Looking for a cheap, but good, audio interface.

[fedexnman]

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/p ... e-audio-6/

+1 really really happy with mine .

[Fox_GAMING_NTF]

You might want to consider simply 4 standard audio ins, as stereo outs from, say, a synth, typically involve two leads anyway.

Mind you, this is if you are going, for example, to be playing both of your synths simultaneously . . . unless there’s something else involved here that I’m not currently aware of.

Anyway, the Steinberg 242 is one of the only interfaces I know of for that money, with legitimately 4 line ins,

Ok, thanks. As of right now, I don't have any synths, but I am probably going to be getting one, the Behringer Deepmind 12, and I don't know if I'm getting any other synths, certainly not anytime soon, though. I guess I'm just thinking for the future, as I might get more than just one synthesizer at some point.

I guess you havent started making any music but thinking of doing that in the futute? Also just for curiosity how old are you?

Oof, I actually have been sort of making music, and, I'm only 14. I probably started making music *kind of* back in ~2015.

[Elektronisch]

You might want to consider simply 4 standard audio ins, as stereo outs from, say, a synth, typically involve two leads anyway.

Mind you, this is if you are going, for example, to be playing both of your synths simultaneously . . . unless there’s something else involved here that I’m not currently aware of.

Anyway, the Steinberg 242 is one of the only interfaces I know of for that money, with legitimately 4 line ins,

Ok, thanks. As of right now, I don't have any synths, but I am probably going to be getting one, the Behringer Deepmind 12, and I don't know if I'm getting any other synths, certainly not anytime soon, though. I guess I'm just thinking for the future, as I might get more than just one synthesizer at some point.

I guess you havent started making any music but thinking of doing that in the futute? Also just for curiosity how old are you?

Oof, I actually have been sort of making music, and, I'm only 14. I probably started making music *kind of* back in ~2015.

My hunch was good, thought you are a kid yet. Let me tell you something, dont invest in hardware, rather focus on DAW and what you can do with it and it's tools.

Better invest in some decent audio interface like audient and high quality pair of studio monitors or headphones.

[thecontrolcentre]

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/p ... e-audio-6/

+1 really really happy with mine .

Cool. Good to know ...

[Passing Bye]

I'm also looking for decent quality, relatively cheap music speakers, and headphones.

Fluid Audio for speakers, Superlux for headphones.

[Photo_G]

PS or you can screw all these fancy manufacturers and their 120 bucks for 2 inputs and get for this money 4 combo inputs like a pro with behringer.
https://www.behringer.com/Categories/Be ... HD/p/P0BK1
How can you not love behringer ))))

+1 I run the UMC404HD and it's really good. It replaced a Presonus 44VSL.

G

[Fox_GAMING_NTF]

You might want to consider simply 4 standard audio ins, as stereo outs from, say, a synth, typically involve two leads anyway.

Mind you, this is if you are going, for example, to be playing both of your synths simultaneously . . . unless there’s something else involved here that I’m not currently aware of.

Anyway, the Steinberg 242 is one of the only interfaces I know of for that money, with legitimately 4 line ins,

Ok, thanks. As of right now, I don't have any synths, but I am probably going to be getting one, the Behringer Deepmind 12, and I don't know if I'm getting any other synths, certainly not anytime soon, though. I guess I'm just thinking for the future, as I might get more than just one synthesizer at some point.

I guess you havent started making any music but thinking of doing that in the futute? Also just for curiosity how old are you?

Oof, I actually have been sort of making music, and, I'm only 14. I probably started making music *kind of* back in ~2015.

My hunch was good, thought you are a kid yet. Let me tell you something, dont invest in hardware, rather focus on DAW and what you can do with it and it's tools.

Better invest in some decent audio interface like audient and high quality pair of studio monitors or headphones.

