Microphones Cont. (Getting the bang for your buck!)

Welcome back everyone! I hope my readers were as anxious as I was to learn about some other mics on the market. Last post I went over the two must haves in your at home studio, the Shure SM57 and SM58. Both these are industry standards and can be used on many applications.
In this post I will discuss four different microphones, all from different companies that feature different options and color sound differently. Before we go on to this post I want to make it clear that the mics I am discussing are chosen because they are going to be used for our at home studio on a budget. From day one I wasn't showing you all the most expensive gear on the market, but I was showing you the most affordable that includes the same quality as products that are thousands of dollars. With that being said, don't think that the price of the mic makes the difference. Just because mic A is $200 and mic B is $3000, doesn't mean mic A is any bit less quality than mic B.

GREAT!

To start of I want to introduce the AKG C414 XLS, manufactured by Harmon. You know be familiar with Harmon as they make profession audio products for cars under the name Harmon and Kardon. The C414 is a very versatile mic due to its pickup pattern options, pad options, and roll off features. This means the C414 can change pickup patters. We saw that the SM57 and SM58 were both cardiod pick up patters, meaning it focuses its pick up on the sound in front and eliminates sound behind. Not only does the C414 have a cardiod pattern, but also features a super cardiod, hyper cardiod, bidirectional and omnidirectional. Because of this, the C414 is a great mic for overheads or picking up the room tone with the omnidirectional pattern. Here are what the C414's pickup patterns selector looks like on the mic as well as the frequency response for each pattern:

  

Along with the ability to change pick up patterns, the pad on the mic is great for live applications if you are recording very loud noise. The pad will cut the dB going into the mic and give the user a more ideal signal level, offering more control without losing audio quality. The roll off feature is also great on this mic because it gives the user more control over the exact sound they want. Let's say your sound is a little to boomy in the low end. All that needs to be done is apply the roll off to the certain frequency and things are good to go. 

*Note: The AKG C414 requires +48v Phantom Power. This means an external power source, usually coming from our digital interface or recording counsole, powers the C414 for use. With phantom power the mic will do nothing for you.*

In my personal experience I have used these mics on drums and vocals. If you have the chance to get two of these mics, they are great to use for overheads. The slight bump in the high end makes this mic great for cymbals and high hats. Also female vocals that have an exaggerated high end will reproduce great through this mic. While being a little pricey, this mic can really define your at home studio and will be a go to for recording engineers.

The AKG C414 XLS is available through Sweetwater for $1049.00.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/C414XLS

 Next I am going to discuss the Shure PGDMK6 Drum Mic package. While individual mics can add up in cost, I found this great package that comes with everything you need to mic up and record a full drum kit. Included with this package is the Shure PG52, which is the new version of the B52. This microphone is designed to capture the low end up drums and doesn't have a high frequency response. This makes this mic perfect for recording kick drum or floor tom. The design of this mic allows the engineer to get extremely close to the source and get the accurate sound they desire. This mic is available through Sweetwater for $119.00, but wait until I finish describing this mic package to see the price of all the PG series mics together. Here is the PG52:

Also included in this Shure PG series drum kit package is the Shure PG56. This mic is ideal for recording snare and toms. Included with the package comes three of the PG56, which is great because it allows for greater accuracy when micing a full drum kit. Also included with these mics are clips that attach right to the drum themselves. This is a nice feature because it eliminates the amount of stands we need, and also allows for greater control over the mic placement. While you might not want the same coloration from the mic on your toms and snare, if we pull out our trusty SM57 for the snare mic and use the PG56 for strictly the toms, we will get a great sound and free up one more PG56 to use on another tom rather than snare. The PG56 is available through Sweetwater for $69.00, so if we decide to get three of these it will be around $210.00. Wait till the end of this package to see what the final costs of the package will be! Here is the Shure PG56:

The last microphone included in this Shure drum package is the PG81. This mic is designed to be used at overheads, on acoustic instruments, or on vocals. The flat frequency response (with a little bump in the high end), will give a nice reproduction of cymbals and high frequency sound. Included with this drum package are two of these mics, which is great because Shure gives the option for full drum micing with these two mics as overheads. Included with the PG81 are two mounts that need stands in order to be mounted properly. The Shure PG81 is available through Sweetwater for $129.00, but if we were to get two of these it would be roughly $260.00. Here is the Shure PG81:

