Audio interface of 80€ or below

[Funkaroma]

Well yeah I think the behringer umc404HD is the one to go for! So it can handle 4 inputs at once, is this exc. A mic? And so it doesnt matther if the synth is stereo or mono, I just can record, play and sync 4 synths at once? Sequencers and effects that would trigger synths doesnt have to plug direct into a interface or do they?

[Funkaroma]

I think taking time to build up and grow is a fun thing. You can focus on your current instruments, learn and explore them, and in time add more instruments and dedicate time to those too. If you could have it all today, it would take away a lot of the fun and excitement.

if you are going into a DAW to make your songs, then a hardware mixer is the wrong idea. You want separate tracks. Once you get good at mixing you'll be thankful you have a USB interface that lets you bring in your tracks so you can mix them at will using the power of the DAW. One more thing you can have fun learning and exploring

Well said

[thecontrolcentre]

Well yeah I think the behringer umc404HD is the one to go for! So it can handle 4 inputs at once, is this exc. A mic? And so it doesnt matther if the synth is stereo or mono, I just can record, play and sync 4 synths at once? Sequencers and effects that would trigger synths doesnt have to plug direct into a interface or do they?

The interface has 4 mono inputs. This means you can plug in 3 synths and a microphone, or 2 stereo synths, or any other combination of 4.
Recording, sequencing etc will presumably be done by your DAW(?). Which one are you using? Any hardware sequencer would connect to your synths directly via MIDI, or CV/Gate ...

[Funkaroma]

Well yeah I think the behringer umc404HD is the one to go for! So it can handle 4 inputs at once, is this exc. A mic? And so it doesnt matther if the synth is stereo or mono, I just can record, play and sync 4 synths at once? Sequencers and effects that would trigger synths doesnt have to plug direct into a interface or do they?

The interface has 4 mono inputs. This means you can plug in 3 synths and a microphone, or 2 stereo synths, or any other combination of 4.
Recording, sequencing etc will presumably be done by your DAW(?). Which one are you using? Any hardware sequencer would connect to your synths directly via MIDI, or CV/Gate ...

Ableton live. Yeah I thought so about the seq, but what about external effect? That combi of 4 seems fine for me. I can always unplug this and record another synth in a other track:p

[Funkaroma]

Oh btw, I really apreciate all the help you guys give me

[thecontrolcentre]

External FX can be connected either between the synth and the interface or via any direct inserts on the audio interface. Live has dedicated the External Instrument plugins for controlling any connected synths or effects. There's a little setting up to do in MIDI Preferences, but it's all straightforward enough (with a little help maybe).

[Funkaroma]

External FX can be connected either between the synth and the interface or via any direct inserts on the audio interface. Live has dedicated the External Instrument plugins for controlling any connected synths or effects. There's a little setting up to do in MIDI Preferences, but it's all straightforward enough (with a little help maybe).

Yeah and there are enough youtube tutorials on how to connect a hardware synth so I think I would figure it out. I still have one question;

https://youtu.be/IWGyi2a3H_w

In this video the guy who setup the volca connects it with a 3.5mm jack to 2x mono 1/4. Why does it need 2x mono instead of one? Im planning to just record a sequence made on the volca into ableton, so I dont need a midi cable conected to the volca inst it? And if you record it in live, can you choose between a audio and midi track?

Ok, sorry that where 2 questions

[zzz00m]

Yeah and there are enough youtube tutorials on how to connect a hardware synth so I think I would figure it out. I still have one question;

https://youtu.be/IWGyi2a3H_w

In this video the guy who setup the volca connects it with a 3.5mm jack to 2x mono 1/4. Why does it need 2x mono instead of one? Im planning to just record a sequence made on the volca into ableton, so I dont need a midi cable conected to the volca inst it? And if you record it in live, can you choose between a audio and midi track?

According to the owner's manual (and the video above) the Korg Volca appears to have only one analog audio output, which is a stereo mini headphone jack. That is why the audio adapter cable is 1/8" stereo at the Volca end, and splits out to two 1/4" (L/R) mono plugs at the audio interface inputs.

In the video he added the MIDI input cable so that Ableton Live could send MIDI commands to the Volca. You might want to do this if you are using Live to create and play back MIDI clips on this device. Then your MIDI performance could be performed from Live, while being recorded on an audio track in Live. Otherwise to record audio from the Volca, you would need to play the Volca from the front panel only.

[tehlord]

External instruments are easy to handle in Live.

To use external FX you just use the external FX plugin (similar to the external instrument one). If it's a stereo effect you'll connect the outputs of the FX units to a pair of inputs on your interface, and a pair of outputs on the interface to a pair of inputs on the FX box. If you set the external FX plugin up on a return channel in Ableton Live, you can then send any number of audio or midi channels to it as you would with any plugin based return channel.

