Beginner Home Studio: Focusrite Bundle vs. Presonus Bundle

[Bassman1]

Greetings !

I am looking into getting an audio interface soon and setting up a small, basic, yet quality home studio for the first time. I am not looking for anything crazy. But, I'd like to be able to make very good quality recordings of riffs and songs to send to people. Seeing as I own no recording gear, I am certainly drawn to bundles seen at Sweetwater or Guitar Center.

I've read a lot of very positive reviews about Focusrite and Presonus as well. It also turns out that these companies offer bundles to get folks like me started right away.

Does anyone here have any experience with the Focusrite 2i2 Gen 3 interface or the Presonus Studio 24c? What are your thoughts on them? Is there one you prefer over the other ?

The Focusrite model offers a bundle that comes with a condenser mic, XLR cable, studio headphones, Ableton Live Lite, and Pro Tools First. This sounds like everything I need. The DAWs it comes with seem to be bare bones though from what I've read. Is this much of an issue ? Has anyone used Ableton Live Lite? Does it work ok with 3rd party plugins like Wall of Sound ? I know Pro Tools First doesn't, which sucks because I would plan to specifically use Wall of Sound for cabinet simulations.

The Presonus model seems to only come in a package that includes Studio One Artist DAW. No extra hardware. However, it seems like this DAW might be a little more comprehensive. Has anyone used this ? Can you recommend it ? Does it also work well with 3rd party plugins ?

It seems like both interfaces work similarity. However, the main question is which bundle is better considering the software it comes with, hardware, or lack thereof.

Any and all guidance is appreciated!

 

[Adieu]

Im not sure if you're aware, but some sort of halfbaked temporary pseudolicenses or something for ProTools and Ableton are included with literally all Focusrite products when you register them, not just "bundles".... sounds like it's offering the same thing that came with my $109 Scarlett Solo

The headphones and the mic are probably cheap rebadged chinese junk worth maybe-$40

 

[Bassman1]

Im not sure if you're aware, but some sort of halfbaked temporary pseudolicenses or something for ProTools and Ableton are included with literally all Focusrite products when you register them, not just "bundles".... sounds like it's offering the same thing that came with my $109 Scarlett Solo

Yup! I noticed that off the bat. I bring up the Focusrite 2i2 because it has the inputs and specs I'm looking for. Moreover, the bundle comes with all the other things I need.

I guess I am more so wondering what the big difference is between the included DAWs of the products mentioned. How do those bare bones versions of Pro Tools and Ableton match up again Presonus Studio One Artist ?

 

[Adieu]

No idea, I've only had mine for 2 days, and the lighter and faster Audacity (freeware) has so far been a better match for my needs

Ymmv tho, I'm using it to record voiceovers for some software developer

 

[Sylim]

i can recommend the Presonus stuff. i have the Studio 68 and it´s great. sounds great, no problems in any way, can´t go wrong with it. i also use Studio One Professional and it´s really good. easy to learn, great workflow and you can do anything you need.

i had a Scarlett 1st gen some years ago and the di quality was awful. and the 1st gen was praised just as much back then as the current gen is today. so i´m very sceptical about any hype over Scraletts in general. i can´t say anything about Ableton. Pro Tools is very extensive and can get kind of complicated. and it´s a bit restrictive. it has it´s own plugin system, so you´d need an extra plugin wrapper to use normal vst plugins. i believe the midi functionalities are also a bit weird. all in all i would say Pro Tools is not really for beginners who want to focus on recording, but rather for professional mixing engineers.

 

[DudeManBrother]

Presonus makes nice interfaces. I’d skip the package deal and get the interface you want. SSL (2,2+), Motu (M2,M4), Audient (ID4) also make seemingly high quality entry level contenders.

Download Reaper, as it’s full featured, only $60 after your 2 month unrestricted trial, and most everyone on here uses it; so you’ll get more setup/workflow help if necessary. Those lite/restricted programs are frustrating and can/will inhibit you.

Grab a set of closed back headphones. They are necessary for a lot of live tracking, and work well for mixing. Open back is great for mixing, but can’t be used for live tracking. Figure out your budget and do a search for “the best” in that range. Beyerdynamic DT770’s are phenomenal for their price, and would remain useful your entire “career”. They are still used in major studios, and are by far the most comfortable cans around.

What kind of recording you do should guide your initial mic choice. If you plan on mic’ing up your cab, then an SM57 should be at the top of your list. It also works well on some vocals (especially in untreated rooms) but everyone’s voice is different. If you’re doing the amp sim thing, and/or just want a useful condenser mic: the Audio-Technica AT2020 is a great start.

 

[Bassman1]

Presonus makes nice interfaces. I’d skip the package deal and get the interface you want. SSL (2,2+), Motu (M2,M4), Audient (ID4) also make seemingly high quality entry level contenders.

Download Reaper, as it’s full featured, only $60 after your 2 month unrestricted trial, and most everyone on here uses it; so you’ll get more setup/workflow help if necessary. Those lite/restricted programs are frustrating and can/will inhibit you.

Grab a set of closed back headphones. They are necessary for a lot of live tracking, and work well for mixing. Open back is great for mixing, but can’t be used for live tracking. Figure out your budget and do a search for “the best” in that range. Beyerdynamic DT770’s are phenomenal for their price, and would remain useful your entire “career”. They are still used in major studios, and are by far the most comfortable cans around.

What kind of recording you do should guide your initial mic choice. If you plan on mic’ing up your cab, then an SM57 should be at the top of your list. It also works well on some vocals (especially in untreated rooms) but everyone’s voice is different. If you’re doing the amp sim thing, and/or just want a useful condenser mic: the Audio-Technica AT2020 is a great start.

Thanks for your insightful reply! I've been mulling on this since...

I'm thinking now, I'll most likely get Reaper. As for the interface, I'm still learning towards the Focusrite 2i2 3rd gen.

It would be really nice to eventually have a condenser mic. However, I'm still living in an apartment, and mik'ing my cab isn't much of an option currently. I do, however, have a Torpedo Captor and Wall of Sound plugin. So, going direct shouldn't be an issue.

Now, onto the headphones... Any recommendations for quality closed-back headphones between $50-100? I'm eying the AKG 275s. Anything else similar to that I should I look at ?


Thanks for all your help!