All of these drum microphones come in a great package from Shure. Included are a PG52, 3 PG56s, and 2 PG81s. Also included are 6 XLR-XLR cables, which is great because we don't need to spend more money on the cables and will be ready to record right out of the box. Also included is a durable carrying case that will hold all the mics securely. This package is available through Sweetwater for $399.00, which is a great deal if you ask me!
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PGDMK6XLR/

Moving on I am not going to discuss the Blue Baby Bottle. This is not only a great sounding mic with awesome sonic clarity, but is a beautiful mic by design. Blue has a reputation of producing "boutique" microphones, and the Baby Bottle appears to be just that. This is a large diaphragm cardiod mic, which will pick up sound from the source and eliminate sound in the background. This mic is known as the "do-all" microphone due to its clarity and durability. The Baby Bottle is great to use when recording vocals, both electric and acoustic guitar, strings, drums, saxophone, flute, and reeds. With this huge range of applications, it is no wonder this is a go to for recording engineers. The circuitry and capsule on this mic are also hand made, which assures for quality reproduction. The Blue Baby Bottle is one of my favorite mics because of how well it sounds on acoustic guitar and vocals. Included in the Baby Bottle package is a custom Baby Bottle shock mount and pop filter.
The Blue Baby Bottle is available through Sweetwater for $399.00.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BabyBottle

 
There is still one more microphone I feel is needed for the at home studio. This would be the Sennheiser e906. This is a supercardiod mic that will focus extremely on whats coming from the source, limit the amount of sound being picked up on the sides, and eliminate a significant amount of sound coming from behind the mic. This microphone is a great choice for recording guitar cabinets and drums. The precision features on this mic include a high frequency bump, a flat response, and a low frequency roll off options. This gives the e906 more versatility and strength. Another great feature is the flat front panel design, which gives the engineer the option to place the mic right up to the speaker on the guitar cab, creating accurate results with precision. In my own use I have used this mic on acoustic and electric guitars. I find that the reproduction is fantastic, which makes this mic a must have for the at home studio.
The Sennheiser e906 is available through Sweetwater for $185.95.
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/e906

I hope everyone get the information they needed on the mics I suggest for the at home studio. Of course there are a lot more mics available on the market, but for what we are production from the at home studio, the mics discussed are great options to get things rolling. Please leave comments and feedback on what you think of these mics from personal experiences or from what you have read.
Also leave feedback on other mics you think are suitable for the at home studio. This will help us all learn more and give us more ideas and options and how to produce the best quality material.

This blog is intended on developing the at home studio. While I am going to move on from microphones from the time being to keep the development moving, stay tuned for later posts where I will focus on individual mics that may be suitable for the at home studio!

TTYL,
BCEB

 *It's not about how fast you can pump something out, it's how efficient you can use your knowledge to create the best available product while delivering a professional experience.*

Intro to Microphones (2 Must Haves)

Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone is staying busy with their production work. I have several friends that are working on some great projects and can't wait to hear the finished products.

My last post was all about the DAW, broken up into two posts, I fully explained Pro Tools and what the different versions of this DAW feature. The next posting featured Reason and Logic, two powerful DAWs that are designed for the musician. Since we have our interface and DAW, it's time for us to get some microphones so we can start recording. In this post I will discuss two industry standard mics that everyone should have in their at home studio. Since there are so many mics, I'm going to break this section on mics into several posts.

On that note, probably the most industry standard mic anyone needs to have in their collection is the Shure SM58. Shure is an American company that has produced professional quality products for more than 30 years. The SM58 is mic designed for vocals, but can also be used to mic anything you desire. I have one of these mics in my collection and I have used it for vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and electric bass. While in some of these conditions the coloring of the mic may not be ideal, the quality of the sound coming from the mic will be more than enough if we are limited on our gear due to it being the at home studio.



Since this microphone is designed for vocals, the midrange frequencies are brightened and there is a bass roll off. This means lower frequencies don't get picked up after a certain frequency, and with the brightened midrange, these are going to areas of common speach, so they are exaggerated to clarify and sound beautiful. Here is the frequency response chart for the Shure SM58



Another feature included with the SM58 is the cardiod pick up pattern. This pattern isolated the main sound source and limits the amount of sound picked up behind the mic. This makes the mic more directional, which is ideal in vocal recording situations. Here is what the cardiod pickup pattern looks



The Shure SM58 is an industry standards for plenty of reasons. The quality and durability of this mic makes it ideal for any professional studio or live sound production. This mic is available through Sweetwater for $99.00.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SM58/

The second microphone in our must have collection is also a product by Shure. The Shure SM57 is the industry standard instrument mic. It is ideal for recording acoustic instruments or amplified string instruments. In the studio it is suitable for drums, woodwinds, guitar.



