Noise Factory]

Emu 1212m , or FireWire 410 with oooold P4 HP desktop. I still use Acid 4.0 for my recording multitracker, and it suits me just fine for demos. The Emu is hooked up at the moment. Just straight stereo in, stereo out with MIDI. It works well enough for me. No complaints for my setup. I usually program my drums on my drum machines, so I don't need a massive input output setup.

[misterstomach]

tascam 4 track cassette recorder. does that count?

[BushmasterM4]

 

tascam 4 track cassette recorder. does that count?

 

 

Yes in deed !!!!

[thom]

Apogee Duet. Small, easy to use, no frills, nice preamps for the money. Only use to record ideas with at home, or to make rough rehearsel recordings.
I use garageband and Logic Pro, on a macbook pro. Simple and stable, perfect for my style/situation.

[Dimaension X]

 

tascam 4 track cassette recorder. does that count?

 

 

Talk about kickin' it old-school"!! Doesn't matter how you make music as long as you make music.

[fractal]

Metric Halo ULN-2

[CME]

Metric Halo ULN-2

 

Me too. Just picked up a 2882 with the +DSP license. Both are expanded units with the 2D card. I know I sound like a fanboy everytime I talk about them, but man I wish I had found these boxes years ago. I was stuck on using Pro Tools and couldn't afford a HD system. So I started with an original mBox and then upgraded to an 002. Then had that modded by BLA.

 

Once PT started allowing the use of any interface I got to looking. Found Metric Halo. I liked the fact they are committed to keeping their gear relevant no matter how old it may be. By all reports they have excellent customer support. I've sent a couple of emails and they are super fast to respond. They also seem to have a bit of an underground/cult thing going on. Not a lot of people have heard of them, but those who do use them love them. Me included.

 

Anywho for me the biggest thing is flexibility and rock solid drivers. MH has both. I'm part of their mailing list. When there are bugs found, I can only think of one or two and they've not affected me, MH fixes it in a day or two. Also their built in DSP and mixer is incredibly flexible. In fact you can skip your DAW and record straight to their "record panel" that is part of MIO Console. It's not designed for overdubbing, but for live recording is perfect.

 

Another thing is the live possibilities. Many people use their boxes for live mixers and PA system loudspeaker processors. I mean there's not much these boxes can't do if you put your mind to it. Anywho I'm not affiliated with them in anyway, and am a relative newbie to them, but if you have questions I'll do my best to answer.

[fly135]

Tascam M-164 Mixer -> Audacity sound card

Pros

- The mixer was a steal from MF for $100 on sale SDOTD

- The mixer has two output buses and each input has a switch to send to either/neither/both which allow me to control what's recorded vs what goes to the PA

 

Cons

- It's a just a sound card for recording but it does a good job.

 

Also

 

Mackie U420D Firewire mixer

Pros

- Stole it from a Sam Ash sale for $75

- Firewire interface 24bit/96khz

 

Cons

- Needs more inputs

 

And

 

Line 6 Backtrack Recorder

Pros

- Record from your multifx easily

- Just turn it on and play. IOW forget about it till your done

- Battery life is huge and recharges when using the USB

 

Cons

- Mono

- Worlds worst user interface, which is why it's good you can turn it on and forget about it.

[Phil O'Keefe]

tascam 4 track cassette recorder. does that count?

 

I was originally taking a survey of what people were using for computer audio interfaces, but if that's what you're using, sure.

 

I really do appreciate the great responses so far - thanks everyone!

[PKTrono]

i use an mbox 2 (the blue one, not the new one"

i got it so i could use pro tools for school.

the preamps never give me any problems (are quiet, sound decent),

but it crashes my mac every now and then (need to restart the computer)

and also gets this weird error that basically sounds like it increasingly bit-crushes

any audio and i have to end the core.audio process thing.

 

i want a new interface but only because i want to be able to reamp stuff or

be able to run, say, NI battery 3 through a fuzz pedal or something. not sure

what interfaces let you do that, so i'll probably start a thread asking about it in the future.

[Lee Knight]

Digi 003 BUT...

 

I don't use the pres or conversion. API A2D conversion with Aphex ADAT conversion. Clock off the API. The 003 conversion only comes into play as extra inputs during live basics. DI for reamp, that sort of stuff.

[rsadasiv]

 

RME Audio Hammerfall DSP Multiface II : http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_multiface_2.php The reasons I bought it: - It's PCI Express so more than enough bandwidth for large amount of simultaneous tracks recording etc. - RME are known for their rock solid drivers, never had a single problem. - Fit's in my 19" (studio) rack and has 8 in's and out's and a host of other connecting options. - The internal routing in the mixer is brilliant and extremely flexible.

 

 

 

This.

[nice keetee]

Tascam US-144. It works for my solo ramblings, S/PDIF I/O, bus powered, mic pres w/phantom if I need, instrument and line ins, built like tank.
This topic brought out a lot of posts Phil...:phil:

[Grueller]

Fire Studio owner here.

 

I like the Universal Control on-screen mixer, though it's not very intuitive. I sometimes look like an idiot trying to set things up for a session, but when I finally get it properly adjusted it's definitely a welcomed feature. The setup between interface and DAW is effortless, so no worries there. Almost every time that I go to turn on the unit, it doesn't initialize properly so I have to turn it off and back on once or twice. It's pretty annoying, but I sit back and revel in the fact that it's much better than running things off of the stock headphone jack.

 

I'm using it with the Monitor Station Remote which is nice for having physical knobs right next to my keyboard. This allows me to control the volume of mains and headphones. It also lets me check my mixes in mono, but only through mains and not headphones. I have to click around within the mixer if I want to do mono checks through cans. The remote has a talkback feature which is nice, especially because it ducks everything else when engaged and you can choose between the built-in mic (yuck) or an external mic plugged into the back of the remote. The switch for it is really finicky, making me appear foolish when I go to use it, so I prefer keeping a preamp open on the interface because then I can run my talkback mic through effects (via software monitoring) and sound like an alien when I talk to my clients. I have a cheap dynamic handheld with an on/off switch for this. It keeps things entertaining.

 

The pres and the conversion are both pretty bland, but for how cheap it is I really shouldn't complain. Something higher in the prosumer department like Apogee or Metric Halo would be my preferred upgrade. Even with those, I am spoiled on outboard preamps at this point. The Great River is just so dang nice, and it really augments the performance of my current Fire Studio.

 

The knobs move in tiny increments instead of being smooth like the first gen Firepods, in case that matters to anyone.

 

I've used Apogee, M-Audio, Alesis, and Presonus. Probably a couple others that I'm just forgetting. I've had the Fire Studio in a party house, different warehouses, and on the road with me for live shows, and it somehow survived beer spills and booty bumpin' and whatever else was thrown its way. Presonus is a stable contender as an affordable interface, with not too steep of a learning curve. Pair it with a good outboard pre and it should take care of your GAS for a little while.