Help me choose the best recording option!

[Fiorenza2]

Hi guys,

I've decided to treat myself to some recording equipment to use with my [b]laptop[/b] so I can maybe get some YouTube covers up and going, as well as for some quick demos. I've been doing research, and I've come to the conclusion that a USB interface such as this is probably my best bet:
[url="http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/lexicon-lambda-4x2x2-desktop-recording-studio--35654"]Lexicon Lambda[/url]
(The Lexicon seems to strike the best balance between value and performance/versatility.)

On the other hand, although I haven't seen this mentioned as much, I could purchase a mixer, and then a cheap USB - PC interface, such as this combination:
[url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/soundcraft-notepad-102--68859"]Soundcraft[/url]
(Apparently the preamps on this and the other mixers in the Notepad range are extremely good)
[url="http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/behringer-uca222-ultra-low-latency-2-in-2-out-usb-audio-interface--61721"]Behringer USB interface[/url]

Not only is this cheaper, but it appears to be more versatile, as I can also use the mixer with my big home PC, which has an M-Audio soundcard in it, as well as for live situations. It also has more inputs than the bog standard 2 input USB interfaces, albeit only two inputs have a preamp. The only real disadvantage is that it doesn't have MIDI, but I can buy a seperate MIDI USB interface should I ever want to record MIDI instruments.

This needs to be relatively portable, as I'm going to take it all to university in 8 months time.

Also, would it be worth considering the mixer's [url="http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/soundcraft-notepad-124--68860"]bigger brother[/url], which is a lot more expensive, but has 2 more preamps and more inputs?

Any other suggestions for USB interfaces and the like are more than welcome. The maximum I'm willing to put into this is about £130, but if I'll spend more if it makes sense to do so.

Thanks a lot!
Philip

[redstriper]

I like the Alesis multimix and I've used a 16 channel firewire version for 4 years with no problems.

[Fiorenza2]

[quote name='redstriper' post='1082024' date='Jan 8 2011, 12:50 PM']I like the Alesis multimix and I've used a 16 channel firewire version for 4 years with no problems.[/quote]


I've been looking at the Multimix's, and apparently the lower end USB models, which are all I can afford in the senses of price and space, seem to suffer from excessive noise problems. But the mixer's built in USB connection seems a far more elegant solution than the mixer and phono-USB dongle option.

[redstriper]

[quote name='Fiorenza2' post='1083230' date='Jan 9 2011, 03:56 PM']I've been looking at the Multimix's, and apparently the lower end USB models, which are all I can afford in the senses of price and space, seem to suffer from excessive noise problems. But the mixer's built in USB connection seems a far more elegant solution than the mixer and phono-USB dongle option.[/quote]

A friend of mine has the USB 16 channel model and he gets no problem with noise.

I have seen the firewire models quite cheap, but can't remember where - try google.
BUT you need a full size firewire connector, not the mini one that comes on most laptops - I had to get a PCI card adaptor.

I think the main difference is that the firewire model allows simultaneous multi track recording, while the USB only lets you record one or two tracks at once.
If you don't need the multi track facility, I would go for the USB model with as few channels as possible - like [url="http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&expIds=17259,17291,17315,23628,25646,26761,26849,27084,27520,27613,27889&xhr=t&q=alesis+multimix&cp=7&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=7287288394209279696&ei=UtwpTauDLM22hAfut5mTAg&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CEEQ8wIwAg#"]this[/url].

[s1ater]

I had one of those behringer usb interfaces.... It was rubbish

[Grand Wazoo]

Before even looking at softwares and peripherals, I would be concerned about the latency issue of a laptop due to the restricted quality of their sound cards being able to handle recording software, unless it's one of the latest iMac, usually windows based laptop are a lot of grief. So check with the minimum requirements from the software you are intending to buy before you do.

