Hi Peeps,

I am new here and I hope you bear with me so I can have a better understanding on how to choose my audio interface ! You know this step is so confusing for a beginner like me.

Well I have the following tools and I need to decide which AI fits my needs:

-Mac with Yosemite
-Rode NT-2A mic for vocals recording
-Rode M5 MP mic for guitar recording
-Pro tools 11 or 12

I need the audio interface to record my voice, guitar, and Yamaha keyboard using MIDI input. So my music will mainly have vocals, guitar and midi input.

I am confused between the following audio interfaces and would like to get some kind advises and any other suggestions:

-Audient id22
-SPL Crimson
-UA Apollo Twins

Please help!
thanks,

These are all solid mid range interfaces. Also consider the id14 as it might suffice for your needs.

What else are you doing? Just recording or mixing? Will 2 imputs suffice? Will ever want to record the guitar in stereo, for example, and the voice at the same time? Do you run lots of VIs (plugins)? (You need good drivers.) Do you use external hardware or additional monitors? (You need extra outputs).

As a beginner, some people want to jump in and get a decent interface from the start. Others want to test the waters and start at the entry level, learn the basics and then move on up. I favor the latter as you actually learn more IMO.

You can certainly learn on a £100 (UK) interface.

I'd suggest these:

Yamaha ur 22 - basic, but there's lots of different models here to be honest.
Audient ID14 - smaller mid range than your suggestions
RME babyface (old version would suffice) - rock solid drivers for using lots of VIs and low latency.

MIDI can always be on a separate and cheap MIDI usb interface, can't recall if any of these have that.

Hi Shaolin
I also believe that getting a decent interface from the beginning is better than just trying several cheap ones.

Do they all work properly with Pro Tools? Cause some people confused me by saying that they might not be compatible with it.

I will mainly record midi separately, while vocals and guitar simultaneously.

The Rode M5 MP mic for the guitar records stereo.

What do you think?

Ok that's cool.

I see the MP means matched pair. That means you'l need 3 inputs which means you'll need a 4 input device or more. Or you can get an outboard preamp and plug that into a line input on something like the id22 or probably the Crismon.

I'm not up on 4 pre devices much and even less so on pro-tools. I suspect that the list of 4-8 channel pro-tools compatible devices is probably not too long...

Are you stuck on pro tools? Plenty of other DAWs.

Up to you but after you decide on that, think about if you want a good 2 pre unit with an additional outboard preamp or a 4 or 8 channel all in one unit. The hassle of 2 pieces of equipment is balanced by the option of having a colorful pre for vocals. Price-wise you might actually not find that much difference if you stick to the mid range.

So you think that Pro Tools won't support any of the interfaces that I suggested?

I prefer PT cause it's the standard here in my country.

What do you think of Avid Pro Tools Quartet? Is it worth the extra bucks?

+1 RME babyface, tried many since they always break on me, RME is so reliable and is also portable, it also sounds great and doesnt have many limitations. Pros often use it on the road if they dont rock mac with apogee duet.

I don't know. I never got into PT so I can't advise, except to say be careful choosing a compatible interface. I think PT is expensive every way you look at it, hardware and software. If you could look at Reaper, Cubase, Logic, they're all solid and respectable. Are these options infeasible in your country?

I am not sure why people here like PT so much. I am still not sure which software to get. Can you edit tracks saved with PT using Logic or Ableton for example?

Audio is audio and it can be freely imported/exported between all DAWs. I use 24 bit 44.1 Khz. Lots of guys go to 96. As for midi, most DAWs can import/export '.mid' files, (type 1 is multi track IIR). What you can't transfer between DAWs are the plugin settings (EQ, compression, reverb etc.) you've used in each project, although most plugin manufacturers provide the same plugin in the various DAW formats - vst, au, aax.

So, if you're using say, Cubase with any interface you please, what you can do is record your guitar and vocals into that, and just export those audio files for use in another studio's PT rig. (Make a note of the tempo!) Probably keep the audio dry so you can mix in PT, but if you add processing/effects on the guitar perhaps, you can export them as part of the audio if you wish. If you do any midi stuff for your synths, export the Cubase project as a .mid file. Pop your synth under your arm, hook it up at the other studio, import the midi and audio into PT and you're good!

