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recommend 2-ch USB2 interface?


jnorman

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i have been using a roland vs1880 for the past few years, and want to do some experimenting recording to my IBM T40 laptop with a 2 channel USB2 interface.

 

i could use some recommendations for a decent little interface unit, with or without mic pres.

 

i would also like a recommendation or two for a decent piece of software to use for this experimenting - freeware would be great :-) also, any nice freeware effects plugins you might suggest, like SIR reverb, or whatever.

 

thanks for any help.

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thanks vilo and where - however, my IBM T40 does not have a firewire interface. and surprisingly, the new laptop i am considering, the macbook pro, also does not include firewire - i t only has USB2. plus, from my reading, USB2 is supposed to be faster than firewire. ??

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Well, I hate to break forum protocol by actually answering your question rather than telling you you should buy something else, but here goes! (ahem);)

 

The Behringer UCA202 is simple, cheap ($30) and works as advertised. Two line-ins, two line outs via RCA connectors(NO mic pres-hey, it's thirty bux!), plus a mini phone jack and a volume control for monitoring. Oh, and an optical SPDIF connector.

 

It does not have any meters, or even clip indicators, so you have to have some way of monitoring and controlling your input levels, but if you just want a way of getting two channels of better-than-built-in audio in and out of your laptop, this'll do it. Smaller than a pack of cigarettes.

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Originally posted by dunlop208

Well, I hate to break forum protocol by actually answering your question rather than telling you you should buy something else, but here goes! (ahem)
;)

The Behringer UCA202 is simple, cheap ($30) and works as advertised. Two line-ins, two line outs via RCA connectors(NO mic pres-hey, it's thirty bux!), plus a mini phone jack and a volume control for monitoring. Oh, and an optical SPDIF connector.


It does not have any meters, or even clip indicators, so you have to have some way of monitoring and controlling your input levels, but if you just want a way of getting two channels of better-than-built-in audio in and out of your laptop, this'll do it. Smaller than a pack of cigarettes.

 

We are not telling, we are recommending what's best in the long run.

 

The Behringer thingy, DOES NOT HAVE MIC PRE"S, so he can't record vocals.

 

Yes is $30.00, so you get what you pay for.

 

In your post you just gave him all the reasons why not to buy what you are recommending, ironic Ah? :D

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Originally posted by jnorman

thanks vilo and where - however, my IBM T40 does not have a firewire interface. and surprisingly, the new laptop i am considering, the macbook pro, also does not include firewire - i t only has USB2. plus, from my reading, USB2 is supposed to be faster than firewire. ??

 

The MAc Pro does not have firewire?

Wich model are you planing to buy?

I tought the firewire port was standard on the mac pro?

http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Id=4103126&JRSource=shopzilla.datafeed.APP+MA092LL%2fA

 

This hastwo firewaire ports: One 400 and One 800.

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Originally posted by jnorman

thanks vilo and where - however, my IBM T40 does not have a firewire interface. and surprisingly, the new laptop i am considering, the macbook pro, also does not include firewire - i t only has USB2. plus, from my reading, USB2 is supposed to be faster than firewire. ??

USB 2 is faster than Firewire as far as bits going through the interface, but Firewire does a certain amount of housekeeping right at the interface level (which is why it costs more than USB2, which is why some computers are skimpy about it) and some people say that the total system throughput counting the time it takes to get a transfer started is is faster than USB2. The good news is that either is fine for any reasonable amount of audio data, particularly when you're talking about only two channels.

 

Firewire isn't really all that great an audio interface either, but the industry has accepted and accommodated it because it's based on consumer hardware and that means that the price will only go down.

 

For what it's worth, I just bought a new notebook computer, a ThinkPad T43, and it, too, doesn't have a Firewire port, no PS/2 port, and only two USB ports (USB2). When it's on the desk, I have this squid attached to it by a USB hub, going to a keyboard, mouse, scanner, disk drive, flash card reader and an empty hole for USB memory sticks.

 

I'm using the same Adaptec PCMCIA Firewire adapter that I used with my previous laptop (which also doesn't have a Firewire port) and that works OK with my Mackie Onyx mixer with the Firewire option, so this is certainly an option - it just makes your interface cost $35 or so more because you saved some money buying a computer without a Firewire port.

 

As to which interface is best - who the heck knows? They're about the same. Stick with a major brand because if it needs a driver (some do and some use a standard Windows driver) the driver is more likely to be up to date. At the Summer NAMM show, TASCAM showed their updated versions of the US-122, the US-122L that uses USB2.0 and supports 24-bit recording up to 96 kHz. I I liked the US-122 quite a bit when I had one in for a review and I suspect that the updated version is as well thought out. But that $30 Behringer that dunlop recommended sounds like it's just the ticket for you to get your feet wet with this technology.

