Do Audio Interfaces Make A Difference?

hi welcome to stamp sound if you find this video useful please consider subscribing to the channel you can find more information at stampsound.com let's take a look at audio interfaces and see how and why they make a difference in your audio recordings audio interfaces have been around for a little over 20 years those of us who are lucky enough to have lived through other areas of music production have the ear to tell the difference between tape and digital and what it does with harmonic overtones in depth i'm going to go deep into the subject of audio interfaces and share with you all i've learned in these past 30 years of music production so do audio interfaces make a difference audio interfaces do make a difference in the resulting audio the quality of the converters is paramount for the final sound to be closer to the original analog waveform there are many tricks you can pull off to make it sound decent but there are no shortcuts you can take to bypass low quality converters audio interfaces are the heart of every modern home recording studio and you should think of them exactly like that the better they are the better your productions will sound so let's get straight into the wonderful realm of music production and recording let me tell you a funny anecdote give you some real hardcore data and even some advice are you ready let's do this let's get started from the very beginning what do i mean by ignorance is bliss well that our ear gets sharper as time goes by and we expose them to different qualities this is to say that if you have never worked with a really high end piece of equipment then your ears will not be able to tell the difference between one thing and the next for example let's say you got started on a cheaper audio interface like the scarlet solo or the m audio fast track and that is all you have ever worked with you are not aware of the shortcomings they have in terms of audio yes we all hear multi-million selling records made with a vintage valve newman into a nave console but not in the mixing process and that is the huge difference ignorance is bliss as long as you are pursuing music production and recording as a hobby if you want to get serious about recording you have to start training your ears to unveil the audio illusion beware of the cheap audio interface illusion the audio interface illusion is something that i see very often in a lot of record producers and mixing engineers in the world bear with me a little here because this is very important when choosing an audio interface let me break it down so you can understand it the audio you hear from the speakers is the result of many variables because the sound is essentially air the way that air interacts with your environment has an effect on the way you hear acoustic panels this is the first example of the audio illusion has it ever happened to you that you have been mixing for several hours working on that low end to be perfect with various equalizers and then you put it into your headphones and it is gone well that is because your room is projecting a low frequency that is not there this is an acoustic property of the place you are recording at acoustic panels can solve this get acoustic panels before changing your audio interface layers and equalization volume is a big part of the sound illusion for example the frequency that some instruments occupy is unique and hence you need to set their volumes really low this could be the symbols on a drum set for example they are so high and bright that if you equalize them correctly they won't step on any other instrument this means there is no fight going on in terms of volume the more layers you put on a recording the more things you have to accommodate in the frequency spectrum this is what makes the volume illusion things are not louder or quieter they are hidden or exposed working equalization rather than volume is the solution work on this before you change your audio interface fatigue ears and brains get fatigued when we expose them to too many hours in a row to extreme attention to detail it is simply not possible to have 12 hours of straight attention and not degrade your listening capabilities take breaks every hour at least to go back to the saddle fresh and focused try this before changing the audio interface why do i bring this up to start with i do it because a cheap audio interface makes a difference as much as the above mentioned factors do it is pointless to upgrade your audio interface if you don't change or improve these simple things first check out the scarlet solo interface range in the description of this video so what is the correct audio interface at this stage in your career this is another major concern if you are just starting out in the recording and mixing world don't upgrade your interface just yet try to make the most out of what you have it's not about the money it's about the learning curve try to make the most out of your focusrite scarlet solo first it is going to allow you to outgrow it and make the transition to a better audio a natural progression perfect the ear before upgrading your audio interface because of the last item i have to say this your ear is your most precious acid in music production recording mixing and mastering this ear does not come out of the blue there are people who are naturally more talented than others but this doesn't mean you don't have to put in the hours of work upgrading your interface before it's time to do so is like buying a 1 000 wine when you are not a wine drinker or ordering an argentinian steak at a restaurant when all you've ever eaten is burgers before there is a learning curve that will take you time to perfect your ear and appreciate the difference in the audio quality i have written an article on how to use an audio interface there is a link to the article in the description of this video let's talk about the digital sound we all hate speaking about the difference in the audio let's talk about what makes audio better or worse the theory behind audio interfaces is that they recreate the original audio waveform that is analog with zeros and ones the more they can process per second the higher the quality of the audio will be because it will employ more zeros and more ones closer together to make a better recreation when you zoom into a digital waveform there is a moment that your zoom tool stops working and that is the maximum amount of zeros and ones your interface can take if you are into photography you can compare this with pixels the higher the quality of the picture the more you can zoom in without losing any quality the same goes for audio let's take a look at the three aspects that make that digital sound we all know and don't like at all warmth perhaps the most evident set of frequencies in digital audio is the lower ones in fact the more you work in this business the more you understand what makes tape so great the warmth is where the roundness and punch of music are at imagine records that you love without a good kick drum or without a punchy bass line in fact if you are into a very modern music style like dubstep edm or techno that low end that makes people dance as the warmth of really