The Shure SM57 is available through Sweetwater for $99.00

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SM57/

Just like the SM58, the SM57 is extremely durable. This is why these mics are so popular because not only do they reproduce at professional quality, but the mics are so durable that they will last you a lifetime. I have used the SM57 on many projects, using it to record hi hats as well as snare drum. I think this mic does a really good job on the snare. The SM58 and SM57 are industry standards and have been used on so much music that the sound of it is probably familiar with some people. These are definitely two mics you will want to have in your studio. It might not even be a bad idea to pick up two each of the mics because that it how often you will use them.

Shure is a great company that offers even more great products than the ones I have mentioned. The purpose of explaining only these two are because they are industry standards and the are also the most affordable professional quality mics on the market. Feel free to check out more Shure microphones on their website http://www.Shure.com. Stay tuned for my next post where I discuss a few more affordable mic options, as well as mics that you may want in your at home studio.

TTYL, BCEB *It's not about how fast you can pump something out, it's how efficient you can use your knowledge to create the best available product while delivering a professional experience.*

DAW Pt. 2

In this post I will discuss two more of the available DAWs used in audio production. The last post was solely dedicated to Pro Tools because not only is it the DAW I use at home, but it is the industry standard and found in most professional studios across the world. In this post I will discuss Reason and Logic, explaining what each of these DAWs have to offer and how they are different from Pro Tools. First I will start with Propellerhead's Reason. This is the next DAW that I am most familiar with. Reason consists of an edit window, which is very similar to the Pro Tools edit window (just not as many features), and a rack window, with is a virtual model of a rack mount system that could be found in a studio using analog gear. Here is a quick image of the rack, edit window, and packaging. Reason is an integrated music recording and production studio with unlimited audio tracks, million-dollar mixing, and a massive collection of sounds included. Reason comes with all the instruments, effects and mixing tools you need for writing, recording, remixing and producing great-sounding tracks. With its generous sound bank and intuitive flow, Reason helps you along in the creative process. It is the music making software that keeps you focused on the music and lets you finish that song. Should you need even more creative options, Rack Extensions expand Reason and lets you add more instruments and effects, created by Propellerhead and others.

As you can see in the second to last picture, Reason gives the user total control over the routing in their setup. This is one of the features that Pro Tools, along with other DAWs, do not provide. This can be very helpful when producing music because there is more flexibility in the routing system. Just as Pro Tools, Reason comes with several virtual instruments that can be controlled either by a MIDI controller or can be manually written with the pencil tool in the MIDI editor. Some of the instruments include, Subtractor (a digital analog modeling synthesizer) Thor, Malstrom, Kong Drum Designer, NNXT Sampler, Dr Rex Loop Player,and ReDrum Drum Computer. Each of these instruments can have samples loaded into them as well as loops. Instruments such as Thor and Subtractor have synthesizer controls that allow the user to create their own sounds inside the instrument. One thing I really enjoy with Reason is that every singe parameter on a virtual insturment can be automated by just right clicking on your mouse over the parameter. Not only will the program record your movements in real time, but the automation can also be on via the pencil tool located on our edit screen (sequencer). Older versions of Reason forced the user to purchase another Propellerhead program called Record, which allowed the user to record audio signals from their audio interface, however, in the newest version of Reason, Reason 6, the program is a full DAW and allows the user to record audio signal directly into the program. I have a strong feeling that Propellerhead decided to do this because they were forced to stay up to date with modern technology. Another great feature Reason has is the ability to be ReWired with Pro Tools. This means that the entire Reason program can act as a plug-in with your Pro Tools DAW. This gives the user the ability to access the virtual instruments in Reason but control them with Pro Tools. The user can then use plug-ins only found in Pro Tools and apply them to Reason data. This is a very useful feature to users that decide to use both Reason and Pro Tool.

