Hi all,
I need to buy a new interface. I'm a drummer mainly and record using 8 mics so I need the inputs. I have been considering these 2 interfaces and would appreciate some input. the Tasam is half the price of the focusrite and that makes it attractive to me.
I am not a pro engineer by any stretch. I'm retired and record at home.
I would love some feedback about these 2 pieces from you folks, I need to purchase this pretty soon. 
thanks
Gregg
 
 I have been using an alesis multimix 16 for a couple yrs and there's always a problem not to mention alesis does not have driver support for the multimix.
 

i would look at this guy:
 
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/US20x20?adpos=1t1&creative=169712212461&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=Cj0KEQiA-_HDBRD2lomhoufc1JkBEiQA0TVMmn1Jh3V8K_U85Fbo-qBWnb2WCj5C2NvfCe3K3lO149gaAtx48P8HAQ
 
 

I actually did look at that Tascam unit. The plusses are that it has usb 3.0 capabilities and my computer has 3.0 usb.
What I like about the focusrite are the meters in front for setting channel levels where as the Tascam has the little red lights that light if your signal is to hot.

I don't know much about the Tasacm unit so you may have to do some more research. 
 
But I can tell you that my son bought the Focusrite (18i20 sec gen) and it installed without a hitch to a Mac laptop running Ableton.  And it works a treat in terms of its sound.  It is also one of the best interfaces for latency even over the USB 2 buss.  The reviews have been stellar.  You also get a bunch of free plugins too.  Focusrite compressor and EQ etc..
 
The meters on the front are definitely a plus as he plays drums like me and likes to set things while looking at the front panel etc..

I have a 2nd gen Focusrite 18i8. It's great. Do you really need 20 outputs, or just the 18 inputs?

It does not have 18 inputs until you connect another preamp to it that has ADAT.  So the Scarlett is essentially 8 Mic/Line inputs + 2 SPDIF inputs + 8 ADAT optical inputs. It is only 18 inputs if you decide to use all of the available input options.
 
The Tascam does offer more inputs though 20 all up compared to 18 from the Focusrite.
 
 

lawajava
I have a 2nd gen Focusrite 18i8. It's great. Do you really need 20 outputs, or just the 18 inputs?

8 minimum lo z inputs. I'm leaning towards the focusrite. I like the new Tascam 3.0 usb but don't want to use windows 10 for an operating system.

Just now found this thread. I have a computer that's been humming right along with Windows 7, and I installed a new 2nd Gen Focusrite 18i20 a few months ago. It seems to be rock solid. The preamps sound good and the metering on the front is helpful. The headphone amp isn't quite enough to crank my old AKG 240's as much as I like them, but should be good enough for any number of other models of phones. 
 
 

melmyers
Just now found this thread. I have a computer that's been humming right along with Windows 7, and I installed a new 2nd Gen Focusrite 18i20 a few months ago. It seems to be rock solid. The preamps sound good and the metering on the front is helpful. The headphone amp isn't quite enough to crank my old AKG 240's as much as I like them, but should be good enough for any number of other models of phones. 
 
 

Thanks Mel, I ordered the focusrite 18i20, supposed to arrive today.
Gregg
 

Hope you like it! I've owned one for around 2-3 months and I can't fault it.
 
Seamless driver updates, stable drivers, low latency I've not had any issues with it.