Interface suggestions, thoughts, help

[Metalman X]

So, finally hoping to get back into recording, makin' some new music n' stuff. But my desktop, which is my dedicated audio setup, died back in January. So, being unemployed/disabled/very low income, took me til now to finally get a replacement setup

This is a refurbished Lenovo m710s (small form factor. Saving space, and my busted up lower back) with 3.5gh quad core Intel i5 with a 500gb SSD for OS (Windows 7, do not care to update. It's solid) and programs, with a 3TB hdd for bulk storage (once I find a way to hopefully pull my old reaper and Ableton 9 session files cuz I got stupid lazy backing up these post 2018, ugh), 16gb RAM (whatever brand came in it, I forget. No XMP options in my BIOS though FWIW). The Intel is Skylake, and I have USB 3.0 allover this machine with one or two 2.0 on the back.

Up til this machine I been using a trusty AF M-Audio Delta 1010lt PCI card as my interface. But PCI slots are pretty extinct for most newer stuff it seems, so decided to finally get a USB interface. I had gotten a Behringer UMC1010HD since it seems a lot of bang for the buck, and I'd gotten accustomed to using/needing more than 2 inputs with Delta card which had 10 ins and outs. Thing is, no matter what I try, my PC wont see it at all when I plug in the USB. Just pretends like nothins' even there. I tried so many things between switching out multiple cables, trying newer than older drivers (which all install flawlessly at least), USB ports and even BIOS settings, even tried a couple different AC adapter brands for gits n' shiggles. Oh, and yes, the power light comes on on the UMC, so I know it at least powers on. So I'm crossing this off because don't know what more to do.

So, selling some stuff I can spare on ebay, looking at some better tier interfaces. Nothing too crazy cuz money is scarce for me, but some MOTU stuff has caught my eye and looks doable. Specifically the Ultralite MK-III, and possibly M4. I kinda like the Ultralite's feature set more, but the M4 could work for me too. Specifically I like to have 3 ins for tracking guitars.... two mics to blend and a clean DI. I do IR's for bass though, and some guitar stuff, but do prefer micing my own cab since I'm lucky enough to at least have a space I can do that, so this is why smaller one and two input interface don't interest me. Also, I wanna be able to use my reamp box if/when needed so I need at least one in to feed to a separate DAW channel for that as well. But than I'm reading the USB can still be buggy on these.... okay, so firewire only ones cheaper, and a firewire card is cheap too. So that may be an option. But I am gonna try to get the Hybrid version so I can try the USB first, and can snag a firewire card as a potential method if the USB still gives me grief (why I liked sticking with the PCI card so long... if you had a port for it, it worked everytime). But than I'm reading the firewire card needs to be a T.I. chipset to work with newer skylake based machines, and now that option is less cheap and harder to find.

I dunno.... It seems like interface/desktop compatibility can still be a crapshoot even if the specs look good on paper? At least under a certain price point it sure does.

So any other interfaces worth looking at that a dude can find used under $250? In this price range the MOTU stuffs looks best bang for buck and reliability.

But than theirs some "wild cards" like say, the Akai EIE box for example. Certainly looks neat, and has nice features for the price... but also, can't help but wonder if theirs a reason you don't hear or about find much about them. Tascam seems to have some options too, and they have a good rep in the past at least, but don't hear much about now either.

Apologies for the wall of text. Just so many factors to consider with this stuff, and wanted to give a clear picture of what I'm working with here. Thanx for any help ;-)

Cheers

 

[CanserDYI]

Honestly I've just been using a focusrite scarlett and have zero issues, basically plug and play and it does the job really well. I have used a few other interfaces, a few presonuses, a few behringers, a tascam, a UA Apollo, and a few others. The nicest one I used was the UA Apollo, came with a bunch of pretty nice plug ins, but is quite expensive, and I really didnt notice any difference in the actual end result between the apollo and the scarlett and stuff. Maybe my ear can't hear it, or Im not tech savvy enough to understand the difference, but I am just as happy with my 150 dollar Focusrite as I was with the like 400 dollar Apollo.