Oh I found these 4 channel offerings for you. Don't have to buy at Sweetwater, though you might want to, just a helpful listing:

http://www.sweetwater.com/c695--USB_...cyI6WyI0Il19fQ

And another thing guys do is add the Behringer ADA8000 or whatever it's called as an additional 8 channel preamp to a 2 channel interface like the Audient you mentioned via an ADAT connection. Check it out. This is about the only Behringer item that gets any love round here.

Appreciate your PT issue, but if I were you I'd probably get a Steinberg UR44 as it seems to have good preamps and comes bundled with a basic Cubase that will probably start you off. No I haven't used one so you'd need to research, but it seems good on paper.

Yea I got your point. But talking about sound quality, SPL crimson or Steinberg UR44? According to my research the SPL Crimson has better preamps.

I am willing to give up the Rode M5 MP mics which I will use for guitar recording (will use XLR cable directly from the guitar instead) in order to have decent interface with decent sound quality. So with the SPL crimson for example I will use one XLR input for vocals (using Rode NT-2A) and the other XLR will come directly from the guitar.

Or should I get Steinberg ur44 and record guitar using the MP mics, for slightly less quality as I believe?

Arghhh why it has to be so confusing lol !

There's also the SPL Creon...

There is always the problem of not being able to try every piece of gear. You're lucky in that you're starting in 2015, gear and software are getting pretty decent. I run an Echo 2 USB (sadly out of production but not for you anyway) and it's nearly as good as my Ross Martin mastering DAC and my old Lynx pci card.

So, I am very wary of steering you wrong, especially as I have not tried it, keep that in mind, but I believe that, the UR44 is going to be a good option for you. I've had a lot of interfaces and I believe that the differences in converter quality is diminishing and in some cases vanishingly small. Preamps make more difference and the Yamaha ones are apparently pretty good. I wouldn't give up the stereo mic-ing of your guitar, that gives a lovely texture you can't get in mono.

Always try to audition or try a dealer that accepts returns, but the basic rule in any product group with lots of competition is that you avoid the bottom of the barrel where too many corners are cut, avoid the extreme top end where and extra percent in quality costs you hundreds or thousands and pick something from the middle where a little bit extra money buys you a whole load of quality.

Yea I've seen SLP creon but it doesn't have MIDI input which I need.

Only concern about UR44 is that it may give me some hard time when working on PT. So far, the SPL crimson is my favorite.

RME Babyface Pro looks tempting but I don't know why I still feel more attracted towards the Crimson.

So my setup will be:
-Mac Yosemite
-Pro Tools 11,12
-SPL Crimson
-Rode NT-2A Mic
-Ibanez Acoustic Guitar
-Yamaha Keyboard for MIDI

Good enough for a beginner?

Unless you want all in one you can always get a separate usb MIDI interface.

If you're happy with 2 pres built in, RME or SPL are both reputable. They're ADAT expandable anyway. But if you planned on a 3 mic setup, changing your musical habits to accommodate limitations in technology doesn't strike me as the right way to go.

One thing I didn't mention is that as a beginner you're focused on mics, pres and interfaces. No mention of room treatment and monitoring. You won't hear the benefits of any of your shiny new gear if you don't look at these things. Put it like this, give me room treatment and good monitoring with the UR44 over an untreated room, lousy monitors and a Prism Lyra any day.

You are worrying about the wrong thing. If you are trying to record your guitar mic placement is WAY WAY more important than the interface or the preamps. A good performance will be just as good through a 200 dollar interface as through 600 dollar interface. But if you mic it badly it will sound bad. A cheap mic can get you a good performance--you can get a great sounding recording with and SM57. But micing is a technique, a skill. It takes some practice and experience.

