#Audio Interfaces

[iheartvelma]

A small rant about audio interfaces

If you record music or podcasts or voiceover work from a home studio, unless you’re going completely retro analog and doing stuff on tape, you need an audio interface to connect your real-world gear to your recording software; and this is how you get audio playback out of the software to your monitor speakers or headphones.

Here's a quick introduction to the topic, and some of my frustrations trying to find one that met my needs.

Generally, a consumer / prosumer audio interface will have some combination of the following:

Microphone preamps - these pre-amplify the low-level signals that come from microphones to make them audible, with adjustments to boost or cut gain as needed.

Often, mic preamps will also have the ability to send phantom power down the mic cable, which is a 48v current that can power certain kinds of mics like large-diaphragm condensers for vocals, or power other equipment like DI (Direct Inject) boxes for guitars and basses, to take the signal into a console or interface without using a guitar or bass amp. (Most Motown basses and guitars were recorded this way.)

Most consumer interfaces will have instrument level inputs so you can plug a guitar or bass directly, aka a DI.

Interfaces may have line-level inputs to accept signals from other devices like samplers, outboard effects units, CD players and the like. These are typically at a much higher signal level than mic or instrument level, but below headphone / speaker level. They’ll also typically have two or more line-level outputs, with one pair for the main outputs (stereo left and right) and then others which may be assignable via software (for specific tracks, submixes, etc).

They may be in standard rackmount format or a smaller desktop / portable form factor.

Smaller interfaces can work entirely off USB bus power; larger ones typically need an AC adapter or require mains power (typically a 3-prong IEC power cable).

So that all said, I’ve been trying to find a decent audio interface with four mic preamps, so I can plug in two mics and two DIs for guitar and bass, and have one left over for something else should the need arise.

This has to sit on my desk, so preferably I’d like something with ports on the back so that I can keep cable clutter to a minimum.

Weirdly, a lot of makers put their inputs on the front, which is convenient if you're plugging and unplugging guitars all day, but leads to a lot of cable clutter if you're not.

The clutter, it burns

Rackmount would be nice because then I could stash it under my computer display, but not all devices are rack-sized. Rackmount standards go way back, and are used for pro audio, broadcast, computing, and other equipment. Gear mounts onto a set of "rack rails" with metal ears, spaced 19" apart, and measured in 1.75" height increments, so a "1U" unit is 1.75" tall, a 4U unit is 7" tall, and so on.

19" rack equipment mounted in special shelves and under-desk rack bays

I need 48v phantom power for two ports, but not for the other two, so they need to be switchable individually.

One of the most popular brands of interface is Focusrite, who started out as a high-end recording console company by the legendary designer Rupert Neve, but except for their expensive ISA range of preamps -- which aren't even interfaces!! -- on all of their products, you can't switch 48v on individually, only in banks of 4 inputs at a time. WHY?

And ideally, under $1,000 USD.

Where this gets frustrating for me is that there’s basically just a handful of devices that tick all the boxes:

MOTU M6 - $399 - Desktop, 4-input

Arturia 8pre - 8 inputs, rackmount, and the most expensive at around $800

PreSonus Quantum ES 4 - $329 - Desktop, 4-input

Solid State Logic SSL 12 - $499 - Desktop, 4-input

Audient ID44 - $699 - Desktop, 4-input

Now I've owned MOTU, Audient and SSL interfaces before, and I use Arturia's V Collection software (softsynth reproductions of vintage synthesizers, mostly) and their hardware has always been pretty good, too.

All of these seemed capable enough; the more expensive ones also feature ADAT optical input/output, which carries 8 channels of digital audio over a TOSLink style fiber optic cable.

That's why the SSL 12 advertises itself as having "12 inputs" when 8 of them are really ADAT inputs - lots of companies do that. This is nice if you want to expand your input capacity, as there are many "preamp expanders" that don't have USB but send audio over ADAT.

So after shopping around, I got a really good deal on a demo PreSonus ES4, and tried it out, and man, it was the most finicky thing ever. (PreSonus is a US company now owned by Fender.)

First of all, even though it's a small, sleek, attractive desktop unit, it required an external USB power adapter, in addition to bus power over the data port, before it would power on successfully. I guess you can use a USB power bank on the go? Whatever.

Regular USB-C can deliver 15W of power, tops, so if it needs an additional 5W, that's means they expect your computer or laptop to support the USB-C Power Delivery standard (20W and up) to use a single cable - and since most don't as of yet, they really ought to include a USB power brick in the box.

Once I got it to power on, came the next weird thing: It wouldn't connect properly. Its little USB activity light would stay red. Apparently it didn't like connecting through a Thunderbolt hub, and it wouldn't even stay connected when directly connected to my laptop, it only stayed connected sometimes when connected via the USB hub on my monitor... when it didn't just completely lock up with all flashing red lights randomly.

