Discounting the issue concerning the number of inputs and the bells and whistles kind of things......

Which is better, a basic interface or an integrated mixer/interface?

I've seen some good combo units and I've seen some bad ones. Personally, I don't like the combo units. I prefer a good solid interface with built in preamps for the audio inputs and phantom power so you can use condenser mics. My biggest nit with many of those combo packages is that they are not as versatile as they should be and many of them use proprietary codecs rather than true ASIO drivers.


My studio rig is a simple Focusrite Saffire interface into the computer. Mics and guitar gets plugged straight in. No mixer board required. ASIO drivers.

SO, my vote is: Get a good solid interface. Spend a few more dollars if you have to, and remember, you will never regret buying a good interface.


Edit: many of the issues we would deal with quite often, in the Cakewalk Music Creator forum, trying to help people get started, was that many of them had bought one of the combo units and was having issues with getting the drivers and codecs working properly with MC. When they told us the kind of unit it was or who the manufacturer was, we thought... "Oh No.... not another one."

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 06/05/16 01:50 AM.
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