So I've got an Alesis io26 at the moment, which has 8 pres. However, in past projects I have needed more than 8 inputs when doing drums, and we wound up having to overdub one of the toms lol.
I've essentially decided to upgrade from the Alesis to an M-Audio Profire 2626. But, again, I will be limited to 8 pres. I would just connect the Alesis pres to the Profire with ADAT to get more than 8 pres into my DAW, but the Alesis only has ADAT In, not ADAT Out for some reason (arrrghh).
So, to get the Alesis pres into the Profire, I need an A/D. What's a good, "high quality" A/D to use? It seems like I'm always hearing about Lavry and other high-end converters, but whenever I look at these products they seem to be only 2 channels. Since this seems to be the case, what converters do people use when they're tracking drums? Are the only options for 8-channel Apogee, Lynx, and RME? Apogee and Lynx are too expensive for me, tbh, and I've always seen RME as being "expensive, but not top of the line."
In terms of price range, I'm not going to spend thousands on a converter. Am I simply out of luck? Frankly, I can't seem to find any converters that are below the thousand-dollar range.
Am I better off just buying another interface with preamps and ADAT Out? Like the new Liquid Saffire 56? Or maybe a preamp unit with built-in A/D like an Onyx 800?
Or maybe a Behringer ADA8000? What bothers me about it is that you can't bypass the preamps. With gain on 0, do the Behringer pres "suck tone" away from whatever you plug into them? I suppose it's not a huge deal since I'd be using it in conjunction with the Alesis pres, but it's still annoying.
I've been a bit dubious about how much of a difference preamps really make, so I figured that using Alesis preamps, which I've been pleased with and already own anyway, would be a good idea. But now I need A/D.
In conclusion, what seems like the best route? Buy an A/D unit? Buy another interface (which will have built in A/D)? Is there something I'm not thinking of?
Thanks a lot for the advice.
I've essentially decided to upgrade from the Alesis to an M-Audio Profire 2626. But, again, I will be limited to 8 pres. I would just connect the Alesis pres to the Profire with ADAT to get more than 8 pres into my DAW, but the Alesis only has ADAT In, not ADAT Out for some reason (arrrghh).
So, to get the Alesis pres into the Profire, I need an A/D. What's a good, "high quality" A/D to use? It seems like I'm always hearing about Lavry and other high-end converters, but whenever I look at these products they seem to be only 2 channels. Since this seems to be the case, what converters do people use when they're tracking drums? Are the only options for 8-channel Apogee, Lynx, and RME? Apogee and Lynx are too expensive for me, tbh, and I've always seen RME as being "expensive, but not top of the line."
In terms of price range, I'm not going to spend thousands on a converter. Am I simply out of luck? Frankly, I can't seem to find any converters that are below the thousand-dollar range.
Am I better off just buying another interface with preamps and ADAT Out? Like the new Liquid Saffire 56? Or maybe a preamp unit with built-in A/D like an Onyx 800?
Or maybe a Behringer ADA8000? What bothers me about it is that you can't bypass the preamps. With gain on 0, do the Behringer pres "suck tone" away from whatever you plug into them? I suppose it's not a huge deal since I'd be using it in conjunction with the Alesis pres, but it's still annoying.
I've been a bit dubious about how much of a difference preamps really make, so I figured that using Alesis preamps, which I've been pleased with and already own anyway, would be a good idea. But now I need A/D.
In conclusion, what seems like the best route? Buy an A/D unit? Buy another interface (which will have built in A/D)? Is there something I'm not thinking of?
Thanks a lot for the advice.
)
