How to choose the right sound card / audio interface for your computer music studio, tutorial

[Caesaurus]

Great video, thanks a lot for the effort!

(eehehe, looks like 2 little grumpy evil minions from E-MU and M-Audio disliked that you showed us those awesome cards:))

[johngorgis]

Whats a good card that can take 2 synths and a sampler

[ken322able]

QUESTION? WOULD IT BE BETTER TO RECORD WITH A USB MICROPHONE OR A MICROPHONE WITH A INTERFACE INTO A RECORDING PROGRAM?

[TheMarlough]

Don't be confused people, Neutrik is not what he says it is. The XLR/TRS combo jack on his sound card is just that. A combo jack. Neutrik is a BRAND NAME. They make connectors and whatnot. Actually, pretty good connectors. I like XLR cables with Neurtik brand ends, because they have basically an o-ring built in that helps make a nice, tight, unsloppy fit into your mic. Anyway, no disrespect to you DJVespers, nice vid.

[spiritmedicine42]

Very well presented. Thank you. I have the same MOTU mk3 ultraite soundcard as you. I have noticed that when I change over from my mini plug headphone jack output on my macbook pro and switch ableton over to the mk3, I lose some low end. I figured the soundcard would make it sound much better but it actually sounds more thin and electrical than fat and thick. Any ideas? Was gonna call MOTU but figured I'd ask you do to your familiarity of the application of the unit. Thanks

[TanatosLegion00]

Say, I don't need much midi(just one is enough) and I don't need DSP. I just need a good sound card for recording and music making using FL Studio. Which sound card should I go for? I'd appreciate it if you can give me some advice on that. C=

[nothisworld]

Brilliant & honest.

Thanks & keep it up.

[digitalvamp]

great video! You should teach classes about studio production, you would make a million.

[mcturk17]

What if im looking for a sound card to get rid of the static and delay on my sequencer like FL STUDIO and with quicker midi keyboard respons when im playing the keys.?

[hotboyme]

pause and look at his sleepy eyes

[Nexusation]

Hey,

I've just got my KRK Rokit 8 and wanted to connect them to my computer via XLR and I need an Interface for this. Could you recommend one without Mic Input or something I just want to have these XLR's and it should be pretty cheap. Cheers!

[jomobeats1]

Hey love the video , I need help man and u seem like ur just the man for tha job!!!! I've bn using fl studio ,and mixcraft with no interface just the asio driver on the software . When I listen to my finish track it sound great on the software page but as soon as i save it to my desktop and play it bk in my window media player it loses quality will a sound card help the issue and will it make the instrument in the software clearer and more hq ? Help anyone! Thanks !

[TheTweeker79]

Very informative, thank you, great video.

[LiveKingDieMan]

Thanks very much!

[Nexusation]

@DJVespers can you recommend a sound interface for DJing and NOT recording for about 200 bucks?

[BRUSRxgraff]

wow im watching this with no sound since i dont got a sound card

[dan75robot]

this video is very informative and I learned alot when considering my next sound card thanks!

[solo0nine]

I got Windows 7 and im gonna get FL 10. What interface would work with FL 10 and will be compatible for Windows 7

[pl5050lol]

dam i click on this on google but i forgot that my sound card is brokend so i cant hear a thing dammm it

[flashportalnet]

@pl5050lol haha

[ChesterAsucka]

@DJVespers

Hi there. Thanks for the info. Maybe you can help me out. I've been looking into the Motu ultralite MkIII hybrid for some time now, since my laptop only has USB. I want to record a drum kit. I intend to buy a new computer eventually, but I've noticed in some of the reviews for that particular Motu interface that people have had serious problems using the USB function, or with Vista. It seems to work great with Macs. Do you know anything about that? I was so ready to buy it too.....

[angel77oi]

Hey, can I use Audio Interface for playing music from PC as well or do I need to use internal soundcard ?

Quality is main goal.

Cheers :)

[spacepretentions]

Roland Octa-Capture is great... Much better than what I tested b4, and I tested alot.

[Alterstateresearcher]

Wish I saw this video 3 years ago....recording at 16bit directly into my laptop sound card using low end monitors from the headphone out jack has really been a 3 year mistake based on ignorance. Know I got a good idea why my stuff never stacked up with my references.....very enlightening videos.

[Sei5mixx]

Wow Vessybaby, I have spent the last like 2 months doing NOTHING but reading and whatnot, what you said in this video I freakin WISHHHHHHHHHHHHH Idda seen this earlier. You are very talented man, keep it up.

[angel77oi]

Awesome video !!! You are clear and understandable.

