I sold a car to buy a Korg 01/fd in the mid 90s (still use it, though a glorified midi controller now). Before the 1680, I would sequence and record so much on that keyboard with a 3.5" floppy disk. Fun high school days in the early 90s. I'm getting old.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
What audio interfaces are you using?
- Thread starter bassjunky
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Totally understand, I had a EMAX sampler Keyboard with 3.5 floppy disks that would take a few minutes to turn on. That cost something back in the day. Understand about getting old. Doesn’t seem that long ago. 😂
Agreed. I had the SSL 2 and loved it. The "4K" button (emulating the sound of a vintage SSL 4000-series console) is a bit of a gimmick but useful if that's what you're looking for.
I recommend the following, in addition:
Audient ID44 - the Audient ID series is really worth it, solidly built, and designed by the same team that created Audient studio consoles. Great preamps and A/D/A conversion, switchable 48V phantom power per input, -10db pad and low cut per channel. Has ADAT lightpipe to channel / cascade inputs from another device.
Audient ID48 - this is their newer 8-input rackmount interface. Has 8 Neutrik combo inputs for either mic or line on the back, same per-input switchable power etc, plus a pair of Hi-Z inputs on the front for your guitars etc.
Others have mentioned the MOTU M-series interfaces, and those are really good too. I have the M6 now, and owned the M2 previously. They work off of USB-C bus power so they're great for mobile recording, too.
I think all of these are available at Sweetwater, so check their site for demo deals!
Hahah yea in the US some used cars might be cheaper than a decent synth. I too had a 01/Wfd briefly- not anymore. Proud owner of a fully loaded Trinity V3 in mint condition though.
Topic: Some time ago I replaced a dusty Saffire Pro 40 with a MOTU M4. Good Pres, good latency and very good driver support by MOTU. Highly recommended.
I will give you a few ideas, based on my limited experience. I’ll just throw them at you randomly. Up to you to sort it out. There will be some heavy opinions in there.
Win 11 and Tahoe have no Firewire support. Simple as that. You ‘could’ use an older computer with TB2 and adaptors, as a mixer, and route the outputs through ADAT to your main DAW computer. But there is latency to consider, for live headphone monitoring. An old machine won’t hit those low latency numbers.
When buying a soundcard, the most important thing are it’s converters, since preamps can be set to zero gain. For example, the Motu M4 and M6 have good ESS Sabre chips, utilised well. The expensive RME ADI has AKM chips. AKM is much better, but both Motu and RME have a slightly ‘forward’ presentation, that isn’t for everyone. Some older, cheaper USB cards have other converter chips that are implemented well, and sound good, but the drivers are generally not suited to low latency operation, and recent OS compatibility often becomes a big issue.
I would avoid Focusrite and UAD. I would also be looking for a soundcard that can power itself, to not stress the host computer’s PSU - causing extra heat build-up = fan noise.
In this case, the Motu Ultralight mk3 is bargain of the year. It powers itself, can handle simultaneous 8-channel recording, has DSP, and can operate on Firewire, USB2, and S/PDIF. It will also provide 2ms round-trip latency in 24bit/96Khz with an M4 Mini. The converters are very nice. Prices are keen.
Now, one option that stands out is to buy an old Yamaha AW4416. One that has an ADAT card onboard, for live throughput into your DAW machine, which will need a receiving ADAT or S/PDIF interface. One with the superb Waves card fitted would be a bonus.
It has nice converters, and a range of DSP for reverb and such. You could even use this as a standalone machine for 8-channel recording/monitoring, and transfer the Wav files to your computer later. Still a very good machine, and many used bargains about. Also the AW2816, which is even cheaper.
But beware of sticky top panels - although they can be recovered using Isopropyl, you might rub the lettering off! Great machine though.
Professional studios use AES/ABU btw. This is generally too expensive for home recording setups.
Although, an old Juli AES PCI card, into a Bryston DAC does sound epic - the cable alone is $500!
Do look at the Motu Ultralight mk3. Having separate monitor mixes is handy, and the Ultralight can be a standalone 8-channel mixer. You can take it to gigs without your computer, and it will be a great 8-channel mixer with DSP.
