Been looking and another thing popped into my head.
What about if I want to use an SM57 and another mic but the other mic needs phantom power? I'll need to be able to switch phantom power independently.
I know you probably think I'm going OTT but I'm trying to cover all realistic bases for home use. As my playing skills improve, I'm going to want to experiment more and this is the kind of equipment I like to get to know and not keep on swapping out.
I also want four inputs on the front due to where this is going to be located, I don't want to keep hunting around the rear for inputs
Cheers folks:)

This post has been edited by Phil66: Feb 16 2016, 10:03 PM

Phantom power won't damage a dynamic mic. , its actually pretty common for an engineer to accidentally apply it and I haven't heard any cases where the mic. was damaged.

If you get enough cables, just plug them on the rear of the soundcard but find a place for the tip of the cables easily accessable to you and tag the input number on them. That way since you'll have enough inputs and readily plugged cables, you won't have to disconnect them from the soundcard.

Thanks Mertay,
Good idea with the cables
I've gone off the I connectivity unit a little bit, I'm not keen on multi function knobs and that one you have to select an input then apply gain, I'd rather have a knob for each input, no need to fanny about.
Cheers Mertay
I'm not going to rush this one, the more I look the more questions will come to mind

This post has been edited by Phil66: Feb 17 2016, 09:37 AM

Cool, my hands-on experience is limited as there are so many models these days but let me know if you have any questions while checking options

It's opposite with ribbon mics. It's worth to ask the manufacturer. Some ribbons might be damaged by the phantom power.

What about this

http://tascam.com/product/us-4x4/

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/tascam-us-4x4-usb-...CFQ0SGwod9V0PeA

I know this doesn't have independent phantom power but could I use my Presonus Tube Pre should I need phantom power and then go from that into the Tascam without the phantom power on?

I think it's between this and the Roland, the Roland hasn't got independent gain for each input but it has auto sens. Is this a good feature or a gimmick?

Cheers

This post has been edited by Phil66: Feb 17 2016, 08:56 PM

On paper it looks ok, some reviewers reported driver issue's but not too many.

10-15 years ago tascam started to get popular here but the 2-3 friends I know who bought them few years later replaced them cause of hardware failure, today I don't know anyone using it around me. But I do know they're very popular in usa and not so in europe, its commented their newer products are much better/dependable compared to the past.

yeah, its about feeding the mic. phantom power. While you're researching keep in mind best for your presonus would be if you could find a soundcard that has an input with no preamp, not a must as we already dealed with using 2 preamps before (gt001+presonus) but it would be a bit less noisey without a secornd preamp.

This post has been edited by Mertay: Feb 17 2016, 09:00 PM

Thanks Mertay,

The Presonus has an unbalanced jack output as well as the the balanced. Could I put the mic into the Presonus and the unbalanced out into the normal jack input on the interface?

Cheers for you help mate,

Yeah, it will work but the only thing I'm not sure about is noise. I don't expect the noise be terrible in any way but just saying.

Keep in mind that presonus is far more flexable than just giving gain to a mic. . We can for instance use it as a booster between the amp and guitar for level or sweet dirt, use it for the fx loop with gt001 to give warmth (and level if needed), cut unwanted rumble to fx, use it between the gt001 as processor and new soundcard to give warmth...

Its much more handy for a guitar player than how its marketed so just focus on the soundcard you like best and I'm sure we'll find good use for it once the system is set

(for anyone wondering, we're talking about the presonus tubepre v2)

This post has been edited by Mertay: Feb 17 2016, 10:50 PM

If possible I'd got for the Octa. The tascam is just a bit more lower end and the octa is a really nice unit. So I'd say go Roland if budget permits Auto sense is a bit gimmicky but handy way to keep your signals from clipping I think. But I also think you can turn it off if you like if memory serves

Thanks Todd,

I'll look into it a bit more

Cheers


UPDATE: Now, this opens up a whole other dilemma For only another £130 I can get an Eleven Rack. What you all reckon??????

