Good Inexpensive Interface for 2 track recording

[nostalgicsnoman]

Hey all,

Unbeknownst to me, the new MacBook pros don't have a line in for audio anymore, so I need to get some sort of interface to connect my XENYX 1002B mixer to my MacBook Pro. Basically I'll be using this to record guitar and vocals (sometimes simultaneously).

The other equipment I use is a Marshall Combo amp for my Black Beauty, an SM57 on the combo, and a really old Pro Audio vocal microphone.

I'd prefer a Firewire connection over USB, but I'm not familiar with the pros cons of Interfaces in the $100-$250 range ideally below $150.

Any suggestions?

 

[darkinners]

If you have a external preamp or you don't need to use two preamps at the same time.

Check out T.C Electronic Desktop Konnekt 6.

Pros (general and your preferences)

1. It's firewire
2 Great MAC driver (not so good on PC though)
3. Good metering
4. Big volume knob
5. Headphone amp quite capable for high impedence headphones.
6. Great features (hardware buttons for dim, mono sum, pre-post metering,high-z - mic - line level switch...etc)
7. Great AD/DA conversion for the price.
8. Very solidly built.
9. Can operate with bus power


Cons:
1. Mic pre is clean but overall sound not exceptionally great
2. No ADAT/SPDIF
3. Only one built in mic pre.
4. Only two balanced analog out
5. Form factor not friendly as a mobile recording device.



Verdict:
- It has the downsides but under $250 firewire 2 channel interface, I couldn't think of a better option(2nd hand 1st gen Apogee Duet could sound better and have two built in mic pre and much more portable but it has less features and it's not easy to find one under $250. )

I have been using Konnekt 6 on my laptops for years, The hardware is rock solid, it never failed me once. The sound is amazing for the price and the features too.

The driver is great in OSX.
In PC not as good though, earlier driver were even worse. Quite unusable in PC. Now TC fixed it now. It's much better now on PC but still not as good as their OSX driver.

 

[polaris20]

Three I've used that are fantastic are:

Presonus 22VSL
Steinberg UR22
Focusrite 2i2

All three are $150-$199

There's no reason to avoid USB2.0 for audio interfaces, especially since the drivers for the above are fantastic on OS X. Low latency, great sounding pre's (especially on the UR22), and great stability in GarageBand, Reaper, and Studio One.

 

[Boyd01]

I have used a USB Alesis iO2 Express for over a year with no problem. Cost about $80. Just picked up a new Akai EIE Pro a couple days ago so I could use 4 microphone inputs. So far, so good although a bit more latency then the iO2 which I guess is related to 4 vs two channels. Not really a problem for my use though. Cost about $250 but I got a $30 discount with a Guitar Center coupon.

 

[ChrisA]

Hey all,

Unbeknownst to me, the new MacBook pros don't have a line in for audio anymore, so I need to get some sort of interface to connect my XENYX 1002B mixer to my MacBook Pro. Basically I'll be using this to record guitar and vocals (sometimes simultaneously).

I'd get rid of that mixer. You don't need it and the preamps it has are a little noisy. Then buy a new audio interface that has enough inputs that you can plug everything in at once. Do you mixing in software.

You will notice a big jump in sound quality if you have a MOTU, Presonus or Focusrite audio interface compared to that mixer.Also you gain the abilty to re-mix after the recording session.

Save the mixer for live music where you need to send multiple mics through the same PA system.

About latency. They make true zero latency interfaces. Look for that feature. That's "zero" not just "low" latency. They to this by having a mixer built into the box so the sound never goes through the computer.