Interfaces

[CWhasp]

Im soon to be setting up my little home studio and have seeked advice
from Studio-Cen to setup my previous studio and it is working great.
(Dell computer/ 1082fw / Sonar / a few mics and so on)

I just bought the following computer:

Dell XPS 210, intel core 2 duo processor E6420
(2.13 ghz, 1066sb)w/4MB cache
2gb ddr2 sdram @ 667mhz
250gb sata II hard drive (7200rpm)
24x cd-rw/dvd combo
MS XP home edition sp2
Fire wire port

I will be loading sonar5pro and adobe audition
(i will be upgrading to 7pro very soon)
and most likely some soft instruments(bass/drums).
I have a Roland JunoD unit.
Roland VG88 w/gk2(i play guitar)
Boss SE70 effects unit
MXL 770 mic & Shure 57 mic

I am considering purchasing the Truth monitors.

I prefer doing most of the work at the computer so
Im looking for an Audio interface (firewire) to connect
the inputs. This will be my first time-around with just
an interface. Ive read countless articles on these types
of units, along with Tweaks guide and alot of posts here
at studio central that concern Audio interfaces. Including
reviews, comparisons, and owner confessions.
I prefer not to judge a piece of equipment on the reviews
from the manufacturer except for the specifications they
provide at their web sites for compatibility issues.

I think Ive done my prep work, and wanting to go with
FireWire Ive narrowed the field down some. Ive read
some posts/reviews that were nightmarish, but each
unit seems to have its faults, and its advantages.
I would like as many options as possible (ins/outs, spdif,
phantom power, midi, pre-amps) and hopefully a trusted
company that has good support and good downloadable
drivers. The advice Im seeking is a point to a unit that
users find to be "good, reliable, w/features, best bang
for buck" type of thing ($150 to $350).

*Is there a reason zzsounds isnt carrying the Tascam 1804*?

The contributors here at Studio-Central are users,
and most are experienced with computer recording.
I take their advice very seriously, and check
out all the recommendations to see what would be right
for me. (a guitarist thats not scared of computers and wants
to create songs that have guitar,keys,drums,bass, and
vocals, at home in a room the size of a typical office space)
I would appreciate any suggestions or recommendations that
any contributor has to share. Ive tried to include, to the best of my
ability, what I have, what Im getting, what I want to do,
and where. Being inexperienced with just the interface
style of input, Im looking for some help.
I appreciate your time !! Thanks !!!

[Rick Levine]

*Is there a reason zzsounds isnt carrying the Tascam 1804*?

It's discontinued. Everybody dropped the price from $500 to $300 and sold them out. Try going into a chain, like Guitar Center, and see if any of their stores still have stock. They all can't be gone.

I have two 1804s, and nothing in the price range ($300) comes even close to their quality and capability. Get one if you can find it.

[CWhasp]

Thanks Ric ... and its off into the world-wide-web I go !

[Rick Levine]

Thanks Ric ... and its off into the world-wide-web I go !

You'll have a better chance walking into a Sam Ash or Guitar Center and asking. They'll give you the $300 deal if you can show that advertised price from the web. One eBay seller has some, but he wants $429.

[Tweak]

Welcome back, CWhasp!


Looks like the 1804 is being replaced by the US 1641

http://www.tascam.com/details;8,15,1056.html

16 simultaneous Inputs
4 Simultaneous Outputs
14 x 4 Analog Input/Output
Stereo S/PDIF Digital Input/Output
8 XLR Mic Inputs with Phantom Power
USB 2.0 Computer Interface
Up to 96kHz/24-bit Audio Resolution
Zero-latency Hardware Monitoring
Independent Monitor and Headphone Outputs
16-channel MIDI Input and Output
Includes Steinberg Cubase LE4 and TASCAM Continuous Velocity Piano
ASIO and Core Audio support for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OS X
Weight: 3.2kg / 7.1 lb
Dimensions (WxDxH): 19" x 11.1" x 1.74" (482.6mm x 280mm x 44mm)

Price will be about $400 I think.

[CWhasp]

HEY RICH !!!! Its good to be back and shopping too !!

My other rig that you helped me with is at the studio and doing Very Very Well !!! Thanks again for your help on that.

I found the Tascam 1804 very interesting for the price. But alas, another thing Ive missed out on. I will most definitely check out the replacement you have mentioned. Ill be ordering some Truth monitors at the Zz. Im hoping to add a FW Audio Interface too. Ill be keeping my eye out for any feedback on Sonar7 as well. This rig will be at my house.

Thanks for the welcome back Tweak .... its flattering that you remember me.

