Interface

In my experience, I have used (extensively) 2 firepods hooked up to my AMD X2 4600+. Thats 16 mic preamp channels, each going into my DAW (SONAR 6 PE). It is interesting to note that thru Sonar, channel 1 shows up as "FIREPOD 1+3 Left", channel 2 is "FIREPOD 1+3 Right" and so on. (If anyone knows how to change this, please let me know). for $500 each, the firepods have served me nicely. great thing is, you can get one - try it out, and if you like it, and need more inputs, buy another, and daisy chain them. the midi interface is also very convenient, as well as the internal (and SPDIF) clock. Something to think about: you may decide later on that you need/want a control surface. If you wanna save time and money, look into the Tascam 1804 or 1884. Thats nice. I wish i would have looked into that, now I am going to have to spend another 1000+ on a Mackie Control Universal. Good luck finding what you need. Thats just a possibility: what is going to be your main purpose for this recording interface? Single tracking, or do you plan on extensively micing a drum set (12+ mics)? let me know what youre planning on recording, and maybe i can give more specific help.

ive thought a lot about the firepod but im wondering if it has any latency or any big problems.

Anyways, im recording mainly my band which has two vocals, bass guitar, regular guitar, and drumset. Drum set is the big thing, i can start out with just three mics on set right now but eventually i would want to close mic it. I also record other bands though so i don't want to get gear that will only record my band.

Just as a side note, not part of the forum, wut is a SPDIF clock. Ive seen them a lot but have no clue wut they are.

Thanks, steveo

I would have to second the Firepod.... as far as getting into recording and being able to set everything up easily, I think it is great.

Latency isn't really a problem for me. I run Cubase LE (which came with the Firepod) generally at a 3.0ms latency (have run it as low as 1.0ms latency) on an AMD 3000+, 512MB RAM (not the worlds best DAW now days). I don't do a ton of multi-tracking, usually only up to 3-4 tracks at a time.... but it runs well, and am sure that it would run a lot better if I had a newer computer.

For the price, it's hard to beat IMHO.

S/PDIF is pretty much a way to synchronize multiple devices to one clock - this helps when you are recording by making all of the phases the same. more at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPDIF
i usually run at 6ms latency, and no one i have recorded could tell the difference...what does "IMHO" stand for anyway?

i have had problems keeping the 2 firepods connected to my pc. this seems to have been a problem with my motherboard on my computer - they stayed connected fine on my new computer.

with my two firepods, i can stream in 16 channels at 44.1khz and 24bit for at least an hour. multitracking shouldnt be a problem - im even considering getting a third firepod...

I had 2 RME Firefaces for a while, I found they crashed my PC when I tried to record all 16 analog in's at once. However when I used only one fireface at a time I could record 8 tracks at once without grief. Its a ok product, maybe a tad over priced though. I traded them in for one Cranesong Hedd 192 (2 inputs only) and I am never going back.

Remember that when you mic a drum set, you can use as many as 20 mics (typically aroun 10) depending on the kit size and your technique. If you dont want the number of mics you can use to hold you down, look for something with more inputs (or multiple of the same unit, i.e. 3 firepods for a total of 24 mic inputs) the more the better...

The Mackie Onyx firewire interface/mixer. You can get it with 8 mic pres to get you by, or 16 if you want something more versatile for expansion. The pres sound nice, you plug in a firewire cable and you got yourself 8 or 16 separate tracks at a time going into your computer.

http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx1640/

The Mackie Onyx firewire interface/mixer. You can get it with 8 mic pres to get you by, or 16 if you want something more versatile for expansion. The pres sound nice, you plug in a firewire cable and you got yourself 8 or 16 separate tracks at a time going into your computer.

http://www.mackie.com/products/onyx1640/

Steveo,

I'm using Alesis' io|26 now with moderate results. While I've never used the Firepods before, these units are $400 and might be an alternative to some of the other 8-channel interface choices. I'm not sure about chaining two or more together, but it seems reasonable.

I made some comments [[url=http://[/URL]="http://recording.or…"]here[/]="http://recording.or…"]here[/].

I looked at (and actually tried out) the Firepod before deciding to go with the Motu 8pre. It costs about $50 more than the FP, but it is layed out differently:

*It has 8 mic pre's with individual phantom and pad

*In my quick comparison, the pre's on the 8pre were much quieter than the FP's.

*only 4 outputs (as compared to the FP's 8)

*LED indicators on the front that show level vs. the FP's clip light.

*Is compatible with optical interfaces/mixers and can be daisy chained the same as the FP.

Hope that helps!

Isaac

We went with the Firepod in our setup - 2 of them daisy-chained. Not too worried about monitoring with LED's because you can see those levels in your software. But DO keep an eye on the peak level lights - even if your software shows low levels, the FP will distort when peaking (just like any other pre).

Latency shouldn't be an issue as long as you have a good processor in your PC. We've run ours as low as 1.5ms and haven't had any problems - of course, we use a Pentium D (dual-core) with about 4 gig of ram, so it pretty much screams.

You can also choose to monitor your audio through the FP as well as your software, or find a middle ground between the two (that helps with overdubbing).

Overall, we're happy with the FP's. And the price has come down some since we bought them (just last summer, in fact!).

CDJ

I would recommend the RME FireFace I find them very stable and good at low latency recording (if you've got the right motherboard, firewire card) Is there a particular reason your looking at firewire interfaces and not PCI soundcards?

.. or check out the new FocusRite Safire 10 i/o (!)

I just picked up an Echo Audiofire12 - seems like a real nice rig for the price. Have not done any significant recording with it yet, so can't speak for the converter quality, but it has gotten very good press and user reviews.