Which Interface / software

thomasross20

I'm not 100% sure on this but it's my birthday in 3 weeks and the only thing I can think to get is a new interface and software. 

I still use the toneport ux2 - I like how the software comes with it. And it's simple to use. However I always found the distorted sounds weren't brilliant and slightly hissy. So I can upgrade to ux2 (mic input etc) with pod farm 2 (has bass and mic models, too)... Or I can get another interface with new software (ideally booth can deal with bass and mic, too). However the software has to be super simple to use...

So what's new and good? Obviously I'm looking into it now but input is always good.
I have to say, purely for convenience, I might just end up with ux2 & pod farm 2..
Thanks!

Strangefan

Focusrite is totslly the way to go, their preamps are great, plus you ususlly get cubase sx or something along those lines bundled. I went from a fastrack pro to a focusrite and the difference is night and day.

ChrisRG

From a modelling point of view, I really like Scuffhams S-Gear.  It's a standalone piece of software as well as a VST.  It comes with 5 amps and the standard effect (delay, mod, reverb) plus some IRs and the ability to add your own.  There's a 15 day free trial if you wanted to try it out.

I use it along with the Presonus Studio One 3 DAW which came with the Presonus AudioBox 22VSL interface I bought.  I'm really happy with the setup although I have very simple needs.

Loads on here rate Reaper as a DAW but I've never tried it.

blobb

NI KA6 is a good interface.

comes with Cubase LE and some decent NI software to get started: Guitar rig is a bit hit and miss nowadays but good place to start for free.

Reaper is amazing for what it costs but I've settled on mixbus. Both of these are free in the sense that you can download them and use them, Reaper flashes a banner up every now and again if you don't pay, mixbus inserts some low level hiss (which you can ignore if you are recording a full band type sound). They will start throwing offers at you if you download the demo so negligible cost. Reaper = full DAW: Mixbus = mix desk simulator with DAW capability. If you want to do MIDI, cubase.

Also heard good things about S-Gear.

thomasross20

Have you guys tried these free LePou amp Sims?

guitarfishbay

Yes LePou sims are decent.

I’d recommend demoing everything with software before buying.

I bought TSE X50 recently (5150 sim), and Cytomic’s The Scream (tubescreamer).

I found those to give good results for heavier rock/metal/lead sounds combined with some Ownhammer impulses.

S Gear is very good too but doesn’t cover the modern heavy angle if you need that. All the sounds it does do it does well IMO.

Amplitube 4 is good but additional models vary so demo extras before buying packs.

It’s not cheap but Helix Native is worth a demo too.

thomasross20

I'm defo going to trial all these....
If I can't grasp any then that's total disqualification!

stratman3142

I still use a Pod studio GX as a part of my portable set up to use with a laptop that I take on holidays, and I previously used a Toneport for that purpose. I found it OK for, in effect, direct monitoring, but I've never been able to get the latency low enough to use it for 'through DAW monitoring' with other 3rd party VST amp sims.

Also, the Toneport (or Pod Studio) built in sounds aren't that great by modern standards. However, one option is to monitor with the Toneport (with an approximation of the sound you want) but record dry and then substitute a 'better' sounding VST ampsim plugin post recording.

If I were to choose one ampsim it would be S-Gear 2. However, I also really like Amplitube 4 Fender 2 for classic Fender amp sounds and Kazrog Thermionik (plus Recabinet) for heavier sounds.

My DAW of choice is Reaper which I've used for years, but I haven't tried any others so I can't make comparisons. Reaper certainly does all that I need.

For my main desktop recording computer I use a Zoom UAC-2 (USB3.0) interface, which gives me very low latency for through DAW monitoring with VST amp sims, which is why I chose it. I typically run it at 64spls at 44.1kHz and that gives me a round trip latency of just under 5.5ms. However, your computer will need a USB 3 interface (and probably a fairly powerful processor) to achieve the full potential of that interface. 

Snap

I've got a POD HD. Sounds, and the software are really good, but as an interface, not so good. Too much latency. Better than the toneport though.

Focusrite 212 gets good reviews, within that price range.

I've the Native Instruments KA6, neat bit of kit.

thomasross20

KA6 does look good....

Fyi I use Traction as a DAW and that's not going to change.

stratman3142

If latency is a concern (which it is to me) there's a useful link giving data on various interfaces in the first post below:
https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=174445
 

thomasross20

Helix Native looks cool though there's a lot to it and not cheap. Must be better than POD Farm 2 (or is it???) but oh the cost.

guitarfishbay

Native is good, and worth it if you like enough stuff in it when you weigh it up against other options.

The issue for me is I thought x50 sounded as good or better for the typical tone I go for, and The Scream is nicer than the tubescreamer in Native too.  I strongly preferred the playing feel of this setup vs Native for my typical tones too - YMMV.  So for my basic needs, I could get it for a fraction of the cost and be happier.