[ntgrater]

it has been released..
and it is $399
sadly i don't think its at zzounds yet

ntg

[CWhasp]

Thanks Ric ... and its off into the world-wide-web I go !

You'll have a better chance walking into a Sam Ash or Guitar Center and asking. They'll give you the $300 deal if you can show that advertised price from the web. One eBay seller has some, but he wants $429.

Good idea Rick, I wish the city I live in had either of those stores. I made a call to somewhere that claimed to have some in stock. They are suppose to call me on their next business day. Amazon had some terrible reviews concerning their 3rd party sellers. The price is running around $500. So I wish I could walk into a GuitarCenter with $300 cash. And I could, but there's no GuitarCenter here, or Sam Ash, or anything of that nature. We have a Great music store called "The Rock Shop". But they wouldnt have a FW AudioInterface. But they are gradually expanding.

Thanks again Rick .... I appreciate your input.

[CWhasp]

it has been released..
and it is $399
sadly i don't think its at zzounds yet

ntg

Hey Grater !!! Thanks for the infoe. But Ive noticed that its USB. I was anticipating FW because of the success Ive had with that vehicle. But the infoe shows that the USB is getting better mpbs than the FW. I will check to see if FW is available. If Zz is expecting the units, I would definitely wait to order so I can order from the Zz. Its appears to be a very nice unit, maybe I should consider USB.

Thanks Grater !!!

[Tweak]

There have been a lot of posts written about USB2 vs. Firewire and USB2 usually does not rate highly. I am rather surprised that Tascam is not going with Firewire. The speed difference between 400 and 480mps is negligible. The difference between a reliable driver and a shoddy one is huge. It seems to me that Firewire has been an easier nut to crack for manufacturers making audio interfaces.

But maybe Tascam has figured it out, as it has done a lot of work with USB2 on their small interfaces. But keep in mind this is a 16 input USB2 interface. The closest thing is the USB2 version of the MOTU 828mk2. I'd wait till we start reading user reports before considering one.

The interesting thing is rather than sticking an ADAT port on the back, they actually give us 8 extra inputs. That will be useful for people that just want the extra inputs.

I'm think zZounds will stock them eventually. Its possible the other stores don't have them in stock yet--some stores list stuff months before they arrive.

[nanashiwanderer]

I probably wouldn't get an USB 2.0 interface over firewire. Mostly because, i'm scared of clocking issues. If you have texas instruments Firewire consider some of the other interfaces around.




Also avoid the truths, most people complain about poor rfi rejection (they pick up radio), there also quite hyped monitors. for the price look into wharfedale diamond 8.2a's which are decent.

Also your computer has one hard drive. you should consider buying another hard drive. For DAW's you want to have a dedicated hard drive to writing audio (not a partition a physical drive), and nothing else. IT greatly improves performance ( it means being able to record 30 or more tracks (as many as 200 depending on how much processing), instead of just 8 or 9)

[CWhasp]

I see your point Rich, about the drivers being so important, and Id never mind spending an extra $100 to get a reliable trusted unit from such manufacturers as Tascam, Roland, and so on. What I could do is go with a FW unit that gives me more options as opposed to numerous inputs.
Spdif, phantom power, midi, decent pre-amps are very important items too, and try to keep the price in the $300 area and wait for a better FW unit to come along down the road. Ill be recording, at the most, 2 instruments at once, so the inputs are not my determining factor. Its the quality and the capabilities I tend to observe most, and of course users reviews too ! The 1804 sure looked good, but Im sure that I can find something to get me up and going till I hear about a better unit here at stuido central.

Thanks for your help Tweak .... and its nice to be back !

[nanashiwanderer]

d. Ill be recording, at the most, 2 instruments at once, so the inputs are not my determining factor. Its the quality and the capabilities I tend to observe most, and of course users reviews to

Then get something like a Firebox...

the differences between sound quality on interfaces or so small there not worth fretting over. and the people who think going from some interface to another (wiht a couple of highend interfaces that are well out side your budget) is a big difference in sound, has likely very little experience using gear.

Your primary concern should be does it have the features I want? and will it work with my set up. I think as far as it goes, you can't beat an M-audio unit thas PCI. to add preamps you could add a cheap mixer like the Yamaha MG12/4.

For firewire interfaces, Presonus I think is probably the most solid of the bunch (and I use EMU and tascam!) . Many people like other interfaces and are happy.

So the questions your looking for Will it do what I want, and does it do what I want?

[CWhasp]

I probably wouldn't get an USB 2.0 interface over firewire. Mostly because, i'm scared of clocking issues. If you have texas instruments Firewire consider some of the other interfaces around.