Thanks to You I finally understand stuff about soundcards :D

Cheers

[spiritualcycle]

Thanks for the great advice!

[johnnywoodbugs]

Good stuff, minus the part about sample rates. Having sample rates up to 192khz isn't a marketing gimmick. Those high sample rates have nothing to do with being able to more accurately hear a sound and everything to do with providing a better digital production environment. Whether it's sound being synthesized digitally or passing through the multitude of plugins used in a project, the high sample rates push the aliasing and upper band limit filters above the audible range til the very end step.

[johnnywoodbugs]

@johnnywoodbugs 192khz isn't nearly as relevant as the difference between 44 vs 88/96, but some do use it for instance to render audio from a vst synth before resampling it down to your working rate. So in that instance it's convenient to have playback if you want to listen to the intermediary file.

[frydayupinhere]

damn, i was going to but aescam, tomrrow... now im lost.

considering Focusrite Scarlett 2i2

[frydayupinhere]

@frydayupinhere 'Buy A Tascam, tomorrow'

[TheRedbullWings]

you my friend have earned a sub =)

[pete5668]

I have a Macbook Pro and a MOTU Ultralite. I tried to record to Audacity software with an external microphone plugged into the front XLR jack and a FireWire cable connected from the MOTU Ultralite to the Macbook Pro. The MOTU recognized that there was sound coming from the microphone, but the software did not. The software just recorded using the computer's built in microphone. What did I do wrong? How do I get the signal from the Ultralite to the MacBook Pro?

[malekimusic]

i am currently shopping to build my own computer for recording my band... every computer i have had before is not capeable of getting the job done... this vid has confused me a bit in the sense that it sounds like i dont need an internal soundcard in the comp, and only my audio interface??? dont i need an internal sound card for audio output???

[MistaMase102]

hi vespers, ive done alot of research and ive realised something, majority of usb audio interfaces are ripping you off, alot of them are saying its 24/96k but it runs USB1.1 which means it never reaches 24/96k and the latency will be bad. im getting annoyed trying to pick out an audio interface, i might just get a PCI audio card and save myself a bunch of money.

[TheKiki1292]

I have the new mxl gensis.mic.whats a great audio firewire interface for it?

[03886974927695785684]

Im lookin into buying my first sound card, i have noticed that some sound cards come with free software, im going to mostly using a usb midi controller most of the time but i will want to record a few vocals and it would be ideal if it came with some free software. What would you reccomend?

[SoloStuff]

Very good review!!. Up to the point.

[yusuf1608]

Help! Just ordered a Audio Technica AT2020 mic. I am looking for a decent internal PC sound card to complement it. What would you recommend?

Thanks

Paul

[RangaCK]

hi..i want to record live band.how many inputs and outputs i need??

[pitolove71]

People like you are NEEDED to make the world a much better place for me...I hope that my happiness makes your world much better too. Thanks a million dude!

[rei9707]

very useful information for audio newbies like myself, thank you very much for the explanations of how sound works.

[midasdaughter]

nice video, make things much clearer,

thanks

[soulessdelu]

U AMAYZME AGAIN!DOES A GOOD ENGINEER HEAR DIFERENCE?YES SIRE !IT S HUGE DIFERENCE BETWEN SAMPLER RATE RANGE....HAAAAAAA I VE SPOKEN WITH ALOT OF ENGYNEER AND DON T HEER DIFERENCE ,BECAUSE THEY ARE OLD FUCKING OLD DOGS ....ENY WAY ....

[soulessdelu]

DUDE WHAT IS SAMPLER RATE AGAIN???ANOTHER FAKE ENGINEER....JESUS!WHAY DONT U TAKE A MINIMUM OF CLASSE IN AUDIO FEILD?U SHOULD CONSIDER PEOPLE WACH ING YOU !ARE YOU ABLE TO PROVIDE GOOD CLEAN KNOLEGGE!?

[soulessdelu]

What is bit depht again please?

[markusdresch]

some points that maybe should have been addressed too is preamps and connection type (firewire or usb).

i got a presonus firestudio fp10, which is praised for it's preamps, however, i still sometimes connect another (also presonus) tube preamp for warmer sound.

then i got two native instruments guitar rig controllers, which can be used as usb audio interfaces and/or midi controllers.

firewire however does take some load off the cpu, that's probably minor, but firewire beats usb 2 speedwise.

