Unfortunately the gear you have isn't really suited to "in the box" production. You want to to record every input on it's own track, so you can mix at a later stage. All those devices seem to take their multitude of inputs and combine them into a stereo pair. If you're mixing at the time of recording, that's permanent, and can't be adjusted. If you think you'll need 8 inputs (like for miking drums), then get an 8-input audio interface, that returns all 8 as channels to the DAW.

Think about it this way, the Eurodesk is huge, it has 24 channels, right? Well Ableton (or any other DAW) pretty much lets you have unlimited channels. So now that 24 seems pretty restrictive. All the mixing, EQing, filtering, etc. will be done in the DAW, so you don't need outboard gear for any of that.

How many analog inputs do you figure you'll be recording at one time? That'll help you pick the interface that suits you. If it's just doing to be you programming everything in the box, and sometimes recording vocals to go on top, all you need is two input channels. If you think you'll be recording live drums, then eight channels should cover most situations. If you end up needing more channels for some specific task, you can run a mixer before one of the inputs, but by combining those multiple inputs at that point in the signal chain, they'll be cooked together that way from then on (well, you might be able to pull them apart with Melodyne, if they're playing different notes smile ).

So what audio interface do I recommend? I spent a lot of time on this, and the manufacturer I really like is Focusrite. I mentioned their VRM Box (Virtual Reference Monitor), but their other stuff is great too. The cover just about any level of production you want. But most of their interfaces do require Firewire, so unless you have a port or want to add a card, you'd be limited in selection. There's the Saffire 6 USB that has two physical inputs and four out. Also the versatile Scarlett 18i6. Actually, if you'll need more than 2 inputs, but not 8 or more, this Scarlett is probably what I'd recommend.

If you like the idea of their VRM technology, there's the PRO 24 DSP, but it only has two physical inputs (and 8 outs, so you can send different DAW channels to different speakers, or use it to output surround sound). It does provide virtual channels (as do all of Focusrite's Firewire interfaces), so you can do internal routing/mixing.

I have the Saffire PRO 40, it does have 8 inputs (2 front, 6 back), plus 8 outputs, and tons of internal routing functions (I can easily record the audio playing in another program to my DAW), I can also expand the number of inputs/outputs with their OctoPre devices.

I'll make another post about the MIDI interface.


Pioneer PDP-5020FD, Marantz SR6011
Axiom M5HP, VP160HP, QS8
Sony PS4, surround backs
-Chris