Important to use a quality 1.5m USB cable. 2m maximum. A basic SUPRA USB-C cable with a C-B adaptor is the best value here. Very balanced sound, and no noise. I researched a long time before choosing the SUPRA. I use a wonderful DH LABS Mirage USB2 for my DAC, but that’s another story.
Keep it simple if possible. Adaptors are to be avoided if you can.
Don’t always look at new stuff. There is some good gear out there, at keen prices, back when people did things right. But go too far, and compatibility is an insurmountable mountain.
Behringer might be ok for some. I had a very usable 16/4 mixer for my guitar-rig once. But the Mackie VLZ wasn’t much more, and would trounce the Behringer in every way, especially the preamps.
Firewire? My M-audio Firewire interface would never load naturally with my Focusrite USB Faderport. Either one or the other. Used to drive me nuts. When I added a Novation Nocturne 25, with it’s wraparound interface for Ableton - that was impossible to get up and running without a set order of switch-on. Even then it was hit and miss.
When you’ve got 8 people in a room, you don’t want to be messing about.
The Motu M4 is good. I used mine for 6 years here. With a SUPRA cable it is very good. But 4-channels is not enough for you. The M6 might be, but I think the older Ultralight mk3 is the way to go.
Some do develop a dimmed display, but it’s an easy fix if you can solder (YouTube vids).
I use a Mac Mini M4 here, with the Ultralight mk3/SUPRA-cable. This outputs S/PDIF to my Bryston BDA-2 DAC, and the Bryston has the great AKM chips, but with a more laid-back presentation, from discrete class-A circuitry. So my imaging and spatiality is amazing, with huge depth and realism.
But both the Ultralight and the Motu M4 sounded good through a passive preamp into my power-amp.
But I took it to another level completely with the Bryston DAC and BP6 preamp, and really do love it.
Still, the main thing for you OP, is to get those tracks down. You might not even be monitoring, all of you. Maybe just a vocalist, and engineer. The Ultralight mk3 will make all that so easy.
Edit - Ah, I read you said no amps needed. So you will need ideally a DAW with 8 separate output busses. Then it gets complicated. You ain’t doing that for $200.
If everyone’s happy to get the same mix, then no problem. The Ultralight will even enable the vocalist to have their own mix, but they will need a little headphone amp, and the band will need a headphone distribution amp.
This little box might be just the answer…
If everyone buys their own unit, then they can be daisy-chained together.
You can find them new for $25.
Note - if band members are fed the main DAW mix and use the ‘me’ control to bring themselves up a little, they might experience odd phasing at higher latency settings on the DAW.
But there are ways around that. You could chain a few together, and players can set up a ‘band’ mix on the Sessioncakes with the ‘me’ control, whilst using the other output to feed your DAW individual signals. Then the vocalist can have their own mix with full DAW fx. Great if everyone has their own processing, and can send line-level output. Guitarists will need speaker emulation for their signal - which most modern pedalboards have these days.
Win 11 and Tahoe have no Firewire support. Simple as that. You ‘could’ use an older computer with TB2 and adaptors, as a mixer, and route the outputs through ADAT to your main DAW computer. But there is latency to consider, for live headphone monitoring. An old machine won’t hit those low latency numbers.
When buying a soundcard, the most important thing are it’s converters, since preamps can be set to zero gain. For example, the Motu M4 and M6 have good ESS Sabre chips, utilised well. The expensive RME ADI has AKM chips. AKM is much better, but both Motu and RME have a slightly ‘forward’ presentation, that isn’t for everyone. Some older, cheaper USB cards have other converter chips that are implemented well, and sound good, but the drivers are generally not suited to low latency operation, and recent OS compatibility often becomes a big issue.
I would avoid Focusrite and UAD. I would also be looking for a soundcard that can power itself, to not stress the host computer’s PSU - causing extra heat build-up = fan noise.
In this case, the Motu Ultralight mk3 is bargain of the year. It powers itself, can handle simultaneous 8-channel recording, has DSP, and can operate on Firewire, USB2, and S/PDIF. It will also provide 2ms round-trip latency in 24bit/96Khz with an M4 Mini. The converters are very nice. Prices are keen.