[pinoykid09]

what d you think of the behringer u-control UCA models..the 30 dollar ones.ive heard good things and im running a xenyx 1202fx with it...right now my interface is a toneportgx from line 6 and im getting low quality sounds

[dreamcanal]

Oh man, I've been hemming and hawing about this ... now I know I'm going to wait and save up the extra hundred $ to get that MOTU ..... like the harmony with Apple .. and they have not abandoned the PowerMac processors in the older MACs (like Amplitube, Fender and Line 6 have)

[djgermain507]

Great man, awesome! You answered all of my questions..

[16BitSoundCard]

Buy me!

[jamesarongray]

thank u heaps!

[petersedin]

haha...nice commercial on the screens..

[hmongboi206]

What type of sound card would you recommend to a rapper/singer to record decent quality music for albums/mixtapes?

[jamesarongray]

@hmongboi206 one that has phantom power for the mic inputs, then make sure u get a mic that is phantom powered. 

[blissful0ne]

Dude i love you... I spent months looking up this info awhile back and I STILL didnt know all this stuff till after watching this.

This is a GREAT video for anyone starting out (:

Oh and I'ma ask u a few questions on ur fb lol.

-ryan

[Wisdomeful]

Hey Vespers! How works Microbook for you? Whats your experience with it? Is it a good sound card to get? Would you recommend it to buy ?

Im producing with ableton and I wont to get some banging sounds from monitors and for that I need a sound card. thats the main thing why im buying sound card.

thanks

[thewakz]

TC Electronic makes some nice bus powered units. Plus they come with the famous TC Electronic reverb and other goodies.

[iAmFractalSky]

I use the Focusrite saffire pro 24... the Motu Microbook is around the same price range.. Would these be comparable in quality? Does the Motu blow the focusrite sound quality out of the water? Just looking for one's opinion. thnx

[CariagaXIII]

fuck marketing gimmick trying to foul us lol

[Arpetrio1]

How do you feel about the presonus firebox? I've been using it for live use at gigs for awhile now, but am not sure how great the quality is. How would you compare it to the motus that were featured?

[pengam2006]

i always enjoy watching your vids dude.... i don't even need a new sound card but that was interesting.

[biggtimemusic]

I would suggest buying every possible cord and adapter combination you can think of, they will come in handy when you don't have the ideal setup to work with, like house parties or an unorganized gig

[DJVespers]

@biggtimemusic For sure, great suggestion.  Cheers!

[biggtimemusic]

Is that motu a 4 output device? if not, how are you cueing?

[DJVespers]

@biggtimemusic The little MOTU Ultralite is a 2 output device, but it has a stereo headphone jack as well that you can cue with. I don't cue though, ever. The only reason I'd cue is if I had to beatmatch a CDJ, in Live everything is warped and I always know my tracks in my set well enough I don't need to listen to them to cue during a set. Cheers!

[ToyoKid1200]

Thankyou!



[joeblack949]

you should follow this up with a discussion about pro audio cabling, iv'e found there are often alot of misunderstandings, even things as terrible as people buying monster cable! eek! I've found mogami and cardas make great bulk cable and cardas and switchcraft makes great silver plated connectors for those who want to make and maintain their own cabling. outside of that if you dont want to get your hands dirty and aren't comfortable with a solder iron, mogami is solid, im more of a diyer tho

[DJVespers]

@joeblack949 Nice one. I honestly don't know very much about audio cabling. Always bought pretty consumer grade stuff, never messed with the audiophile stuff. We need to get you doing videos too!

[joeblack949]

@DJVespers i agree as soon as i get some time, i probably will need a flip or something too, my macbook pro camera is weaksauce for recording anything i need to point something at. lol

[DarrenMalla]

hey mate I just bought an M-Audio Fast Track Pro when I go to hook up my "crappy" headphones they sound good but they don't sound good as I thought..I bought it for my studio monitors which I will get soon but I said I give it a try with the headphones.. do you think it's because of the settings and stuff..?

[joeblack949]

@DarrenMalla maybe you should consider replacing the crappy headphones if they don't sound as good as you thought, also dont expect too much out of a headphone preamp built into anything made by m-audio especially if its high impedence. if you're getting good studio monitors you should be fine as they're going to more than likely have a quality amp built in, at least in the case of the 8inch yamaha and mackies. out of curiousity what headphones do you have?

[DarrenMalla]

@joeblack949 unfortunely I'm not rich enough to buy a Mackie 8" so I'm getting a KRK RP5G2, I heared that they aren't bad at all..about the headphones I'm using Pioneer HDJ 2000

[DJVespers]

@DarrenMalla Hey bro. Try out your studio monitors when you get em, it's likely the headphones you're using. Cheers!

