Audio interface vs. Sound card for PC?

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Jenna

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« on: May 10, 2018, 04:51:31 AM »
Hi all. I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after a long time away and this round has me looking to upgrade my setup, mainly in the computing department. I'm ready to spring except for the sound card  or interface. I'm interested in hearing your experience with one or the other and what recommendations you might have for a first studio level rig. I do already have a USB/midi audio interface/vocal processor with guitar and vocal fx, but it's more for live performance than for recording, so it throws some latency into the picture that I'm unable to fix in the DAW.

The other big issue I'm having is that I'm running everything on a laptop with Win 10 and 4 Gb of RAM. It frequently freezes and crashes my system. The most frustrating thing is that I spend far more time figuring out how to get it all working together and restarting after crashes than I do actually playing and writing music. So, move over roadblocks. I'm bring through the bulldozers this time. I hope.  :)

With this new setup, I plan to go with Studio One, 8 to 16 Gb of memory, desktop PC instead of laptop, and now I need to decide on this last piece. What do you have? What do you like? I'm just recording myself here at home, but I do collab with a musician the next state over and might want to have some mobile capabilities sometime later this year. Is there something portable that can work with both a PC and an iPad and serve as a sound card for the PC?


Mikey

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« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2018, 08:26:58 PM »
You can't go wrong with a Focusrite Scarlett, if its for 1 mic and one instrument, the solo is the most basic and the cheapest, the 2i2 can handle 2 instruments, and the 2i4 which I have, also has midi inputs, but for me the main advantage of the 2i4 are the pads on the inputs to bring down the input levels on guitars with high output pickups. If you need a mic and headphones, there is also a kit available with them included.

Hope this is helpful, Mikey

Boydie

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« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2018, 08:40:00 PM »
I would completely support MIKEY's comment and recommendation

If you want something mobile I would recommend a laptop rather than desktop PC - I do ALL of my recording on a laptop (which is a 2012  i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) processor - but I maxed out the RAM at 32GB  ;D) running Studio One

I would suspect that a modern laptop with a decent processor and 8 or 16 GB RAM would be perfectly capable for your needs

I also suspect your existing issues (freezing and crashing) are due to your current interface. I would advise getting the scarlett first (go for the one with the right inputs and outputs for what you need now AND what you may need in the future) and try this with your laptop as this may sort all of your issues and you don't then need a new PC  ;)
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pompeyjazz

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« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2018, 10:22:22 PM »
Huge thumbs up for the Scarlett audio interfaces. I'm using the solo which is bottom of the range but it's more than adequate if you're doing solo recording. Worked pretty well on a very old laptop that I have since replaced. Cheap too. About 70 quid for mine. An absolute necessity as far as I am concerned as you really do not want to be sorting out computer problems when you are in the mood to record

Jenna

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« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2018, 12:03:44 AM »
Okay. Those come as a surprise, as I was veering away from Scarlett and toward Presonus Audiobox, since it came with Studio One Artist, which then qualifies me for $100 off of the upgraded version. It was like getting the interface for free. Is there enough of a difference between the two to choose one over the other? Maybe there's a reason why they're having to sweeten the deal to that degree to compete with Scarlett.

They both have lovers and haters, most of them having to do with complexity or incompatibilities.

Jenna

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« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2018, 12:12:26 AM »
I would completely support MIKEY's comment and recommendation

If you want something mobile I would recommend a laptop rather than desktop PC - I do ALL of my recording on a laptop (which is a 2012  i7-3740QM (2.70GHz) processor - but I maxed out the RAM at 32GB  ;D) running Studio One

I would suspect that a modern laptop with a decent processor and 8 or 16 GB RAM would be perfectly capable for your needs

I also suspect your existing issues (freezing and crashing) are due to your current interface. I would advise getting the scarlett first (go for the one with the right inputs and outputs for what you need now AND what you may need in the future) and try this with your laptop as this may sort all of your issues and you don't then need a new PC  ;)

Boydie, the times I'll want mobile will be few and far between, so I was opting for a desktop for the main with the potential for an iPad down the road. I do know that my current laptop can barely handle Mixcraft 8, and many of the computer issues were due to Windows 10 forced updates that broke something - usually a driver. The crashes happen more often when I have a midi instrument plugged into the laptop via USB. Mixcraft will detect another USB device, the loss of one, then freeze up. It's too temperamental for my tastes. I'm hoping this isn't a universal problem with the DAWs out there. Is Studio One as finicky?

