PC interface advice for live recording

[thorin81]

I am looking for an interface that I can use to do small recording sessions for theatrical events. I do not have the funds for ProTools nor do I have the time to learn a software that has a high learning curve like it has. I am just looking for a decent product to use for simple applications for a school theatre venue. can anyone suggest anything? Vendor and price would be much appriciated!


Thanks in advance!!

[SHARYNF]

if you are serious about your theater orientation, based on your listed Academic goals degree wise, I still say look for a first generation MBOX 1 they are selling for under 200 dollars and have the pro tools software. For better or worse it is the industry standard, it is not that hard to learn again if you are serious about a career in this area, the sooner you get familiar with it the better.
Just remember the wrong product at the right price is still the wrong product

There are other alternatives, but long term the sooner you get familiar with what for better or worse is the industy standard the better. The first generation version of Mbox work well, support dual mic preamps

Sharyn

[jkowtko]

I assume you want somethiing that will connect to your PC via USB or Firewire.

I'm also assuming -- since you did not specify -- that two mic inputs is good enough for now ... some recording will be done via mics, and some off the mixing board (using line inputs).

Here are a few of the more popular interfaces to look at in the $200 or under range

M-Audio:
- FastTrack Pro
- FastTrack USB
- Mobile Pre

Presonus
- Firebox
- Audiobox USB

Lexicon
- Alpha
- Lambda
- Omega


Tascam
- US-144

Edirol also has a good reputation.

Behringer has some inexpensive units but they are generally considered poor quality.

I would look online at big mail order sites like bhphotovideo, fullcompass, guitarcenter, musiciansfriend to browse the descriptions of these and similar units. Just do a search on "USB Audio Interface" or "Firewire audio interface" and you should pull them up.

Pay particular attention to balanced vs unbalanced connectors, on both inputs and outpus, if you are planning to connect to other line-level devices. If you're just connecting microphones to the XLR jacks, then don't worry as XLR is always balanced.

I would also suggest downloading the user manuals to your short list of products and take a good look at the mixing panels to see if it does what you will want.

And, if all you really want to do is to record off the mixing board, you might consider a portable digital recorder instead ... check out wingfieldaudio.com for some reviews

I personally have the M-Audio FastTrack Pro (USB interface), am looking at a Presonus Firebox to get more output channels, and I also have a Tascam DR-1 recorder ... and am happy with all of these

[epimetheus]

I've had good luck with the M-Audio Firewire boxes. I've personally got a Firewire Solo that I've had for several years now, and I certainly can't complain about it.

[SHARYNF]

you still need to get the software to work with it

Sharyn

[museav]

What are you actually wanting to do? Are you thinking along the lines of multichannel recording for later editing and mixing, archival stereo recording to CD, live multichannel mixing direct to stereo or what? If multichannel, how many channels? How do you plan on getting the signals to the interface, will they come from console sends or are you going to split inputs direct to it or will the interface also need to act as the splitter? Di you have a specific budget in mind? If you can provide some additional information I think people can offer more helpful responses.

[howlingwolf487]

Is the computer a laptop or is it a tower with separate components (monitor, keyboard, etc.)? You can probably find a used MOTU interface for a nice price. I would just use Audacity as the DAW until something better can be had (Adobe Audition, etc.).

[djclint]

Originally Posted by thorin81

I am looking for an interface that I can use to do small recording sessions for theatrical events. I do not have the funds for ProTools nor do I have the time to learn a software that has a high learning curve like it has. I am just looking for a decent product to use for simple applications for a school theatre venue. can anyone suggest anything? Vendor and price would be much appriciated!


Thanks in advance!!

How many channels do you need to record? If you are on such a budget that you can not afford the protools mbox ($200ish), you should just buy the $35 Behrigner that my neighbor bought last week for 1stereo in and 1stereo out, all rca.

My advice is to never buy anything protools ever again! I tried to update my mbox2 to the most recent PTLE and they directed me to "update my extensions." That struck me as odd, so I did some searching on google before I let it -- this led me to an iLok website by Pace and many discussions on how Pace installs software on your computer to make sure you are not an unmentionable... This program is said to destroy your registry and worse, so do some research and do not support any company that uses Pace product.

[museav]

Originally Posted by djclint

My advice is to never buy anything protools ever again! I tried to update my mbox2 to the most recent PTLE and they directed me to "update my extensions." That struck me as odd, so I did some searching on google before I let it -- this led me to an iLok website by Pace and many discussions on how Pace installs software on your computer to make sure you are not an unmentionable... This program is said to destroy your registry and worse, so do some research and do not support any company that uses Pace product.

So you never actually had a problem but have decided to tell people not to support any product using it? And of course everything you read on the web is absolutely correct.

iLok and PACE, which are anti-piracy related, are not perfect but do provide some benefits over many other approaches, try using your plug-ins on another machine or digital mixer with serial number based software registration. Maybe the people complaining about the potential problems could instead help manufacturers improve it or find a viable alternative.

[SHARYNF]

Pace had some problems with sp2 and 3 on XP, Microsoft turned on a digital checking feature that caused issues until it was manually turned off. Considering that you can buy software upgrades for PTLE which include the full system (based on the fact that you can ONLY run PT with the hardware which is really an additional copy protection dongle), most users these days are pretty happy.

I agree with Brad, you need to be careful before making sweeping statements.

The point it was trying to make was the for a 2 input recording solution with an industry standard software that offers easy upward mobility of your project, MBox with PTLE can be very economical, AND for better or worse in the pro community it is a major "standard", and if someone is seriously interested in pursuing a career in the industry it might make sense to learn from the beginning this system

Sharyn