Resurrect Firewire or new 8 line input?

[StringCanvas]

Hey all,
I'm at a crossroads and I'm new to setting up a computer to capture a full band. Long story short, I have access to a PC from the mid 2000s running a PreSonus Firestudio with 26 inputs (it belongs to another guy who uses the space but isn't actively playing). The video card in his computer crapped out, and there was a lot I didn't like about his Cubase setup anyway, so my plan was to get another PC and set up my own recording. My only experience currently with setups is personal recording (myself into a two-input interface), but I feel pretty comfortable with software, plugins, editing, etc.

For a new studio PC, I have a pretty nice PC (a second-hand gaming computer) with plenty of RAM and processing, which currently has Windows 11 installed on it. However, there's no firewire cable input for the PreSonus (because this isn't 2003 anymore), but I can connect a thunderbolt c to the back. Unless I'm missing another good solution, I figure my choices are basically to see if I can get the firewire connection working on that PC OR bite the bullet and buy a new 8-input to get our full band mix (see below*). Does anybody have experience with getting firewire to work on newer machines? From what I've read, it can be jenky with Windows 10 and worse on Windows 11. I could either follow some of the post I've read on fitting a series of adaptors, or I could get a separate firewire card (although most of what I see look like they're really only for cameras and I'm not sure they'd hold up for processing that much info for audio capture).

If I bite the bullet and go new, does anyone have a good recommendation on an 8-input audio interface? I'm looking in the $300-$600 range, though I'm pretty easy to sway if it looks really good. XLR is a must, but obviously it'd be nice to have hybrid 1/4 available. I see the Tascam stuff out there, but is it worth finding a PreSonus HD or something along those lines for more than twice the money? A Focusrite? I have a basic Behringer 204 for personal recording, and it does well for just me, but does their other stuff hold up?

Any input or reviews are super helpful!

*The reason I'm interested in 8 inputs:
-4 for drums (Kick, Snare, Rack, Toms is the current recording setup)
- 2 vocals
-1 guitar
-1 bass

 

[silky smoove]

Leave Firewire in the past. You'll be battling compatibility issues every time you update your system. New interfaces are extraordinarily cheap for a historically outrageous level of quality these days.

does anyone have a good recommendation on an 8-input audio interface?

Find one from a reputable manufacturer (Focusrite, Presonus, Tascam, Roland, Audient, etc.) that fits in your budget and you'll be in good shape. I'd look for one with ADAT inputs so you can expand your channel count later if you need.

4 for drums (Kick, Snare, Rack, Toms is the current recording setup)

This is an odd choice for a 4 mic drums setup. I would recommend close mic'ing the kick and snare, then flying two overheads. Depending on what you have for mics there are many options for this configuration; Spaced pair, coincident pair, mid-side, Blumlein, Massenburg, Glyn Johns, Recorderman, ORTF. You could even do a single mono overhead placed directly over the snare if you're okay with mono drums.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I could get a separate firewire card (although most of what I see look like they're really only for cameras and I'm not sure they'd hold up for processing that much info for audio capture).

I'm surprised if there are still new FireWire cards available, that are still supported - but in any case, video is more demanding than audio, and I never encountered a FireWire card in a video system that had any issue with any kind of FireWire device that was attached to it (video cameras, audio interfaces, storage devices).

Again, don't know if they're still readily available / supported, but there were reliable converters from Thunderbolt to FireWire, by companies like Belkin - so you'd need a Thunderbolt card in the computer, and then the external Thunderbolt to FireWire (400/800) converter, to connect to your FireWire interface.

 

[StringCanvas]

This is an odd choice for a 4 mic drums setup. I would recommend close mic'ing the kick and snare, then flying two overheads. Depending on what you have for mics there are many options for this configuration; Spaced pair, coincident pair, mid-side, Blumlein, Massenburg, Glyn Johns, Recorderman, ORTF. You could even do a single mono overhead placed directly over the snare if you're okay with mono drums.

I appreciate the input here! I'm just working on the setup the last guy had set up. I've watched a few youtube videos on setting up drum mics, but that's as much knowledge as I have so I left the configuration that was there. All of my mic experience has been guitar/bass/vocal, so the I'll definitely reconsider the drum setup as I'm setting up the new DAW.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I appreciate the input here! I'm just working on the setup the last guy had set up. I've watched a few youtube videos on setting up drum mics, but that's as much knowledge as I have so I left the configuration that was there. All of my mic experience has been guitar/bass/vocal, so the I'll definitely reconsider the drum setup as I'm setting up the new DAW.

Kick, Snare, and a pair of overheads will give the most natural results - and if you don't have software that will do it automatically, it's actually not that laborious to manually augment the Toms with samples, to just give the impression they were close mic'd in addition to the overheads.

 

[Space Pickle]

I've been using a Focusrite Clarett+ 8pre with Clarett Octopre expander the past couple of years, but there are a bunch of setups in this price range that look good (although I use OSX so I can't speak to Windows).

If I was looking for a new setup today I'd be taking a look at the new Audient or SSL 8-channel interfaces that just came out this year.

 

[BrianVengeance]

Above the budget you listed, but there is currently a Metric Halo ULN-8 3D mkIV on eBay for $2100 that is absolutely a future-proof end game piece at an amazing price. Aside from sounding amazing, they have 75dB of gain on tap, DSP, and are field serviceable to upgrade the internal boards when the next version comes out.

 

[silky smoove]

While I certainly love Metric Halo as a company, I can't see recommending something that's 3.5-7x the OPs budget as being a realistic solution for what are presumably modest needs.

 

[StringCanvas]

Thanks guys! I'm definitely going to just get a new interface. I figured trying to retrofit the firewire would be a nightmare, but was looking for input if someone else had tried it.

I thought about getting a multitrack that I could export live as well as run into my DAW (something like a PreSonus Studio Live). I decided against it because 1. I don't really NEED live show recording, and 2. if I do, I think I'd like to just keep my studio stuff where it is and have something else for shows.

For now, honestly, I think I might just go with something like a Behringer 1820. If I really feel like it's holding us back in any way, I can always upgrade it, but I have such a bad habit of overbuying on things I don't need, and the worst that happens is I'm out like $200. I know it won't be RME quality or anything, but the 204 is good enough for my other recording stuff so this will probably be fine.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

I use a behringer umc 1820 and it works really well for me. It has nice features like 2 separate headphone outs that can be configured for outputs 1&2 or 3&4,which is great for setting up cue mixes for overdubbing.

Pres sound fine, etc.

 

[loukash]

Since my trusty "old" Alesis iO26 Firewire won't ever work with new Macs because the Firewire audio kernel extension has been removed from recent MacOS for good, I also had to find something adequate in 2023.

I opted for the seemingly "outdated" but still brilliant Roland Octa-Capture:

Roland - OCTA-CAPTURE | Hi-Speed USB Audio Interface

OCTA-CAPTURE: Hi-Speed USB Audio Interface - Eight Premium Mic Preamps, Compact I/O, Pristine Sound Quality

roland.com

The only thing I regret is that I didn't buy one earlier…
My favorite "killer feature": Almost everything is configurable directly on the device, without a computer connection. I.e. it's effectively usable as a standalone 8-channel mixer.

(As a side note: for mobile multitrack recording with Logic I'm still using a MacBook Pro 2008 where I can connect all interfaces I own, which then gives me 18 XLR inputs plus a bunch of line inputs in total as an Aggregate Device, including the Octa-Capture and an HX Stomp.)