I do fear this laptop is hanging on by a thread, so I'd like to get set up better before it finally bites the dust.

My next dilemma will be studio monitors. I see some very affordable near field monitors with good reviews. How useful are these little sound boxes?

CaliaMoko

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« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2018, 01:23:38 AM »
Probably not very relevant, but I bought the Presonus Audiobox (the one with 4 inputs--don't bother unless you really are going to record multiple inputs at one time; I never do, but I thought I was going to).

Anyway, I ended up not using Studio One (the free one that came with the interface). I couldn't figure it out. I use the Audiobox with Audacity and Reaper now. That was before the forum, though. There are lots of people here who could have helped me figure it out. If I had it to do over....  Although, I'm fine with Audacity and Reaper.


Okay. Those come as a surprise, as I was veering away from Scarlett and toward Presonus Audiobox, since it came with Studio One Artist, which then qualifies me for $100 off of the upgraded version. It was like getting the interface for free. Is there enough of a difference between the two to choose one over the other? Maybe there's a reason why they're having to sweeten the deal to that degree to compete with Scarlett.

They both have lovers and haters, most of them having to do with complexity or incompatibilities.

Jenna

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« Reply #7 on: May 11, 2018, 01:45:47 AM »
Probably not very relevant, but I bought the Presonus Audiobox (the one with 4 inputs--don't bother unless you really are going to record multiple inputs at one time; I never do, but I thought I was going to).

Anyway, I ended up not using Studio One (the free one that came with the interface). I couldn't figure it out. I use the Audiobox with Audacity and Reaper now. That was before the forum, though. There are lots of people here who could have helped me figure it out. If I had it to do over....  Although, I'm fine with Audacity and Reaper.


Sounds plenty relevant to me, and I appreciate the input. Mixcraft was a chore to learn, but I gather they all are to one degree or another. There are features in it that are simply beyond my comprehension. I'm hoping Studio One is more relevant with better tutorials out there. It seems more widely used, so that's a good sign.

Boydie

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« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2018, 05:58:26 AM »
There is nothing wrong with the Presonus audio interfaces so if getting the deal on Studio One is important then go for it

I still think it would be worth trying the new audio interface with the laptop BEFORE you replace it

Your crashes and freezing are most likely due to flakey drivers with the equipment you are using

If you can clean the laptop up by removing drivers & software (or even do a fresh install of win 10) it should be able to cope with Studio One - especially if you just use the laptop for this purpose. You have nothing to lose by trying it out - just get the audio interface before replacing the laptop to see if it works

There are plenty of resources to get you up and running with Studio One - I know many of us use it so we can always point you in the right direction

I looked in to using an iPad for remote recording and transferring tracks etc. but I came to the conclusion it was more hassle than it is worth
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Bill Saunders

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« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2018, 06:52:25 AM »
Another vote for the Focusrite range. I have the 6i6. I don't use all the inputs but having two separate headphones sockets with individual volume controls is hugely useful if you are ever collaborating.

I moved from Sonar to Studio One Professional six months ago. The learning curve was very shallow for me - everything seems to work as I'd expect and is really logical. Also, it is so, so solid. Superb DAW IMHO.

Mikey

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« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2018, 09:24:49 AM »
There are several brands of interface which I expect are equally as good, I was merely recommending Focusrite as both Andy and myself both have them, and they are so easy to use. Personally, I wouldn't be swayed by the included software with any of the brands, as what comes with it is usually it is the most basic version, and can be limited in what it can do, I think I would go for Reaper which is cheap and has many recommendations on the forum, or save up and buy a full version of your chosen DAW.