 

[Metalman X]

Honestly I've just been using a focusrite scarlett and have zero issues, basically plug and play and it does the job really well. I have used a few other interfaces, a few presonuses, a few behringers, a tascam, a UA Apollo, and a few others. The nicest one I used was the UA Apollo, came with a bunch of pretty nice plug ins, but is quite expensive, and I really didnt notice any difference in the actual end result between the apollo and the scarlett and stuff. Maybe my ear can't hear it, or Im not tech savvy enough to understand the difference, but I am just as happy with my 150 dollar Focusrite as I was with the like 400 dollar Apollo.

Thing with the Focusrites though is I mostly only see the 2i2 or the 18i20 available used. One has too little I/O, the other is more than I need, and the used pricetag is more than I can afford.

I did have an 18i20 back in like 2013-14 for a minute, but kept having latency issues with it. It did sound nice though, and I did like the features. But I wound up selling t off shortly because even once I got the latency mostly okay, my Delta 1010lt card made latency a non-issue with almost no effort, and sound quality wise, their really wasn't any noticeable difference, doubly so in a full mix. I heard they got better drivers now though. I think it was a fairly new release back when I had it.

Looking on ebay, theirs some Saffires with features I want, at a realistic price for me. But then that leads back to the whole firewire card/chipset comparability rabbit hole. Also, to my understanding, the older Focusrites preamps clipped like hell when plugging directly in, and not sure if those Saffires are of that same generation. I tend to like hot pickups in my guitars and basses cuz of the kinda' compression and pick attack they give when set back away from the strings a bit, but still hitting the amp/Axe FX harder. My X2N, Super 3, Black Winter, and SMB-4d loaded instruments might make those cry, heh

How is it in 2021 USB interfaces can still have so many potential pifalls anyway? I honestly though having a much more up to date desktop and USB AI's having been a thing for well over a decade now wouldn't be so much involved getting them to play nice, lol

 

[CanserDYI]

Thing with the Focusrites though is I mostly only see the 2i2 or the 18i20 available used. One has too little I/O, the other is more than I need, and the used pricetag is more than I can afford.

I did have an 18i20 back in like 2013-14 for a minute, but kept having latency issues with it. It did sound nice though, and I did like the features. But I wound up selling t off shortly because even once I got the latency mostly okay, my Delta 1010lt card made latency a non-issue with almost no effort, and sound quality wise, their really wasn't any noticeable difference, doubly so in a full mix. I heard they got better drivers now though. I think it was a fairly new release back when I had it.

Looking on ebay, theirs some Saffires with features I want, at a realistic price for me. But then that leads back to the whole firewire card/chipset comparability rabbit hole. Also, to my understanding, the older Focusrites preamps clipped like hell when plugging directly in, and not sure if those Saffires are of that same generation. I tend to like hot pickups in my guitars and basses cuz of the kinda' compression and pick attack they give when set back away from the strings a bit, but still hitting the amp/Axe FX harder. My X2N, Super 3, Black Winter, and SMB-4d loaded instruments might make those cry, heh

How is it in 2021 USB interfaces can still have so many potential pifalls anyway? I honestly though having a much more up to date desktop and USB AI's having been a thing for well over a decade now wouldn't be so much involved getting them to play nice, lol

I will say the preamps do clip suuuuper duper early. I have to keep the gain basically at zero when plugging direct in with my Kiesel pickups and my Seymour's. I have yet to use it for anything other than my guitar direct in and my helix in with XLR because the USB on helix adds a ton of noise to my signal on my real amp I have routed in the room, and both I keep very very low on the preamp gain.

But other than that, zero latency issues, in fact pretty much every neural plug in I use I'm able to get their lowest buffer and it's like 1ms latency or at least what their menus show.