Yeah, I guess for me, I have the trial of FL Studio, and Ableton Live 10 Lite (I'm using Live wayyy more than FL Studio now),
And a crap ton of VSTs, (Trial Version of Serum, TAL NoiseMaker, Syntronik Demo, etc.) But I feel like I want something physical. I have an Alesis V25 MIDI Keyboard, (which is starting to feel somewhat restricting) but I want something more interactive, something bigger;--
Something like a synthesizer. I want to expand my music making ability, as I feel it is constrained with just VSTs, because there are only so many free (and, / or, not insanely expensive ones) VSTs, and I mainly like electronic and 80s music, and there aren't too many free 80s VSTs. So, in my opinion, a synthesizer would be the best purchase in order to help me with my music.

[AnX]

You might want to consider simply 4 standard audio ins, as stereo outs from, say, a synth, typically involve two leads anyway.

Mind you, this is if you are going, for example, to be playing both of your synths simultaneously . . . unless there’s something else involved here that I’m not currently aware of.

Anyway, the Steinberg 242 is one of the only interfaces I know of for that money, with legitimately 4 line ins,

Ok, thanks. As of right now, I don't have any synths, but I am probably going to be getting one, the Behringer Deepmind 12, and I don't know if I'm getting any other synths, certainly not anytime soon, though. I guess I'm just thinking for the future, as I might get more than just one synthesizer at some point.

I guess you havent started making any music but thinking of doing that in the futute? Also just for curiosity how old are you?

Oof, I actually have been sort of making music, and, I'm only 14. I probably started making music *kind of* back in ~2015.

My hunch was good, thought you are a kid yet. Let me tell you something, dont invest in hardware, rather focus on DAW and what you can do with it and it's tools.

Better invest in some decent audio interface like audient and high quality pair of studio monitors or headphones.

Yeah, I guess for me, I have the trial of FL Studio, and Ableton Live 10 Lite (I'm using Live wayyy more than FL Studio now),
And a crap ton of VSTs, (Trial Version of Serum, TAL NoiseMaker, Syntronik Demo, etc.) But I feel like I want something physical. I have an Alesis V25 MIDI Keyboard, (which is starting to feel somewhat restricting) but I want something more interactive, something bigger;--
Something like a synthesizer. I want to expand my music making ability, as I feel it is constrained with just VSTs, because there are only so many free (and, / or, not insanely expensive ones) VSTs, and I mainly like electronic and 80s music, and there aren't too many free 80s VSTs. So, in my opinion, a synthesizer would be the best purchase in order to help me with my music.

Seriously, don't waste your money on a DM. There are a ton of free synths that can create 80s sounds (even if not directly emulations of certain synths)

learn a bit more about synthesis and music making in general before splashing out. You may find yourself just as limited on the DM if you're not really sure what you are doing.

[Passing Bye]

Seriously, don't waste your money on a DM. There are a ton of free synths that can create 80s sounds (even if not directly emulations of certain synths)

learn a bit more about synthesis and music making in general before splashing out. You may find yourself just as limited on the DM if you're not really sure what you are doing.

+1

[vurt]

totally, at your age, take some time to get to understand synths, stick to one soft synth for now.

then when you feel a little more confident in sound design, then you invest in a hardware synth. otherwise you're going to be in the same place, and maybe be put off after the expense and no immediate advantage.
best to wait till you are ready, maybe use it as a goal for the learning process.

at 14 you are in no hurry

[JCJR]

Maybe it has become unrealistic nowadays but I would go the other way. Why molder in the bedroom getting a monitor tan, mousing out virtual sounds from virtual synths that maybe three people will hear your song online, on the other side of the world, if you ever finish a song?

When alternatively you could get a keyboard and amp, join an enthusiastic but awful high school band, go play some gigs and impress some teenage girls? I do not intend to contribute to delinquency with such talk. Just that even after all these years it still sounds like more fun than sitting in the bedroom getting a monitor tan. Are ya gonna let the guitarists and drummers have all the fun?

[vurt]

id agree if that's an option.
nothing beats real band experience for getting your chops up.

[JCJR]

id agree if that's an option.
nothing beats real band experience for getting your chops up.

Well more likely than not, guitarists and especially drummers will get most of the girls. For whatever reason long ago, keyboardists were not consulted before such quotas and guidelines were first established.