The ROOM is WAY more important than the interface, especially with acoustic guitar. If you have a nice sounding room you can practically stick the mic anywhere and get nice results. If you have an average or lousy room you need to pay much more attention to micing and learn how to get the best out of what you have. Micing yourself is hard, especially in a lousy sounding room. You can't hear yourself the way someone else can: you can't move mics around while you play. Same applies to voice, maybe to a lesser extent, maybe more so, depending on how good your voice is or how well you use it..

The interface is not the problem. Learn to get a good sound with inexpensive gear, then maybe move up. Any decent interface will allow you to capture what you're doing, and capture it well.

For your needs, MBox3 pro would be the best interface. 4 XLR ins, 2 stereo inserts, 2 line ins. Outputs are capable of 3 sets of monitors.
Its made for Protools but it also runs well in other DAWs including Ableton and FL, Cubase.

I use Rhode NT 2A myself for vocals and it sounds crystal clear and detailed through it as the converters are high quality, in fact they're similar to the HD interfaces which are used in prof studios. You wont need a pre-amp.

Very well made piece of equipment and pretty heavy too. Never had any problems with it in anyway.

If you're using Protools you really wanna go AVID or M-audio for compatibility reasons. If you cant afford it then Mbox3 which has improved quite a bit from the last.

Thanks guys for all the detailed explanations. I understand that room treatment is something extremely important and I will do the best I can with it.
One question, how much difference does it make to record guitar using XLR than 2 Rode M5 MP stereo mics?

So the main concern is: should I get great interface (SPL interface), PT 11,12, along with one Rode NT2A mic for vocals? Or get cheaper interface (steinberg ur44) with both Rode NT2A for vocals and Rode M5 for stereo guitar recording? Will Steinberg work properly with PT? That's what's confusing me.

Regarding the MBox Pro 3, it was my main option for a while then I noticed that it's a bit old and discontinued (using interface) and not many people recommended it. What about the Quartet? Is it good enough?

A few of us have pointed out that your interface is not going to hold you back. The wekest link in your chain is going to be you. Then mic placement and room treatment.

Hopefully if you reread the thread you'll see the common message - start cheap, improve yourself, improve your room improve your monitoring and upgrade only when you can specifically hear what you have outgrown. It won't be your interface for quite a while, if ever!

So, that being said, I'd recommend an affordable 4 channel interface to give you the option of stereo mic-ing and put the money you save towards room treatment and monitors. Then practice mic technique and recording. Mixing too if you're going to do that.

Oh and your question about recording with XLR or Rode M5 makes no sense. The Rodes have XLR outputs. Most mics do.

No what I mean is record using XLR directly from the guitar to the AI or using Rode M5 steroe mics.

Ok, what if I decided to try the Steinberg UR44? My only concern is difficulties when working with PT. Some people as I read complain from latency and lagging issues.

So we come to 2 main options (good room treatment and monitors apply to both):
1- SPL Crimson, PT 11&12, Rode NT2A.
2-Steinberg UR44, Cubase, PT 11&12, Rode NT2A, Rode M5 MP.

Ummmm...

Like we've all said, probably drop the Crimson idea and choose between Mbox3 and ur44. Any loss in quality will be masked at this point, but you get 4 pres to support your workflow. I can't make that any clearer.

Doesn't look like any of us know if any of these boxes work or work well with PT bar the Mbox3. Noone here's given you the answer. You have to research that yourself.

Once you know, only you can decide to go Mbox3 for PT integration or UR44 Reaper/Cubase with more hassle but cheaper.

So don't you think that the Mbox idea is scary a bit since it is discontinued? How long will they support it? That's one main concern for me. It's also not available in Canada.

I think now I prefer the Steinberg UR44 option. Looks like a decent interface with great preamps, and I won't give up the guitar stereo recording with it.

Great. You're in Canada? I though you were in some weird place like Kazakhstan. I find it hard to believe that you'll be an island if you opt out of PT.

Haha no I live in Jordan and my family are in Canada so they'll get all this gear when they come. Thanks for all the help ! Will update this whenever I get everything

Good stuff and good luck!

MOTU AVB Ultralite... I'm using this under Windows 10 and RTL (latency) is extremely low, the converters sound great and the box has tons of ins and outs.