I liked Native a lot for bass gear but for cleaner amps Ampeg SVX 2 (an addon for Amplitube 4) is every bit as good and I can get the majority of mid grit sounds I need from the controls in Cytomic's The Scream.  For more driven bass sounds Native is probably the best software on the market currently.  Overall it is very strong for bass and covers plenty of gear most other companies aren't modelling yet.

For mid gain and clean guitar sounds I thought S Gear was possibly slightly nicer like for like - on par for sure, and I prefer the playing feel of the S Gear sims over Native.  S Gear doesn't cover everything though.  Native's Vox models are nice.

Amplitube 4 is a bit hit and miss.  It would seem the newer packs are much nicer than older ones in general, and they're kind of at the beginning of a new cycle of releasing new packs having started with Fender 2 for guitar and Ampeg 2 for bass.  At this point it's worth a demo but IMO it's one to watch for the future - if newer guitar packs are at the level of their SVX2 pack then it could end up being the nicest software available.

Basically if Native ticks every box for you it'll be a good purchase.  It's by far the best Line 6 modelling, really no question in it.  But you might be able to piece together a more suitable setup using various other bits of software, and depending on your needs it could work out significantly cheaper to do so.

The great thing is most companies give generous trial periods so you can be sure before buying.

thomasross20

Just a quick note - I'd pay more to have it all in the one package - less is more!
Just watching YouTube vids for now to get a feel for them.
Plug and play, that's what I'm about. Really not into endless tweaking.
-> Pod Farm platinum is $300 whereas Native is $400... I know what I'd get if I were going full-hog..!

guitarfishbay

I don't think you'll get that far listening to YouTube demos to be honest, you're best off just trying them as they all feel quite different.  In terms of sounds they can all sound quite good now.

To me if simple is what you want then S Gear and if you need a high gain sound X-50 will work pretty well.  Your DAW will probably have modulation/delay/reverb effects as needed, and if you need a drive pedal definitely check out Cytomic's The Scream because it's better than the TS models in any other software I've tried.

thomasross20

Jesus wept, I'm having zero luck installing any of these demos. Tried Gearbox again (the old one I'd been using) and sounds a bit naff - Helix Native wont load, Amplitube wants me to register an account, Guitar Rig 5 doesn't recognise the UX2 I have.

-> Had to install 64-bit version of Tracktion to get Native to work. 
But no input... I'm going into my UX2.. I can see the meter jumping at the input but no sound is coming out (if I record and play back, I hear something... but can't get real-time sounds...). 
Found it!! There's a live monitoring button hidden away. 
God simple really is best lol..

--> So it sounds alright but £400? Crikey. Also there seems to be quite a latency. Is this because it's going to the computer then back again? But when I used Gearbox to record wet, there was next to no latency... how's that?

guitarfishbay

64 bit is standard these days - 32 bit isn't even supported anymore in some DAWS IIRC.

With the latency check your buffer settings in your DAW, they should be as low as you can get them stable with the projects you do.  

thomasross20

Oooh I've never had to do this before, listen back actively... unless I'm talking rubbish. Before I'd go into gearbox and record wet and there next to no latency.

Just tried the LePou vst... distorted sounds not to my taste at all!! A lot of trebly hiss to me..
--> Helix Native does sound better than Gearbox. 
-> After a lot of tweaking around with Gearbox (off-axis '57 mic on an unusual cab with plexi-lead head and RAT distortion) I found that really... there's no real need to spend £400 on something like Native for somebody like me who likes it simple and can get a decent enough sound out of this. Will keep playing around!

stratman3142

thomasross20 said:

Oooh I've never had to do this before, listen back actively... unless I'm talking rubbish. Before I'd go into gearbox and record wet and there next to no latency.

Just tried the LePou vst... distorted sounds not to my taste at all!! A lot of trebly hiss to me..

If you record (and monitor) wet with Gearbox you're probably using the built in Line 6 sounds associated with the Line 6 interface unit itself, which should give no discernible latency. You're basically listening to sounds created within the Line 6 interface prior to going into your computer. I assume the analogue signal is converted to digital and back after processing, but it's totally within the Line 6 interface and not via your computer.

If you want to use ampsims such as S-Gear, Amplitube etc your interface needs to perform an analogue to digital conversion to get the signal into your computer then, after the signal has been through the ampsim within your computer, your interface needs to perform a digital to analogue conversion to get an audio signal back out of your computer. This is where low latency is needed from the interface if you want to monitor live while you play through 'in the box' VST ampsims.

It's been a long time since I used LePou. When you used it did you have a cabsim included?

thomasross20

I don't remember, honestly.. 
And I think you're right... I think the toneport can record dry while monitoring wet (though I've always recorded wet) but this method is something I like for the extremely low latency. 

thomasross20

You see the actual Helix itself (the hardware)... can you chuck that into your computer for near-zero latency recording? 
(Also... what other devices similar to POD UX1/2 allow this?)