Looking for a new computer audio interface-USB

[madison]

Just had a string of bad luck with these recently.
I had a Foccusrite Saffire firewire interface that I really liked but the firewire port on my macbook died so I sold it.
Recently been using a Native Instruments Audio Kontrol 1 and never liked it (buttons/knobs/jacks really cheap crap).
I am just looking for something with a couple of GOOD preamps, extremely low latency ( for Guitar Rig and monitoring in real time with Logic,etc.) , 2 or 4 ins and 2 outs is fine,MIDI in/out, built well, and could keep it around for awhile.
Under $300.
Suggestions?

[EL34]

I just got the M-Audio fast track Ultra recently

This thing is fairly amazing
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackUltra.html

You can read all the specs above, but one of the most important reasons I got it was USB 2.0.
The fast track pro does not perform as well as the Ultra.

I have this thing hooked up to my dual core notebook and it runs Guitar rig with very low latency.
Sounds amazing also, better than my other interfaces I use with guitar rig.

With this interface and a powerful laptop or notebook, you can take the rig out and play live.
Just need a PA or powered monitors

found a store merchant on Ebay that was selling them for $250
Don't remember the merchant name, do a search for the ultra and see who pops up.

I think you would like the Ultra.

[madison]

Hey, thanks Doug!

This looks like a good way to go.
Nice to hear some first hand experience from someone who really knows about this stuff.

Inserts are a cool addition!
To bad the regular Fast Track isn't USB 2.0 compliant.
I used to use a Tascam 1.1 interface a few years ago.
It was ok but I wasn't too worried about latency at that time.
2.0 is a must.

I probably order one of these Ultras up.

[EL34]

I don't need all those preamps for guitar rig, but they would come in handy if you used this thing live.
You could run a couple mic, guitar rig, etc

Let me know how you like it.

Guitar rig 4 is on the way to me, it may be here today.
Just the software upgrade from 3 to 4

[Ritchie200]

Hey all,
I've got the M-Audio Guitar/Mic USB interface and it is an unusable POS.  The latency is horrendous and makes it useless for multitracking.  I tried it on three diferent computers with the exact same result.  I spent hours on email back and forth with M-Audio.  They blamed everything but their product.  I guess you get what you pay for since this is their cheapest unit.  I am going direct into the soundcard with better sounding results than I ever got with the M-Audio unit, and with negligible latency.  As you can tell, I am still a little peeved since I think I paid about $200 for it - so cheap is relative.  That is still a lot of jack and I got screwed.  Just my humble opinion.  Makes me wonder if all USB interfaces are similar.  Has anyone else tried any other USB units?
Jim

[EL34]

Your computer has a huge part of it all.
I have run guitar rig on several computers since guitar rig1 and the computer itself and everything in it and on it matters.


Also, Firewire or USB 2.0 is the only way to go.

I got Guitar rig 4 yesterday. It is able to run at 96khz sampling on the Fast track ultra

Haven't had enough time to play with GR4 yet, but I it sounds good.
I was running Gr3 at 48khz sampling rate

[Bassmanster]

I like to keep fx outboard and monitor the source to avoid latency issues.

Just my 2 cents.  Doug's recordings speak for themselves, of course.

[EL34]

My previous recording were all done on a PCI Soundblaster card using ASIO.

I have not done any recordings with the new M-Audio box
I'll have to give it a go to compare the sound quality.

[madison]

Waiting for the Ultra to arrive.

I HATE latency.
USB 1.1 stinks.
I have no idea why they still sell anything in the audio field with that.
Is it so much more expensive to make things 2.0?

I recently read a good way to check latency on your system.
Make a drum track.
Take the output and reroute it back into the interface (make a loop basically).
Re-record the track.
Compare side by side.You'll have to zoom in like crazy.
This also helps to make an "offset" in milliseconds if your interface software has that option.

[Ritchie200]

My previous recording were all done on a PCI Soundblaster card using ASIO.

That is exactly what I am using.  I pulled a great ASIO program off the net that worked MUCH better than the one Soundblaster provided.

Yeah, I know the computer has LOTS to do with performance.  To prove my point to my M-Audio guy, I hooked up to my daughter's brand new system about a month ago - with the exact same results.  There was nothing running in the background.  It does have a neat option of monitoring from the unit, but latency killed that about as bad as running through the computer monitors.  It's no fun sliding tracks back and forth trying to match the original timing.  Sorry for the strong language earlier.  I had some pretty heated discussions with those guys and was not impressed with the customer service.  With advice like, "Post it on the forum to see if anyone else has the same problem." did not go over too well with me.  I know they make some good stuff, maybe they didn't think I spent enough to warrant good service.

Jim

[EL34]

I had a M-audio Firewire solo also and it worked without a hitch. Never seemed to use it much except for recording my bass guitar and so I sold it on Ebay a while back. But then again, that was Firewire connection, not the older usb.

I have several M-audio products right now like the USB/Midi sport, Oxygene8 midi keyboard and now the Fast track ultra.

So far so good, no problems with all of those products.

Hard to say what the issue is with your gadjet, but unless the problem happens alot, the company is not gonna spend time trying to figure out why one guy is having problems.

I always go looking for a user forum and see if the problem is happening with other users. Users sometimes have more knowledge than the company does. Maybe the drivers just suck for that M-audio unit you have and the computer harware combo you have?
Hard to say what the problem is.

[madison]

It arrived.

So far so good.
I must say it sounds better than what I had.

I've gotten a couple of hiccups in Logic when running at 96khz/24bit with a couple tracks running G.R. plus the midi controller pedal.
Probably have to tweak the machine a bit.
Lots of in/outs on this thing!
Too bad I don't have a bunch of mics.
I'll try some miced stuff tomorrow.
The 2 insert jacks on the back look interesting to mess with.

Thanks again for the word on this unit.
Peace.

[EL34]

Glad you like it.

I haven't had much time to mess around with mine.
So far I am just running Guitar rig with it on 96K/24bit

My chain is pretty simple
I plug my guitar into my stereo channel tube pre amp.
I send the stereo pre amp signals into inputs 1 and 2 on the Ultra
I send output 1 and 2 on the ultra to a 100 watt stereo amp.
The stereo amp runs into two big 18 inch woofer 6 way speakers.
gets a pretty huge sound

[madison]

I've been really busy too, unfortunately.

Simple chain is good.

Mine is more complex.
Basically I create 2 tracks.
One is audio (BLUE-for the dry guitar)
One is the midi track (GREEN-the actual GR is on this track as an insert and this track also records all the midi info)

You can see the audio and midi messages it records.

[madison]

Mixer ends up looking like this.
If you double click the GR it opens up as normal.
I end up taking the dry guitar out on a bus and feed it into GR on the side chain option.
It was tricky and took some time to figure out how to do but now it's breeze.

I feed it into an old Pioneer Rack Amp that I found in a recycling pile and cleaned up. ( I think it is 100 watts)
Then into some huge old Kenwood speakers or Shure Vocalmasters with like 7-8" speakers and 1-10" (I think) that a friend gave me.