Which of these 26 interfaces should I buy?

M

music234m

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I searched interfaces under about $120 and ended up with about 25 choices. I don't want to spend more.

I don't need MIDI.

I don't think I really need a mic port because I imagine I can just plug a mic into the instrument input and it'd be good enough. And I don't really record vocals currently but might eventually.

I mostly need it to play and record electric guitar without an amp (just a cord from the guitar to the interface). And also hardware synthesizers and electric drum kit.

Most of these interfaces say they have mic preamps/phantom but I'm not sure if they all also have a preamp for a guitar without an amp.

I want quality recordings without a latency anyone would notice.

I don't need to record multiple instruments at once but it'd be nice to record a jam with other(s).

Here are 26 interfaces if someone will actually look through them and tell me which is the best deal and why:

Thanks in advance.

(They're all safe links, basically just ebay and manufacturers' sites).


Scarlett 2i2 | Focusrite


Roland Duo Capture USB Audio Interface | eBay


Rolls GCI404 Audio Computer Interface | eBay

Line 6 Pod Studio GX USB Recording Interface Black | eBay


Audiolink 4 Channel 24 Bit 96 kHz USB Audio MIDI Interface w Git Preamps | eBay


Legacy Products | Line 6


Product: US-122MKII | TASCAM

Tascam US 144MKII USB 2 0 4 Channel Audio MIDI Interface Used | eBay


Tascam US 122 US122 USB Audio MIDI Interface Guitar Mic XLR | eBay


Tascam US 322 Audio Interface Brand New | eBay


Tascam US 125m USB 2 0 Mixing Audio Recording Interface US125M 125 M Mixer | eBay


GuitarCenter


M-AUDIO - M-Track - Two-Channel USB Audio/MIDI Interface


M Audio Mobilepre MKII w Pro Tools SE 2 USB Recording Audio Interface B Stock 4571132550115 | eBay


M Audio Fast Track USB Guitar Mic Recording Interface | eBay


M-Audio FireWire Solo Mobile Audio Interface | Musician's Friend


M Audio Mobile Pre USB Preamp Audio Interface w Microphone Mic Jacks Tested | eBay


Behringer XENYX Q502USB 5 Channel Mixer with USB Audio Interface | eBay


M-Audio fast track usb 2 (MK2) review | electronicmusictutorials


M-Audio Audiosport Quattro MIDI/USB Interface | Musician's Friend


Behringer Premium 5 Input Mixer Mic Preamp USB Audio Interface Studio Recording | eBay


PreSonus AudioBox USB Interface Audio Box 2x2 S20583 | eBay


Alesis IO2 Express 2 Channel USB Audio Interface 694318012772 | eBay


Focusrite Itrack Solo Audio Interface for iPad PC Mac | eBay


PreSonus Firebox Firewire Audio Recording Interface 673454000553 | eBay


Steinberg UR22 2x2 USB 2 0 Audio Recording Interface with Cubase AI Software | eBay
 
I'd go for the Scarlett 2i2 or the Duo Capture.

In regards to mics, they output a different level of a signal than line level instruments, so that preamp is needed to get an acceptable signal - not to mention condenser mics generally need phantom power to even work, which can't be provided a regular 1/4" jack. For guitars, you're looking for so-called "Hi-Z" inputs, which these both provide. It's not at all the same as using an amp, though - you'll get a super-dry signal instead which usually doesn't sound very flattering without some extra processing, so you'll probably want to use some kind of an amp simulator plugin afterwards.
 
Wow, slow down. What krushing said is spot on, but more importantly, crucial! Don't even bother buying an interface until you understand what all the inputs/outputs are properly used for. Not only will this help you avoid potential problems, but it'll narrow down the right interface for your needs.
 
These days all these companies use the same technology especially for audio interfaces so the only difference are the features not the quality of sound. So choose one depending on what you'll need for your studio.

I've been using the M-Audio Fast Track Ultra for 3 years now and I'm happy with it can't complain about anything.
 
