Are Audio Interfaces Becoming Obsolete?
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- In this episode, I answer a question from a friend who asked for my thoughts on using a Focusrite audio interface to record his band.
I share my personal experience with Focusrite interfaces, and explore some alternative options that might suit a band's recording needs. I also dive into the idea of using a digital mixer instead of a traditional audio interface, highlighting the added versatility and potential value it can bring to both recording and live performance setups. If you're wondering whether an audio interface or digital mixer is the right choice for your band or studio, this episode is for you!
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Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 3rd Gen USB Audio Interface
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Tascam US-16x08 Rackmount USB Audio/MIDI Interface
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Behringer U-PHORIA UMC1820
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Behringer X32 Rack Digital Mixer
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Behringer X32 Compact Digital Mixer
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Behringer X32 Digital Mixer
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(Book) Elevate Your Audio Production with Reaper:
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Thank you for making this video. People get a thought that they have to have a certain interface or their music won't sound good. People listening don't care what gear you use. They just want to hear good music. I have the ole POD Pro Rackmount for guitar and one for bass. I run them through the effects in on my guitar amps (Marshall JCM900 or Bugera Tri-Rec) and then mic up my cab. They sound great. I have been doing this for decades. We didn't have IR's or Amp sims besides those. Doing this I get a tube power amp sound with a cab sound. It takes them to the next step and they sound great. You can do the same running them through an IR and you have a cheap preamp that sounds great.
As far as interfaces I have had similar experiences. I used a Tascam way back 25 years ago and it worked great. I got a Firewire one from Presonus and I had no issues.My son got one and it quit working. Presonus has excellent interfaces now. The problem is Presonus makes another model and just quits supporting the older models. Such as their mixing boards. I use a UA Apollo X 8 with a satellite and an Apollo X Twin. I have a Behringer ADA 800 hooked up via ADAT for 8 extra ins ands outs. It sounds great. I have it slaved to my word clock in the interface.I have a Behringer 369-KT Compressor (the Neve Clone.) It sounds great but the knobs suck so I will have to replace them. Behringer makes some decent equipment. If I was gigging a lot I may not use the older stuff, but I have older stuff that works so maybe it would be fine. I was told my Bugera Tri-Rec (Behringer makes them) would die. I have had it for years and it sounds great. There are videos with the Tri-Rec vs. a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier and I thought the Tri-Rec sounded better. I got a better sounding tube amp for about 1000 dollars less.
I was a very early adopter of the behringer x32(the one with the old school FireWire input. This was before they developed the ability to connect/control it with your phone. As a matter of fact there was a kid in Denmark who made it and had it on play store and behringer actually bought his from him because his design was much better and more reliable). Anyway, I dump it for two Focusrites and a control surface. Never had a problem with anything computer related but I use Mac and it’s a more stable system plus everything is plug and play. As a matter of fact I use my Focusrite setup with an old white MacBook. The osx is too old for the focusrite control program but the focusrite hardware still works. All of that being said…there’s DEFINITELY a difference in the audio quality. The x32 has an amazing sound but THERE IS a difference. Many mid to low tier mixer/interfaces have a kind of tinny sound that can’t be eq’ed out. Focusrite’s really don’t. And if you don’t want that tinny sound you have to go to the higher tier mixers like the M32 and I just don’t have Midas money. Plus those digital mixer like say the X32 are specifically designed for live mixing but offer recording abilities and if you have a device like that more times than not it’s gonna be a little lacking in the secondary purpose. In other words…the can record but they’re made for live music so audio recording quality has to kinda take a back seat unless you spend some money.
I think the X32, and the M32 which are nearly identical, both offer outstanding performance. If there's a limitation, it's my understanding they do not offer the really high sample rates and bit depths that many interfaces can do... if you have a desire to do ultra high fidelity recording. I think these mixers can only do 16bit/48k - which is the industry standard.
If UHD recording your thing I would be looking at multitrack recorders from companies like zoom that offer 32 bit float recording.
I play in a 3 piece band, similar to your friend.
We've been recording using the Zoom Podtrak P4.
It's basically a 4 input digital recorder, with phantom power available.
It's meant for podcasts, but works great for just recording rehearsals.
We take a line from the PA for the vocals, mic on the guitar amp, DI from the bass amp and a single large diaphragm condenser in front of the drum kit.
Records to SD card, just clean wavs, and then afterwards you can take out the SD card and transfer the files to your DAW to then mix and add compression, EQ, reverb etc.
Just put up a couple of videos of our last rehearsal on my channel, using the audio from the recorder.
See what you think.
I dig it! I think I'd find 4 tracks to be limiting, Nice work!
Decent basement recording. Cheers.
@Barry-Watson
Thanks.
It is limited, yes.
But, very simple if it's just for recording rehearsals, ideas and reference material.
We go to a recording studio with an engineer to record anything that needs to be more polished.
I really enjoy your audio educational videos.
Keep up the good work.
This is a clean, efficient setup for basic recording. The only limit there is talent. ;)
Bands should consider multitrack digital mixers and just record rehearsals to get better at recording as well as playing live. For simple needs the Zoom Livetrak L-20 is a good analog mixer replacement or the Allen & Heath CQ series both the Zoom & Allen and Heath can do 96K recordings. If you are on a budget but need at least 16 inputs the Presonus Studiolive 16R is like $700 and has 16 mic preamps but its highest sampling rate is 48K as well as other mixers are only 48K such as the Yamaha TF series, and the popular X32 series of mixers from Behringer. For bands this is always a better option than an audio interface since it can be used to record live shows and work on mistake or remember some really cool thing you did for the first time. But about 80% of the Digital mixers on the market are multitrack interfaces as well just check the specs to make sure. The Zoom will allow you to record multitrack to an SD card and to a DAW at the same time for redundancy
I have the original Focurite Clarett 2-Pre with Thunderbolt 2. I STRONGLY recommend Apple Macintosh especially since the new Mac Mini has destroyed the “Apple is too expensive” argument. Logic Pro has been a joy. A one time investment that has received numerous FREE upgrades! Mac is the way to go.
