Interfaces

Homerecording has become very popular over the past few years. The development of technology has made practically anyone who has owns computer can buy a few components such as interface, microphone or studio monitors and create their own home studio. In this tutorial we will focus more precisely on the heart of our studio or audio interface. It is the equivalent of a sound card that is on the motherboard of any modern computer, but has much more possibilities for the possibility of connecting different instruments, microphones and audio devices. After all, most often it processes sound with greater speed and quality.
As is usually the case when buying equipment, we have to answer a few questions about our requirements. What interface will we use, what types of interfaces are we able to connect to our computer and what amount of cash we have? If we make a hasty purchase, over time we may find that we are missing something or simply spending too much money unnecessarily on equipment that we do not use fully.
Let's start by considering how much we can spend on equipment. This is usually the most restrictive factor, but it does not mean that we will not be able to buy what we need for a given amount. We can assume that the interfaces are divided into two contractual groups: amateur and semiprofessional and professional. Of course, they differ in price, but in the age of rapid technological development, interfaces from first group , which are often relatively inexpensive, can be very positively surprised. There are really a number of different interfaces on the market, but when we set the maximum amount we can spend on them, the number of interfaces will drop dramatically.
The second very important thing is to answer on the question, why we need interface? What will we record? Will it be the sound coming from the microphones or maybe just the electric guitar? How many sound sources will we need at once? Or maybe we'll only be dealing with production and mix without recording? Answering these questions is extremely important because they determine the features of the interface you are looking for. Suppose we have plans to record acoustic guitar and vocals at the same time. In this case, we should look for equipment that has at least two separate input channels, equipped with separate preamps. In addition, it should have a headphone output and the ability to monitor the sound in real time. Usually we use capacitive microphones for recording vocals and acoustic instruments, so our interface should have Phantom power. In this way we will be able to record guitar and vocal on two separate tracks, which is almost necessary for later stages of production and mix.
Consider another situation now. We have a band consisting of drums, bass, guitar, keyboard and vocalist and we want to record samples in good quality or we are going to record a demo in our studio. Of course, we can do with the aforementioned two-channel interface and using two microphones, however, so recorded material is not too suitable for later processing in the studio - of course,it is about mixing. Let us consider quickly how much we will need the input tracks and preamps. We usually record vocals, guitar and percussion with microphones, and we will need approximately 10 channels with microphone preamps when we using the basic drum kit. The bass and the keyboards can be recorded linearly, this is directly through the cables bypassing the microphones. This gives us a total of 12 channels and we should look for an interface that has at least that much.
When we reflect on for what we need the interface, there are additional aspects that worth analyzing. Let's start with the types of connectors and the inputs and outputs that are used in the interfaces. The first one is the XLR plug, which is commonly used for connecting microphones and studio monitors. So if we use the microphones, our interface should be equipped with them. Another type of connector is the popular jack, known for example with electric guitars. Interfaces are most often equipped with input and output jacks with a diameter of 6.3 mm otherwise called a large jack. With it we connect headphones, bass, keys and other linear audio sources. Also a lot of studio monitors have connectors of this type. When it comes to input / output connectors it is also worth mentioning that some, usually more expensive cards also have plugs that support the SPDIF and ADAT standards. The first is digital audio, and the other is an eight-channel audio data transmission using optical fiber.
Let's now consider how the interface will communicate with our computer. To Lexicon Alphavybor I have several options, and the most popular ones are USB, FireWire and PCI. The USB connector is the most common, but before we decide on the interface that is equipped with them , we should check its compatibility with our operating system and learn as much about the stability of the manufacturer's drivers. As long as each computer is equipped with USB, not everyone has a FireWire connector. This standard offers higher throughput as regards data transmissions, so we will most this likely encounter in interfaces that have a lot of audio channels. A separate group is the card that we connect via the PCI port. These are so-called internal interfaces in the form of a card, similar to, for example, a graphics card.
We hope that the above tips will help you select some of the equipment that is satisfactory. In our shop, there is a very wide range of interfaces for different types of applications and everyone will find something for themselves!