Best Interface to use with Pro Tools 7.1

[Huggie]

I have just recently invested over 5 grand into opening a new studio. I have purchased all the mics ,mixers, monitor, booms, and cables that I will ever need..
I was told to buy Pro Tools Software which I did..... now I need some advice on which interface will work the best for recording a 10 pc drum set, or for full studio uses.
I was told to buy M- Audio Delta 1010LT...any suggestions would be much appreciated!! thx in advance

[alfadog]

It really depends on your mixer. Do you have a digital or analog mixer? Also, how many busses does the mixer have? I'm using a Ramsa DA-7 that has 3 ADAT Lightpipe cards installed. I run the output of the Lightpipe cards to the input of the M-Audio Lightbridge Interface, which has 32 channels of Lightpipe Input and Output. I also have the M-Audio Octane (8 channel preamp) that gives me a total of 24 inputs.

If you have an analog mixer I'd go for the M-Audio 1814, which will give you 8 inputs and the option to add an 8 channel preamp that will bring your input up to 16. If you have a digital mixer I'd go with he Lightbridge, hands down! If I'm not mistaken, the maximum inputs you'll get with the Delta 1010 are 10. There's no expandibility with the Delta 1010, which is fine if you're never going to need more than 10 inputs. On a standard drum kit I use 11 mic inputs:

1) Kick
2) Snare Top
3) Snare Bottom
4) Hi Hat
5) Hi Tom
6) Mid Tom
7) Low Tom
8) Overhead Left
9) Overhead Right
10) Room Mic Left
11) Room Mic Right

The remaining inputs/tracks I use for laying scratch bass and guitar tracks while recording the drum tracks. So it's not uncommon for me to be running 13 inputs at once, my drum tracks and 2 scratch tracks. So my advice to you is get yourself setup with at least 16 inputs if you are going to be tracking live drums.

[mcgirr]

The Delta 10/10 is simply one of the premier audio converters on the market, in RACKMOUNT form.

Do not get the 10/10 LT for a high quality studio.!!!!!

That hodge podge of connections hanging off the back of the computer is not cool at all. The rackmount will utilize snakes or individual cords. Much more neat and organized.

The delta is not meant to be expandable..per se.

But... There is no reason you cant buy multiple 10/10 units and expand your in/out matrix as far as you like.( Or as far as Pro tool M-powered will allow, there is a limit to how many tracks can be recorded at ONE TIME in PT le/ m-powered.....I think its 16 or 18 tracks, I could be wrong about this.)

I have had the 10/10 rack mount for about 5-6 years now. It has never failed me.

The converters are pristine and there is ZERO unwanted noise or distortion.

I realize buying 2 of these units is NOT exactly cheap.( probably around $1000.00)
But they WILL offer unparraleled 16 in/ 16 out interface.

I know everyone has thier personal favorite but... after alot of research and talking with other studio gear heads the 10/10 was the clear choice. I have NEVER regretted my purchase.(6 years later I still have not had the need to upgrade. How many OTHER interfaces have that shelf life??)

Other companys products come and go.. the 10/10 just keeps going and going, recording after recording.

That means more money down the road for other studio gear.

The choice is entirely yours to make!!
I am just offering solid, TRUTHFULL advice based on time tested experience.

Best of luck with your studio.
I hope all works out for the best.

[dillon99999]

snip.

[dillon99999]

You said:
Or as far as Pro tool M-powered will allow, there is a limit to how many tracks can be recorded at ONE TIME in PT le/ m-powered....I think its 16 or 18 tracks, I could be wrong about this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

you are in fact wrong, as I get 32-tracks without ANY ISSUES.
the reason you only get 16-18 tracks could be due to your cpu / hardware.
i can get 32-tracks from an IDE 7200rpm hard drive on a P4 2.0GHz with 700MB RAM.
i think it's time you considered upgrading to better hardware if you only get 16-tracks, huh?
once you do that, you will see the light at the end of the tunnel.
i think spkguitar gets 48-tracks with no issues (he has the music production toolkit) - but i'll let him answer that for himself.

-D

[alfadog]

I think mcgirr was saying that the most tracks that can be recorded at one time is 18. You can get 32 total with LE or 48 with the Music Production Toolkit add on, but you can only record 18 tracks at one time. Even though you have 32 or 48 voices, you can actually playback more tracks than 32 or 48 because the voices are dynamically allocated and it is rather unlikely that you are going to have 32 audio tracks playing at the same time. When a track isn't playing audio it becomes available for abother audio track to use.

[spkguitar]

Technically, you're not supposed to be able to record more than 18 inputs at a time.

However, I understand that you can do this using multiple 1010 interfaces, and with the new profire lightbridge, though it is not supported by Digidesign to do so. (I think that "feature" slipped through the cracks). I have no first hand experience doing so, and I'm only repeating what I've read from other users here, so take that with a grain of salt.

[dillon99999]

i record enabled 32-tracks on my computer.
i hit record.
they all recorded without a hiccup.
what's the 18 limit referring to?
i am lost.
please clear this up for me.

[spkguitar]

what's the 18 limit referring to?

Physical Inputs. The LE and MPowered software is supposed to be limited to 18 physical inputs. As I mentioned, apparently this limitation has slipped through the cracks when using multiple 1010 interfaces or the new ProFire lightbridge.

Using over 18 physical inputs is not supported by Digidesign. Rough translation; if anything goes wrong when doing so, they are not responsible.

[dillon99999]

gotcha!
thanks spkguitar.