Soundcard recommandation -usb, low latency, good for liveset

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pepezabala
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Location: In Berlin, finally

Soundcard recommandation -usb, low latency, good for liveset

Post by pepezabala » Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:10 am

Hi abletonians. long time no see.

I need a recommendation. I am a long time user of a motu firewire soundcard, I think I bought it 10 years ago or so. But since some time I use a new macbook air, much faster and mor reliable than my 4 year old macbook pro. But - no firewire. Next month I will play the first livegig in years, and I will need to route a microphone and my electric guitar through live.

So, as I do not read reviews, which usb-soundcard would you recommend? Specs needed: Super low latency, two ins at least, and please let it be not too expensive, maybe 200$ would be great.

fishmonkey
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Re: Soundcard recommandation -usb, low latency, good for liveset

Post by fishmonkey » Tue Apr 05, 2016 9:55 am

if you still have your MOTU the Thunderbolt->Firewire adaptor works well.

as for cheap USB units, decent options (as far as reliability goes) include the Steinberg UR242, Roland Quad-Capture, iConnectivity iConnectAUDIO2+.

for really low latency however you generally need to go higher end. RME stuff for example tends to be good.

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/11591001-post771.html

Stromkraft
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Re: Soundcard recommandation -usb, low latency, good for liveset

Post by Stromkraft » Tue Apr 05, 2016 3:38 pm

While I love the RME Babyface (mk I or mk II) and I will use the mk I live myself, the breakout cables could be somewhat unwieldy to handle in a live situation. If you can accept that it's a great audio interface with very good drivers, low latency, XLR connections and great sound.

If I'd look for an alternative it would have to be equally good soundwise and more compact.
Make some music!

jlgrimes
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Re: Soundcard recommandation -usb, low latency, good for liveset

Post by jlgrimes » Tue Apr 05, 2016 10:59 pm

pepezabala wrote:Hi abletonians. long time no see.

I need a recommendation. I am a long time user of a motu firewire soundcard, I think I bought it 10 years ago or so. But since some time I use a new macbook air, much faster and mor reliable than my 4 year old macbook pro. But - no firewire. Next month I will play the first livegig in years, and I will need to route a microphone and my electric guitar through live.

So, as I do not read reviews, which usb-soundcard would you recommend? Specs needed: Super low latency, two ins at least, and please let it be not too expensive, maybe 200$ would be great.

I had a Presonus Audiobox 1818 vsl that got down to 2.9 ms. Problem is that it don't perform as well on Mac computers. It worked without a hitch on Windows 7 but when I switched to a Mac, there were Pops and clicks. I think it is due to the type of USB 3.0 ports the Macs use.

I'm not sure if Presonus have fixed the issue.



That said I would steer clear of USB 1.1 interfaces as at least the one I had latency couldn't get too low (Yamaha Audiogram) and then I found out it was only a 16 bit interface.

I would think the Focusrite Scarlett is probably a good model.

My advice is to see if you can try out the interface in a Guitar Center and do research and determine if it is USB 2.0 or better, how it works on whatever OS you are using and what type of inputs it comes with. A lot of the $100 versions will skimp on something like no line inputs (but have instrument inputs) or vice versa, or maybe even have weak headphone outputs. And make sure it records at 24 bit.

I would think the Audiobox or the Focusrite ones will be the most popular. A lot comes down to reputation of manufacturers as well.

fishmonkey
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Re: Soundcard recommandation -usb, low latency, good for liveset

Post by fishmonkey » Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:37 am

i would steer clear of the Focusrite Scarletts. they have a poor reputation for reliability and driver support on OS X. for live use you want something with a very good track record.

pepezabala
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Location: In Berlin, finally

Re: Soundcard recommandation -usb, low latency, good for liveset

Post by pepezabala » Wed Apr 06, 2016 8:02 am

fishmonkey wrote:if you still have your MOTU the Thunderbolt->Firewire adaptor works well.
Many thanks - I will try that. I was always under the impression that this is only a video port, but yes, this is a thunderbolt thingy. Hooray.

:-)

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