Also avoid the truths, most people complain about poor rfi rejection (they pick up radio), there also quite hyped monitors. for the price look into wharfedale diamond 8.2a's which are decent.

Also your computer has one hard drive. you should consider buying another hard drive. For DAW's you want to have a dedicated hard drive to writing audio (not a partition a physical drive), and nothing else. IT greatly improves performance ( it means being able to record 30 or more tracks (as many as 200 depending on how much processing), instead of just 8 or 9)

Hey nana !! Thanks for the input ... I will definitely check out those monitors ! I got some recommendations for the Truths, so I thought Id check them out too. I need 'short to mid' throw cause my room is rather small, but not tiny.

Ive had good luck with FW, so i think I may stick with it.

Are there any FW units you would recommend ??? I would definitely check those out as well, as I luv to read about this kind of stuff.

I did investigate the 2 hard drive units. It usually had an 80gig boot drive, then the audio drive seperate. I won't be going over 15 to 20 tracks as it is so I brought the price of the computer down so I could add some soft instruments and get a "good" FW interface. Its hard to manage the dollars when everything in the "chain" is so important, but I think I did alright. I also wanted to upgrade to Sonar7 so I dont lose touch with technology.

Thanks nana !!! I appreciate your help !

[nanashiwanderer]

re there any FW units you would recommend ??? I would definitely check those out as well, as I luv to read about this kind of stuff.

I like pres onus stuff, the firepod is great unit for the money (400$). The tascam stuff has some draw backs. Mostly no patch mix style thing, and a lack of out puts. USB has latency issues and its not so much to do with the bandwidth... os it seems. So USB 2.0 I don't expect to fix it. Serious recording should stick to firewire. Tascams new unit is clearly targetting bands who want to do home recordings, serious.

Motu's stuff is good if you have texas instruments firewire or a mac, those two are probably just two most all around popular... though the motu is out of your range.

The Presonus has the Firebox which is in your rains.

The TC Konnect 8 had great r eviews for sound quality, but I don;t know if they've gotten the drivers where they need to. A lot of complaints especially among sonar users.

Also hold off on Sonar 7 its got some complaints give cakewalk a month or 2 to work on it.

[CWhasp]

re there any FW units you would recommend ??? I would definitely check those out as well, as I luv to read about this kind of stuff.

I like pres onus stuff, the firepod is great unit for the money (400$). The tascam stuff has some draw backs. Mostly no patch mix style thing, and a lack of out puts. USB has latency issues and its not so much to do with the bandwidth... os it seems. So USB 2.0 I don't expect to fix it. Serious recording should stick to firewire. Tascams new unit is clearly targetting bands who want to do home recordings, serious.

Motu's stuff is good if you have texas instruments firewire or a mac, those two are probably just two most all around popular... though the motu is out of your range.

The Presonus has the Firebox which is in your rains.

The TC Konnect 8 had great r eviews for sound quality, but I don;t know if they've gotten the drivers where they need to. A lot of complaints especially among sonar users.

Also hold off on Sonar 7 its got some complaints give cakewalk a month or 2 to work on it.

Great Stuff nana !!! Thanks alot !

Ill get reading on the Presonus stuff and review the reviews too.

Yes, Sonar 7 is 'new' so Ill be cautious when that time comes to upgrade from 5.

I really liked the reviews on the monitors you suggested, and have a pair in my cart. I needed to read more reviews on the Truth as well.

Thanks for your help/opinions nana.... i really appreciate it !!! I believe that suggestions such as yours keep me pointed in the "informed" direction.

[CWhasp]

Ive read alot of reviews on the Firebox (hey, free headphones too!), and had entertained getting it (& a few others) before i heard about the Tascam1804. I believe this unit is what I'll go with. I still have more reading to do, and will try to find all the reviews I can before the final purchase. My computer will be shipped the 17th, so I still have some time to do some investigating. Thanks to the great input throughout this thread by the contributors, Im well on my way to a 'sweet' lil home rig ! Thanks guys !

[Tweak]

The firebox is pretty good overall, for $300. It does have one issue that has been brought up many times about not having enough gain to use dynamic mics (sm57, sm58) unless you flip the "boost" switch, which adds some noise. But that issue applies to many other audio interfaces as well, though to a lesser extent. My 828mk2 can't bring out the best from my dynamic mics either. But that is something one does not notice till you try a great preamp and find out how it is "supposed to" sound.

The firebox is a good platform for adding a quality preamp later. But keep in mind it only has 4 inputs. If you add a hardware synth that takes 2 inputs right there. Using any external boxes? They need their inputs too.