Reason for me has always been my program to use when I am creating music. Of course I ReWired the program through Pro Tools to continue improving my workflow with Pro Tools, but Reason has helped me learn routing as well as create some awesome music. If creating music digitally and you are not so much into analog recording through a digital interface, then Reason may be the DAW for you.

Here is a track I produced in Reason.
Reason is available through the Propellerhead wedsite for $449.00

Next I will discuss a program called Logic. To start off, Logic does have one let down and that is it is only available on Mac OS, which means this program is not compatible with PCs or Windows. Right there I know that is a huge setback for some users because programs like Reason and Pro Tools can be installed on both the Windows and Max operating systems, as well as files can be open on both OS's with no problem. Another drawback I had with Logic was that older versions of Logic can not be installed on up to date software. I think it was Mac Mountain Lion that wouldn't let me install a version of Logic used in Snow Leopard, which really got to me because my OS was only two updates more than Snow Leopard.

With that being said, Logic Studio Pro is a Mac product that is available in the Apple Store App installed on Mac computers. It is a full functional DAW that is designed for the musician. You already know how to write great music. Logic Pro 9 streamlines the technical side of things, so you can record, edit, and mix it on your own. Tap into a huge collection of instruments, sounds, and loops for inspiration. Get set up and start recording quickly. Perform complex edits in a fraction of the time. And mix down projects of any scale with full automation and surround capabilities.

One thing I really love about Logic is that it has a really easy to navigate media library. In this library are a bunch of preset loops and samples that will help any artist jump start their creative work. So if you are a guitarist say and you want to record your original pieces but would like to add backing for it, Logic is a great program to do this with. If you are an engineer that wants to take control of the entire production process, some of the features and functions in Logic may be useless to you and you may be finding yourself to have more control.

Another feature that is great about Logic are the some of the virtual instruments that come with. For example, the ES1, ES2, and Sculpture. The ES1 is a digital synth that models an analog synthesizer, the ES2 which is another synthesizer that has very powerful features. Then there is Sculpture which allows users to generate sound with a sophisticated physical modeling synth that lets you control whether a virtual string is bowed or plucked and what the string and the body of the instrument are made of. This is a feature that has just been introduced to me in that past few months. From what I have learned about electronic synthesis, I can say that Sculpture can produce some pretty complex sound and has control features that takes production to the next level. Users can add drums, bass, strings, violin, you name it, to their tracks and help them develop as a musician and produce great tracks.

There are also several plug-in features that comes with Logic. Along with the virtual instruments comes amp designers and reverb designers. These plug-ins allow the user to manual create the sound of their amp and reverb. this means one can record through their DI input on their digital interface and run that dry sound through amp designer and create their own sound.

Logic Studio Pro 9 is available through the Apple Store for $199.99

So which DAW do you go with? For my I went with the industry standard. I wanted to get proficient enough in this program to be able to function with the par when professional studio work comes. There are also so many editing features and plug-in control in Pro Tools that it is a digital playground for recording engineers. Maybe you are into creating your own music and want to work with Logic or Reason. Both programs allow the user to recording directly into the DAW, giving musicians the ability to expand on their work. If you are the one man band, one of these two programs may be good for you. Either way, if one is true to their passion, they will get used to all of these programs and become proficient enough with the software that you can work in any if necessary.

Leave comments and feedback on what you think the best DAW available is. There are still several DAWs that I did not cover. If you would like to share what these DAWs offer please feel free to post that in the comment section.

TTYL,

BCEB

*It's not about how fast you can pump something out, it's how efficient you can use your knowledge to create the best available product while delivering a professional experience.* TTYL, BCEB *It's not about how fast you can pump something out, it's how efficient you can use your knowledge to create the best available product while delivering a professional experience.*

DAW Pt. 1

Hello again everyone. This post is going to talk about our digital audio workstations (DAW). While there are several DAWs available to the public, this post will focus solely on Pro Tools. Stay tuned for my next posting that will discuss other DAWs available.

Now that we have our audio interface, we need a program that will allow us to record what is being processed through the interface. Pro Tools is the industry leader DAW, manufactured by a company called Avid. Pro Tools 10 is the most recent version of the software, which came out in 2012. This software is compatible with both Mac and PC, which makes the software even more powerful because files can be worked on with both operating systems. Whether you create music or sound for picture, the right tools can help you achieve the high quality mixes faster. Pro Tools 10 is the best sounding, most widely-used audio production software in the industry, enabling you to record, compose, edit, and mix with great speed and ease. Pro Tools will interact with any interface available on the market. When I was first contemplating which DAW to purchase for my at home studio, I went with Pro Tools because almost any studio you go to work will have this software, and I really wanted to become proficient in this program at home before I applied for professional studio work.

