choosing an DAW interface and mic pre amp (low cost)

[Benjamin Jayne]

I'd like to hear people's opinions and experience with what different DAW interfaces and mic pre-amps they use and like (or dislike). I'm interested in doing more home recording beyond DI, and I'd like my first purchase to at least open up some new possibilities and sound potential. Do most of you use a "lunchbox-type" all-in-one interface with built in pre-amps like the M-Audio Fasttrack, or do you have an external mic pre amp that plugs into a recording PCI card, mixer, or something else to access your DAW (protools or audacity, for instance).

There are a TON of products out there with enough specs to make your head spin. I've done some research on gear forums and have some idea of which setups are popular with recording engineers, but most of them don't play steel guitar and have a much bigger budget for recording than I do.

Let's put it this way: If you were to rebuild your home recording studio from scratch and had $250-$300 to spend, what would you buy to do steel guitar home recordings? The less money spent, the better, as I can then use the remainder on a microphone. I'd prefer a rig that can handle the many different microphone options available (Condenser, ribbon, etc) if possible.

[Matt Welker]

I picked up an Alesis MultiMix 4 USB mixer refurbished from the interwebs for $26 shipped to my house. Hard to beat. It has 2 combo XLR/trs inputs and 2 X 1/4" ins. A stereo headphone out and a stereo main out. It goes USB into my mac and straight into/out of garage band. It has phantom power for my condenser I use for vox, and a guitar/line level on channel 1. I can't imagine a cheaper solution. Limitations are 2 channels in/out. All I really need, though. I like having a mixer rather than just an interface in case I want to repurpose it.

If I upgrade, I'd look into the Allen Heath Zed10FX, or the Steinberg UR28M.

[Matt Welker]

I picked up an Alesis MultiMix 4 USB mixer refurbished from the interwebs for $26 shipped to my house. Hard to beat. It has 2 combo XLR/trs inputs and 2 X 1/4" ins. A stereo headphone out and a stereo main out. It goes USB into my mac and straight into/out of garage band. It has phantom power for my condenser I use for vox, and a guitar/line level on channel 1. I can't imagine a cheaper solution. Limitations are 2 channels in/out. All I really need, though. I like having a mixer rather than just an interface in case I want to repurpose it.

If I upgrade, I'd look into the Allen Heath Zed10FX, or the Steinberg UR28M.

[Jack Stoner]

I have a home recording studio using Sonar X1 (and I'm learning Pro Tools).

For little money, I would suggest getting the Reaper recording program (you can download it free and if you decide to keep it you can then pay them for it). Or download the free Audacity recording program as it will get you started off.

You do need a recording interface unit. You can get $25 units or you can get units that cost thousands of dollars. Depends on what you want and what quality you want the preamps in the device and how many inputs you want. With what you state, you want a "decent" unit and not a bare bones cheapie unit. There are many good brands out there including Focusrite, Roland, Presonus. I would say approx $150 to $250 will get you a "pro quality" USB two channel unit that will handle instruments and mic's along with having fantom power if needed and a headphone output.

I'm not a fan of the MAudio Fastrack's, although I have to have one for the version of Pro Tools I have (MP9) which requires proprietary hardware. I have a Fastrack Ultra 8R and the preamps are not as "transparent" as the ones in a Focusrite unit I had or the Roland Octa-Capture I have now.

[Scott Henderson]

I'm kind of a PT nut so I would suggest Pro tools and...Pro tools...
For an affordable mic pre amp I would look at the ART tube pre amp.
You can pick them up for around a hundred bucks and well worth the money.
They're have pre sets for different instruments and vocals....Like I said for the money....they're worth it..