Debating on which Audio Interface I should accuire

C

CHINOSo100

New member
So to get things started, Im brand new to this, decided on creating a bed room studio so i could start producing tech house music,so i'll mainly be creating beats and editing but I did allot of research so i could pick out the correct equipment. Decided on getting the Akai MPK mini ii running on PC with WIndows 7 with good enough ram etc. I just orded KRK R6'S And will also be ordering some studio headphones for when i travel or can't play loud music. But i was wondering on what Audio Interface I wanted to go with,after researching for a little It looks like Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 was a good choice, but before i buy it I just wanted to make sure thats the correct one for what I'm trying to do. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
 
Presonus 22vsl or Focusrite 2i2

From what you have mentioned, you dont need any inputs, but you need high quality outputs.

I hope youve realized that the R6s are passive and therefore require an amplifier.
 
mycbeats said:
Presonus 22vsl or Focusrite 2i2

From what you have mentioned, you dont need any inputs, but you need high quality outputs.

I hope youve realized that the R6s are passive and therefore require an amplifier.
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the only input is my midi keyboard for now which i can just plug into my PC threw USB correct? Then later down the road ill end up buying more equipment, but yeah it's looking like the Forcusrite 2i2 is going to be my best bet and for $150 from Amazon thats not bad at all. And I never knew that so i'd have to be buy an amplifier as well? So what speakers would you recommed for tech house music in the price range of $200-400 US
 
CHINOSo100 said:
the only input is my midi keyboard for now which i can just plug into my PC threw USB correct? Then later down the road ill end up buying more equipment, but yeah it's looking like the Forcusrite 2i2 is going to be my best bet and for $150 from Amazon thats not bad at all. And I never knew that so i'd have to be buy an amplifier as well? So what speakers would you recommed for tech house music in the price range of $200-400 US
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MIDI is a protocol its not necessarily a wired connection type.

The MPK mini only supports MIDI over USB.

Yes you need an amplifier, thats the difference between passive and active monitors, actives have amplification built in, and thats why the R6s cost like half the price of Rokit 6s.

Get 3rd Gen Rokit 5s or 6s, or really anything with front firing bass ports (so no Yamahas, they dont have enough bass response)
 
mycbeats said:
MIDI is a protocol its not necessarily a wired connection type.

The MPK mini only supports MIDI over USB.

Yes you need an amplifier, thats the difference between passive and active monitors, actives have amplification built in, and thats why the R6s cost like half the price of Rokit 6s.

Get 3rd Gen Rokit 5s or 6s, or really anything with front firing bass ports (so no Yamahas, they dont have enough bass response)
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ok so I'll just plug in my MPk mini 2 directly to my PC with the USB, but Im mainly going to be using headsphones during the week then the weekends ill bring out the monitors to really tweak a track, so i might return the 6s and get Rokit 5s, im just reading all the reviews and I want the best monitors that will support my mixing and mastering for TECH HOUSE music in a small room, so mainy bass heavy, those 5s are the ones you'd suggest?
 
I don't really need the Interface for plug-ins , maybe a mic LATER ON , but i mainly need it for my headphones and then later on my monitors as well, i keep reading reviews ETC and its really hard to choose one for what im doing, but Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is looking like the best bet for $150
 
I suggest Focusrite Scarlett Solo Compact USB Audio Interface even if you don't plan on recording guitar or vocals..because you never know when you need to record a tag or do small mobile recording

...one time...way back in 2003.. I made $50 using my Boss BR-532 4 track digital recorder/mixer for 20 mins. of mobile recording work


I love my Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 it's small and light and just right for what I'm doing now which is just instrumentals but still able to record vocals whenever I like or need to
 
Room acoustics are key. However, you can practice your craft with headphones and your current setup. Without proper room acoustics,
your sound you are mixing, eventually mastering(learning about mastering), may not translate well on other systems. In other words,
you will play your sound somewhere else, and it may not sound the way it sounded in your room.
 
BrahWhat said:
Room acoustics are key. However, you can practice your craft with headphones and your current setup. Without proper room acoustics,
your sound you are mixing, eventually mastering(learning about mastering), may not translate well on other systems. In other words,
you will play your sound somewhere else, and it may not sound the way it sounded in your room.
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so your saying when I get monitors I should treat my room before i master a track? And if I make a track mixed and mastered on headphones it wont sound the same if I played it at a real production studio?
 
CHINOSo100 said:
so your saying when I get monitors I should treat my room before i master a track? And if I make a track mixed and mastered on headphones it wont sound the same if I played it at a real production studio?
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The simple answer is yes, you will want to treat your room before you master a track. No matter what you do, and even if you have the best headphones on the planet, your mix will not sound the exact same as it would in a treated room/studio.

If you put monitors in your untreated room, it will add flavor to your sound, which is bad. The point of treating a room is to allow as close to a true representation of the sound that's playing to reach your ears. Without decent treatment, you can make a mix sound sick in your room, but it's gonna sound very different (possibly terrible) if you play it anywhere else.

Also, headphones (good ones) are fantastic for addressing subtle things in a mix that are hard to pick up with monitors. No problem at all mixing with them. (My opinion, others might say different). But you'll often find your low end will have some annoying oddities that can only be fixed with some kind of speakers.

When you're mastering, you 100% need to use both headphones and monitors to get it right.

P.S. You can master in an untreated room ONLY if you know the sound of your room like the back of your hand. Reference tracks are also key.
 
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well my plan was to use studio headphones ( audio-techica ATH-m50's) to be exact when Im at home or on the road just to make a track, and then when I want to master it, I'd take my monitors to my friends condo and master it there,which his room isnt treated btw. You have any info/advice on room treatment?
 
I'm no expert on that stuff, but this is a pretty light and informative read about treating your room on a budget:

From study to studio, no-budget acoustic treatment

I also recommend doing a google search on the topic. You'll find loads of info that dives deeper into the theory behind treating a room and more detail about specific effects it can have on your music.
 
Get an Audio Interface with more features, inputs & outputs than you think you actually need.

i have the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and while it's a pretty good AI for the price I could definitely use a couple of extra line-ins and line-outs. Funny thing is... It didn't take too long after buying the 2i2 to feel this way... Surprising how quickly you acquire bits and pieces and before long there's cables all over the place and you're constantly unplugging/re-plugging/re-setting cos you only have 2-outs/2-ins...
 
CHINOSo100 said:
So to get things started, Im brand new to this, decided on creating a bed room studio so i could start producing tech house music,so i'll mainly be creating beats and editing but I did allot of research so i could pick out the correct equipment. Decided on getting the Akai MPK mini ii running on PC with WIndows 7 with good enough ram etc. I just orded KRK R6'S And will also be ordering some studio headphones for when i travel or can't play loud music. But i was wondering on what Audio Interface I wanted to go with,after researching for a little It looks like Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 was a good choice, but before i buy it I just wanted to make sure thats the correct one for what I'm trying to do. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!
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I've bought 2 scarletts for 2 friends of mine for their home studio.

They work with no problem at all, almost no latency, nice sound for their money
and maybe the best value to price ratio for this price range.

You can't go wrong for sure.
 
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