Audio Interface Suggestions??

[Holy Schnikes]

Hey Guys,

I'm trying to decide on an audio interface to use with my Mac, something simple, effective, and affordable would be ideal. The M Audio Fast Track Pro looks nice, really unexperienced with digital recording though.

I'll probably be using GarageBand to get started, just want to track ideas and demo clips really, mic up my amp and hit record. I'll upgrade when I find time to devote to the recording software learning curve but I'd like an interface that will be compatible with future upgrades (Pro Tools, Logic, etc) Thanks for any help!

[jrmy]

I've been using the M Audio Fast Track Pro for a while now, and really like it. Got the recommendation from Jdavyd, who definitely knows what he's talking about. I have heard some people around saying it's not the greatest, but I haven't had any problems with mine yet.

[eatyourguitar]

first of all, pro tools 9 is compatible with everything now. you dont have to buy a protools compatible interface. but you do have to buy the stupid software for $600 + $40 for the usb Ilok (portable license on your keychain). you have a much better chance of finding someone who owns logic 9. no limit to how many computers you can put it on.

I was a pro audio dealer for a while. if you can come up with $400 you should get a used apogee duet. you do have firewire on your mac right? please tell me its not a mac book. the m-audio plastic and a few dead or dying units has led me to not like them. although I do have a fasttrack mkii that I got for free. it sounded great with a $1300 neuman mic hooked up. but my biggest complaint with the mic pres is how they start clipping/saturating before it even hits the digital ceiling. its robbing you of the last bits. so even though its 24 bit, your not really using your headroom and you cant trust the peak metering in the software cause it doesn't tell the whole story. presonus makes a much better unit all around... metal box, great mic pres. the only complaint is the drivers are sometimes not the greatest or the most up to date. also, the direct monitor on m-audio interfaces is not loud enough compared to the signal from the computer. this makes it very difficult to sing to the music with headphones. and M-audio uses the same garbage in the $80 interface that they use in the $350 one. if you get the duet, you should know that the included firewire cable is shit and will fail. buy a nice firewire cable that fits your mac and you'll have super nice recordings and low latency drivers with monitor switching/muting integrated into the mute button on your keyboard. the big one knob/button controls an on screen menu. like the cockpit of a BMW. its nice.

[smallsnd/bigsnd]

Hey Guys,

I'm trying to decide on an audio interface to use with my Mac, something simple, effective, and affordable would be ideal. The M Audio Fast Track Pro looks nice, really unexperienced with digital recording though.

I'll probably be using GarageBand to get started, just want to track ideas and demo clips really, mic up my amp and hit record. I'll upgrade when I find time to devote to the recording software learning curve but I'd like an interface that will be compatible with future upgrades (Pro Tools, Logic, etc) Thanks for any help!

just go with the fast track.
there are better units out there, but for your purposes it'll be fine and it's super simple and easy to use. if you get serious, you'll want to get dedicated mic preamps anyways, so whatever about the pres that come on the interface...

[Haki]

http://www.tweakheadz.com/

That website has a shitload of information, including a pretty comprehensive guide to the whole home recording thing. There's also a bunch of comparison charts that list the ins/outs, pre-amps, MIDI, etc for interfaces. It's worth the read.

[Holy Schnikes]

you do have firewire on your mac right? please tell me its not a mac book.

Currently have a Quad-Core Mac Pro as my desktop and my girl has a Mac Book Pro that I actually use more frequently. The duet sounds nice as well, guess I need to dig in and do some research.

I've been using the M Audio Fast Track Pro for a while now, and really like it. Got the recommendation from Jdavyd, who definitely knows what he's talking about. I have heard some people around saying it's not the greatest, but I haven't had any problems with mine yet.

jrmy, your demos always sound great, using the M Audio exclusively for all of those?

just go with the fast track.
there are better units out there, but for your purposes it'll be fine and it's super simple and easy to use.

That's kinda what I was thinking. If I get too fancy, I may get lazy when it comes to figuring everything out. Simple and user friendly would be a good way to get started, for me at least.

Thanks for the info guys!

[eatyourguitar]

dead fast tracks, fast track mkii, mobile pre usb, fast track pros, fast track ultras, mbox mini, mbox...
about 20 units I've seen in about a year. about half of them were after the warranty. the mbox tends to crap one of the mic pres, whichever one you use the most.

presonus audiobox and firestudio mobile boxes dead ....ZERO

so in my opinion, for the same money, you can get a presonus. $150 or $300 depending if you want firewire and higher sample rate.

audio box shown

P.S. everyone says they want things to be user friendly. they say they want to spend more time making music and less time learning software. IMO learning proper recording techniques and learning the right way to use protools will make you %500 more productive and unlock possibilities for music making that you will wonder how you ever lived without. your actually wasting more time starring at the screen with your guitar in your hand trying to figure out the software in the dark.

