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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 17, 2021 15:03:35 GMT -6
There are times where the 8 channels of preamps in my Apollo x8p just aren't enough. So what I would like to do is get a supplimentary 8 channels to go ADAT into the x8p to take advantage of the digital I/O. I see there are options ranging from the 8 channels of Behringer to MOTU, Presonus and Tascam as well as Audient, Steinberg etc.
Any thoughts on what might be good for this?
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Post by kcatthedog on Apr 17, 2021 15:05:27 GMT -6
People at ua forum liked the Audiant and it has those two modes?
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Post by jmoose on Apr 17, 2021 16:03:47 GMT -6
All kinds of stuff at all kinds of price & quality points. Do you also need it to function as D/A? That'll cross a few things off the list right away...
The Cranborne 500 racks w/ lightpipe seem really rad. Something like that could be really tempting if I had to start over.
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 17, 2021 16:05:34 GMT -6
No D/A needed, really. Just mic/line ins to hit the Apollo ADAT so I can get 16 inputs simultaneously. Would like something mid level, Motu or Audient I guess, to be not too dissimilar to the Apollo.
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Post by gwlee7 on Apr 17, 2021 16:19:31 GMT -6
Sent you a message.
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Post by stormymondays on Apr 17, 2021 18:25:30 GMT -6
Focusrite Clarett Octopre does the job for me.
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Post by Guitar on Apr 18, 2021 12:50:07 GMT -6
I've had good luck with the: Clarett OctoPre, Tascam Series 8p Dyna (even though the controls are a little cheap, sound is good), and the old Presonus DP88.
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Post by thurstonhowell on Apr 18, 2021 13:37:56 GMT -6
If you can find one used, the older presonus digimax 96k (or 48k), the ones with the external power supplies, are great. These are before they went mass, mass production. Hand assembled in their shop. Clean, not sterile with decent headroom and they even have limiters on each channel. Not super flexible limiters, but nice on some things like room mics. They can be had for cheaper than the newer ones or the rest of presonus’s 8ch line and are much higher quality.
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Post by sirthought on Apr 18, 2021 14:02:03 GMT -6
I've liked using the Audient with my Apollo 8p. Quality preamps at a decent price.
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Post by srb on Apr 18, 2021 16:35:56 GMT -6
+1 for the Audient ASP800. I use it in my 'B Room' with a Lynx Hilo...mostly for cutting my radio show, but to do some quicker hitting stuff that won't require firing up the console. I capture CD player output and voice equally well. The Audient is a good value.
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Post by Tbone81 on Apr 18, 2021 16:40:55 GMT -6
Another vote for Audient. Had their 8 channel pre in a remote rig and it was great.
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 19, 2021 9:41:28 GMT -6
Sounds like the Audient is a great option... I'm kind of leading that way... Thanks guys for your input. Very helpful!
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 19, 2021 9:42:11 GMT -6
If you can find one used, the older presonus digimax 96k (or 48k), the ones with the external power supplies, are great. These are before they went mass, mass production. Hand assembled in their shop. Clean, not sterile with decent headroom and they even have limiters on each channel. Not super flexible limiters, but nice on some things like room mics. They can be had for cheaper than the newer ones or the rest of presonus’s 8ch line and are much higher quality. Very interesting... I do have a line on some deals for the new stuff... but I'll keep an eye out for the older ones! |
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Post by srb on Apr 19, 2021 10:55:30 GMT -6
I had two of the early Presonus Digimax that I used in a mobile recording rig (with ADAT decks!). Moved on from them to a couple Focusrite OctoPre Dynamic models. Both certainly up to the task. I got client-pleasing results.
Moved on from that to some better mobile gear.
That said, in comparing the pre's from the Presonus and the Focusrite to the Audient, I find the Audient to be more open and detailed. The others, while serviceable, sound 'flatter'...less dimensional.
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Post by mjheck on Apr 19, 2021 20:54:47 GMT -6
I purchased a little Audient piece when I wasn't sure my Apollo's weren't going to work with the M1 chip. I think it is terrific. So much so I grabbed a four channel version as well. Simple, no issues, really nice sounding. I've had quite a few interfaces in my place. Sure some sounded better (Burl, 2192) but after suffering though some unpleasant software and interface issues (Antelope, Prism) I have an outsized appreciation for anything that installs easily and just works.
MJH
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 20, 2021 14:31:44 GMT -6
Thank you guys for the input. Going for the Audient ASP880 from a fellow RGO'er! I love it when a good plan comes together!
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Post by nobtwiddler on Apr 22, 2021 16:57:16 GMT -6
A few years ago I only had a Metric Halo UNL-8 interface and I got called to do a remote gig that required 16 inputs.
So I purchased one of the Midas XL48- 8 channel preamps.
The thing was great, dig out - to dig in on the UNL-8, worked like a charm and was sonically very good, at least I didn't notice any sonic problems at all.
Very affordable, and worked the charm.
Just another option.
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Post by vintagetubelug on Apr 22, 2021 22:34:10 GMT -6
Why not get an older gen apollo? It can be had in the price range you're looking at and you can cascade it seamlessly with the one you have. Then you'd get the benefits of extra processing and using your unison pres and plugs even more.
edit- I see above you made your choice already. Hope it works out great!
