I had an RME Fireface 400 for a really long time. I bought it as an upgrade from my Presonus Firestudio Project, and HOLY CRAP did it sound a shitload better. The difference was immediately noticeable... Both in recording quality and in quality of music being played through it. The RME Fireface worked fucking awesome, with extremely low latency and high stability. For what it is, it completely ruled.
However, "what it is" isn't an 8 input interface capable of drum recordings. And damn it, I want to record live drums. So I started looking at interface options that would allow me to record live drums, fully expecting to need to downgrade. I at first planned on getting the M-Audio Profire 2626, but after careful consideration of the specs and reviews, I decided to get the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 instead. soundonsound.com rates the Saffire as being slightly better.
Well, at $350 for a b-stock new one, I'm not arguing!
Here's what I need out of my audio interface:
Very stable low latency performance. As I am sure most of you know, I use VST amp sims for my guitar sound, both live and on record. So its important for me to have as little latency as possible, and to not have any skips, pops, or crashes in the middle of rehearsal, recording, shows, etc. So far the Saffire has performed flawlessly in this regard. I was at first experiencing problems with my laptop, but disabling the wireless card these problems were resolved.
The RME was slightly more stable and capable of slightly lower latencies, but we're talking about 3ms with the RME and 4-5ms with the Saffire.
Sound Quality. And you know what? I can't tell any difference from the Saffire to the RME. I'm sure the RME sounds better, but I can't tell. Mic preamps have less gain than the preamps on the RME but they don't sound any worse, and recording vocals with my SM7b works out just fine.
I haven't personally done this experiment, but a friend also got the Saffire Pro 40, and tested the instrument inputs against his Countryman DI. And they sounded identical.
Lots of inputs/outputs. The Saffire has 8 mic/line inputs, two on the front (which double as instrument inputs), 8 line outputs, and ADAT in/out for additional preamps or using the Saffire as a standalone preamp into some other interface.
Ease of use. The Saffire really excels here. The routing matrix is easy to figure out and pretty damn powerful for 0 latency recording. And the monitor volume knob with the pad and mute switch is SO useful. Two headphone outs with independent volume knobs kicks ass. And having two inputs on the front and the rest in the back is the perfect compromise.
I recorded a band last weekend and the results were pretty damn good... and I've barely mixed it at all!
On location FTL :lol
Shitty drumkits FTL*10000!!!
Bass+Drums Clip: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1161830/Choking Victimish.mp3 There will be guitars and vocals, and it is a punk band, and its the product of about 30 minutes of mixing, adjust volume, choosing samples, tweaking, etc... So bear all that in mind as you listen.
Pair of SM81 for overheads, Audix i5 on snare, EV PL80a on toms, Shure SM7b on kick. Bass is a stock P-bass with brand new D'Addario strings DI, with LeXTAC and a few impulses. Drums have sample augmentation, about 80/20 sample/real on kick, 30/70 on snare, and 50/50 on toms.
I'm completely happy about my purchase and "downgrade", and I would recommend anyone looking into recording purchase a similar unit.
However, "what it is" isn't an 8 input interface capable of drum recordings. And damn it, I want to record live drums. So I started looking at interface options that would allow me to record live drums, fully expecting to need to downgrade. I at first planned on getting the M-Audio Profire 2626, but after careful consideration of the specs and reviews, I decided to get the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 instead. soundonsound.com rates the Saffire as being slightly better.
Well, at $350 for a b-stock new one, I'm not arguing!
Here's what I need out of my audio interface:
Very stable low latency performance. As I am sure most of you know, I use VST amp sims for my guitar sound, both live and on record. So its important for me to have as little latency as possible, and to not have any skips, pops, or crashes in the middle of rehearsal, recording, shows, etc. So far the Saffire has performed flawlessly in this regard. I was at first experiencing problems with my laptop, but disabling the wireless card these problems were resolved.
The RME was slightly more stable and capable of slightly lower latencies, but we're talking about 3ms with the RME and 4-5ms with the Saffire.
Sound Quality. And you know what? I can't tell any difference from the Saffire to the RME. I'm sure the RME sounds better, but I can't tell. Mic preamps have less gain than the preamps on the RME but they don't sound any worse, and recording vocals with my SM7b works out just fine.
I haven't personally done this experiment, but a friend also got the Saffire Pro 40, and tested the instrument inputs against his Countryman DI. And they sounded identical.
Lots of inputs/outputs. The Saffire has 8 mic/line inputs, two on the front (which double as instrument inputs), 8 line outputs, and ADAT in/out for additional preamps or using the Saffire as a standalone preamp into some other interface.
Ease of use. The Saffire really excels here. The routing matrix is easy to figure out and pretty damn powerful for 0 latency recording. And the monitor volume knob with the pad and mute switch is SO useful. Two headphone outs with independent volume knobs kicks ass. And having two inputs on the front and the rest in the back is the perfect compromise.
I recorded a band last weekend and the results were pretty damn good... and I've barely mixed it at all!
On location FTL :lol
Shitty drumkits FTL*10000!!!
Bass+Drums Clip: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1161830/Choking Victimish.mp3 There will be guitars and vocals, and it is a punk band, and its the product of about 30 minutes of mixing, adjust volume, choosing samples, tweaking, etc... So bear all that in mind as you listen.
Pair of SM81 for overheads, Audix i5 on snare, EV PL80a on toms, Shure SM7b on kick. Bass is a stock P-bass with brand new D'Addario strings DI, with LeXTAC and a few impulses. Drums have sample augmentation, about 80/20 sample/real on kick, 30/70 on snare, and 50/50 on toms.
I'm completely happy about my purchase and "downgrade", and I would recommend anyone looking into recording purchase a similar unit.