Like i say all the time, you can always add a better preamp, better converters, but you are stuck with the i/o they give you.

[CWhasp]

Hey Tweak !

Since the Tascam1804 was so illusive I went with the FireBox. I know its limiting, but it fit into the budget. If my "home rig" becomes productive, then I will by all means be enhancing and improving it. I have a JunoD, VG88, and a DM5 I was hoping to utilize, but soft instruments are an option too. I picked up a Sonar5 book for added insurance, and hope to find a good "home-studio" book that maps out all the "Signal Flow" possibilities, and then locating them in Sonar5P. At the other studio my partner does most of the engineering, so Im doing this from the ground up by myself. (& of course with the help of S-C!).

[jsepeta]

tascam probably chose usb2 because there's more people with usb2 on their pc than firewire. the problem with USB 2 isn't the bandwidth (480) but instead the timing issues of involving the CPU clock with data transfers. apple avoided this when they designed the firewire spec, but intel's goal is to sell more cpu's, which is why USB & USB 2.0 are so processor-dependent.

i picked up an m-audio firewire 1814 and am pleased with it. which it was a full rack in width instead of 2/3 rack. works fine both on my mac and via a d-link firewire/usb2 card i added to the pc. digidesign suggests TI firewire chips for compatibility with the 1814 and protools m-powered so i ran it through its paces last night and it performed admirably. that is to say, without the ground loop problems i had occassionally run into on my mbox 2.

[TheBizzle]

that saddens me about the 1804...i was hoping to get one :/...i guess i might go with this new thing their making, even though it seems like a presonus rip off to some extent. And i went to ebay to see if there were some FW-1804's, and all of them are in the 350-500 range, which is rediculous considering it was like...300 new.

[CWhasp]

that saddens me about the 1804...i was hoping to get one :/...i guess i might go with this new thing their making, even though it seems like a presonus rip off to some extent. And i went to ebay to see if there were some FW-1804's, and all of them are in the 350-500 range, which is rediculous considering it was like...300 new.

I feel your pain Bizzle !! When I was pointed that way I thought I had found the perfect unit (considering features). I just cant pay $500 for an interface when the FW1082 is just alittle more, and I already have one of those at my other studio. (and it works great). But alittle more after alittle more and ya end up having to sacrifice in some other area. I decided to go with the Firebox because its being used alot and is reliable with good drivers. Tweak mentioned a dynamic mic issue a few posts ago, and I believe that the only thing I may be micing is my Boogie cabinet. All other devices will be direct or soft. But thats my preference, yours might be different. When in doubt, I read alot of reviews !

Good luck Bizzle, let me know how it works out !

[nickb]

If you could still find an FW1804, would you be worried about buying a discontinued unit in terms of support, driver updates, etc.?

[CWhasp]

If you could still find an FW1804, would you be worried about buying a discontinued unit in terms of support, driver updates, etc.?

Very good point nick !! Im not one for vintage stuff because of that reason. (unless its a guitar). Tascam usually do great products. I got a FW1082 nearly 3yrs ago when they were new, and it came with a bad 1st channel. ( i could smell that something wasnt right). Returned it and got another, its been working excellent since. Actually I think thats why I went with the firebox, so I wouldnt have to search for the 1804 and trusting the source, plus paying more and hope it lasts. Thats a little dangerous for me. I have to remind myself that Im not trying to recreate Abby Road, Im just trying to get the "fizzle in my dizzle"....

[TheBizzle]

If you could still find an FW1804, would you be worried about buying a discontinued unit in terms of support, driver updates, etc.?

Very good point nick !! Im not one for vintage stuff because of that reason. (unless its a guitar). Tascam usually do great products. I got a FW1082 nearly 3yrs ago when they were new, and it came with a bad 1st channel. ( i could smell that something wasnt right). Returned it and got another, its been working excellent since. Actually I think thats why I went with the firebox, so I wouldnt have to search for the 1804 and trusting the source, plus paying more and hope it lasts. Thats a little dangerous for me. I have to remind myself that Im not trying to recreate Abby Road, Im just trying to get the "fizzle in my dizzle"....

yeah...idk, i guess its either the new thing they have going or the presonus firepod...but i know what u meant about sacrificing in other areas, so i'll have to consider what i'll get first and what i'll get later...right now the buying chain is guitar rig - mics - interface - pre. my guitar rig will be accomplished after christmas, and i'll go from there. But yeah, and i wish you well with the firebox...i need more than 2 channels, however, and for as least cash as possible.