Good point. Should have mentioned that lots of creators enjoy the Apple platform. I have more experience with PC/windows, so that's where my focus is.
I enjoyed this video and subscribed. Thank you.
I really appreciate the support! Thanks for subscribing.
Yes, your friend being in a band, they either have or need a mixer anyway.
I’ve used several USB connected mixers (desk or simpler rack units) for live recording for years. For larger gigs, Dante or similar network connections. Or indeed, inboard desk recording capabilities.
If you capture every channel at the input stage as a track, the FOH or rehearse PA is unaffected. If live on a stage, add a stereo mic pair of the room/venue. Comes in handy, especially if “another friend” happens to film the gig. It’ll make the final mix come… more alive. And SoMe friendly…
All the best! 😊
Yes! That is how I've gotten some really good sounding live gig video recordings. With a couple video cameras, you can mix down the production afterwards and get a fairly "pro" live video.
A video tip - many DSLR/mirrorless cameras will only record video for 20-60 minutes before overheating or timing out. Camcorders or pro-video cameras can record non-stop, so you don't miss anything and that makes sync with the audio tracks easier. So, if you can, find cameras without video recording time limits.
Excellent point.
I, too, have had good experiences with Behringer. I know it's not as good an the high-end stuff, but you can put together a decent Behringer studio. Who else sells a decent vocal mic for $14? It's worth it just for the hard plastic case it comes in.
Love my Allen & Heath CQ 18T! And use A&H SQs for school and church every week.
I've also heard good things about Focusrite. I started out in the old days using Soundblaster cards, then upgraded to several M-Audio USB I/Fs, & now a Steinberg USB. To my bad ears, I cannot hear a difference in preamps, so I'd say the most important thing is getting more inputs if you want to do simultaneous recording on more than 2 tracks. Also, make sure the I/F maker has good driver support & also your DAW SW supports the special features of your I/F.
Zoom also has some products that could ber interesting and don't require computer connection.
Lmao at your cat @ 4:17
They make cat audio cables, but not cat-proof ones!
Ha ha, yeah. Sometimes the productions of these videos take a lot longer than anticipated because of participation from the cats.
If one is sure they are interested in using a DAW over a long time period, say five or more years, then I recommend RME products. They are built to last and the hardware is supported by software updates long into the future. The initial cost will be higher than some other choices but the equipment will last a long time and will not end up bricked because of a lack of software updates. If one is not sure how long this hobby or profession is going to last, then there are a lot of interfaces that will get the job done. And the democratisation of the technology has really levelled the playing field among the competitors. But once one is sure that this is a long term investment and interest, then RME is likely to be the best choice based on cost, performance and longevity .
Thx Barry, as someone who's been building DAWs since Windows 95, I can say we are in the golden age of interfaces. Overall, the converters are getting noticeably better. Latency is still an issue and RME is widely known as the best in that area (drivers too). New models from Topping are disrupting the industry though and said to be up there with Neve (as noted from Paul Third and others on YT). They are a fraction of the price too.
I think you're right, we are in a great time for audio interfaces.
Good points.
I agree, there are differences, and latency can be an important factor for some people. I certainly appreciate preamps that offer lots of gain and very little noise. I probably should have been more clear that in the context of my friend's basement band I would consider budget yet decent performance over state-of-the-art.
I recall in a live show talking to the band's sound guy, and he was all excited about his new console and the "amazing" crystal clear preamps that it has and how great they sounded... I thought it was just a little bit funny considering that we were in a little dive bar with a whole bunch of background noise, customers who were more concerned about drinking than watching the band, and the best microphones on stage where SM57s. The noise floor of -103db vs -100db wouldn't have been my concern at that point.
@@Barry-Watson Ah, forgot about the live aspect, lol. the Zoom H2 Essential could be the ultimate solution for simplicity and the. 32bit / no-clip feature is a huge bonus.
Oh yes! I *love my Zoom F3 recorder. 32 bit float recording not only sounds good but it alleviates the need for careful preamp gain setting and I'm confident my recordings will never clip no matter what unexpected transients occur. It's a great recorder where I can be assured I'll almost always get good results. I should have mentioned 32 bit float recording as an ideal situation. I suspect as time moves forward it will become more commonplace in digital audio.
I've been using Focusrite for 10 years. currently running Gen 3 18i20 with Ableton. fantastic combination. any problems with most interfaces usually comes down to Microsoft.
Barry, you seem insightful. I agree that at the end of the day audio interfaces are being implemented in consoles and mixers in a way that makes these standalone units seem a bit old hat. I personally use a Soundcraft MTK 22 which allows me a great live board, decent pre amps, and of course an accompanying interface. I used a 2i2 for 8 years until it finally bit the dust.
Years ago I used to build big Sweetwater carts filled with all the gear used by my favorite UA-camrs but as a I get older I’ve really embraced less is more and constantly tell myself I have enough tools, just make the art.
I feel ya! I'm really trying to make the best of what I have, but the urge to try new stuff can be hard to resist.
I dream of expensive converters like ferrofish, iZ Radar, or prizm. But I'll probably get a tascam studiobridge because it fits my hybrid setup, although it's limited to 48khz.
Dunno, just bought the cheapest for €20 😊
Buy used.
Focusrite offers factory refurbished units which I think can be a good value.