When installing Pro Tools the user will be required to use an iLok. This is a storage card that saves all serial numbers for not only your software but also plug-ins and special features. Without the iLok the program will not be able to run, so it is very important that you do not lose your iLok! When you first purchase Pro Tools, Avid will send an iLok with the software.

Pro Tools has two windows the user interacts with. The first window is the edit screen. When we start to record in Pro Tools we will see the audio being recorded on the edit screen. This screen is also were we will do any editing, waveform gain adjustments,parameter automation, as well as fade ins and outs. The next window is the mix window, where the user can set levels, adjust panning, route channels to bus routes and aux channels, and enable plug-ins to effect your mix. This is what the edit window looks like...

and this is what the mix window looks like...

Not only will Pro Tools allow recordings of audio signals, but there are also virtual instruments and audio samples and loop libraries that will allow the user to record with a MIDI controller, or drag and drop loop samples into their timeline. Some of these instruments and audio content included with Pro Tools are the Big Fish Audio loop library (8 GB worth of material!), boom drum machine and sequencer, DB-33 tonewheel organ emulator with rotating speaker simulation, mini grand acoustic grand piano, structure free sample player, Vacuum monophonic vacuum tube synthesizer, and Xpand multitimbural synth and sampler.

Along with these virtual instruments and audio library, Pro Tools also includes an array of effects and processors, called plug-ins. Some of these plug-ins include a 4-band EQ, 7-band EQ, air chorus, distortion, delay, enhancer, ensemble, filer, flanger ,frequency shifter, reverb, de-esser, gain control, long and short delay, pitch shifter, dither, reverse options, signal generators, times compression and expansion, auto tune, and clip remover. As you can see this software comes with a bunch of included effects and processors. What I listed isn't even all that's included "in the box". Pro Tools also has a bunch of 3rd party plug-ins that can be purchased or downloaded and used to make your program that much more powerful.

Pro Tools even takes the virtual instrument production to another level. Even if the user doesn't have a MIDI controller, Pro Tools gives the user the option to compose with the MIDI editor, which is a feature that allows the user to draw in MIDI data and use virtual instruments without a MIDI controller. The notes that are entered in Pro Tools can then be exported with a program called Sibelius, which is a music notation program.

So as you can see with audio signal recording, MIDI data entry, virtual instrument recording, plug-in capabilities, automation control,effect control, dynamic processing, and extremely accurate editing control, and cross operating system capability, it is no wonder why Pro Tools is the industry leading DAW.

Pro Tools also offers an HD version, which is found in most professional studios. Some features that come with Pro Tools HD is options to create way bigger mixes, with up to 768 voiceable audio tracks and 512 aux tracks. Also the user can get highly responsive recording and playback performance with the extended disk cache, which loads entire sessions into RAM. You can also connect up to 12 HD systems together via Satellite Link. Along with these features, Pro Tools HD includes more Avid plug-ins and processors that can make your mix more lively and powerful. While Pro Tools can easily be installed on any Mac or PC, Pro Tools HD requires a much bigger install and requires actual physical hardware to be installed into your computer. Pro Tools HD is not the ideal software to be installed on a laptop.

Avid also offers Pro Tools Express, which is a stripped down version of Pro Tools that is more affordable, but has many limitations. Pro Tools express only allows for 16 channels of audio playback simultaneously, only 4 channels of audio to be recorded simultaneously,8 instrument tracks,16 MIDI tracks, 8 aux tracks, 16 bus tracks, and 1 video track. Pro Tools Express will also only interact with the Avid Mbox and Mbox Mini digital interfaces. This is a huge turn down for me since I do not user the Mbox or Mbox mini as my digital interface. This software would not interact with the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40.

