Heartbeat Posted April 10, 2020 Author Share Posted April 10, 2020 Still searching for an interface. I confirmed my I-Mac (purchased August 2019) has Thunderbolt 3 connectors. And 4 USB 3.0 connectors. So I'm thinking I should look for a Thunderbolt 3 interface. I'd rather not deal with a downward compatible adapter to Thunderbolt 2, etc. (Kuru..... yes, I verified that myself about the Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre Thunderbolt. It must have been discontinued as it's not listed on Focusrite.com web site.) Really, I'm looking to record at the same time..... stereo drum machine, left hand bass mono, stereo piano, and stereo organ, and maybe guitar. That's 8 tracks. Correct? So what would you recommend for an interface? I'm stuck. LOL Cheers, Heartbeat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Based on my own experience with the Presonus Quantum, I would get the new Thunderbolt 3 version. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Quantum2626--presonus-quantum-2626-26x26-thunderbolt-3-audio-interface I like the 8 channels in front, that's nice for home studio work. The price is good. The unit is identical to a USB 2.0 unit that they were selling so they upgraded it to Thunderbolt 3 and renamed it Quantum. Looks like a lot of bang for the buck, I like the Presonus preamps a lot. Not sure but guessing all the gain controls are analog pots rather than digital controllers. I hugely prefer the digital controllers but that's because I owned a Mackie Onyx single rack space firewire interface and the input gain pots got so scratchy that they were hideous to work with. Once set they worked OK but I was glad to get away from that. If they include Universal Control software then the pots are probably digital controllers. That's what I mostly use with mine, it's faster to just go straight to the channel, on the computer. Not the same layout as the new one, it looks fast to get things going. The only other potential downside I see is there is only one Thunderbolt port. A hub would take care of that. Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Still searching for an interface. I confirmed my I-Mac (purchased August 2019) has Thunderbolt 3 connectors. And 4 USB 3.0 connectors. So I'm thinking I should look for a Thunderbolt 3 interface. I'd rather not deal with a downward compatible adapter to Thunderbolt 2, etc. (Kuru..... yes, I verified that myself about the Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre Thunderbolt. It must have been discontinued as it's not listed on Focusrite.com web site.) Really, I'm looking to record at the same time..... stereo drum machine, left hand bass mono, stereo piano, and stereo organ, and maybe guitar. That's 8 tracks. Correct? So what would you recommend for an interface? I'm stuck. LOL Cheers, Heartbeat Still searching for an interface. I confirmed my I-Mac (purchased August 2019) has Thunderbolt 3 connectors. And 4 USB 3.0 connectors. So I'm thinking I should look for a Thunderbolt 3 interface. I'd rather not deal with a downward compatible adapter to Thunderbolt 2, etc. (Kuru..... yes, I verified that myself about the Focusrite Clarett 8 Pre Thunderbolt. It must have been discontinued as it's not listed on Focusrite.com web site.) Really, I'm looking to record at the same time..... stereo drum machine, left hand bass mono, stereo piano, and stereo organ, and maybe guitar. That's 8 tracks. Correct? So what would you recommend for an interface? I'm stuck. LOL Cheers, Heartbeat Eight inputs and thunderbolt gets expensive really quickly. I only have a four-channel for that reason. The Quantum mentioned above is a strong contender, actually, the only contender under $1,400. If you are set on Thunderbolt, it might be better to find a smaller model that lets you use ADAT, SPDIF or something else to add more inputs. Probably will cost less than a large Thunderbolt one, most of which are around the $1,500 point on the low end. Or go with a USB-C model. Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Eight inputs and thunderbolt gets expensive really quickly. I only have a four-channel for that reason. The Quantum mentioned above is a strong contender, actually, the only contender under $1,400. If you are set on Thunderbolt, it might be better to find a smaller model that lets you use ADAT, SPDIF or something else to add more inputs. Probably will cost less than a large Thunderbolt one, most of which are around the $1,500 point on the low end. Or go with a USB-C model. The new Presonus Quantum I linked directly above you sells for $600. it is Thunderbolt 3 and by far the most affordable Thunderbolt 3 8 channel interface on the market at this point. