I am needing an inexpensive solution for doing a little recording into my laptop for files to share with my bandmates.
I have been looking at a few solutions like the PreSonus and Focusrite units that are around $100 as well as some of the Soundcraft or Allen and Heath mixers around the same $100-$150 price range.
I will be recording bass lines, with the possibility of mixing in some pre recorded drum tracks.
This is my first time doing any of this and I wanted to see if there are any advantages/disadvantages to either format.
I've used two Behringer audio interfaces and now use the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Gen3. I used all of them for my sound on my computer because they were all much better than any built in sound or sound cards that you might add to your 'puter. So I use them to record, but also for all of my computer sound.
The first Behringer one was a U-phoria UMC202 and I used it for 2 or 3 years. Then it just refused to work at all. That gave me an excuse to get their new U-phoria UMC202
HD interface, which records at up to 192KHz...and it didn't work either. Come to find out it was an update that Microsoft pushed through and about a week later Behringer came out with a new driver for it. Used it a lot and it worked great.
And then it fell from the top of my desktop computer tower to the floor and broke the power input jack. It still works if you hold the power cord in just the right spot but you can't stabilize in that position. It's out of warranty of course, and when I contacted Behringer it was going to be almost as much to fix it as to buy a new one. So I bought a new one, but not the Behringer one.
This year, as our trio was trying to get Jamkazam to work so we could rehearse online, I decided to give the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Gen3 a shot. The Scarlett 2i2 Gen 2, if you can find it, is a little cheaper but has been replaced by the Gen 3 - get the Gen3. The Scarlett 2i2 is smaller than the Behringer with better sound, plus the LED halos around the level knobs are just great. With the Behringer you had green lights that would flash as long as you weren't maxing it out and red when you did max it.
I found out real quickly when recording, that red light means you just got distortion in your recording - no if's, and's, or buts. Red light = clipping distortion. The halos around the Scarlett 2i2 Gen3 go from green to yellow to red as the levels increase. If I see that yellow appear, I know I have to back off or I'll get that red clipping halo and distortion. That's very nice and has saved my recordings numerous times. Unfortunately, I still couldn't hook up with my band on JazKazam because of my internet connection, but the Scarlett is definitely a nicer audio interface than the Behringer.
Although the Behringer uses Midas mic preamps which are the norm on some very expensive boards, the preamps on the Scarlett sound better. Both use combo input jacks (takes either XLR or 1/4" plug) with switchable line or mic signal input levels. Another nice thing about the Scarlett is that the outputs can be used with "normal" 1/4" plugs or with Balanced TRS (tip/ring/sleeve) 1/4" plugs. If it's staying in your computer, that's not big deal but if you want to send it out to something else such as another mixer or soundboard, that's a big advantage that the Behringer doesn't have.
With all three of the ones I've used, I got the models with 2 inputs and 2 outputs. They all have direct monitoring mode so you can cut another track perfectly in sync with the one you are listening to. I often practice using one of the combo inputs for my mic and one for my bass or guitar, so I can record two tracks at once. You can do sound on sound with them so getting the one with two inputs/outputs can cut your recording time in half.
The street price on the Behringer UMC202HD is ~$119, whereas the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Gen3 is pretty much $159 everywhere. The Focusrite Scarlett is worth the extra $40 compared to the Behringer - better sound with nicer, and more flexible features. Both brands come with free downloadable DAW's.
