Old 11-15-2018, 07:35 AM   #1
Mbrad
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Thanks for taking the time to read my question.

I am brand new to the recording scene am looking to learn as much as I can.

I am trialing Reaper (such great reviews) and am also thinking about an external sound card to plug in my guitar and an mic. Should I be looking for something that is USB3 or will previous versions of USB suffice? Does USB3 decrease latency or other recording issues? I've heard that USB can falter if recording for a continuous long time.

Thanks again for your time.

Mbrad
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Old 11-15-2018, 09:17 AM   #2
ThrashJazzAssassin
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For USB soundcards, USB2 is recommended. There are no advantages of USB3

https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-...2-0-vs-USB-3-0

https://www.musicradar.com/news/usb-...udio-interface
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Old 11-15-2018, 09:36 AM   #3
Mbrad
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Thank you so much for the reply. I was able to find other posts using terms in the pages you suggested and they all say the same thing. Currently no advantage using USB 3 over USB 2.

Have a great day!
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Old 11-20-2018, 09:40 PM   #4
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beware of some shonky ebay sellers referring to their soundcard as USB 2, they will flog a USB 1 device as USB 2 coz it will work on a USB 2 socket, but it ain't USB 2 and it will suck big time. Don't ask me how I know
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Old 11-20-2018, 11:33 PM   #5
Mbrad
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Thanks for the heads up. I was going to hit up Amazon or my local music store. I was looking at the Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2nd gen. Any thoughts? I don't need anything major, just something to get me started that's not going to frustrate me.
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Old 11-21-2018, 10:33 AM   #6
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Quote:
I was looking at the Focusrite Scarlett Solo 2nd gen. Any thoughts? I don't need anything major, just something to get me started that's not going to frustrate me.
Focusrite makes good stuff.

There is one popular interface (and I don't remember if it is Focusrite) that has "too much gain" on the guitar input and the recording-volume control doesn't go down to zero so some users get clipping (distortion). And some guitar players say the guitar doesn't sound right with it's volume turned-down.

If you plan on recording one guitar and one mic, you might consider a 4-channel (or more) interface just so you'll have the extra channels/inputs if you ever need them.

I also recommend getting an interface with zero-latency hardware monitoring. There is always some latency (delay) when monitoring through the computer and sometimes it's a pain to get the latency down to an acceptable amount, so IMO it's best to avoid the issue altogether. (The Focusrite website says "low latency".)
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Old 11-23-2018, 09:27 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mbrad View Post
Thank you so much for the reply. I was able to find other posts using terms in the pages you suggested and they all say the same thing. Currently no advantage using USB 3 over USB 2.
Yeah. USB3 is a much improved spec but interface makers generally still use USB2 on small interfaces, so you don't even see USB3 on a lot of stuff one would assume it would be on. Even higher end interfaces are. Well written drivers enable USB2 to do great stuff with a fairly current computer so there's really no worry about using it. It makes sense that 3 being technically much better than 2 would be an advantage on an interface, but they just didn't switch everything over like happened with hard drives, where it really does make a big difference.

I still get use out of my Focusrite 8i6, 2nd Gen on one rig.. Works great, doesn't hiccup.
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Old 12-02-2018, 08:42 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by DVDdoug View Post
Focusrite makes good stuff.

There is one popular interface (and I don't remember if it is Focusrite) that has "too much gain" on the guitar input and the recording-volume control doesn't go down to zero so some users get clipping (distortion). And some guitar players say the guitar doesn't sound right with it's volume turned-down.

that was Focusrite Scarlett First Gen interfaces, all fixed on Gen II devices with improved latency as well
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Old 12-03-2018, 06:02 AM   #9
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if you want really low latency - best low cost out there is Zoom UAC-2
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...C2--zoom-uac-2
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