[willyf87]

I've got this [url="http://www.alesis.com/io2express"]http://www.alesis.com/io2express[/url] works great, two inputs with pre amps, phantom power etc. I used to use a behringer FCA202 firewire interface which always worked without problem, the down side was you needed a pre amp, behringer used to have a mini preamp thing they used to sell with in built settings, that was good as well.

This isn't me shamefully plugging my gear but i'm actually selling my behringer interface on here for £25 if you wanna save a bit of dough.

If you want all in one interfaces the M-audio stuff is also pretty good in my experience.

[BassMunkee]

I would go for Firewire TBH - better response time than USB.

[redstriper]

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1085150' date='Jan 11 2011, 08:49 AM']Before even looking at softwares and peripherals, I would be concerned about the latency issue of a laptop due to the restricted quality of their sound cards being able to handle recording software, unless it's one of the latest iMac, usually windows based laptop are a lot of grief. So check with the minimum requirements from the software you are intending to buy before you do.[/quote]

The quality of the sound card in the laptop doesn't matter if you are using an external sound card as you suggest.

I use an Alesis firewire multimix with an old Toshiba Satellite windows laptop and get very low latency - the sound card in the laptop is disabled and the one in the Multimix is excellent.

I have recorded up to 16 tracks at once with no problem and overdubs have a 0.008 ms. latency, which is hardly audible and easily compensated for post recording.

Edited January 11, 2011 by redstriper

[lowdown]

[quote name='redstriper' post='1085554' date='Jan 11 2011, 02:44 PM']I have recorded up to 16 tracks at once with no problem and overdubs have a [b]0.008 ms[/b]. latency, which is hardly audible and easily compensated for post recording.[/quote]


So can the Alesis firewire multimix run as low as 64 [or 128] sample buffers [I presume you record at 24 bit/44.100 khz] on the Toshiba
with no pops and clicks at that latency? Because thats pretty good [excellent] if you can.



Garry

[redstriper]

[quote name='lowdown' post='1085729' date='Jan 11 2011, 05:11 PM']So can the Alesis firewire multimix run as low as 64 [or 128] sample buffers [I presume you record at 24 bit/44.100 khz] on the Toshiba
with no pops and clicks at that latency? Because thats pretty good [excellent] if you can.



Garry[/quote]

I use 256 buffer rate because lower or higher values result in higher latency.
Sometimes there are pops and clicks when using over 20 tracks with too many live plug ins, but it's generally very stable.

[Fiorenza2]

Thanks for the info,

As much as I'd like to have a firewire mixer, my laptop doesn't have any firewire ports, nor does it have the facility to accomodate one of those expansion cards which chould give me firewire connectivity, so it looks like USB is my only route. I've been eyeing up the Alesis iO2 Express, but I'm worried that there being only two inputs might reduce its versatility should I want to record more than 2 sources. With a mixer, even though it might only have 2 preamps, I can buy extra preamps if I need the extra inputs.

Also, does anyone have any experience with Lexicon recording units? I've heard they are all right, but some tend to overheat. Is it worth paying the extra £27 for the 2 extra line in inputs on the Lambda unit over the iO2 Express?

Cheers,
Phil

[s1ater]

On the subject of the mixer... you do realise that you'll only be able to record the tape output of the mix. so no matter how many preamps you have you'll only ever get a stereo track with all the instruments on.

[WHUFC BASS]

[quote name='willyf87' post='1085288' date='Jan 11 2011, 11:23 AM']If you want all in one interfaces the M-audio stuff is also pretty good in my experience.[/quote]

I'm looking for a Firewire interface at the moment and have been checking out the M-Audio stuff. Some of the reviewws say that it has extremely unstable drivers for both MAC and PC (this is the M-Audio 410 and other models). Also, their customer service by all accounts is a joke.

The best ones so far that I've read reviews of seem to be made by either Focusrite or MOTU.

