#1683057 - 07/12/05 04:22 PM
Transparent USB Device Advice
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Quarterwave
Senior Member
Registered: 08/13/02
Posts: 83
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Hi all,
I'm currently looking for a good, relatively transparent interface to record some acoustic guitar and vocals into my laptop.
I'll only be recording a track at a time, with about 6 total tracks being the most I will use (eg : vocal, harmony vocal, 2 acoustic rhythm guitars, 1 lead guitar and 1 tambourine) and need it to be USB 2.0 compatible (I have no firewire connection).
Again, I'll be recording all the tracks individually, with no midi and will most likely go through an AKG C414 mic.... I just want spacious acoustic-style recordings, and yep, my room acoustics are quite good (I used to have a fully-floating room setup in Sydney, but I've moved stateside now and have had to downsize considerably.).
I've briefly searched on this site for some info,
but haven't really had any conclusive evidence on the best option in my scenario.
Any ideas are appreciated in advance.
Thanks,
Quarterwave
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#1683058 - 07/12/05 04:49 PM
Re: Transparent USB Device Advice
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Sean Eldon
Senior Member
Registered: 04/19/04
Posts: 462
Loc: Long Island
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skip past USB's latency and get a firewire card for 30-50 bucks.
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#1683059 - 07/12/05 04:59 PM
Re: Transparent USB Device Advice
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(RhythmInMind)
Gold Member
Registered: 07/01/04
Posts: 625
Loc: Santa Monica
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i'd say get a MBox if you need software as well. for the price of the Mbox you get protools LE..
if your allready working with some other DAW software id say go for a M-audio firewire 410, or the mackie spike..
I'm using the MBox with my laptop & Ableton Live. It's a nice little box. mic,line, and guitar inputs. no need for a external monitoring mixer. it's also nice to be able to open my protools projects on my laptop if needed..
_________________________
"I saw one the other day with an impressive number of knobs to twist - I
have no idea what they do." -undisclosed forum member
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#1683060 - 07/12/05 08:32 PM
Re: Transparent USB Device Advice
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where02190
MP Hall of Fame Member
Registered: 11/06/01
Posts: 5402
Loc: Weymouth, Ma. USA
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Agreed, if all you need is 1-2 tracks, the M-box is tough to beat. Nice peamps and converters.
Another to check out is the Mackie XD-2, packaged with Tracktion, they call it Spike. Very nice pres, excellent onboard DSP dynamics and eq for tracking(if that's your thing) and some excellent quality converters that (unlike the mbox) does 96k sampling rates.
Both are in the under $500 range.
_________________________
Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording.
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#1683061 - 07/13/05 02:47 AM
Re: Transparent USB Device Advice
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Quarterwave
Senior Member
Registered: 08/13/02
Posts: 83
Loc: Sydney, Australia
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Great, thanks guys. I'll check them all out.
Quarterwave
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#1683062 - 07/13/05 09:50 PM
Re: Transparent USB Device Advice
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Philip O'Keefe
10k Club
Registered: 12/17/00
Posts: 17674
Loc: Riverside,CA,UNITED STATES
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I would recommend starting with the software, and then looking for an interface that has the features you want and that will be compatible with the software you prefer. 
Having said that, if you're sure you only need a couple of simultaneous inputs (and don't forget to consider potential future needs... sometimes things change in the future in unexpected ways  ), then the MBox or M-Audio interfaces (for Pro Tools, although they are compatible with other programs) or the Mackie Spike, Tascam US-122 and several other options (if you don't want / need to run PT) would all be good candidates to consider.
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