[DarrenMalla]

@DJVespers I understand thanks for you videos really help me man

[Ejdeboll]

damn i learn alot by listening to you :)

[JimmyGr90]

Good video mate. Although I already own a soundcard I watched it and learned a bit more about all the connections and stuff. Thanks!

[DJVespers]

@JimmyGr90 Glad to hear!

[UnisonResonance]

Great advice!!!

[1ino1eum]

Agree, and don't buy m-audio because you have to Pay to get any support.

[DJVespers]

@1ino1eum Yeah, not a huge fan to be honest. Cheers!

[Mixikyr]

@1ino1eum i instinctively steered clear of M-Audio

[joeblack949]

@1ino1eum m-audio can be "ok" if you're super budget and deciding between a beringher, some 40 dollar card you saw on ebay and an m-audio. They have the right idea they just dont last, trigger finger for instance, awesome design, falls apart in a year. m-audio for the money would be better than the sb audigy or whatever shit theypre peddling these days. I however reccomend digging through cragislist and ebay for vintage motu 828s, the first firewire ones :D ~ $200 USD

[joeblack949]

@joeblack949 built out of solid steel and i could probably cut a tech 1200 in half with one and still use it afterwards. no kidding. they built that one for the win. I've had it for almost 10 years. does max 24bit 48k but you will never realy need to work with more than that. plus the adat sync, spdif in/out optical in/out, and 2 neutrik/6 TRS ins and 8 TRS outs all balanced of course and that motu DAC/ADC I wanna make sweet love to. :D

[deadhenderson]

I know you're not a MOTU rep, but...those two firewire connections in back of the mklll, are they connected serial or parallel? In other words, can you actually feed into 2 separate computers w/ the same interface? MOTU's site doesn't address it.

[DJVespers]

@deadhenderson Do you mean simultaneously? Never tried it, although I'm not sure why you'd want to. Perhaps contact MOTU support? Let us know. Cheers!

[joeblack949]

@deadhenderson the 2 firewire connections are because firewire is designed for daisy chaining as opposed to hubs like in usb. so its a passthru more or less. you dont lose a port by plugging it in because it gives you that other one. :D

[deadhenderson]

@joeblack949 so, it can work with 2 separate computers then?

[joeblack949]

@deadhenderson not at the same time of course its a pass through. think of it like using one cable to connect it to your computer and the other socket duplicating the slot you just used so you could plug a hard drive into that, then maybe another firewire device. what kind of computer do you have?

[deadhenderson]

@joeblack949 I have both Mac and PC and I'm trying to create a sort of an ad-hoc VST link between the two without having to rely on physical line outs.

[joeblack949]

@deadhenderson explain what you mean by vst link, what are you trying to do and why are you trying to link two computers? why dont you use a vstwrapper and just stick with your mac?

[deadhenderson]

@joeblack949 the wrapper and the dropbox ideas are great. thx!

[joeblack949]

@deadhenderson if you're trying to keep your libraries and plugins in sync you can use dropbox for that, google is your friend

[markusdresch]

@deadhenderson firewire gear can be daisy chained, that's why pretty much every firewire hardware out there has two connectors.

[nn8nn]

good stuff mate...thanks

[RobotSlaughterhouse]

"Tascam piece of crap." Awesome information Vespers:D Thanks for your endless tutorials that help out the producing community:)

[DJVespers]

@RobotSlaughterhouse ;) I hate on poorly constructed gear that waste's my time. Glad you're diggin the videos!

[Eumusic1]

Guys check sonic academy forum-faq. There is a good guide there.

Focusrite Saffire 6,14,24 , Presonus Firestudio Mobile good audio interfaces for the budget.M-audio fast track/mobile pre - they sound bad in my opinion.The total cost for the Apple Duet and accessory is 3 times higher than other audio interfaces. Mbox pro if you use pro tools.Higher end RME , Apogee orPrism Sound.

My Top would be:

Motu Audio Express , UltraLite-mk3

Focusrite Saffire Pro 24

Rme Fireface 400

Vesper 5/5 Thx.

[DJVespers]

@Eumusic1 Apogee will ROCK those other interfaces IMHO. Apogee stuff is pro. M-Audio is budget.

[joeblack949]

This is funny, I just got my new issue of TapeOp today, time for a drool session. An apogee symphony would be a nice luxury but for those looking sub 3,000+ motu is excellent. if you do alot of recording you might want to consider a full mackie soundboard, some come with firewire io as well. I use both as it gives me exactly what I need with quality pre's, DAC's and extensive audio routing and monitoring capabilities that I will probably never even use 10% of but its nice to know its there. :D

[synthmandan]

Hi Vespers :-) What do you think of Apogee? Their Duet2 ? I know alot of MacBook users swore by their first one the Duet.... I wondered if you got to play with a Duet2 yet? - Daniel

[DJVespers]

@synthmandan Apogee is sick sick sick! Wish I could afford their Symphony card. It's the digital equivalent of a threesome with twin sisters. Meow!

