Suggest A Good Usb/fw Interface, Help beginners find affordable quality Options

[dedart]

If you have the money, try a Apogee MiniMe. Why?
1/ You will record with a quality that you will never regret
2/ It will retain more of its initial value for selling later
3/ A firewire option is coming to upgrade the throughput

dedart
www.dedart.com
Strange images, Strange music, Strange words.

[muzza]

Hi. I'm new here and this is my first posting. I have scoured the internet for reviews of appropriate audio/midi interfaces and have come to the conclusion that the Tascam US-122 and any m-audio products should be avoided at all costs.

I have come down to a choice between the Firebox and an Edirol FA-66. I know there are other choices out there, but these ones seem to get the most positive comments, though it's nearly impossible to find reviews of the FA-66.

My question? I'm getting to it. I have just bought a 933MHz G4 which will handle either interface, but I also have a 550MHz PowerBook with 768Mb ram, which falls below the minimum requirement for both units.

Could I use the Powerbook for editing the tracks after capturing the audio on the 933?

Also, would I be able to use the PowerBook as my 'backing band' to play back the recordings if I got to the gigging stage?

I make the assumption that the audio capture phase would be the most CPU intensive.

Also, am I correct to understand that the Firebox can only record 2 inputs at the same time? I've read that the FA-66 can record 6 if your settings aren't too high.

Sorry about the long post.

[arvidtp]

for just playing back audio and probably capturing it at CD quality, your 550MHz should still work. It is when you try to add realitme plugins and use softsynths that you will run into issues with 550 MHz. If you are just playing or recording (ie no realtime effects/interaction with the machine) then you can set your buffer size for the firebox as high as you want to avoid pops/clicks.

No, the firebox can record 6 channels at once (2 are digital only though, you need an external stereo AD converter). Two have are preamps and the remaining two are line level.

[mortalengines]

It may also behoove you to invest in an external hard drive (oxford chipset) if you plan on triggering multiple loops live via your laptop (which has a very slow drive) but otherwise you should be in pretty good shape that way.

[muzza]

Thanks for your input guys. I'll be pretty basic for the first few months (years??? ). I doubt that I'll be using too many plugins initially. Just acoustic guitar, bass, harmonica and some drum loops or drum midi.

I really want to use it as a jammin' partner, as I'm finding it difficult to find guitarists/musicians of a similar ability and similar musical taste to myself (southern rock - too good to play with beginners, not good enough to play with pro's. Well and truly stuck on the intermediate plateau!)

Sounds sad, eh?

Muz (aka; johnnynomates)