Any problems with this setup?

heretic911

New member
Hey guys!

I need some experienced eyes on the list of gear I'm about to buy. I'd mostly like to avoid any pitfalls I may have missed when putting this shopping list together. My end goal is to have as analog/hardware a setup as possible, likely delving into modular later on.

Here's what I'm going for.

What I own:
-SH-201
-Nord Lead 2 Rack
-TR-8
-Beatstep Pro
-Livid cntrl:r
-Fatar Studiologic VMK-161 Plus midi keyboard
-PC with USB 2.0 & FW

What I'm planning on buying:
-Dreadbox Erebus
-Doepfer Dark Energy II
-Mackie 1604 Mixer (the old version, good condition, €150)
-Novation Launchpad

Now for the biggest question. Which interface? The top contenders are:
-Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 2nd Gen
-Roland UA-1010 Octa-capture
-M-Audio M-Track Eight

My plan is to have everything go through the Mackie 1604 and record it into Ableton Live. I'm aiming to do as much as possible during the recording with minimal editing in post, then mix it ITB. I'd love to use software FX on the sends for the Mackie, hence the need for multiple I/O on the interface. I might have some need for midi, so I'm not too keen on the M-Track Eight. I could get a seperate MIDI I/O, but I've read this is quite unreliable? So I'm leaning more towards the Focusrite/Roland option. Since they cost exactly the same, is there a major difference I should be aware of?

So my main questions are:
- Have I missed something critical / incompatible?
- Which interface should I go for?

FYI, I'm a devout PC user :)

I'd be eternally grateful for any and all insight! I'm sure this kind of question has been done to death, for which I apologize, I'm just wary of screwing something up...

Thanks!
 
I've been using the Focusrite Saffire Pro40 for years, and I guess the 18i20 is more or less its USB equivalent. Then again, the Roland's Capture series have had good reviews, but if I recall correctly it's mostly about preamp quality, which is a bit of a non-factor in a mostly line-level setup. The only possibly critical thing is that the Roland doesn't have ADAT, so expanding later on might be a bit of an issue - but if you always go through the mixer anyway, maybe you're not going to need that many simultaneous inputs. Something to keep in mind anyway. I'd also throw in the Steinberg UR 824 as an option.

The Erebus & DEII seem like good stepping stones into modular madness :)
 
Yeah, you're right about the lack of ADAT. Not sure if I'll ever need that many lines, but hey, you never know. The UR824 looks good, but the lack of midi makes it much less attractive to me.

Yup, they look like awesome little boxes that will fit into my setup even after expanding into proper modular territory :)

Cheers!
 
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