Direct Boxes and Interfaces

[James Quillian]

Does anyone else use a direct box to record steel? Are there any which are particularly good for steel?
I use an old Art direct box that I just had laying around and have been surprised at how good it works. Do they all sound about the same? I get a better sound out of this old thing than I do micing an amp.



Just curious about this. Does anyone else out there use a Delta 66 interface?

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[Erv Niehaus]

Peavey made a good direct box:

[Tony Prior]

I currently have an Maudio Delta 2496 which is a 2x channel of the Delta 44 and Delta 66 . I did just purchase a Delta 66 package and will upgrade as soon as it arrives so I can have the additional inputs and outputs which offers immense flexibility not just for recording but for routing or using outboard gear. IF your PC has a PCI card this is the best way to go, Win 7 PC's do not have PCI cards so the Delta series is not an option. They are excellent if you can use them. The entire Delta series uses the same Maudio driver.

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[Jack Stoner]

Many new motherboards have a PCI slot, however it is "bridged" to the PCIe bus and not a full fledged PCI bus port. Many PCI devices will not work or work correctly with the bridged PCI slot. Thus what Tony says about them is mostly true. I see a lot of problem reports on recording forums about this and from respected DAW PC bullders such as ADK and Purrfect Audio. The bridged PCI port problem is not limited to audio devices, I see problem posts about this on other computer forums.

I have two fairly new desktops (less than 2 years old but both are current production motherboards) and they both have the bridged PCI slot. My main DAW system motherboard a Gigabyte Z77X UD5H (with an i7 3770 CPU and 16GB of RAM) and my backup system an ASUS Z77 LE Plus.

I have several DI boxes, both passive (mostly) and 1 active. Generally I don't hear any difference. However, if I record steel "direct" with my Nashville 112, I get a better sound using the Preamp Out to a DI box to the Octa-Capture than I do using the XLR output direct to the Octa-Capture. My best non-miked steel sound is direct from the steel (Hilton Volume Pedal) to an Art Pro MPA II tube preamp then to the Octa-Capture.

I used to have a Firewire recording interface unit (a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40) which required a T.I. Firewire chipset in the PC for proper operation. It died out of warranty (and the repair estimate was within $50 of what I paid for it new) and was dumped in favor of USB connected units. My main unit, now, is a Roland Octa-Capture with an MAudio Fastrack Ultra8R as backup.

[Tony Prior]

Many new motherboards have a PCI slot, however it is "bridged" to the PCIe bus and not a full fledged PCI bus port. Many PCI devices will not work or work correctly with the bridged PCI slot. Thus what Tony says about them is mostly true.

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With regard to the Maudio Delta series I am thinking they will not work at all with bridged PCI ( PCe) slots.

Kinda sad, the MAudio Delta PCI series are really robust, , virtually zero latency and they offer, well they did, 2 ch, 4 ch and 10 channel interfaces. I'm still running WIN XP Pro Tools 8, no reason to change right now so PCI cards are still in my process ! I acquired the Delta 66 ( 4x4 analog and 2x2 digital) over the weekend, an EBAY win for a complete unused package. Someone upgraded to WIN 7 and realized the interface is nill !.

I have started using outboard gear so the extra in's and outs will be an asset, my Pro Tools 8 M requires an Maudio interface, I'm locked in but certainly it's not an issue. Eventually I suppose ( maybe ) I'll upgrade to a newer Win7 version ( when they are on blow out then pick up a Fire Wire int as well. But for now no reason, I have a dedicated Win XP PC only used for recording, bare of everything else with max ram which sadly is really only 3.5 usable

PS: for those interested...The Delta 44 is the exact same interface as the 66, without the digital in and out...it uses the same breakout box..the 1010 is really nice as well, still getting the good price !

[Dave Potter]

Eventually I suppose I'll upgrade to a newer Win7 version ( when they are on blow out then pick up a Fire Wire int as well.

I sure wouldn't invest much money in any Firewire-based system. The whole "Firewire" thing's been on the wane for a while now. Most newer computers are coming without Firewire ports. Firewire's going the way of 3.5" floppies.

[Tony Prior]

I sure wouldn't invest much money in any Firewire-based system. The whole "Firewire" thing's been on the wane for a while now. Most newer computers are coming without Firewire ports. Firewire's going the way of 3.5" floppies.

or USB ! Thanks for the heads up, I really have no experience with Fire Wire what so ever... But quite frankly as long as this XP PC runs I see no reason to change. I literally turn it on 3 or 4 times a month so it's not like it's gonna wear out any time soon ! The PC was rebuilt a couple of years ago and runs great...

[Jack Stoner]

I don't see USB dying yet. USB 3.0 is now out and I see reports of even higher speed USB ports.

USB 3.0 has knocked Firewire out. Most of the recording interface hardware companies have come out with USB devices to either replace or complement their Firewire devices. Some even have dual Firewire and USB interfaces.

With the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40, Firewire recording device, 11ms was the best I could do for latency and have reliable recording. With my Roland Octa-Capture I have 6ms latency and if I wanted to push it could get lower. Same way with the MAudio Fastrack Ulra 8R.

[James Quillian]

The are two things that have proved illusive for me.

These are using a laptop to record and using a usb interface. I have not been able to do much using either.

I bought a Delta 66 card in 1999 and it is still working problem free.

[Jack Stoner]

Have a look at some of the posts on www.gearslutz.com It is a recording forum. You will see that most are either using USB or Firewire (and there are not as many Firewire users as there used to be).

[Dave Potter]

The are two things that have proved illusive for me.

These are using a laptop to record and using a usb interface. I have not been able to do much using either.

I bought a Delta 66 card in 1999 and it is still working problem free.

I use a Dell Alienware laptop exclusively to record. With native USB 3.0, it has better specs than most desktops, and along with a Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 USB interface, it all works fine.

[Tom Wolverton]

One of my favorite tones for dirty lap steel is to turn up a tweed deluxe until it breaks up nicely. Nice warm tone.

When I am recording late at night in my apartment, this isn’t practical. Does anyone know of a good substitute involving a DI line? A POD or ZOOM MS isn’t quite there for me. Some of the amp models come close. But it is just an “almost”.

Would a substitute for the speaker load really work?

[Tony Prior]

I too had been using an Maudio Delta 2496 2x2 for maybe 10 years, problem free, latency free, agreed, it is a PCI card and cannot be used with WIN 7 PC's..I am still on XP and have no thought of upgrading.

I just acquired a Delta 66 (6x6) and plugged it in, it took less than 1 minute to configure and get to 100% operation. ! It took longer to change the I/O settings on the Pro Tools project that I am working on then the installation took !

[James Quillian]

The Delta 66 I still use is a 1999 model and it still works. I use it with an old machine that still runs xp. For me it is worth it to have one xp machine dedicated to recording and nothing else.

Actually, I don't know any better or any different. This is the only setup I have ever had.

I too had been using an Maudio Delta 2496 2x2 for maybe 10 years, problem free, latency free, agreed, it is a PCI card and cannot be used with WIN 7 PC's..I am still on XP and have no thought of upgrading.

I just acquired a Delta 66 (6x6) and plugged it in, it took less than 1 minute to configure and get to 100% operation. ! It took longer to change the I/O settings on the Pro Tools project that I am working on then the installation took !

[winston]

James, I am using 3 Delta 66 interfaces with absolutely no problems for several years.