Now, one option that stands out is to buy an old Yamaha AW4416. One that has an ADAT card onboard, for live throughput into your DAW machine, which will need a receiving ADAT or S/PDIF interface. One with the superb Waves card fitted would be a bonus.
It has nice converters, and a range of DSP for reverb and such. You could even use this as a standalone machine for 8-channel recording/monitoring, and transfer the Wav files to your computer later. Still a very good machine, and many used bargains about. Also the AW2816, which is even cheaper.
But beware of sticky top panels - although they can be recovered using Isopropyl, you might rub the lettering off! Great machine though.
Professional studios use AES/ABU btw. This is generally too expensive for home recording setups.
Although, an old Juli AES PCI card, into a Bryston DAC does sound epic - the cable alone is $500!
Do look at the Motu Ultralight mk3. Having separate monitor mixes is handy, and the Ultralight can be a standalone 8-channel mixer. You can take it to gigs without your computer, and it will be a great 8-channel mixer with DSP.
Important to use a quality 1.5m USB cable. 2m maximum. A basic SUPRA USB-C cable with a C-B adaptor is the best value here. Very balanced sound, and no noise. I researched a long time before choosing the SUPRA. I use a wonderful DH LABS Mirage USB2 for my DAC, but that’s another story.
Keep it simple if possible. Adaptors are to be avoided if you can.
Don’t always look at new stuff. There is some good gear out there, at keen prices, back when people did things right. But go too far, and compatibility is an insurmountable mountain.
Behringer might be ok for some. I had a very usable 16/4 mixer for my guitar-rig once. But the Mackie VLZ wasn’t much more, and would trounce the Behringer in every way, especially the preamps.
Firewire? My M-audio Firewire interface would never load naturally with my Focusrite USB Faderport. Either one or the other. Used to drive me nuts. When I added a Novation Nocturne 25, with it’s wraparound interface for Ableton - that was impossible to get up and running without a set order of switch-on. Even then it was hit and miss.
When you’ve got 8 people in a room, you don’t want to be messing about.
The Motu M4 is good. I used mine for 6 years here. With a SUPRA cable it is very good. But 4-channels is not enough for you. The M6 might be, but I think the older Ultralight mk3 is the way to go.
Some do develop a dimmed display, but it’s an easy fix if you can solder (YouTube vids).
I use a Mac Mini M4 here, with the Ultralight mk3/SUPRA-cable. This outputs S/PDIF to my Bryston BDA-2 DAC, and the Bryston has the great AKM chips, but with a more laid-back presentation, from discrete class-A circuitry. So my imaging and spatiality is amazing, with huge depth and realism.
But both the Ultralight and the Motu M4 sounded good through a passive preamp into my power-amp.
But I took it to another level completely with the Bryston DAC and BP6 preamp, and really do love it.
Still, the main thing for you OP, is to get those tracks down. You might not even be monitoring, all of you. Maybe just a vocalist, and engineer. The Ultralight mk3 will make all that so easy.
Edit - Ah, I read you said no amps needed. So you will need ideally a DAW with 8 separate output busses. Then it gets complicated. You ain’t doing that for $200.
If everyone’s happy to get the same mix, then no problem. The Ultralight will even enable the vocalist to have their own mix, but they will need a little headphone amp, and the band will need a headphone distribution amp.
This little box might be just the answer…
If everyone buys their own unit, then they can be daisy-chained together.
You can find them new for $25.
Note - if band members are fed the main DAW mix and use the ‘me’ control to bring themselves up a little, they might experience odd phasing at higher latency settings on the DAW.
But there are ways around that. You could chain a few together, and players can set up a ‘band’ mix on the Sessioncakes with the ‘me’ control, whilst using the other output to feed your DAW individual signals. Then the vocalist can have their own mix with full DAW fx. Great if everyone has their own processing, and can send line-level output. Guitarists will need speaker emulation for their signal - which most modern pedalboards have these days.
Last edited:
Question is - Do I buy that Moog System setup, or the Ferrari 330 P3 replica? Been bugging me for ages that one!!! They both sound great.