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...2626-26x26-thunderbolt-3-audio-interface Besides 2 combo jacks with mic/DI inputs and 6 combo jacks with mic/line inputs it has - 2 x Optical Toslink (ADAT/SMUX), 1 x Coax (S/PDIF) So there is a path for adding channels. If it had been an option when I bought mine I probably would have gotten it and run it on my Thunderbolt 2 ports for now. So it goes. Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Motif Max Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Eight inputs and thunderbolt gets expensive really quickly. I only have a four-channel for that reason. The Quantum mentioned above is a strong contender, actually, the only contender under $1,400. If you are set on Thunderbolt, it might be better to find a smaller model that lets you use ADAT, SPDIF or something else to add more inputs. Probably will cost less than a large Thunderbolt one, most of which are around the $1,500 point on the low end. Or go with a USB-C model. The new Presonus Quantum I linked directly above you sells for $600. it is Thunderbolt 3 and by far the most affordable Thunderbolt 3 8 channel interface on the market at this point. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...2626-26x26-thunderbolt-3-audio-interface Besides 2 combo jacks with mic/DI inputs and 6 combo jacks with mic/line inputs it has - 2 x Optical Toslink (ADAT/SMUX), 1 x Coax (S/PDIF) So there is a path for adding channels. If it had been an option when I bought mine I probably would have gotten it and run it on my Thunderbolt 2 ports for now. So it goes. Yep, sorry if I wasn"t clear; that"s why I said it"s a good contender. Thunderbolt gets pricy sometimes too. As much as I like my Resident Audio T4, which is Thunderbolt 2, I"m also fine with my Yamaha MG10XU mixer for latency. I think if I get a larger interface it will be USB 3.0 speed USB-C. Quote Yamaha: Motif XF8, MODX7, YS200, CVP-305, CLP-130, YPG-235, PSR-295, PSS-470 | Roland: Fantom 7, JV-1000 Kurzweil: PC3-76, PC4 (88) | Hammond: SK Pro 73 | Korg: Triton LE 76, N1R, X5DR | Emu: Proteus/1 | Casio: CT-370 | Novation: Launchkey 37 MK3 | Technics: WSA1R Former: Emu Proformance Plus & Mo'Phatt, Korg Krome 61, Roland Fantom XR & JV-1010, Yamaha MX61, Behringer CAT Assorted electric & acoustic guitars and electric basses | Roland TD-17 KVX | Alesis SamplePad Pro | Assorted organs, accordions, other instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mykhailo Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 just another endorsement for Logic Pro X...it can be as simple or as deep as you wish...I quickly outgrew garage band (i.e. no 96K sample rate, inability to export midi files) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heartbeat Posted April 11, 2020 Author Share Posted April 11, 2020 Thank you guys! I have just ordered the Presonus Quantum 26x26 Thunderbolt 3 interface. The pricepoint is $869. CDN which is way cheaper than anything else I was looking at, and the features are just what I was looking for. I've downloaded Logic Pro X (90 day-free trial). I'm ready to go! This forum is great! Thank you again for all the input. I value your opinions. Happy Easter and stay safe everyone. Heartbeat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KuruPrionz Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 Thank you guys! I have just ordered the Presonus Quantum 26x26 Thunderbolt 3 interface. The pricepoint is $869. CDN which is way cheaper than anything else I was looking at, and the features are just what I was looking for. I've downloaded Logic Pro X (90 day-free trial). I'm ready to go! This forum is great! Thank you again for all the input. I value your opinions. Happy Easter and stay safe everyone. Heartbeat Sweet! Enjoy! They'll give you Studio One Artist in the deal, be sure to at least give it a spin and see if you take to it. Have fun, we all look forward to hearing what you play - Cheers, Kuru Quote It took a chunk of my life to get here and I am still not sure where "here" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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