What Usb Audio Interface Do You Recommend?

[BenStoller]

A huge number of USB audio interfaces are available and I'm having a tough time deciding which one to get. I'd like to keep it under $100. Or should I just get a USB mic? I'm just doing some home recording with an acoustic guitar and vocals recorded separately. 

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited August 25, 2014 by BenStoller

[john]

Do you have a decent Mic?

I would say the audio interface gives you options to plug in other instruments directly.. Keyboards, electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustics with bugs... You may not gave access to them now, but you might, especially if you start working with other musicians.

I will have a look at the latest and let you know my thoughts. Are there any specific interfaces you are considering?

[BenStoller]

Do you have a decent Mic?

I would say the audio interface gives you options to plug in other instruments directly.. Keyboards, electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustics with bugs... You may not gave access to them now, but you might, especially if you start working with other musicians.

I will have a look at the latest and let you know my thoughts. Are there any specific interfaces you are considering?

 

Hey John,

 

I have a Sure SM57, which is decent.

 

I've been reading reviews on Amazon and the cheaper USB audio interfaces seem to be problematic. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 seems to be popular and fairly highly rated, but it's $50 more than I wanted to spend. But maybe I should shell out the extra bucks. My recordings thus far haven't been very good quality since I just plugged a cheap mixer into the line in port of the computer. I want to make sure what I buy is going to give me professional quality

 

[BenStoller]

I have a Tascam US-200.  They don't make it any more and now have units with bells and whistles (and a price increase) you wouldn't need.  Key things to want in any interface are the capability to record at least 48 kHz/24-bit, at least two instrument/mic inputs, phantom power for condenser mics and a mix/direct function that lets you monitor your recording directly bypassing any latency delay issues via software monitoring from your DAW.

 

Fellow member Lil Orange posted about this one recently. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/alesis-io2-express-audio-interface?source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=Cj0KEQjwveufBRDlsNb3kb-twMIBEiQASNH0xvJfUvCkXxFCcFhZPqrhNwjH6GrTzSMpGGk8it6W-MQaApwL8P8HAQ&kwid=productads-plaid^80558285547-sku^485880000000000@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^51870555867

 It looks like it will do a good all-around job for you, and it's pretty cheap - $69.00.  OH, like my Tascam, this Alesis has MIDI in and out too - another plus to have.

 

Hey David,

Yeah, I looked at the Alesis iO2. It's a good price, but it only got about 3-1/2 stars on Amazon. I try not to buy anything with less than 4 stars if I can help it.

 

It looks like the Tascam US-200 is still available (albeit discontinued). They also make the US-144MKII for $97.90, which looks like a good unit. Most of the problems seemed to stem from drivers -- not from the unit itself. I used a Tascam 4-track recorder for years without any problems. 

 

Thanks for your help!

Ben

[Dave Bradley]

I have an obsolete M-Audio device "Fast Track" it's simple, works well, except if you unplug it when your Windows computer is still running it causes a Blue Screen of Death crash. I'd like to move on up a couple notches for better sound and an extra microphone input at the least. Soon.

[Guest]

I've been reading reviews on Amazon and the cheaper USB audio interfaces seem to be problematic. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 seems to be popular and fairly highly rated, but it's $50 more than I wanted to spend.

If you wanna save some bucks, I recommend looking at the used market. I just purchased a Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 for my kid; he loves it. I bought it used for $100. (The seller moved up to an 8 mic-pre Focusrite.) Can't think of a reason to buy a new one. Just buy something reputable and you should be OK; not much to go wrong on them.

 

NOTE: MAKE SURE IT IS COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM!

 

And let me recommend some of the very helpful tutorial videos available on YouTube that show you how to get good results with minimal gear/expense.

 

Good luck!

[Brad Barnett]

Hey John,

 

I have a Sure SM57, which is decent.

 

 

The SM57 is a great mic for recording acoustic guitar.  I think you would be better off getting a condenser mic for vocals though.

[Nick Festari]

On 15 agosto 2015 at 7:28 PM, Brad Barnett said:

 

The SM57 is a great mic for recording acoustic guitar.  I think you would be better off getting a condenser mic for vocals though.

Hi! I have a Focusrite 2i4 in my home studio and I use a SHURE SM58 in a CLEARSONIC vocal box for the vocals. 

[Wanweird]

I think if you can, you should spend a bit more money on an interface. An interface is key because the quality of your work is largely to do with good analogue to digital conversion when you are recording.

[Topaz Bon]

I have a Roland Duo Capture Ex audio interface which works fine, but I wish I had spent more on one that had a different speaker selection as mine only has the one and when mixing switching between speakers is a pain. You can get a separate unit to do this, but it's near the cost of a new audio interface!