 

[Sylim]

i just googled your interface and there are no results for a Behringer UMC1010HD. you sure you wrote that right? there is the UMC1820, UMC404HD and UMC 202HD. there´s also the FCB1010, but that´s a midi controller, so i doubt you meant that.

my initial thought is maybe there´s some compatibility issue with Win7. it may be a solid OS, but it´s very old by todays standard. driver compatibility will go down over the years, so will security. especially with Win11 coming out soon.

 

[LostTheTone]

I think the best value for money for you would be to buy a solid, reliable 2 input interface and a re-amping box. Capture your DI directly, then re-amp and record with your two mics.

I say that because the 4 input interfaces don't sell in huge numbers anyway (too big for beginners, too small for pro studio use) and so are relatively uncommon used. And if you are already into capturing DI, and already set up to mic cabs, then re-amping seems like a capability you would want to have in the near future.

I can see that it's a nice easy workflow to grab the DI and the mics all at once, but you could still do the DI and one mic to get a solid sound for your rough tracks, and then re-amp just to tweak the tone for your mix.

However, I do also advise doing some more extensive troubleshooting on the interface you have. Behringer devices are normally functional, but can also be a pain to set up. It might be tedious figuring out where your problem is but if you can track it back properly then you will either get it to actually work (yay!) or at least can go yell at Behringer to get you another one. Since you already have it, and it doesn't cost you anything, then beating that horse a bit more should be worth your effort.

 

[Matt08642]

I've done relatively little research in to the nitty gritty details with interfaces beyond "Will this work for what I want" which is just using it with a Suhr RL/some VSTs, but I can vouch for the Motu M4 being awesome. Super low noise, relatively inexpensive, excellent drivers, low latency.

 

[Metalman X]

i just googled your interface and there are no results for a Behringer UMC1010HD. you sure you wrote that right? there is the UMC1820, UMC404HD and UMC 202HD. there´s also the FCB1010, but that´s a midi controller, so i doubt you meant that.

my initial thought is maybe there´s some compatibility issue with Win7. it may be a solid OS, but it´s very old by todays standard. driver compatibility will go down over the years, so will security. especially with Win11 coming out soon.

-derp- hehehe... yes, I did mean the UMC404HD. The one with 4 ins and outs.

As for the OS, plenty of drivers still made for 7 as it's still pretty popular from what i can tell. Security, well... I keep my desktop/audio workstation completely disconnected from the net. I'll pop in a USB wifi stick to update stuff, get drivers.... and even that sometimes I just might grab'em off my laptop and move'em with a thumb drive depending how I'm feeling that day. Just a way of keeping shit somewhat tidy, and hopefully "freezing" a system into a stable state. No snealy updates, virus, malware, whatever fucking about with settings or whatever else

 

[Metalman X]

Tr

I think the best value for money for you would be to buy a solid, reliable 2 input interface and a re-amping box. Capture your DI directly, then re-amp and record with your two mics.

I say that because the 4 input interfaces don't sell in huge numbers anyway (too big for beginners, too small for pro studio use) and so are relatively uncommon used. And if you are already into capturing DI, and already set up to mic cabs, then re-amping seems like a capability you would want to have in the near future.

I can see that it's a nice easy workflow to grab the DI and the mics all at once, but you could still do the DI and one mic to get a solid sound for your rough tracks, and then re-amp just to tweak the tone for your mix.

However, I do also advise doing some more extensive troubleshooting on the interface you have. Behringer devices are normally functional, but can also be a pain to set up. It might be tedious figuring out where your problem is but if you can track it back properly then you will either get it to actually work (yay!) or at least can go yell at Behringer to get you another one. Since you already have it, and it doesn't cost you anything, then beating that horse a bit more should be worth your effort.

True, 4 in's are scarce, never gave much thought to the why, but that makes sense.

Good thought on the DI first, reamp later. Thats a good idea and I hadn't thought of that. Guess I got a bit spoiled have 10 ins and outs over the last 14 years of Delta 1010lt ownership. I always had stuff set up, plugged, routed and ready... the 3 aforementioned guitar tracks, one or two dedicated ones for bass, and even a vocal chain ready to go when needed, so all I hadda' to was arm or disarm tracks in the DAW as needed. Would like to have similar still. BUT not as necessary as knowing my shit will function solidly first.

