It may not seem like much...

...for all the folks here running those 24 I/O's expensive RME audio interfaces BUT my new interface is on its way and should be here tomorrow. Ordered last night, had an unexpected $20 rebate at check out so I picked next day shipping. :)



I needed 2 inputs and 4 outputs. That's all. 

I had those Focusrite on the top of my list for quite some time and that's what I opted for. 

Apparently the preamps are decent (for the ultra rare occasions where I actually need a preamp) so I'll be able to store my old DMP3. 
And the 4 outs mean my mixer will also be stored. 
It has MIDI onboard - which will allow me to free one usb port. 
And it comes w/ Novation Bass Station plug-in - kinda cool as a bonus.

And to top it all - it's RED and looks great. :)

I could have stretched a bit and ordered the 8i6 for an extra $50. But honestly I really don't need it.



And you know what? 
This mean that the last piece of M-Audio gear in my rig - the Fast Track I had bought for the tour - is about to be history! :)

The DMP3 is a good transparent and clean preamp, with tons of gain. That's what I bought it for - it seemed to make more sense to me to have a signal as clean as possible if I were to own only one preamp and couldn't afford an expensive one. 

Unless it can add something really desirable to your sound and unless you own a few different ones - because one color might not work as well w/ everything - I always thought it was better to stick w/ something transparent. 
 
Anyway, I'm guessing that for the few times I actually use it, the Focusrite will be absolutely fine. In fact, it's more a matter of having a decent preamp handy if I ever need one.

I'm sure I'll dig it. Even if just for the fact that I can finally say farewell to the crappy RCA only outputs on the FastTrack and use my balanced cables to hook up the monitors. :)

You wouldn't have bought it if it was green would ya?

I love my Saffire; I think you'll love Scarlett.

A fine and wise choice.. sure you will be real happy with it..

Note to self - when ordering for a place that doesn't have FedEx as an option, don't pay the extra for fast delivery. UPS won't show up before the very end of the day, anyway. Ironically enough, my wife has ordered a bunch of things from different places at the same as I oredered my Scarlett w/ no further delivery fee - yet FedEx has already been here twice today. My package has left the local UPS office at 6:30 this morning and it's nowhere near yet. Remind me to stick w/ Sweetwater and FedEx.

It's not patience, I don't drive and you don't go anywhere in Vegas w/o a car. It's finally here. The servers gave me an error during the registration process so I won't be getting my free stuff right now, but I have everything hooked, sounding beautifully - and as expected, getting rid of the FastTrack and its RCA outputs fixed the little noise issue I was experiencing. Installation consisted in getting it out of the box and plugging it in - and it was immediately listed and available in my I/O. I love technology! :P

No worry, I didn't perceived it as disrespectful, not for a second. I never really needed a car. And the lessons + test + licenses back in Quebec used to cost over 1K, so I didn't see the point of getting them just in case. I'll probably get them here in Nevada, for well over $100...

Lol.  I've been getting a lot of double posts using my iPad lately. Plus it likes to change my words for me.  It thinks it knows what I had intended to say I guess.

It is hard to get around in Vegas, and especially Nevada, without a car.  I do a trade show there for about 3 weeks every year.  After the first year, I insisted on a car to continue to do the show.  Weekends were terrible without wheels.  The last 2 years I have run up to Zion and Bryce Canyon with my Nikon for a quick get away.

As an added bonus - switching interfaces, the Round Trip Latency indicator in Logic went from 11.1 ms to 7.2. That's w buffers at 64. I can push them all the way down to 32 if needed... I think I'll love this thing.

I guess the good thing is that it's starting to smell like Platinum a whole lot ;) - Thanks to all the quirks I guess, and me having to post a second message 50% of the time instead of editing...

I don't know whether it'll make things better - or worse - but I've downloaded the Focusrite drivers last night and will give them a try this pm. I was using it w/ the default OSX drivers.

The 2i4 unfortunately doesn't use MixControl. Well, I say unfortunately, but w/ 2 inputs and 4 outputs, there isn't much need. And I like having everything at hand, via hardware. 

For monitoring, it has a knob right upfront that let you chose between the direct input for no-latency monitoring or the software processed signal. Or create a balance of both. Pretty handy. 

Similarly, you can chose whether you want outputs 1/2 or 3/4 to feed the headphone outputs, and that outputs has its own independent volume knob.

The Fast Track was absolutely basic and I never really thought of complaining about it because I picked it to do something and it did it ok. But messing w/ the Scarlett, it's a different ballgame - a lot of nice little options and much more refinement.

If you're more into traditional electric bass sound, you may not find much fun in Bass Station - which is a TB-303 and then some sort of instrument. Here I have projects for every type of sound - electro, electric, acoustic. I'm sure I'll find a use for it at least once - and then go back to my usual instruments.

Talk about A+ service.

It must be Monday morning over there in the UK and I've received a reply to my e-mail to tech support already. It is the second time I have to get in touch w/ Focusrite and I feel I must commend them for their excellent service on both occasions.

Not only did they provide me w/ a new bundle code, but they took care of registering everything for me and provided me w/ direct links for all my software (Bass Station + Live Lite and the rest), along w/ the activation codes for each of them.

So BassStation is already installed and I'm having a blast w/ that thing - it is exactly what I hoped it would be. :)

I had a Focusrite pre for a while but it got so hot I thought it would catch on fire and had to get rid of it.  Maybe I just got one with a short?  Loved the VU meters.  Heh...