I still need help. I took a few off that list but added others under $120 new/used.

Some say near-zero latency, some say zero latency. Then I learned firewire is supposedly faster than USB but then read things like Firewire only allows for more data to be transferred instead of a better latency rate - something like USB 2.0 is the same latency as long as the computer has good hardware which mine does. But USB 2.0 Maxes out at about 16 channels but I'll only need two channels for now and never over 16. But if I do get firewire, I see firewire PCI card on ebay for like $7 that hopefully aren't crap.

Someone said in a similar thread: Better than all of them (USB or FireWire), are most PCI or PCIe cards as there are less runtimes.

So should I scrap the whole USB and firewire interface hunt and get a PCI card interface w/ Hi-Z preamp and phantom for the lowest latency? Possible under $120 used?

Also, I'm getting a midi keyboard for softsynths. If it's a myth that firewire has less latency than USB 2.0, then should I just get whatever USB MIDI keyboard I like and not look for a firewire MIDI keyboard (although the only Firewire MIDI keyboard I found googling about them seems to be the M-Audio Ozonic from like 2006).

All I really want is an input for guitar without an amp, phantom mic, 24bit (and 48Khz I read is just fine instead of 96khz), and no noticeable latency. If there's some latency that I shouldn't notice, that will still haunt me as I play.

Part of me says to just buy anything USB 2.0 used for now that's advertised as zero-latency and sell it later for a loss of maybe $10 when I buy something better after learn more about these. But part of me thinks I'll just get used to it and kind of get stuck with something I bought because I didn't have time to fully learn all this. I'm kind of in a rush and thought this would take a few hours to purchase.
 
If you only, are only ever going to want to record guitar (only), then it really doesn't matter. But then you mention "jams with others," microphones, and anywhere from two to 16 inputs. I think you have too many questions right now without having thought through a few important answers on your part. "What do I really want to do?" is one important question. Another would be "Is an upwardly expandable feature set important to me; will I want to have more capabilities in the foreseeable future, without spending more money?" Also, "What quality and features does my chosen price-point purchase?"

Then, taking into account the gear you already have, or intend to buy (computer, DAW), you can make a wise decision. If you really are only going to record guitar, and only guitar, one part at a time, you may be able to use a much simpler device available for between $20-$100...

GJ
 
I pretty much answered those questions^. 1 or 2 inputs is good enough for now. I'm not basing a purchase on the interface having more than 2 inputs in case I need them later. I was just saying I'll never need over 16 inputs in case that's all FireWire's really better for.

Again, all I really want is an input for guitar without an amp, a phantom mic, 24bit (and 48Khz I read is just fine instead of 96khz), and no noticeable latency. If there's some latency that I shouldn't notice, that will still haunt me as I play.

My concern now is about latency and possibly using firewire or a PCI or PCIe card with preamps if that's even possible. And I want good drivers which I'll base on reviews I read when I narrow down my choices more.
 
Using Focusrite Saffire Interfaces with Thunderbolt


Focusrite Saffire Pro 14 is like $150 used/refurb.
Even if I get the card necessary to thunderbolt the saffire pro 14 to a PC, won't it still be Firewire 400 quality?

I'm getting a new motherboard so maybe I should get one with thunderbolt even though I was only planning to spend like $80 on teh motherboard without TB.? or pci audio interface? I'm about to saw screw it all and just get one of the $100 USB 2.0 boxes I linked
 
USB, FW, PCI are all capable of unnoticeable latency (zero latency doesn't really exist). In other words, it shouldn't be something to worry about - more about picking the interface with the features you want and then googling around for possible problems with the ones you picked.

As for a FireWire-to-Thunderbolt connection...this has nothing to do with "quality" - it's just different transfer speeds, and something designed to work as a FW400 devices doesn't really need nor can utilize higher rates than what's it built for. So no probs there. I'm actually using the Saffire Pro 40 connected to a TB port on a Mac Mini.
 
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