I do got my eye on a handful of potential 8 in/out boxes on ebay that are currently going used for under $300. Hoping some of my stuff moves, or I can finish enough art commissions in time since I got a already got a client waiting list on those to make a move on one of those (it's not a lot of money each, but it's something. Not much other work I can do these days).

As for the existing Behringer... I've already spent more hours than I care to admit in the last two weeks trying to get that going between hours long web scouring and actually just trying stuff. No warranty since I bought used on that too (I'm probably the only person on this forum who relies on food stamps n' stuff. All my 'good' gear, that I haven't had to sell, is from the 'before times' when I was an electrician with a fully functioning spine, lol). This endeavor been my first real gear purchase in years. So trying to make it count, get set up, and get on my way.

 

[Metalman X]

I've done relatively little research in to the nitty gritty details with interfaces beyond "Will this work for what I want" which is just using it with a Suhr RL/some VSTs, but I can vouch for the Motu M4 being awesome. Super low noise, relatively inexpensive, excellent drivers, low latency.

Nice! Good to hear some positive input on the M4 there.

curious... do the outs on the back function independently as proper outs? Like say.... sending a DI from my DAW out like, output 4 into my reamp box, while tracking two mics in to separate daw channels? I know some of these smaller boxes can kinda' 'trick' you with mirrored outs, permanently pair outs etc. so the routing options can be less than they might look like at first glance. might haveta' look up the M4's manual again. I know I gave it look awhile back before I grabbed what I thought would be a cheap, quick, done deal on the UMC404hd

 

[nightlight]

Hey man, do take a look at this link (not mine) on Reverb. It's a Motu Ultralite MKI and that might tick the boxes you require at $200.

MOTU Ultralite Mk1 | Addison's Gear Locker | Reverb

Before you take the plunge though, do check out whether it's compatible with Windows 7. I know it is compatible with Windows XP. MOTU says on their website that they have drivers for Windows 7, but double check.

 

[Themistocles]

I really like motu stuff... its rock solid and often very versatile. I also have a black lion revolution 2x2 that is pretty great for tracking DI guitars and recording vocals. The things that are available now are mind blowing in terms of quality and options. Its taken me a year to get up to speed somewhat.

 

[fabronaut]

So, finally hoping to get back into recording, makin' some new music n' stuff.

I'm in a similar boat re: haven't touched a DAW in a long time and my teenage recording efforts were shoestring budget - basic USB mic + Audacity. presumably I need USB or USB-C, given that my Windows PCs don't have native Firewire and one is a laptop.

if it's anything like the other business boxes (Dell / HP / Lenovo) I maintain at work, you may be restricted to "half height" PCI slots, given how common the mid to mini factor is nowadays. so like me, I guess you're stuck with USB? as ever, the smaller size has its tradeoffs.

I have also been looking at Motu interfaces, since the impression I've got from reviews / scattered feedback is that they're reliable and very good bang for your buck. The Focusrite stuff is everywhere, but I saw Facebook pushed a bunch of ads for tons of refurbed Focusrite Scarlett units for a modest discount. That makes me kinda uncertain about the long term reliability, and I've come to accept that it's usually better to spend a bit more up front than have to double dip / upgrade later.

I have a Yamaha THR5 with USB out, but... I assume that just sends the modeled amplifier signal, as if it were sending a speaker out from a power section to a physical speaker...? no clue if that would send a relatively uncoloured / flat signal if I used the "flat" setting I think it has as an amp model option. it's entirely possible that I'm just confusing myself reading about DI and reamping on the Radial Engineering website.

I'm also wanting to learn more about basic DAW stuff for practice purposes and messing with IRs. hoping that it's convenient and fun while working out parts sitting in front of my computer. may also help with playing stuff back like I do with my looper to determine what I'm mangling and what to focus on.