high quality music production tools you can add an equalizer compressor and reverb to thicken the sound but if the low frequencies are not a part of the spectrum your device can capture it will not be defined and punchy but artificial and weak audio interface sharpness and clarity while the low end gives you that warmth and punch the mid and high frequencies are going to give your mix the sharpness and clarity it needs to put it in other words a mix with a lot of warmth and no sharpness becomes muddy and loses clarity instruments like keyboards guitars vocals and brass they all need definition to sound good and cut through the mix the more detailed and faithful audio you can get from them the more you can compress it to bring it to the front just like in photography or video if the source is not optimal you can't use a projector and a big screen to show it without losing definition with audio it is the same if you capture them with a poor bitrate and compress it really loud to cut through the mix you'll hear the shortcomings of the audio interface instead of sharpness and clarity you'll get to shout out loud just how little you invested in your studio's heart and soul is a more expensive audio interface better let me begin this section by telling you a little anecdote i went to an audio school to get a degree in music production as it was a paid school and not a cheap one we had the opportunity to do hands-on work with some of the most expensive and marvelous equipment i ever used in my life i was not alone in the class of course there were 15 of us when graduation time came we all made our investments and set out to work on our own studios i had this companion called jennifer who was the only daughter of a millionaire and could afford most anything she wanted you can imagine just how her beginner's studio was equipped she even bought fostex two inches open tape recorders to make a long story short the whole class met again after five years went by from graduation and i got into this conversation with jennifer we all thought she was going to make the highest quality recordings of us all but it turned out she sold half her studio and bought most of the things we initially did her big mistake was thinking that more expensive was better her ears and her studio chops were not up to the task yet to make the most out of that expensive equipment expensive is not always better it is only better when you can make the most out of it enjoying the learning curve and being mindful of it is the best advice anyone in the industry can give you always remember grow your ear before your gear let's look at audio interface inputs and outputs versus converters quality the world of expensive versus cheap divides into two big groups more inputs versus higher quality converters this makes a huge difference depending on what endeavors you are going to pursue in your studio let's discuss more inputs this is great for studios that need to record live bands choirs or any other multi-instrument situation having more inputs in your audio interface translates into more simultaneous separate channels it will provide to your daw having for example a drum set with up to 12 microphones and another four channels to record the bass lines can give you the opportunity to equalize compress and overall work with literally every piece separately in the mixing process if you know what you are doing the results are always better let's talk about converter quality let's say that instead of having a live room to cut a band you decide you are going to do only voice overs and hip hop artists you literally do not need 16 inputs but a very good quality converter or maybe two these genres utilize mostly vocals as the only analog instrument i recently purchased and watched timberland's master class and he bases everything including hit grammy winning singles on a single mic in a computer for some genres that's all you need so you can invest all your money on the quality of the converters what do big studios have well they invest in both and have 24 or 32 premium quality converters attached to a nave console feeding a state-of-the-art computer they invest serious money to make serious money okay so what about old versus new audio interfaces this is another very common mistake that i see a lot especially in newcomers the good old line if it ain't broken don't fix it does not apply to technology in music production also prices change drastically from back in the day when we talk about technology the rules apply differently than in other areas for example when it comes to instruments microphones mixing consoles open tape recorders and such vintage is usually better sounding on the other hand the cheaper scarlet solo or fast track audio interface is 10 times better than the state-of-the-art digi001 from back in 2002. usb technology got better and is now capable of transmitting way more information which translates in a better quality sound always remember that the more zeros and ones it can generate the closer the result will be to the real deal take my word for it if you have never experienced it nothing beats the low frequencies of recording drum and bass straight to tape in fact most of my band projects start in a friend's studio who does everything old school and has an open tape recorder we track drum and bass there and then i use the high quality converters i bring over to translate it all to the daw and move on to vocals guitars overdubs and such in my own studio i have written an article that discusses whether you can record vocals without an audio interface you can find it in the description of this video or on stampsound.com let's talk about audio interface connections as much as i love moving around with my macbook pro and my tiny usb scarlett 2i2 this is not the setup at my studio when you want to gather more information than a usb connection can take you need to invest in changing the connection itself there are two viable alternatives thunderbolt this is the latest technology developed by mac for data transmission and it flies it is much better than plugging in usb and besides you can easily expand to accommodate more than one thunderbolt piece of gear to play in the bigger leagues for ios users thunderbolt is the way to go both the apollo twin duo and the apollo x8 are high-class audio interfaces with thunderbolt connectivity take a look at the apollo twin duo range in the description of this video pcie this technology works wonders for windows users but has a very complex drawback it can't be external the great thing about pcie is that it attaches straight into your motherboard bypassing all other components that generate latency and degrade the signal although you can't access all the technology out there pcie will make a lot of difference in your recordings my friends who work on windows platforms order their computers specifically to accommodate this technology and the results are awesome so what's the best audio interface model for the money let's take a look at which are the models you should be looking at i'm assuming you already started with something like most people in the range of under 200. many people start with the incredible value scarlett solo this is 10 times