Thank you

This post has been edited by Phil66: Feb 18 2016, 09:18 AM

As you already have a gt001, big no I think you'll quickly find yourself in the same spot you're trying to get out right now as you already have a similar product.

I checked the rolands manual, the preamps can be set manually.

I guess the point in coming to how much where you want features aside quality cause products seem to specialize as the bar is rised. Meaning the higher the quality the more it gets to studio needed features rather than home.

Maybe thats why you'd like to set the bar not so high, if you want pure streight/hands-on operation the tascam you shared or the presonus,focusrite,steinberg ur44 sort of stuff should be the limit? as said soundcards aren't like guitars that can be used for a life time so its best not to aim with such focus.

Thanks Mertay,

What about http://www.akaipro.com/product/eiepro ? Looks like something out of a fighter plane but seems to have everything.

I'll keep it more simple now then.

Cheers for you help

Too many bad reviews for either driver or hardware failures. Amazon is a good place to read reviews, there's always someone giving a low star but with the akai its almost %50 which is pretty bad.

Thanks Mertay, great advice.
Bar set lower and this is £50 less than amazon
https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/external-audio-i...CFa0W0wodCz4IuQ
At this price it gives me chance to experiment work more inputs over time and then I haven't lost much if I want to change in a year or so.
I still like the Roland though but this may be all I need.
Cheers

Not a bad idea at all, though on a mac I did record with it recently and worked fine. Although I'm a bit allergic to the brand name must admit experience was fine

The used market for these were I live is also good cause it solves lots of needs and won't hurt even (worst case) if it breaks

This post has been edited by Mertay: Feb 18 2016, 01:33 PM

Thanks Mertay,
It seems to cover my needs for now and a killer price.
Let's see if Todd thinks it's a winner.
Cheers

Now that is a pickle It would come down to one thing. Are you now or do you plan to play live? The 11 rack makes a great live rig It makes a great rig in general and can record fx tone, and dry tone to separate tracks so you can "re-amp" the clean recording back through you amp and bounce it to a new track recorded through the mic input on the front of the 11 rack. But it's not quite the same as having the octa capture where you can just record everything in one pass including two mics on your cab.

So if you are gigging, planning on gigging soon, 11 rack. If you are planning on recording/writing for a while, octa or iconnectivity or one of the 4 channel focusrite units would be perfect

Thanks Todd,
No, I'm not planning on playing live, don't have the skills yet anyway but if I did have the skills I would be more of a studio musician rather than a performer
I'm struggling to find that Behringer unit in stock anywhere. I'll look deeper into the other units.
Did you find the iConnectivity unit to be a ball ache having to use the touch panel to select tracks to alter gain rather than have an independent knob for each? I know at first this kind of thing seems great, but once the novelty has worn off it can become a ball ache.
Cheers

UPDATE:
UPDATE:
Ultra shortlist. Please watch but don’t take the cost of each unit into account. Which do you think is the best, and why? Which would be the simplest to use also? Cheers folks, thank you so much for your help again
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSp6upH6SSM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_prwXvicnv8


This post has been edited by Phil66: Feb 19 2016, 09:56 PM

Honestly stay away from the behringer IMHO. To each his own, but I'd suggest the OCTA way over the B unit. Better preamps, better everything. Spend the extra if it's between those two imho even if you have to buy a used OCTA.

The iconnectivity control panel on the front is way cool in that it's a touch panel. I still dig but some folks do say they get annoyed having to press the channel before hitting the knob. I honestly wish it was both knobs and touch panel but such is life Still a really flexible interface and honestly punches way above it's weight. It's something you'd grow in to over the years as you came to understand it's routing. I still am learning on it. It's just sooooo freaking deep. But from the sound of things the octa or iconn would make you a happy man But don't forget about the 4 channel focusrite as it's got great bits and is very easy to use so it wins on simplicity.

Todd