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Which soundcard are you using?

erwanoneerwanone
edited April 2014 in General
Hi everybody!
I actually record my shruthi thru a line enter and my
lxr thru the microphone (all minijack) in my "inbuilt" PC soundcard. And
that's not very good, especially the mic enter. So i wondered what are
you using to record your gear, and which soundcard could you recommand
me for under 200Eur (new or used) and why. I found lot of advices on inetrnet but most of the suer use their soundcard to record guitar and mics, Thank you!
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Comments

  • cj55cj55
    edited April 2014
    I am very happy with my Focusrite Scarlett. First I have had the 2i4 and now I have the 18i20. They have a lot of good reviews and also a good quality/price ratio.
    Edit: They are class compliant, so they work also with an iPad without problems.
  • nightworxxnightworxx
    Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 and a Marian ADCON ADDA converter (8 in/ 8 out) - 40 channels pure balanced fun for less than 800 €.
    My suggestion for you would be a used M-Audio ProFire 610, should be available on Evil Bay for around 200 €. Very sturdy interface, with absolutely reliable drivers. Preamps are not really fancy, but they work. And no fucking USB, Firewire for the win !
  • huskerhusker
    edited April 2014
    FocusriteScarlett 18i6 -totally reliable USB2 interface, excellent drivers, DSP mixer great for monitoring
  • TrialanderrorTrialanderror
    I recommend Focusrite, too. Top quality, fair price. Personally I use a Saffire Pro-40, extended with a SM-Pro Audio Q-ADAT (8 in). 
  • erwanoneerwanone
    Ok thank you for this advices i discover soundcard i never saw before, I also heard about the tascam US 122 MKII, do you think the focusrite deserve the 100eur of price diffrence? Thanks :) .

  • TrialanderrorTrialanderror
    The Tascam is quite okay I think, but I never used it. Focusrite is rock solid built and has good converters and drivers.

    Keep in mind the US 122 has only 2 inputs (this means 1 stereo input) which not very much. I don't know what you are up to, but it can't hurt to have more channels available. I guess the LXR won't be your last piece of hardware...

    Maybe look for something like a used Focusrite 18i8 - should be possible to find it for 200 EUR. It has 8 analog inputs (this means 4 stereo inputs) + some digital ins. 

  • dubtomsdubtoms
    M-Audio Fast-Track Ultra here. I have no means of comparison but it's fine by me, although it was very unstable with my former laptop running Win7. You might be able to find one second hand at a decent price.
  • rudeogrudeog
    Presonus Firestudio Project for my own stuff, Tascam US1800 for my band. Both work well in my Windows environment.
  • mr_chielosmr_chielos
    Theoretically it would be possible to do audio over midi right?
  • cj55cj55
    edited April 2014
    > Theoretically it would be possible to do audio over midi right?

    NO! Here is a good description of MIDI: http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/midi1.htm
  • nightworxxnightworxx
    I think there is room for a misunderstanding, as DIN 5 pole (the MIDI connector), was used for audio in the 60ies and early 70ies, as it is still in some parts of Russia, as far as i know. But there is only similarity in the connector. MIDI is a digital control signal and not to be designed to be converted to audio...
  • erwanoneerwanone
    thanks for all your comments. So i'm aware of the only 2 mono/1 stereo inpunt on the tascam us122. I really need 2 mono input. I don't really need more now since i don't mind recordding, unplugging etc.I record the lxr track by track and mix/pan/effect after, but with my actual setup it's awfull. Low sound who clip really easily.
    I think i will stand for 2 inputs. For the win 7 compatibilities, it's seems to be awfull with older products (like us122) but it's seems there is solutions
  • mr_chielosmr_chielos
    Haha sorry wasnt awake at the time. Audio over midi! Duh... I meant audio over USB!
  • erwanoneerwanone
    Yeah so most of audio interface use USB or Firewire
  • mr_chielosmr_chielos
    yes... but that's not what I mean!
    just.. LXR -> usb cable -> computer

    just skip the entire audio interface, like roland does with the aria, elektron with overbridge, virus with TI.
    you get my drift? 2014 stuffffff audio interfaces are sooo outdated ;P
  • TrialanderrorTrialanderror
    edited April 2014
    In that case the Tascam should suite your needs. Talked to a friend of mine yesterday, he is quite happy with his US122 MKII. 

    mr_chielos: If it only was that easy. Low latency USB audio on multiple devices often causes dropouts, crackles and timing problems. Especially if MIDI over USB is involved. Some USB chipsets like the Intel BX are known to cause issues, too. Not to mention interrupts...
  • erwanoneerwanone
    Yeah It's seems the tascam dont get well with win 7 64/86 bits bits so i'm gonna go focusrite 2i2 ou 4i2.
    FOr the LXR and audio thru usb, it's seems someone on this forum try to implement this but no news since.

  • MaxDFBMaxDFB
    Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 here and I can recommend the Scarlett series. Their Windows drivers just work ...
  • admviolinadmviolin
    I used to have the Tascam us-122.  It was fine for what it was.  What I didn't like was the single output.  I occasionally DJ still and you can't do a separate headphone out,

    I now have the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 because I don't like unplugging anything anymore.  I can't say enough good things about it.
  • erwanoneerwanone
    Thanks! Are you having trouble of latency with focusrite drivers? Do you use asio 4 all? :)
  • admviolinadmviolin
    No problems with latency.  I use the ASIO drivers from focusrite, not ASIO4ALL and never have any problems.
  • erwanoneerwanone
    okok i have to try hope i wont have problems!

  • erwanoneerwanone
    THANKS ;)
  • ceaslessceasless
    I picked up the Scarlett Studio box with 2i2, headphones, and condenser mic. It hasn't been extensively reviewed but the SOS reviewer said he wished that components of this quality would have been available for the price when he first started. Just something to keep in mind if you think you'll end up wanting a condenser mic or some decent mixing headphones.


  • erwanoneerwanone
    edited April 2014
    Ok so is it me or the LXR output are very low? I just get a tascam ur 22 (thanks to a friend) and my shruthi dont need half the gain of the lxr.
     I nedd to turn the input gain a his max to have something. And its noisy! The only thing i came accros to record the lxr is to put the lxr in the aux input monitors, get a correct volume and reinject it in the soundcard input. Seems i need a pre amp before the sound card, Do you use pre amp or the out volume is correct in your lxr?? THanks.
    EDIT SOLVED i have to use mono jack
  • egnoufegnouf
    hello,
    I use an MOTU 828 MKIII, and te sound of the LXR is really punchy :-)
    the MOTU includes a reverb and nice compressor :-)
    regards.
  • sammy123sammy123
    I do not find the xlr output to be low. The Shruthi is pretty hot.
  • egnoufegnouf
    yes, I agree with sammy123 (i have both). the shruti sound level is hot ! :-)
  • erwanoneerwanone
    Yeah its because i was plugging two output in one mono, I start use mono to mono and its sounds very louder! Now record time ;) :)
  • WhiteherbmanWhiteherbman
    i have a poor old tascam us 122 (not mk2, only us 122!) i have bought about 10 years ago. it still works very well and my lxr is as hot as shruti , i have both to....us 122 's preamp are not very good but it does the job
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