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Post by bricejchandler on Apr 23, 2021 5:31:02 GMT -6
I used the ASP880 by Audient for a mobile rig for a couple years and it worked flawlessly. I'd go record bands in their rehearsal space with just an ID22, the ASP and some mics. These songs were tracked exclusively with the Audient: dominoandtheghosts.bandcamp.com/track/thinking-of-you-2wolvemusic.bandcamp.com/track/porcelainI think you'll enjoy it, when I got rid of the Audient I got a Clarett Eight pre thing just to change things up a bit and that was a big mistake, I didn't bond with the Focusrite preamps at all. After that I had the Midas XL48 which I really liked. Right now I'm using my Apogee Element 88 for quick mobile stuff, it sounds great. If I ever need more inputs, The Audient or the Midas would be my choice. The build on the Audient felt more solid though I think I liked the sound of the Midas better. It was a little smoother overall. |
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 23, 2021 8:38:19 GMT -6
Thanks guys! The Midas looks good, too. I didn't realize how many of these type of A/D digital out boxes there were. Very useful.
Yea, an older Apollo would have worked, too. Unison would have been cool. If I end up liking the x8p enough and get more remote gigs then one day I'll probably get another x8p. By then there will probably be more on the used market, too...
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 23, 2021 8:40:05 GMT -6
I used the ASP880 by Audient for a mobile rig for a couple years and it worked flawlessly. I'd go record bands in their rehearsal space with just an ID22, the ASP and some mics. These songs were tracked exclusively with the Audient: dominoandtheghosts.bandcamp.com/track/thinking-of-you-2wolvemusic.bandcamp.com/track/porcelainI think you'll enjoy it, when I got rid of the Audient I got a Clarett Eight pre thing just to change things up a bit and that was a big mistake, I didn't bond with the Focusrite preamps at all. After that I had the Midas XL48 which I really liked. Right now I'm using my Apogee Element 88 for quick mobile stuff, it sounds great. If I ever need more inputs, The Audient or the Midas would be my choice. The build on the Audient felt more solid though I think I liked the sound of the Midas better. It was a little smoother overall. Right on! Seems like the consensus is very good about the Audient. That will last me a long while, then. Glad to hear it.
I like those two tracks, especially porcelain
I thought of the Element before since I'm on a Macbook pro but went with Apollo for the Unison stuff. Does the Element 88 conversion hold up to the Apogee line?
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Post by Guitar on Apr 23, 2021 8:41:18 GMT -6
Really liked that Porcelain track also, nice song.
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Post by bricejchandler on Apr 23, 2021 8:58:28 GMT -6
I'm really happy with the Element. The conversion is definitely Apogee. Not quite on the Level of the symphony but it's very good. I think it's great. You can track through plug ins with zero latency. I've never had any bugs whatsoever. The preamps are nice, probably closer to the Midas, the Audient are a bit brighter. I think it's awesome because it's so small, I can fit it in my backpack along with my macbook, a kick mic, an SM57 and 2 schoeps overheads and go record drums in a band's rehearsal space, and I've done a ton of those and it sounds fine. Not as good as when I track through my High end preamps but good enough, the acoustics are often much more problematic than the preamps and conversion tbh. Here are a couple raw drums tracked that way with my Element. www.dropbox.com/s/lvdik8bx59mqhbp/ELEMENT%20DRUMS%204.mp3?dl=0www.dropbox.com/s/36ho98y282hw3ig/ELEMENT%20DRUMS%202.wav?dl=0Not the Fattest vibiest tracks but enough to get a good mix. Thanks for the kind words on the Porcelain track! I love that song, cowrote it with the singer of the band, really low end DIY project but I was really proud of how it turned out. |
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Post by Mister Chase on Apr 23, 2021 9:16:27 GMT -6
I'm really happy with the Element. The conversion is definitely Apogee. Not quite on the Level of the symphony but it's very good. I think it's great. You can track through plug ins with zero latency. I've never had any bugs whatsoever. The preamps are nice, probably closer to the Midas, the Audient are a bit brighter. I think it's awesome because it's so small, I can fit it in my backpack along with my macbook, a kick mic, an SM57 and 2 schoeps overheads and go record drums in a band's rehearsal space, and I've done a ton of those and it sounds fine. Not as good as when I track through my High end preamps but good enough, the acoustics are often much more problematic than the preamps and conversion tbh. Here are a couple raw drums tracked that way with my Element. www.dropbox.com/s/lvdik8bx59mqhbp/ELEMENT%20DRUMS%204.mp3?dl=0www.dropbox.com/s/36ho98y282hw3ig/ELEMENT%20DRUMS%202.wav?dl=0Not the Fattest vibiest tracks but enough to get a good mix. Thanks for the kind words on the Porcelain track! I love that song, cowrote it with the singer of the band, really low end DIY project but I was really proud of how it turned out. Awesome! Thanks for the info. Hey, the Apogee sounds great!
Finding out how to work with low budgets is kind of the challenge for most modern productions I guess. I do the same. Can be tough.
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Post by bricejchandler on Apr 23, 2021 9:39:24 GMT -6
Awesome! Thanks for the info. Hey, the Apogee sounds great!
Finding out how to work with low budgets is kind of the challenge for most modern productions I guess. I do the same. Can be tough.
It really is a challenge, but I also find it very exciting and really gratifying when it comes out great. I still do like 1/3 of my projects in big studios and the rest is like at people's places or mine and to be honest, the records I do that way I'd say sound almost as good as when I go to the $1000/day studio, like 90% there maybe. But in today's music economy, I understand that it's hard for a band to justify paying litteraly 10 times more for that extra 10%. |
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