better than anything available even 15 years ago when the time comes to take the next step it is important to know how to choose and what to choose i have written an article that discusses using an audio interface without using studio monitors you can find a link to it in this video description let me present to you the candidates for best audio interface so firstly the best audio interface for under 1 000. apollo twin duo this is an amazing sounding audio interface that will give those in the search for a dual input device the perfect solution in this budget yes it is a thunderbolt ready device with some of the best preamps in the industry the company that created the entire apollo line which is great is called universal audio and if you hadn't heard of them already you need to check them out the looks are beautiful it is practical portable and capable of 24 bit 192 kilohertz with a depth and a warmth you didn't know was possible in the digital world i love the way it sits on top of your desk and you can plug everything to it the huge center knob is among the easiest to use in the market too if your idea is to record vocals only or even just a couple of microphones at the same time this is definitely worth checking out check out the incredible apollo twin duo in the description of this video focusrite claret 8 pre-usb 18x20 in the same price range as the apollo but for those who want to expand the number of channels at hand to cut drums or full bands of any kind this focusrite is just perfect yes it is usb but the way it is engineered there is zero latency and it holds up to the audio quality in every channel it features eight preamps one for each channel and allows you to retain quality in every microphone you plug in without having to go to external preamps the front layout is completely neat and very self-explanatory i love the fact that they included 10 line outputs 8 channels of adot and an spdif out to make more complex connections if you are working in a band environment you should definitely check this audio interface out check out this focusrite claret 8 pre-product in the description of this video so let's look at audio interfaces over one thousand dollars prism lyra what if i tell you that this amazing device that can record up to 32 bits is usb well the ultra high quality prism lyra is actually a usb device with state-of-the-art technology capable of recording some of the clearest punchiest most beautiful sounding audio to your computer the company behind this product if you have never heard of them as one of those super high-end brands that only those who really invest in audio get the privilege to hear i was fortunate enough to work at many studios especially for mixing and mastering that had one or two or even three of these beauties hidden behind the mixing console the sound is out of this world i wouldn't recommend skipping the previous stage to get to this one because your ears wouldn't be able to appreciate it so much but if you have already been there this next step will blow your mind take a look at the prism audio interface in the description of this video the apollo x8 is an elite class audio interface apollo x8 again for those looking to get that extremely elite ada converters but in a package that can offer them more than a couple of channels the universal audio apollo x8 is one of the best options out there it is loaded with a hexa core capable of processing using six cores at the same time and running many of the company's own nave plugins to make the recording and the mixing sound as amazing as it can humanly or better said digitally be the company applied all the leverage of years of work and research to every detail of this modern wonder and if you have the money to go for it you are guaranteed quality and amazing sound the thunderbolt connection also allows you to stack several of them together to create that sound across the board i've been lucky enough to see them in action and i can tell you that the difference is nimble but that is what separates the highest elite class studios from the home studios also it is partially why an hour in a good quality studio is worth that much take a look at the apollo x8 in the description of this video so what are the alternatives to upgrading an audio interface the audio interface you choose is your studio's heart soul and guts but not the only thing contributing to the audio quality let's take a look at what else you should be looking at some of these come first in line before changing your audio interface sources by sources i mean what you capture the sound with investing eight hundred dollars in an apollo twin to capture vocals with a cheap samson c01 microphone is not the best idea before investing in a new interface get yourself a good microphone cables the anonymous heroes the forgotten patriots most people really overlook the effect cables have unsound we recently did a complete rewire of the studio's mixing board to the live room and the difference in sound was drastic buy some decent cables and enjoy the difference whether you change the audio interface or not preamp preamps change the equation in sound a lot they apply color and beauty to the sound and can help you have a hotter signal coming in with more gain which will translate into better overall sound quality if you don't already own a preamp then get yourself one whether you change the audio interface or not i have written an article on recording vocals and preamps you can read it on stampsound.com compressor add a compressor to the equation before you reach the mixer or the audio interface this will allow you to avoid peaks and nuances of the voice and movements of the singers will not affect the volume of audio coming in there are some very good quality compressors out there just find the one that suits you the best the bearing or compressor is a great place to start take a look in the description of this video for more information conclusion audio quality is a combined effort by now you should know the answer to the question do audio interfaces make a difference changing the audio interface will change the core of your studio we also went through why you should take that step and when it is very important that your ear evolves as slowly as your gear otherwise you might find yourself in my friend jennifer's situation and have to sell some equipment also bear in mind that as with all pieces of technology in the world audio equipment does have an expiration date better said it is not an expiration date but rather it will be obsolete with time and you might have to make another investment investing wisely and that time will be stretched into decades not years my final advice this time is to take it easy the more you work in each stage of your career the more leverage you'll have when you reach the next music production is a beautiful and long road try to enjoy it as much as you can thanks for watching and please don't forget to subscribe to the channel you can find more free helpful information for all your recording needs at stampsound.com

Channel: Stamp Sound

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Length: 21min 48sec (1308 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 21 2020