[zzz00m]

Well yeah I think the behringer umc404HD is the one to go for! So it can handle 4 inputs at once, is this exc. A mic? And so it doesnt matther if the synth is stereo or mono, I just can record, play and sync 4 synths at once? Sequencers and effects that would trigger synths doesnt have to plug direct into a interface or do they?

The interface has 4 mono inputs. This means you can plug in 3 synths and a microphone, or 2 stereo synths, or any other combination of 4.
Recording, sequencing etc will presumably be done by your DAW(?). Which one are you using? Any hardware sequencer would connect to your synths directly via MIDI, or CV/Gate ...

Yup, that's well said. When I was starting out I was using a two input audio interface, but had several stereo synths, a microphone, bass, and a couple of guitars to plugin.

So I got an inexpensive analog mixer with 12 inputs. Sure it had knobs, but they were handy for controlling volume and pan for each channel.

So then I out put my mix over the mixer's main outputs (L/R).

The limit to doing it this way is you have to record one instrument at a time while recording over the same two audio interface inputs onto a separate audio track each time. So you arm only the audio track for the intended instrument to be recorded on.

The best alternative is to have an audio interface with enough inputs for all of your gear, so you can record all of your tracks in parallel at the same time. That works great for everything that is plugged direct in, but you would still need to record vocals or acoustic instruments with a microphone separately. Or else use an isolation room to avoid the tracks bleeding over.

[Funkaroma]

Yeah and there are enough youtube tutorials on how to connect a hardware synth so I think I would figure it out. I still have one question;

https://youtu.be/IWGyi2a3H_w

In this video the guy who setup the volca connects it with a 3.5mm jack to 2x mono 1/4. Why does it need 2x mono instead of one? Im planning to just record a sequence made on the volca into ableton, so I dont need a midi cable conected to the volca inst it? And if you record it in live, can you choose between a audio and midi track?

According to the owner's manual (and the video above) the Korg Volca appears to have only one analog audio output, which is a stereo mini headphone jack. That is why the audio adapter cable is 1/8" stereo at the Volca end, and splits out to two 1/4" (L/R) mono plugs at the audio interface inputs.

In the video he added the MIDI input cable so that Ableton Live could send MIDI commands to the Volca. You might want to do this if you are using Live to create and play back MIDI clips on this device. Then your MIDI performance could be performed from Live, while being recorded on an audio track in Live. Otherwise to record audio from the Volca, you would need to play the Volca from the front panel only.

But why do you need 2 mono (Left and right) to connect a mono synth? So just a 1/8” to 1”4 wouldnt work?

[zzz00m]

But why do you need 2 mono (Left and right) to connect a mono synth? So just a 1/8” to 1”4 wouldnt work?

Why do you insist it is mono?

I don't know because I have never used one, and I don't see that info listed on the Korg product page.

But that is a stereo headphone jack that is used for analog audio output.

It often used to be the case with many hardware synths that used two 1/4" outputs (L/R), that if you wanted mono only you would plugin in to just the left output, but for stereo you used both.

[thecontrolcentre]

Yeah and there are enough youtube tutorials on how to connect a hardware synth so I think I would figure it out. I still have one question;

https://youtu.be/IWGyi2a3H_w

In this video the guy who setup the volca connects it with a 3.5mm jack to 2x mono 1/4. Why does it need 2x mono instead of one? Im planning to just record a sequence made on the volca into ableton, so I dont need a midi cable conected to the volca inst it? And if you record it in live, can you choose between a audio and midi track?

According to the owner's manual (and the video above) the Korg Volca appears to have only one analog audio output, which is a stereo mini headphone jack. That is why the audio adapter cable is 1/8" stereo at the Volca end, and splits out to two 1/4" (L/R) mono plugs at the audio interface inputs.

In the video he added the MIDI input cable so that Ableton Live could send MIDI commands to the Volca. You might want to do this if you are using Live to create and play back MIDI clips on this device. Then your MIDI performance could be performed from Live, while being recorded on an audio track in Live. Otherwise to record audio from the Volca, you would need to play the Volca from the front panel only.

But why do you need 2 mono (Left and right) to connect a mono synth? So just a 1/8” to 1”4 wouldnt work?

The Volcas have stereo outputs (via headphone jack) only. To record in stereo you need 2 x mono inputs.

[Funkaroma]

Just seen a old post of 3 years a go with the same question on this website;

viewtopic.php?f=102&t=428642&start=30

Korg volca is mono but it has a stereo output. There is no need to record it in stereo it says. So I think I just stick with a behringer umc22 for now because thats the cheapest solution. It has a guitar input and a combo xlr. I think I just can connect my volca to the guitar 6.3mm input and my pocket operator to the combo xlr? If my setup will grow I will look into the interfaces with more inputs. Would I be fine with this?

[jochicago]

I think investing in something with 4 channels makes sense if you record with more than 1 instrument and/or if you also sing. If you want to do more in the near future, you'll run into a wall very quickly when you want to plug in anything else, and you'll find yourself with a product that fit the bill at first but now has to be replaced. Think about that a bit more before you pull the trigger on a purchase.