USB recording interface....

malk

Hi there,.
Im wondering what people use to record guitars, or vocals into the DAW?
Im thinking of getting something like an Alesis io4, or some thing along them lines., just enogh so we can get at least one track of audio down at a time, .
I reckon itll be one at a time as well, so we can concentrate on each track properly, but two inputs , for say vox and guitar would be great.
I think well have to use the basic mic at first too, but we can try to tweak that a bit also!!
Money, is a big issue, i dont want to spend too much, so ebay will hopefully see me right.
Thyanks for reading.
malk.

Jules

Mac or PC?

If on Mac, you simply can't go wrong with an Apogee Duet.
Preamps and DACs fantastic quality for the money.  For musicians its almost worth buying a Mac just so you can get the Duet.

Ive used mine for a few years and still love it.
It might blow your budget, but its worth it IMO.

Not sure about the PC side though.

duncfunk

Focusrite Scarlett if you're on a budget. Under £100 with nice pre-amps in them and some free plugins, can't go wrong really. As for the mic get a decent (good brand) large diaphragm condenser and that will record everything. Again something around the £100 mark if the budget is tight but I wouldn't go lower. Plenty of poor quality brand mics on sale for peanuts, steer clear of those. A suggestion would be the SE X1.

malk

Im using Logic x on the MAC, but might go back to logic 9, just because ive nearly got it sussed, and although 10 is NEARLY the same, theres a few quirks im still not too confident with.
mind you i havent recorded audio properly on 9 or 10, so might as well learn on the 10.
The Apogee, waaaayyyy to expensive, im sure they are an amazing bit of stuff, heard nothing bad about them, but i feel its out of my league.
Ive been looking at thehttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171819454825?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
and http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261924439056?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
and the scarlet too... im swaying towards a second hand scarlet, followed by the presonus TBH.
I love the way theyve intergrated the input so its mike and 1/4 inch in the same socket.
Mikes, i agree, for vocals, we will need a good one, but again, mopney is a big problem, its not that i dont want to spend it, i just havent got it!!
Its going to be pretty basic going at forst, i added some drum tracks using drum kit designer , and layed that over Matts( guitar Vox) audio track import.
It sounded OK(ish), nut really wet my appetite for getting down and seperating tracks and going all OCD on it!!

malk

sorry for the spelling errors im using a normal keyboard, not my mac one, the keys are massive!!

mikeybabes2

I picked up a Roland Quad Capture on eBay for £ 65. it's a great interface. You could also try the readers ads on Sound on Sound's website.

If you are after an interface with a really great Mic pre-amps - try the Audient ID14 which can be fount for just under £ 200 new.

Don't forget to make some loud noises !

suniil

I'm using Zoom H6 as interface with Logic X, sounds very impressive though may not be good as a high end interface pre-amp combo.

malk

Well, ive had a few bids, I tried the focusrite scarlet, lost, alesis io4 firewire, alesis io2, tascam, oh, a mackie black onyx, looked awesome, and quote a few others.
Every single one (except one i didnt bid to test my luck, and i wouldve won it!!) i lost out too.
Then came the realsation, ill need some active monitors, or an interface that uses optical out, which im not sure is a balanced input.
So... Now im looking forward n cash converters and ebay for them  as well.
I could use active with my set up, but it woll use my amp, which i dont to use ideally.

duncfunk

I'd go for a decent set of closed headphones over monitors if you're on a budget. They'll come in useful for microphone recording too. My monitors have been in the loft for about 5 years now since the kids took over my music room

slackbladder

I use a Focusrite Scarlett USB which allows me to plug straight in with the jack plug or from my amp (Hughes and Kettner Tubemeister) which has a Red Box output and lets me connect via an XLR lead.