hi, i'm new here, a beginner and browsing the internet with what audio interface i should get for my home studio project and will be using it with a windows computer.
right now i'm looking at the Behringer u-phoria umc204HD and scarlett 2i4 gen 2 audio interfaces. they are almost identical with the features, has midi i/o as well that can come handy in the future. just different mic preamps and price difference of $90($129 for umc204HD and $219 for scarlett 2i4 gen 2)
i've searched for reviews through online music stores, few forums they both sounded clean and mic preamps are great, low to zero latency experience although there are some issues for drivers which can be solved if you're patient enough like the 2i4 which crashes all the time from what i've read but can be fixed and the u-phoria umc204HD has some driver stability issues that can be fixed by updating it.
for the home studio environment, i plan to use it with amp sims for direct recording and record vocals as well.
so which one should i get? is the scarlett 2i4 worth the $90 difference from the u-phoria umc204hd? why should i get the 2i4 over the umc204HD and vice versa? Midas pres or scarlett pres?
thanks for the help!
Comments
hi sorry i forgot to mention those. i plan to use condenser mic
hi
sorry i forgot to mention those. i plan to use condenser microphones - audio technica at2035 or rode nt1-a
mainly on vocals only as i have no plans yet on buying real amps to put a dynamic mic in front of it
the room would be just my bedroom that i'll be treating soon. can't remember the dimensions but yeah i'll try to make it suitable for a home studio project.
my music would focus mainly on rock sound in general - amps sims would be a 1959HW and Silver Jubillee both clean and distorted(amplitube or anything i would find that i can afford)
pickups would be just passive alnico v singles and alnico ii humbuckers.
the two mentioned gears are just plain and simple to me i guess? since i'm a beginner to home recording i guess i kept the functionality to what i can understand without reading the manual so much and maybe that will be my starting point. it's a reasonable price as well.
kmetal, post: 460420, member: 37533 wrote: Id probably err towar
kmetal, post: 460420, member: 37533 wrote: Id probably err towards the scarlett, my scarelett solo was decent especially for the 80$ on sale. If the difference in price between uphoria and scarlett is a concern, maybe the 2i2 or solo would do the trick for you.
i was considering the solo or the 2i2 first but the the solo doesn't have independent level controls for your headphones; i guess i'm too lazy for plugging in and plugging out if i newd to listen through the monitors. the 2i2 on the other doesn't have midi i/o which i think might be handy if i'll be needing a midi controller/keyboard in the future.
If you dont already have a midi device that specifically uses a
If you dont already have a midi device that specifically uses a midi port, most new devices are gonna transmit midi via usb. If its an older midi device you add, without USB, you can always add a usb midi adapter.
Focusrite also does include a decent and very useful set soft software along with it.
You may be able to control the headphones independently on the solo using the software mixer, but im not sure about that.
Humm hard to choose. Both entry level interfaces offer similar f
Humm hard to choose. Both entry level interfaces offer similar features.
Altought the specs are not clear if beringher outputs are balanced or not.
I can't find the gain specs on either preamps so I guess trying them would be a good idea.
What I would do is plug a mic, push the gain and hear when it gets noisy. Try the same mic on the other interface and do the same test. Is one of them cleaner ?
Also both are powered via USB, this can be a problem with some computers, specially affordable laptops.
Any chances you can stretch your budget for this ? : https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iD14--audient-id14
The ID14 would be better in everyway.. ;)
pcrecord, post: 460423, member: 46460 wrote: I guess trying them
pcrecord, post: 460423, member: 46460 wrote: I guess trying them would be a good idea.
i wish i could do that in my country; most retail stores here doesn't offer demos of products specially interfaces. that's why my only way is reading reviews and watching youtube videos before buying.
pcrecord, post: 460423, member: 46460 wrote:
Also both are powered via USB, this can be a problem with some computers, specially affordable laptops.
i'll be building myself a dedicated pc for this project as purchasing mac products are way too expensive for me. but i hope i don't get any problems with this.
pcrecord, post: 460423, member: 46460 wrote:
Any chances you can stretch your budget for this ? : https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/iD14--audient-id14
The ID14 would be better in everyway.. ;)
i wish i could but i can't find any distributor here in my country and if i'll buy it overseas the price would be stretched further.[/QUOTE]
ouroborostone, post: 460425, member: 51532 wrote: i wish i could
ouroborostone, post: 460425, member: 51532 wrote: i wish i could but i can't find any distributor here in my country and if i'll buy it overseas the price would be stretched further.
This is the Audient distributor for your part of the world.. contact them to have a liste of selling point
Phillipines 
Stage Craft International
888 EDSA
Mandaluyong City
Philippines
info@stagecraftintl.com
63 (2637) 5922
http://www.stagecraftintl.com
I'll throw my 2 cents in .. I have the 2i4 gen 2 and it has been
I'll throw my 2 cents in .. I have the 2i4 gen 2 and it has been flawless .. I teach an Ableton boot camp and it works first time every time on both Windows 10 ,Mac high sierra and the new Mac OSX Mojave...I have an extensive midi solution. And the midi is fine .. I teach a number of daws , Ableton, presonus studio one v4, logic pro x, harrison mixbuss32c, and hopefully will get ramped up on samplitude as well .. yes Im licensed for them all ... I have no issues with the 2i4 over the last 2 years on any of these daw apps. First generation had driver firmware issues, the preamps are fine .. So as a beginner interface it's very good . Minimal controls easy to master and not frustrating ...hope this helps
Hi, and welcome! You haven't said what microphones you intend t
Hi, and welcome!
You haven't said what microphones you intend to use, nor what type of material you will be recording (folk, blues, rap, etc), or where you will be recording (studio, club, untreated bedroom etc).
I'm assuming from your mention of amp sims that you want to plug a guitar into one of the input channels of the audio interface, but what sort of pickups and/or pre-amp have you got on the guitar?
At this end of the audio interface market, you tend to get what you pay for, both in terms of sound quality and product reliability. I'll leave it to you to make the equipment choice from that. There are many other audio interfaces in that market sector, but to suggest others you might consider, we would need to know more about what features led you to the two you mentioned.
The latest Scarlett drivers for Windows 7 and 10 are pretty stable in my experience.