How much of a difference does a high-end audio interface really make?

[mixyguy2]

Thanks to everyone for the advice and answers to my possibly stupid questions. I'll hold off on upgrading for now, because if upgrading doesn't open up any new possibilities, there are no objective reasons for it

Not stupid at all; music production is a learning process that never really stops; we're all just on different points of the road. And IMO a wise decision, one I can say I've seen a number of people not smart enough to make

[Uncle E]

one I can say I've seen a number of people not smart enough to make

I resemble that remark.

[mixyguy2]

one I can say I've seen a number of people not smart enough to make

I resemble that remark.

lol - it's easy to do. I haven't (yet) but in no way do I claim that as evidence of my intelligence level.

[vitocorleone123]

I think it can make a huge difference, depending on what you're looking for in terms of upgrading.

Going from a Clarett to a Digiface USB + Pulse 16 was a massive upgrade even if it was a crossgrade in raw specs.

Low latency + TotalMix = win. It was one of the best investments I've made and I wish I did it sooner. I'd never use a different brand of interface unless the drivers were as good and something equivalent to TotalMix was available.

[Papuzzo]

The old adage that you get what you pay for really doesn't make a difference to 99.9% of bedroom musicians. If it sounds good to you, it is good enough. My advice to those just getting started is to spend money on acquiring talent instead of expensive gear. Talent always triumphs over expensive gear. Jordan Rudess makes an IPad sound great. A beginner makes a Bosendorfer grand piano sound like shit.

[whassup]

The old adage that you get what you pay for really doesn't make a difference to 99.9% of bedroom musicians. If it sounds good to you, it is good enough. My advice to those just getting started is to spend money on acquiring talent instead of expensive gear. Talent always triumphs over expensive gear. Jordan Rudess makes an IPad sound great. A beginner makes a Bosendorfer grand piano sound like shit.

So unsexy but some of the best advice you can get.
100% agreed.
But a shiny new plugin instead!?!
Or: How many synths do I NEED?
BTW, what is the best ... ?
Disclaimer: This is not discounting all the good reasons to get a new shiny thing or to find out for YOURSELF what the best ... for YOU really is.

[mixyguy2]

The old adage that you get what you pay for really doesn't make a difference to 99.9% of bedroom musicians.

It quite frequently doesn't apply to pros either...but they don't just buy expensive stuff because of that; they know that there are a lot of clueless musicians (aka customers) who do buy into the "you get what you pay for" silliness, so they have the trendy/pricey/flashy stuff around to pull in business.

[Papuzzo]

The old adage that you get what you pay for really doesn't make a difference to 99.9% of bedroom musicians.

It quite frequently doesn't apply to pros either...but they don't just buy expensive stuff because of that; they know that there are a lot of clueless musicians (aka customers) who do buy into the "you get what you pay for" silliness, so they have the trendy/pricey/flashy stuff around to pull in business.

And let's not forget how many pros are PAID to promote this expensive gear to those who will never really benefit from it. They push this "expensive gear is what delivers MOJO" bullshit, but anybody who has been around the block realizes that this magical MOJO only comes from talented musicians. Talented musicians don't need boutique analog synthesizers and racks of old analog FX being processed by the best audio engineers and producers using the best consoles to sound good. I actually learned this lesson when Eddie Van Halen was seen playing a cheap Chiquita guitar through a Pignose amplifier and sounded awesome. That saved me a shit ton of money and convinced me to improve on my instruments as much as possible.

[Uncle E]

I actually learned this lesson when Eddie Van Halen was seen playing a cheap Chiquita guitar through a Pignose amplifier and sounded awesome.

Have a link to that?

What's funny is that the 5150 has taken on a new life as Djent amp. I've never met an EVH fan who considers that a good era for his tone.

[Papuzzo]

I actually learned this lesson when Eddie Van Halen was seen playing a cheap Chiquita guitar through a Pignose amplifier and sounded awesome.

Have a link to that?

What's funny is that the 5150 has taken on a new life as Djent amp. I've never met an EVH fan who considers that a good era for his tone.

That was from a time long before the Internet and links. A friend told me about it and I think he probably saw it on MTV on some backstage footage. As for Eddie's tone, you could have taken him into any music store, picked up a strat copy and plugged it into a Peavey Bandit and he would still sound like EVH. EVH changed guitars and gear constantly throughout his career, but was always unmistakably EVH.

[Bombadil]

I don't really know what is going on in this area at this point in time, however:
If an AI adds a bit of…unclarity, that will be multiplied over the number of audio trx you have. I expect things have improved since I had a Roland VS, and an ART Tube mic-pre 27 years ago.
I have an FMR Really Nice Pre-amp going into my RME Fireface 802, and it adds its own character to the sound.
External mic-pres is a whole other rabbit hole, with Neves and Manleys, and Avalons, etc.

[whassup]

I actually learned this lesson when Eddie Van Halen was seen playing a cheap Chiquita guitar through a Pignose amplifier and sounded awesome.

Have a link to that?

What's funny is that the 5150 has taken on a new life as Djent amp. I've never met an EVH fan who considers that a good era for his tone.

Yeah, we didn't meet yet face to face.

[corbinfavmusic]

The old adage that you get what you pay for really doesn't make a difference to 99.9% of bedroom musicians. If it sounds good to you, it is good enough. My advice to those just getting started is to spend money on acquiring talent instead of expensive gear. Talent always triumphs over expensive gear. Jordan Rudess makes an IPad sound great. A beginner makes a Bosendorfer grand piano sound like shit.

Of course, it is necessary to develop your skills first, but in life I do not have experience with a lot of equipment. And I have no idea about the differences between cheap, medium-priced and expensive musical equipment in my practice to decide what I need and what I do not. That's why I'm asking for advice from those who have worked with different equipment in practice and have a much better understanding of the differences

[Uncle E]

Have you tried the headphone tuning software I mentioned earlier? For me, that’s been one of the most eye opening developments in the past decade, maybe even ever. I sold all my expensive monitors and only use those now.

[Papuzzo]

The old adage that you get what you pay for really doesn't make a difference to 99.9% of bedroom musicians. If it sounds good to you, it is good enough. My advice to those just getting started is to spend money on acquiring talent instead of expensive gear. Talent always triumphs over expensive gear. Jordan Rudess makes an IPad sound great. A beginner makes a Bosendorfer grand piano sound like shit.

Of course, it is necessary to develop your skills first, but in life I do not have experience with a lot of equipment. And I have no idea about the differences between cheap, medium-priced and expensive musical equipment in my practice to decide what I need and what I do not. That's why I'm asking for advice from those who have worked with different equipment in practice and have a much better understanding of the differences

I've had a few interfaces since I started working with DAWs in the late 90's. A long time ago I spent a shit ton of money on an RME and it died 4 years later. Then I got a Focusrite 6i6 and never noticed the difference. Today I use a Behringer UMC202HD and it does everything I need and costs about 50 bucks.