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Best interface?


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Hi guys.

 

Just looking for opinions (with reasons why)

For what interfaces you guys use.

 

I use usually one mic at a time so I don’t need a lot of channels. I might want 5.1 in the future but not necessarily right now.

 

What do you guys use and why is what I guess I’m hoping to hear. Just doing some research and trying to get real life suggestions.

 

Drew

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  • 3 weeks later...

I personally have used an RME Fireface 800, Focusrite Scarlett Solo, Apogee Duet, and an Audient iD4... but I'm not sure how helpful that is!

 

It's so hard to make a useful recommendation without knowing more of your needs (I know you said one mic at a time). Can you tell us a price range?

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I use a Behringer UMC1820, mostly for multi-tracking the Eurorack rig. It's convenient and affordable, but I do notice a certain lack of transparency. It has a noticeable sound to it.

For just tracking guitar or bass I use a Scarlett Solo, which I find more transparent.

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I will strongly suggest looking into the SSL2+ or a Motu M4. I'll share my experience.

 

I've used several interfaces over the last 15 years. I got great sound and (portable) mileage out of an Apogee Duet. But it was firewire and that just timed out. For the last 4 years I've used a Motu 1248 which has been overkill in terms of IO and mixing capabilities. So last month I was looking for a USB class compliant, bus-powered, desktop 2-channel interface to pair with my newer M1 mac. Class compliance / no additional drivers was also key, since Mac M1 support is still shaky. Portability and desktop-facing were key. I am tired of pulling cables in and out of racks with preamps and mounted interfaces when 95% of what I do is "in the box" with a few tracks of guitar and of course vocals. It came down to the Motu M4 and the SSL2+. A major feature of both is the simple DAW vs. mic input mix knob on the front. No more "cue-mix" or whatever secondary software consoles when all I want to do is quickly balance playback audio with incoming audio - especially vocals. And of course I can take either and record sitting in my freaking car if I want to.

 

I bought both, compared, and returned the M4. It's a great, great interface. But the SSL Simply sounded better to me for vocals. Ergonomically, I liked it better too. And there are a few nice extra features. The "stereo" button next to the Monitor Mix actually works in an unintended way when you are tracking vocals which allows you to sort of separate your live input from the DAW playback. I know it's not intended exactly for this but it's a nice trick. The 2 separate headphone outs are also great to have. Meters are adequate (although the M4 definitely had better metering). And there is that 4K switch on the inputs. You will read this and that about this 4K "gimmick." And maybe it is simply an eq boost with a little harmonic distortion applied only above a certain frequency (probably 4KHz). But whatever the case, the've done a great job with it. It is absolutely musical. And no, I could not reproduce it exactly after the fact with plugins - of which I have many. So whatever the case, it simply sounds great. Paired with a Neumann TLM103B, vocals are simply fantastic. But even when I just plugged in a Rode NT1 I was blown away. I don't know if the actual AD converter specs or the noise floor on the unit is comparable to more expensive interfaces (probably not). But it really doesn't matter. Honestly, neither of those is going to be an issue with any decent modern interface.

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I'm guessing that you are looking for recommendations for a new interface?

The first decision when buying anything (a car for example) is 'budget' and 'desired features', 'reliability' and 'ease of use' may be other features that may be important to you also.

Most interfaces (even the cheap little Behringer UMC204HD) are capable of recording very high quality sound in the right hands (used carefully and set correctly).

Pick a budget and pick the features that you want and go for it, 'type of connection' and 'connectivity flexibility' may be important to you also.

Once you have made all of these decisions the field and choice will have been narrowed down quite a bit, you may only be left with a choice between 2 or 3 models.

As far a sound 'quality' goes, budget (and even mid price) interfaces tend to show their weakness in the quality of the output sound to the speakers and especially to the headphones. I think a lot of people overlook this aspect of the device and so the manufacturers and reviewers don't really focus much on this important feature of the device much.

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