So: Avoid PreSonus. (I seem to recall owning one of their Audiobox interfaces back in the day and having similar headaches. Never had issues like these with any other company.)

I returned it, and after shopping around, ended up with the MOTU M6, which I got a demo deal on again. So far, so good. To be continued!

[porters-fangs]

what the fuck is all this tumblr.

[fagulaa]

The thing I love about Eiffel is that he is genuinely kind of a shitheel. Like, beyond the whole killing people/kidnapping thing. Its a very realistic aura of light dickishness that permeates the guy. And hes not a bad guy, but the thing about real life is you don't have to cackle maniacally while stroking a cat to be. you know. a shitheel.

MY FAVORITE EXAMPLE is in the very very last episode. He's undergone charecter development. He has stopped lighly micro agressing his coworkers. Hes a new Doug!

And then he sends a very dear, very heartfelt audio letter back to earth, because he thinks it might be his last chance to communicate with his family. What a swell guy! What a sweetheart!Unfortunately, he has sent this loving audio message. to HIS DEAF DAUGHTER.

.

[megabip-psd]

[annabelx420]

[fuzzkaizer]

Spurr Audio - F-201 FET Preamp and Orbit-2 Fuzz

"The pedal’s space-themed design, complete with a miniature globe, adds an extra layer of cosmic charm to its aesthetic. ... Following the success of its predecessor, the Orbit-1, the Orbit-2 Fuzz steps up as the next big thing in space-themed guitar pedals. Its design includes a small screen, reminiscent of vintage spacecraft computers, and the iconic miniature globe."

cred: guitarbomb.com/2023/12/20/

[jemwolf]

Anyone know of good free/relatively inexpensive audio mixing/editing software other than audacity? I'd love to get more into recording music and also possible voice acting and audio books.

Any input is super appreciated!

[yamahamusicstore]

Buy the best companion of Computer’s rich sound -Yamaha Audio Interface. It comes with latency free monitoring, detailed sound capture, and Stellar recording quality.

[micro-sg886]

Soundthinks mang thế giới âm thanh tới ngay trong căn hộ cuả bạn với rất nhiều thiết bị phòng thu âm chất lượng cao

[trevlad-sounds]

Invisible Club 48

15.01.2025

Aaron Dooley – Westbound Alameda – 00:00 Gaudi Kosmisches Trio – Torpedo Forward – 08:09 I Signori Della Galassia – Sub – 15:06 Rickard Jäverling – Bruised Banana – 20:46 Rum Guzzler – Sirena Song – 26:07 Thought Bubble – Forge – 28:35 Lord Of The Isles, Ellen Renton – For a Burning World – 36:44 Nonima + Dissolved – Chronostellations – 41:57 THE GAYE DEVICE – Mop and Roll – 44:53 Bravo Tounky – Cevapsiz Arama – 50:01 Thee Marloes – Not Today (Instrumental) – 55:27 Holy Hive, The Shacks – Middle Of The Night – 58:02 Frunk29 – About A Trip – 01:00:45 kintsugi – hanabi – 01:05:12 tttc – Little Frogs – 01:09:40 Inf, Stan Forebee – Expanse – 01:11:23

[ceramicbeetle]

another noteworthy thing about Hawkeye’s anti-gun monologue in Officer of the Day is that Frank does concede the argument by taking the gun out of the holster himself before giving it back to Hawkeye

[antiyourwokehomophobia2]

God, the audio editing software I've been using got fucking greedy.

[kermakatti]

A friend on Discord mentioned the Korg DS-10 which I haven't played around with too much but I think it makes for a neat little novelty at least. The interface is surprisingly intuitive and being able to control various synth parameters with the touch screen is fun :3

[trevlad]

For the birds 018

13.09.2024

For the Birds. Your weekly dose of avian related adventures.

Intro 00:00 Julia Gjertsen & Nico Rosenberg–Anillos (Varispeed) 01:35 marine eyes + IKSRE–Full Moon in Marengo 08:18 Dylan Henner–We Lay Down in a Field of Orange Flowers and We Listened to the Birds 12:02 Lionmilk–the gift of sunshine 30:46 SYMBOL–Shapeless Burst 31:59 MO~DU–CERULEAN VINES 35:45 Mode 7 Project–Quiet Reassurance 40:00 Lee Hannah–River Island 45:58 MLO–Birds & Flutes 50:16 Olan Mill–Grounding 55:11 sleepercub–An Introduction 57:37 Florigenix–Jungle Rusted Plasma Temple 59:19 Ellarald–Riversong 1:02:05 David Cordero–Milford sound 1:08:38 Outro 1:10:47