Edited February 4, 2011 by WHUFC BASS

[Bankai]

If you're looking to get started in the recording world then the m-box is perfect in every way. And it comes with pro-tools.

Second-hand here: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Digidesign-Mbox2-Mini-Pro-Tools-7-3-/280622784967?pt=Midi_Controllers&hash=item41566be1c7"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Digidesign-Mbox2-Min...=item41566be1c7[/url]

Or brand-new in most music/audio stores.

[Fiorenza2]

Hi guys,

I ended up getting a Mackie Blackjack, as I've had good experiences with the Onyx preamps before, and was attracted by the high quality headphone amp that it comes with (the inbuilt soundcard in my laptop is abysmal). I'm fairly happy with it, but there seems to be some driver issues with my OS, Windows 7 64-bit. I'm not the only one with problems, so hopefully this is something Mackie will sort out sooner rather than later (although Mackie haven't replied to any complaints on the issue), but I can live with it for now.

Basically, depending on how many background apps I have running, I tend to get crackles/pops etc. when playing back or recording in Reaper. It seems to calm down a bit when I change the API to DirectSound from ASIO, but I feel the sound quality worsens. Will using something like ASIO4ALL sort this out? The crackles don't seem to be in the actual recorded files.

Thanks again,
Phil

[Commando Jack]

[quote name='Fiorenza2' post='1119194' date='Feb 7 2011, 06:11 PM']Hi guys,

I ended up getting a Mackie Blackjack, as I've had good experiences with the Onyx preamps before, and was attracted by the high quality headphone amp that it comes with (the inbuilt soundcard in my laptop is abysmal). I'm fairly happy with it, but there seems to be some driver issues with my OS, Windows 7 64-bit. I'm not the only one with problems, so hopefully this is something Mackie will sort out sooner rather than later (although Mackie haven't replied to any complaints on the issue), but I can live with it for now.

Basically, depending on how many background apps I have running, I tend to get crackles/pops etc. when playing back or recording in Reaper. It seems to calm down a bit when I change the API to DirectSound from ASIO, but I feel the sound quality worsens. Will using something like ASIO4ALL sort this out? The crackles don't seem to be in the actual recorded files.

Thanks again,
Phil[/quote]


If the pops and clicks aren't in the recorded files then its only the outgoing sound that you have to worry about. Are you sending your output through the Mackie as well?

[Fiorenza2]

[quote name='Commando Jack' post='1120070' date='Feb 8 2011, 01:42 PM']If the pops and clicks aren't in the recorded files then its only the outgoing sound that you have to worry about. Are you sending your output through the Mackie as well?[/quote]

Hi,
I'm pretty sure the fault is with the output, as like you said, the recordings themselves have no clicks whatsoever. I'm tempted to use the headphone out on my laptop, but the headphone out from the Mackie sounds [i]infinitely[/i] better. I'm probably just going to have make sure I turn off any background apps that I don't need, as that seems to remedy the problem to no end. Hopefully Mackie will release some driver to sort these problems out for Windows 7 64-bit sooner rather than later!

Thanks,
Phil

[Joelwidds]

Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 is hands down best value for money. I've had the big brother the pro 40 and I have also been on most interfaces in it price range as well as using high end converters like the Avid HD192.

Don't waste your time with a mixer or PCI. The main thing your looking for is a nice preamp into some nice converters. I wount go beringer at all focusrite have been making high end preamp for years so when it comes to budget they know what there cutting on price and lately they seem to be getting into High end converters like the rednet. You don't gain anything from going out of the box to a desk in this price range so your best with a all in one box.

If you cant afford the pro 25 get the pro 10 usb with 4 ins and outs I wouldn't put my money on anything else in this price range.

After that any software program is fine as all you are doing is source-preamp-converters-Hardrive. If you are new to recording dont get into all the hype of DAW's sound different because they don't but I would highly recommend Reaper for its work flow. I the past I have been through every DAW and reaper and protools work flow is best I have come across.