I also agree with Boydie, you should buy your interface first and try it on your current laptop, 4Gb of ram is enough for recording a few tracks, it only needs more if you are using a lot of tracks and plug ins, plus, if you still go down the desktop route, you will also have the laptop for portability.

Hope this helps, Mikey

Jenna

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« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2018, 05:44:51 PM »
There is nothing wrong with the Presonus audio interfaces so if getting the deal on Studio One is important then go for it

I still think it would be worth trying the new audio interface with the laptop BEFORE you replace it

Your crashes and freezing are most likely due to flakey drivers with the equipment you are using

If you can clean the laptop up by removing drivers & software (or even do a fresh install of win 10) it should be able to cope with Studio One - especially if you just use the laptop for this purpose. You have nothing to lose by trying it out - just get the audio interface before replacing the laptop to see if it works

There are plenty of resources to get you up and running with Studio One - I know many of us use it so we can always point you in the right direction

I looked in to using an iPad for remote recording and transferring tracks etc. but I came to the conclusion it was more hassle than it is worth

Consequently, I did just that before deciding to migrate. It did help quite a bit. I will give this option a shot first and see how it goes. Good to know about the iPad. Android is more of a pain than Win10 and about as bad as fussing with Linux, so I'd not want to even try on a tablet unless there was some magical app with thousands of five star reviews first. Hooray for the guinea pigs that know their stuff that lead us lemmings by our nose rings.

Jenna

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« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2018, 05:53:57 PM »
There are several brands of interface which I expect are equally as good, I was merely recommending Focusrite as both Andy and myself both have them, and they are so easy to use. Personally, I wouldn't be swayed by the included software with any of the brands, as what comes with it is usually it is the most basic version, and can be limited in what it can do, I think I would go for Reaper which is cheap and has many recommendations on the forum, or save up and buy a full version of your chosen DAW.

I also agree with Boydie, you should buy your interface first and try it on your current laptop, 4Gb of ram is enough for recording a few tracks, it only needs more if you are using a lot of tracks and plug ins, plus, if you still go down the desktop route, you will also have the laptop for portability.

Hope this helps, Mikey

Noted. I do tend to make a lot of takes on a track, say if I'm doing a four part harmony, and sometimes I'll do this several times until I get the sound I like. I also like to fx each track until I get it sounding just so. Then on top of that, I do use a lot of tracks, especially if I'm doing something along the lines of EDM. But in the meantime, we do have a currently unused desktop in the house that may be we could cobble together something better on the cheap as an emergency backup, just in case.

Jenna

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« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2018, 06:06:48 PM »
Another vote for the Focusrite range. I have the 6i6. I don't use all the inputs but having two separate headphones sockets with individual volume controls is hugely useful if you are ever collaborating.

I moved from Sonar to Studio One Professional six months ago. The learning curve was very shallow for me - everything seems to work as I'd expect and is really logical. Also, it is so, so solid. Superb DAW IMHO.

Very good to hear. I liked the GUI and the $100 off upgrade deal (if you already own the Artist version) is too attractive to pass up, especially when the package includes Melodyne. That gets me the studio version of the DAW for $100 which is an incredible bargain. You can't beat it. The breakdown is the interface, the full version DAW and Melodyne for $300 total.

There's no saying I can't give the Focusrite a shot in the future if ever I need to expand and want to try something new. It's going to the top of the list for future replacements or upgrades. Live collabs are rare at the moment. Hopefully that changes in the near term once I've got a more user friendly setup running, and a bigger portfolio of works under my belt.

In the meantime, I'll check my laptop to see if I can upgrade the RAM. I have a feeling the answer is not, but it doesn't hurt to check.


tone

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« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2018, 11:06:21 PM »
In the meantime, I'll check my laptop to see if I can upgrade the RAM. I have a feeling the answer is not, but it doesn't hurt to check.
If it's a PC laptop (not apple) then chances are very high you can upgrade the RAM very easily. Unless you're already using the maximum compatible with your system. A quick google check on your laptop make/ model will tell you all you need to know.
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