The Few... The Proud... The Keyboard Nerds!

However keyboard nerds tend to be rarer and more in-demand even at solidly mediocre ability levels.

And tend to end up more active writing/arranging, baby-sitting the audio gear, playing recording engineer and showing the guitarist how to finger any necessary chords which turn out to be more complex than simple triads.

Just on long term average, not hard-and-fast laws of nature that it has to be thataway. Maybe as often as not the guitarist or a horn player turns out to be the hermonic big brain of the group. Was mainly thinking about beginner levels. Up into pro levels they all have purt big harmonic brains.

[Fox_GAMING_NTF]

Sorry, this may come across as a stupid question, but, for something like the Behringer UMC202HD, for Stereo TRS inputs, would you plug the L line into Input 1, and the R Line into Input 2?

I'm still somewhat confused as to where I would plug in the synthesizer into.
Maybe I really don't need 2 TRS Inputs, I don't know.

But, from what I have heard *Both literally, and, what I have heard online*, Stereo is wwaayy better than Mono, so, obviously, I would want to use Stereo for the synth.

What I can tell, it seems like some of the Audio Interfaces I've seen don't even seem to have any Stereo Inputs, some with just Stereo Outputs, so would that mean that they can only do mono? And where/ with what would I plug the Audio Inputs into my computer And my speakers with? A USB for my computer, I'm guessing, but how would I connect up my speakers? Do I even need to buy nice speakers? I already have some Speakers, I'm pretty sure they aren't for music making specifically, but they do sound (at least I think), at least, somewhat nice when I've used some of the VST's I have, and songs, and whatnot, through them.

I know I'll need some headphones, though, as my current headphones are USB, and USB only, and they aren't music-specific headphones (they still sound nice though ), and the Behringer Deepmind 12 doesn't have any standard USB slots, so I'll need something with a jack, and it would be nice to have proper music headphones.

[JCJR]

The most desirable flexible inputs are the combo jacks that will take both xlr "mic style” and ring tip sleeve quarter inch plugs. The ring tip sleeve balanced signals are just a little more noise immune than unbalanced tip sleeve guitar type line or instrument levels.

Almost without exception if you have a tip sleeve unbalanced synth or whatever output then it will work fine plugged into a rts balanced input. And almost without exception if you have a rts balanced output then it will work fine plugged into a tip sleeve unbalanced input.

But yer max flexibility are the xlr/rts combo input jacks. Then if you need to plug in a TS unbalanced guitar bass or synth it will more than likely also work just fine.

Sometimes an interface driver or audio software will by default decide that interface inputs A and B are the two halves of a stereo input pair. Then some other driver or audio program might by default decide that inputs A and B are two independent mono inputs.

This minor difference does not matter much and at worst is a minor annoyance unless you happen to use real bass ackwards software which is not easy to control.

For example if you have a lush stereo poly pad sound then you might tell the daw to record a stereo track using inputs A and B. IN_A ends up on left half and IN_B ends up on the right half of a stereo daw track.

But next track if you are recording a key split with synthbass hard panned left and clavinet hard panned right, then you could tell the daw to simultaneously record two mono tracks, one track listening to input A and the other daw track listening to input B.

In that case you will get bass on one track and clavinet on the other track how you wanted it. In that case it would sound Stoopid to have a single stereo track with nothing but bass on the left and nothing but clavinet on the right.

To hear a keyboard or mic or guitar "live" bypassing a loop thru the computer, some interfaces have live mnitorimg knobs, that just mix some of the interface inputs direct to the interface outputs when you turn up the live monitor knob.

Many here like the idea of interfaces with as many inputs possible rather than using a mixer. But there are some purt nice affordable little usb mixers that also act as audio interface.

If you like to spend time jamming with the computer turned off then a USB mixer may be more generally useful than just a medium sized or small interface. And you could take the USB mixer out to do live gigs out in public. Well some interfaces might also do that but usually only the bigger ones would do it well, and you usually also have to drag along a computer whether you want to or not.