Hi All,
I've been using a Scarlett 2i2 interface to input two microphones via USB into my PC for recording. One is an XLR shotgun and the other is a 3.5 mm Lav. I'm using vMix HD Basic which brought in and mixed the signal fairly well. The first Scarlett I got was DOA. The tech people were very helpful and I got another pretty quickly. Yesterday, after about 6 hours total use, I heard a little pop from inside the box and it is now dead as disco. I wanted to like it but 0 for 2 tells me I need another plan. I'm not ruling out getting it fixed or replaced but it is time for a more informed decision.
What I'm doing isn't very fancy. I record with two cameras and the two mics mixed and mono out. It isn't live. When someone is with me, we both use Lav's or put the shotgun just out of frame between us. It is indoors, near the computer and light is very controllable.
My research has turned to mixers but the plot thickens. For one thing, it seems a lot of the better-rated 2 and 4 XLR models are using USB 1.1 -- the Mackie PROFX8 in particular. I'm not sure that matters for spoken-word recording but 1.1? For that matter, should I just take a couple of analog cables out to the AV in on the computer and not bother with USB in the first place? I don't need separate audio feeds and for now, I'm not running audio through the camera(s).
The other issue is that even with some of the better-considered USB mixers, a common weakness is the overall quality of the USB interface. I don't need chorus or death-metal distortion. It just has to sound like me. Clean audio matters more than effects or versatility.
If anyone has ideas about what type of gizmo does simple well, I'd appreciate them. Cheers, sh
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Have heard good things about the Scarlett (don't use it myself, though), so this is a surprise. You could try M-Audio. I have had one working fine for ~6 years now. Probably not as clean spec as the Scarlett, but nothing to sniff at.
Couple of points:- Make sure your pin outs on your gear & cabling is appropriate (pin2 hot). Not likely, but mis-wiring is a possible cause for electrical disturbance. Also, check for appropriate presence/absence/need for phantom powering.
- USB 2.0 is 480Mbps peak throughput, USB 1.1 is 12Mbps peak throughput. Real world benchmarks give you ~ 1/3x that theoretical peak. So 2.0=160Mbps, 1.1=4Mbps. 2ch x 24bit x 48000Hz = 2.3Mbps, so it should work with either. If you go up to higher samplerates (96kHz or 192, etc), or if you do more than 2 ch, you would HAVE to go up to USB 2.0.
- Unless your intent is to mix and broadcast/netcast/stream LIVE, I do not recommend mixing & printing to mono. Keep it 2ch until you render your edit.
- Big reason USB (or Firewire, or other external A/D converter box) is used for higher quality capturing to digital vs. on-board sound chip or card has to do with isolation from EMI/RFI, hum, buzz. If you value "clean", you will not just use the sound card.
What actual mic models are you using?
Scott -
I got the Scarlett based on the reviews. Yesterday, in reply to my inquiry, Focusrite said they would replace it immediately and asked me to send this one back. I guess they take their quality seriously too. Most outfits wouldn't do that. It doesn't rule out getting a mixer down the road but this was doing a good job until it bricked. Thanks again and I'll keep this in the file, sh
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Scarlett is pretty good, M-Audio as well (but stay with the pro versions) however my favorite is Steinberg, the UR22 or UR44. However none of those are pro roadwork versions, for that you really want something like MOTU.
Of course nowadays there is the alternative of using an audio recorder.
Tascam DR-40 4-Track Handheld Digital Audio Recorder:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1039056-REG/tascam_dr_40sl_dr40_portable_pcm_recorder_xlr.html -
USB is a ubiquitous interface that works as it should when used between two single-purpose equipment (flash drive and car stereo, external hard drive and DVR, my Zoom R16 as a slave to another R16, etc). Although we take it for granted when used in a PC environment, there is much that is uncertain because a computer is a multi-purpose piece of equipment, where any and all things in it from hardware and software can have a go at the data transfer and muck things up. This has been talked about in older topics here on videohelp concerning using a USB external drive to put capture files in and perform NLE.
I have USB mixers and recording devices myself (Zoom R16 & H2, among others), and it sounds nifty connecting it via USB to a PC and capturing files that way. Not. A short list of teeth-gnashing problems: unpredictable latencies, USB connection suddenly drops, recording levels differ between device and capture program in windoze, etc. This is despite all precautions I could think of that should prep the scene: desktop computer with a separate SATA drive to put capture files in (no laughtops), gobs of RAM (8GB minimum), no other USB devices connected (except mouse and keyboard), no LAN or wi-fi during capture sessions, no open programs except capture, etc.
So in the end, I just recorded right to the SD card on the recorder, took the card out after the fact, and inserted into a card reader connected via, gasp!, USB to the computer to transfer the captured files. You did say it's not live so this is all you may well ever need to do. All sorts of USB mixers will be available, one fancier than the next. The irony is USB may be its weakest link.For the nth time, with the possible exception of certain Intel processors, I don't have/ever owned anything whose name starts with "i".
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