 

It can't sound all that bad, and you can experiment without a big investment to see how big of a pain in the butt it's gonig to be to actually work that way. It's limited to 48 kHz and no mention anywhere that I could find about the word length (I suspect 16-bit) and it's USB1.1, but like the man said, it's cheap, and it's bound to be a good learning tool.

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Originally posted by jnorman

and surprisingly, the new laptop i am considering, the macbook pro, also does not include firewire - i t only has USB2. plus, from my reading, USB2 is supposed to be faster than firewire. ??

 

All macs include firewire, even the diminutive Mini.

 

Apple, incidentally, invented firewire.

 

I am not sure where or how you are getting your information, but it might be a good idea to check out the Apple site if you are interested in buying a Mac.

 

The slight speed advantage of USB2 over Firewire has no real impact on audio recording. However, there are demonstrable advantages for firewire over USB. Audio recording is finicky about timing, and firewire has more timing information.

 

Finally, if you're contemplating a macbook pro, you should invest in a decent interface. If you are worried about $30 vs. $70, don't buy a macbook pro, get a macbook or iMac.

 

-peaceloveandbrittanylips

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thanks everyone - yes, i see that the new macbooks do have firewire. wierdly, however, my daughter's boyfriend who just finished his masters in computer science at UCLA, bought one of the first macbook pros available, and it does not have any firewire interface... so i am a little confused, and sorry for my mistake.

 

i have nice outboard pres, so a plain line level usb interface should be fine for experimenting.

 

another consideration, though, is HDD speed - my IBM drive is only 4200rpm. however, only recording two tracks at a time, perhaps that isnt a real problem?

 

also, is audacity worth a look see, or is there abother piece of software i should look at? thanks.

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Originally posted by jnorman

another consideration, though, is HDD speed - my IBM drive is only 4200rpm. however, only recording two tracks at a time, perhaps that isnt a real problem?

 

 

Welllllll... maybe, maybe not.

 

For recording audio, it's kind of a standard to have minimally a 5400RPM drive, with 7200RPM or higher preferred.

 

Even though you're only recording two tracks simultaneously, you might run into some glitches at 4200RPM. Remember that if you are layering tracks, the drive has to access files to playback at the same time as you're recording. If the seek time isn't up to par, you might have problems.

 

The best way to find out, of course, is to try and see what happens.

 

- Jeff

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Originally posted by jnorman

i have been using a roland vs1880 for the past few years, and want to do some experimenting recording to my IBM T40 laptop with a 2 channel USB2 interface.


/snip/


thanks for any help.

 

 

I have an M-Audio Mobile Pre and it rocks. Nice pre-amps and USB2. Works as advertised without bells to break or whistles in the way.

 

And it's pretty reasonably priced.

 

I've used it live with a T20 and it was just fine just fine.

 

It has a 1/8" stereo line in so I can use my AT-822 to record the room, or I can phantom power a condensor on one channel and plug the guitar in the other.

 

Headphone out for monitoring. Simple and easy.

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Originally posted by jnorman

thanks everyone - yes, i see that the new macbooks do have firewire. wierdly, however, my daughter's boyfriend who just finished his masters in computer science at UCLA, bought one of the first macbook pros available, and it does not have any firewire interface... so i am a little confused, and sorry for my mistake.

 

 

I also bought one of the early MacBook Pros in March of this year and it has two 400 Mb/sec FireWire ports. He's probably referring to 800 Mb/sec FireWire.

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Originally posted by MrKnobs

[Apple invented Firewire]


Well, along with Sony, IBM, Texas Instruments, and a few others if I remember correctly.

Sony developed it, Apple adopted it early on and named it "FireWire." Probably trademarked or copyrighted the name, too. That's why most computers just call it "1394" (IEEE standard 1394) or some name that they make up. I guess audio interface manufacturers are either bolder, are paying a license fee to Apple to use the name that everybody knows, or Apple doesn't care.

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Since the invention of the firewire protocol, Mac has never made either laptop or desktop without it.Either you're not looking in the right place, or you'r confusing FW400 and 800.

 

 

USB 2 is faster than Firewire as far as bits going through the interface

 

 

By 80Mb/sec, but USB2.0 cannot stustain the consistant throughput that FW can. 480Mb/s is USB2.0's fastest possible speed, but unlike FW it cannot sustain that.

 

In side by side data throughput tests fw400 is faster than USB2.0.

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