[blackngrey4real]

well the twins are here chanting your name. VESPERS!!! VESPERS!!! VESPERS!!!

[BuglerMusic]

Awesome stuff like always Vespers.

[DJVespers]

@BuglerMusic Cheers mate! Thanks for watching.  Appreciate the comment. Stay in touch!

[iJohnny00110101]

Great vid.

[DJPaggos]

Hey i have a tascam us-100 and as an electronic musician, i think it works well for also recording 1 guitar but i want to do some live stuff soon, is this sufficient atm?

[DJVespers]

@DJPaggos Personally, I will never use a piece of Tascam equipment again. My first soundcard was Tascam and it was such a crappy piece of equipment I'll never trust them again. That's my experience, yours may be different or they may have improved their products since then.

[DJPaggos]

@DJVespers I agree to an extent, this is my first soundcard too, i'll upgrade as soon as possible...my limit was just 100 dollars before. Thanks.

[DJVespers]

@DJPaggos Ah, gotcha. I'm all too familiar with budget constraints. Work with what you got, then upgrade upgrade upgrade... Happy sunday.

[DJPaggos]

@DJVespers You too mate, i'm trying to get more ideas down but i have some meh feelings atm haha.

[Xo1ot1]

You just conveyed more useful information in 10 minutes than others in 2 hours. Getting to know those basics is very helpful, thanks :)

[DJVespers]

@Xo1ot1 Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.

[StrictClubBouncer]

wow thanks for clearing that up.

I'm trying to get into producing but I'm on a tight budget. I don't trust my computer's integrated sound card because it pops and clicks and even crashes ableton sometimes.

So would an internal PCI audio interface or a usb interface (so I could possibly use it with a mixer later on)?

[DJVespers]

@StrictClubBouncer I like external soundcards (USB/FW) because you can take them on the road gigging with you for your laptop. If it's PCI you're stuck with it in the studio only.

[StrictClubBouncer]

@DJVespers thanks for the reply man! yes that makes sense.

[billymilk45]

thanks... that was really useful... made me realise i need two interfaces - one for live and one for studio... what do you think a minimum number of inputs is necessary for a set-up that involves miking a whole band - including a drummer?

[DJVespers]

@billymilk45 Hey mate, I never record bands so it all depends on the number of mics you're using. You could easily use 5-6 mics just on a drum kit, so probably the more inputs the merrier.

[LIANG14]

Very very good video. Thanks for these great videos!

[DJVespers]

@LIANG14 You're welcome! Thanks for watching.

[rudeboys28712]

do u like emu1616m sound card? is it any good?

[DJVespers]

@rudeboys28712 Never used it, sorry. I've only used MOTU gear. I've never had a reason to look elsewhere. Cheers!

[rudeboys28712]

@DJVespers thank for the very fast reply

[christianjforbes]

@rudeboys28712 I have used the emu soundcard for several years and I really liked it.

[rudeboys28712]

@christianjforbes thanks for the reply, i may get one of those 1616m sound cards, i already have a mbox mini, that i got from a pawn shop, it did not have the software with it and i can't use it without the software and i can't take it back, but it only cost me $20.

[christianjforbes]

@rudeboys28712 Specifically I installed the 1212M mother daughter PCI card in tower computer, the only reason I'm not using it is I've finally upgraded to a laptop. I have used emu since Drumulator and E2 and Emax and have loved the quality. High sample rate of 196khz, good software/hardware that has allowed for real world functions like running compressors and limiters on Streaming Videos (levels out hulu comercials) and the breakout box has turntable spec. input, phantom power, ect. Cheers.

[joeblack949]

@christianjforbes keep in mind that using an internal card means you're going to pick up interference from your power supply and also any fan inside your computer. Any electromagnetic field period, most oem power supplies are really shitty and the power is constantly fluctuating which will also interfere with your ability to make clean recordings. notice studiophile products typically have the power transformer in a different external box seperate of the main housing, theres a reason for that.

[christianjforbes]

@joeblack949 Excellent points Mate, yet another reason that I ditched the tower. I am a guitar player-keyboardist who is interested in leaving the hardware (synths and big amps) and using Live and Guitar Rig to handle the double duties. Does anyone have any experience with the Native Instruments Kontrol interface?? or should I plan on using Dual interfaces, One for Live and one for Guitar Rig. Cheers.