Pro Tools 10HD is available through Sweetwater for $18,999.00 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PTHDX2madi/

Pro Tools 10 is available through Sweetwater for $699.00 http://www.sweetwater.com/c542--Pro_Tools_LE_Systems

There is a student version of Pro Tools 10, which includes every feature that the "full" version of Pro Tools 10 includes. The student version is available through Sweetwater for $295.00 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PT10SoftStu/

This is the version I purchased and have never had a problem or notice something was missing. Also, when I purchased this software there was no confirmation that I was really a student. I just called Sweetwater and told my sales rep I wanted to purchase the student version and I had it within a week. Maybe you would want to give it a shot to say you are a student and save more than $300 on your purchase. I have also switched between my Pro Tools 10 and the Pro Tools 10HD system in my schools studio with no problems. All that needs to be done when doing this is changing the I/O settings in your session.

Pro Tools 10 Express with the Avid Mbox Mini is available through Sweetwater for $299.00 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PTMboxMini?gclid=COPdsO_aorUCFUKd4AodpnsAyg

If anyone has any other comments on Pro Tools please feel free to leave your comments. I love and prefer Pro Tools, but maybe you don't like to use this software. My readers as well as myself would love to know why Pro Tools may not be your go to DAW. Stay tuned for my next post on several other DAWs available for audio production.

Below is an audio clip of a track I produced, edited and mixed with Pro Tools 10. TTYL,

BCEB

*It's not about how fast you can pump something out, it's how efficient you can use your knowledge to create the best available product while delivering a professional experience.*

BCeb Update

Audio Interfaces

The first step before we get some recording software is to get purchase a device that will allow analog audio signals to be recorded digitally into your computer. This is going to be our digital audio interface. These interfaces come extremely small and affordable, which have limitation, but also come as full blown multichannel mixers that can be used in a professional studio. Here are a few interfaces that will cope for our at home studios!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Scarlett2i2

This is the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 digital interface. This interface offers 2 mic/line/instrument inputs on the front of the device, which will allow the user to plug in guitars and basses with no amps, microphones, or line level signals from other analog gear. The 2i2 has a stereo output on the back which will allow the user to either send this output to monitors for listening or to another mixer if they please. The connection used on this device is USB 2.0, which isn't the fastest connection since we also have FireWire and USB 3.0. However, for someone recording just guitar and lyrics would love this interface. Focusrite always has pristine products and offers professional quality gear.
This interface is available at http://sweetwater.com for $149.99, including free shipping, 2-year Sweetwater warranty, and also includes the Focusrite Scarlett plug-in bundle.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SaffPro40

Looking familiar? If you have watched my video post where I take a quick tour through my at home studio, you will recognize this is the interface I use. As you can already tell, the Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 is a lot bigger and has a lot more options than the 2i2. This interface offers 8 channels of audio input, including 2 channels with DI options. This gives the user the option to record 2 guitars or guitar and bass at the same time with no preamp. What is nice about the DI options is there is also a pad on these two channels, which will lower the input value and give the user more control over getting a better signal on their track. Another great thing about this interface is that since there are 8 recordable channels of audio, one can mic up an entire drum kit with this interface and have no problem recording. One can even record guitar, bass, vocals, and drums all at the same time with this interface. This interface offers both USB and FireWire output, which is nice if one is tight on available inputs. This interface also included MIDI In and Out, which allows the user to hook up a MIDI controller to their system and run in sync with the Pro 40.
This interface is available on http://sweetwater.com for $499.99 and includes the Saffire plug-in package.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Alpha/

This is the cheapest interface I was able to find that wasn't designed to just record guitar. The Lexicon Alpha is a 2 x 2 interface, meaning it has two channels of audio input and two channels of audio output. This interface has one instrument input on the front, which will act as a DI. It also has two line inputs on the back and only on microphone input. This is a little limiting because the user is only able to connect one microphone to their system. The only other way to connect one more microphone is to get an XLR to 1/4" cable that will be able to plug into the line input on the back of the interface. While this interface is cost efficient, there are definitely limitations to the device. The quality of the preamp in the interface may not be as quality as some of the earlier Focusrite products. Also, since there is only one XLR input, the user is tied down to using 1/4" cables.
This digital interface is available on http://sweetwater.com for $59.95 and also includes free shipping and 2-year Sweetwater warranty.

As you can see there are plenty of interfaces and options available to the at home engineer. For some of the products, you need to pay the price for what you get. However, there are great deals out there and products available that will sound great when recording at home. Leave some feedback on what you think of these interfaces and leave a comment on what you are using at home and why you like this product.

TTYL,

BCEB

 *It's not about how fast you can pump something out, it's how efficient you can use your knowledge to create the best available product while delivering a professional experience.*