[mathias]

Man, I'd just use a $30 Behringer USB interface until you find a reason to upgrade. If I were you.

I actually gave away my $30 Behringer USB interface, now that I think about it. I need a audio interface for recording now too. my ART Tube Studio mic preamp was a much nicer preamp than most of the cheap M-Audio stuff has built in, and I ran that before the behringer thing.

[Wes Mantooth]

Hell anything beats my set-up

SM57 into a 1/8" adapter to the line in on my laptop

I should probably get an audio interface for the sake of my blog but being broke sucks

[eatyourguitar]

that sm57 has a weird impedance that ironically makes it suck less doing it that way. its a 30+ year old design shure did to drive long cables. line in on your laptop likes low impedance signals. huzza

[jrmy]

I've been using the M Audio Fast Track Pro for a while now, and really like it. Got the recommendation from Jdavyd, who definitely knows what he's talking about. I have heard some people around saying it's not the greatest, but I haven't had any problems with mine yet.

jrmy, your demos always sound great, using the M Audio exclusively for all of those?

Thanks man! Yep, it's always bass > fx > M Audio > compooter > GarageBand. Sometimes with the GB amp sim, sometimes without. Glad you dig 'em!

[harpies]

presonus is highly recommended by me and several others whose opinions I trust. I went with the presonus studio project for versatility, being able to mic up a drum set, keys, guitar, etc., but I've never had a problem with any of their equipment. Plus, their mic pres are good. Presonus also has software that is much more user friendly than protools.

[eatyourguitar]

studio one is easy to use. but the studio one pro upgrade is what makes it more on the level with protools or logic. the maudio comes with protools essentials and thats pretty much crap. although it does have the protools flextime thing that is very high quality. just no decent plugins on the cheap protools.

[modernage]

IMO learning proper recording techniques and learning the right way to use protools will make you %500 more productive and unlock possibilities for music making that you will wonder how you ever lived without. your actually wasting more time starring at the screen with your guitar in your hand trying to figure out the software in the dark.

I will totally agree with this. Garageband is a great place to start though. It already comes loaded on your Mac, very beginner friendly, there's a lot there to explore. But every time I use it now I just get very frustrated because it isn't very intuitive. Once you get used to editing in Pro Tools, going back makes you want to slam you head against the keyboard. I need more keyboard shortcuts!!!! I've seen some guys edit tracks in PT like they were about to win a World of Warcraft tournament. Awe inspiring.

Once you understand how to make the software (like PT or Logic) work for you you'll be limited only by your imagination. There's a lot that can be done with just the stock plugins (putting any effect in the feedback loop of your delays, ie: replicating Boss PS-3 Mode 7). Plus there are some awesome plugins and instruments you can't incorporate if you're only using GB. But like I said, GB band is a great place to familiarize yourself with the recording process. I also hear that Propellerhead Record is another user friendly program.

Interface... Can't go wrong with Apogee. If all you ever see yourself doing is laying down guitar tracks... maybe vocals..... the Duet would be great. You might even be able to get by with the Apogee One and save yourself a few bucks. Apogee is a top name brand in the industry, so you'll get nothing but quality and reliability with them.

The bit about the Mbox's being unreliable is a little hit or miss. I've been using an Mbox 2 Pro for over 3 years with no issues. Shoot, I know of at least 3 people who still use the original Mbox on a regular basis, and that's been out for how many years? There is better stuff out there, but at the time that was the only way to get into Pro Tools. Thank you AVID for making those changes with PT9!!!!

[mathias]

I will totally agree with this. Garageband is a great place to start though. It already comes loaded on your Mac, very beginner friendly, there's a lot there to explore. But every time I use it now I just get very frustrated because it isn't very intuitive. Once you get used to editing in Pro Tools, going back makes you want to slam you head against the keyboard. I need more keyboard shortcuts!!!! I've seen some guys edit tracks in PT like they were about to win a World of Warcraft tournament. Awe inspiring.

Well, Garageband came on the iLife disc, which they stopped giving you for free. Now with the app store, Garageband costs $15 per computer you want it on. You can download it pretty quick through the app store, which is good. Still, $15 is not bad for what it does. Full Logic is pretty sweet, too.

Also, for the plugins you can't use, there's usually a way. Garageband has full MIDI support, so I usually install something like MIDI Patchbay.app and then route MIDI in/out as needed. I've used physical instruments into Garageband's software instruments and I've used Garageband's MIDI control to control physical stuff like drum machines over MIDI. Cool stuff. But you can also run a program that runs the other style of plugin on Mac (forgot what it is called, like AST or VTI or something?) and route MIDI signals between them. Not elegant, but it does work.

Also very cool: using MIDI to control some guy's Commodore 64 audio chip via USB/MIDI with Garageband's onscreen keyboard, which we did one night.